Keith Johansen, 39, is accused of murdering his wife Brandi Celenza at their F-Section home in Palm Coast in 2018. In opening arguments at his trial this morning, his attorney, discarding previous defenses of suicide or an accidental shooting, said it was self-defense, because Celenza had pointed a gun at Johansen.
Cops/Courts
A Child at Rymfire Elementary Makes False Report of a Shooting, 7 Weeks After Identical Incident There
Rymfire was again locked down early this afternoon when authorities got a call from a child reporting the same claim as seven weeks ago: a shooting in a classroom–the same classroom that had been the supposed location of the shooting in early September.
‘This Is Not a Jury of My Peers,’ Man on Trial Over Child Abuse Charges Objects Moments Before Jurors Are Seated
Deviaun Toler, 29, is on trial on four charges of child abuse, two of them first-degree felony aggravated child abuse charges, and faces up to 80 years in prison if convicted. He objected to the make-up of a jury of four men and four women, all white but one.
Traffic Stop Leads to Recovery and Controlled Explosion of Grenade
A man said he had cleaned out a veteran’s home and found the grenade and decided to keep it. He was unaware if it was active or not. The grenade was removed from the vehicle and safely detonated by St. John’s County Explosive Ordinance Disposal experts at a nearby county-owned facility.
Jury Seated in Keith Johansen Trial, With Key Ruling on Admissibility of Incendiary Video Evidence Still Pending
One of the more high-profile trials of the last few years in Flagler–Court TV will be covering it–the case hinges on indirect evidence. The admissibility of some of that evidence has yet to be decided. The prosecution has surveillance video clips from inside the house graphically revealing sexual situations underscoring infidelities cleaving the couple’s relationship on one hand and Johansen’s violent temper, threats and racism on the other.
2 High-Profile Trials, in Killing of Brandi Celenza and Alleged Disfigurement of a Child, Are Set for Monday
They are two of the most lurid, high-profile, long-lasting cases on the felony docket of Flagler County’s court: Keith Johansen, 39, faces a first-degree murder charge in the shooting death of his wife Brandi Celenza. Deviaun Antriel Toler, 29, faces two counts of first-degree aggravated child abuse. Life in prison is at stake for the relatively young defendants in both cases. And today, both cases were set for trial the week of October 25.
There Is a Vengeful America and a Just America. Guess Which Florida Promotes.
Florida’s sentencing guidelines statute details the primary purpose of sentencing is to punish, not to rehabilitate. Honor demands vengeance. Respect commands justice. Two significantly different approaches.
Barry Brady and Daniel VanDeusen Promoted to Flagler Fire Rescue Battalion Chief
Barry Brady and Daniel VanDeusen were promoted of the 10 applicants who tested. Barry Brady was hired by Flagler County in May of 2007. Daniel VanDeusen began his career in Flagler County over 16 years ago in 2005.
Marion Gavins Jr., Who Murdered FPC’s Curtis Gray, 18, Is Sentenced to 45 Years in Prison in Plea
Marion Leo Gavins Jr., 20, pleaded guilty today and was sentenced to 45 years in prison for the murder of Curtis Gray, 18, in April 2019 outside a smoke shop in Palm Coast, a killing that shook the Flagler Palm Coast High and Matanzas High communities and that led his mother to create an enduring non-profit in Gray’s name.
With 100 Cases and $190,000 in Missing Funds, Sheriff Turns Flagler Tax Services Fraud Case to IRS Investigators
The cases against Bob Newshomle, long-time owner and operator of Flagler Tax Services, began emerging soon after he shot himself in an apparent suicide attempt in August. The Sheriff’s Office was overwhelmed with complaints about Newsholme’s tax business, resulting in allegations of grand theft, organized scheme to defraud, and embezzlement.