Concerned about dilapidated buildings in Florida’s statewide prison system, the state Senate has set aside $100 million a year for 30 years to address repairs and new construction, a total of $3 billion. But the state House hasn’t following suit. That sets up a fiscal clash as House and Senate lawmakers craft Florida’s 2024-25 budget.
Cops/Courts
Da’Mari Barnes, 17, Sentenced to 9 Years in Prison for Shooting Death of Jamey “JuJu” Bennett, 19, at Bonfire
Da’Mari Barnes was sentenced to nine years in prison followed by 15 on probation for the shooting death of Jamey “JuJu” Bennett two years ago at a bonfire party near Matanzas High School. Barnes was 15. Bennett was 19. The two had argued over a girl Barnes had pushed. Barnes had been carrying a gun out of fear, since the shooting death of his cousin, 16-year-old Noah Smith, days earlier.
7 Years in Prison for Unrepentant Man, 48, who Stalked and Solicited 14-Year-Old Girl, and Still Blames Her
Palm Coast’s Jerome Byron Malerba, 47, was sentenced to seven years in prison, two years on probation and a lifetime as a sex offender for luring and soliciting a girl starting when she was 13–when he offered her pot–and going on for 18 months. The judge used unusually strong language to describe Malerba as “creepy” and as a man who still blames the victim and covers himself in self-pity.
Couple Visits Sheriff’s 911 Dispatcher Lucas Santos, Who Saved Husband’s Life
On the evening of Monday, December 18, Communications Specialist Lucas Santos of Flagler County Sheriff’s Office received a call from a resident who stated her husband had stopped breathing and was turning blue after complaining of chest pains. Santos saved his life.
DOA: Behind the County’s Clumsy Push to Defund School Deputies
Whichever way you look at it, the Flagler County Commission’s and its administrator’s letter to the school district calling for a plan to defund the county’s portion of money for school deputies was clumsy, terribly timed, and an unnecessary invitation to political grandstanding in an election year. Deputies aren’t going anywhere, nor is the county’s funding. But nor should this be another invitation for the School Board to consider harebrained ideas like arming staffers.
Mom Who Let Her 6-Year-Old Daughter Wander Onto CR 305 Is Sentenced to a Year in Prison
Circuit Judge Terence Perkins on Wednesday sentenced Sarah Anne Welker to a year in prison followed by four years on drug-offender probation. The 36-year-old mother left her 6-year-old daughter unsupervised for almost three hours until she wander unaccompanied on County Road 305, where she was seen flagging down passing cars for help. The sentence is to run concurrent to a case in Volusia County where she pleaded guilty to an identical charge in October and been placed on probation.
Charles Kidd, Facing Murder Charge in Woodlands Killing, Was Suffering from Dementia and May Not Stand Trial
Charles Kidd, the 86-year-old former resident of Blare Drive in Palm Coast who shot and killed 36-year-old Mark Ruschmeier in August, was suffering from dementia severe enough at the time that two psychologists have concluded he is not competent to stand trial.
School Board and Parents Grapple with County’s ‘Blindsiding’ Call To Defund Its Portion of School Deputies
Flagler County School Board members and parents spoke of surprise, concern and “blindsiding,” in the words of the board’s chair, in reaction to a Feb. 13 letter from County Administrator Heidi Petito to the superintendent saying the county had reached “an important decision” to “gradually transfer the financial responsibility” for $1.4 million in “these legacy expenditures to the school district,” including the county’s more than $1 million commitment to school resource deputies.
Sheriff Staly to County: ‘Defunding School Resources Deputies Is Fundamentally Wrong’
When the the County Commission first raised the possibility of ending its contribution to the Flagler County school district’s school resource deputy program a year ago, Sheriff Rick Staly wrote the commission chairman a four-page letter sharply criticizing the possibility and explaining why. Now that the County Commission is pushing that possibility further, Staly’s letter is relevant again, and presented here in full.
Flagler County Plans to End $1.4 Million Contribution for School Deputies, Administrator Tells Superintendent
Flagler County Administrator Heidi Petito last week wrote Superintendent LaShakia Moore that county government will no longer pay the $1.4 million a year in subsidies for the school district’s School Resource Officer, ending a 50-50 cost-sharing agreement that’s been in place for a decade. The county is not required by law to share the district’s security costs.