The Flagler County Commission met behind closed doors for the first time in over three years this morning to discuss a possible settlement of the four-year-old lawsuit by Captain’s BBQ at Bings Landing. The judge in the case ordered the two sides again to go to mediation to avoid a January trial. Mediation and an attempted settlement that made significant concessions to Captain’s in 2020 failed as commissioners rejected the proposal.
Cops/Courts
State Attorney’s Jason Lewis, Near-Invincible Prosecutor, Wins 7th Judicial Circuit’s Lifetime Achievement Award
Assistant State Attorney Jason Lewis, a ferocious, annihilating prosecutor who’s as genial outside the courtroom as he is fearsome inside it, since 2014 has managed the Flagler outpost of the State Attorney’s Office and oversees its homicide attorneys in the four-county Seventh Judicial Circuit.
Before Her Leap Off the Flagler Beach Bridge, Untouched Drinks and a Purse Left Behind
The Flagler Beach Police Department identified the woman who jumped from the Flagler Beach bridge Wednesday afternoon and survived as Mandy Michelle Mincey, a 47-year-old woman with no reported home. She was also known as Mandy Monroe. Earlier that day she had been at a bar and had ordered drinks, but left them untouched as she ran to the bridge.
15-Year-Old FPC Student Faces Aggravated Assault Charge for Pointing Toy Gun at Others
“I really thought it was done, like all of my life was over,” a student said after the 15-year-old student pointed the gun at him and clicked the trigger. Florida law does not distinguish between real and toy guns when either are used to give the impression that someone is armed, and criminal charges are filed accordingly.
With $719,000 Almost Certainly Lost to Fraud, School District Turns to Insurance in Hopes for Recovery
Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly this afternoon confirmed that the amount of money the Flagler County school district lost in a wire-transfer phishing scheme is $719,583, but that “it’s close to 100 percent long gone.” The district made the payment on Sept. 22. Its fraudulent nature was not detected until Tuesday morning–11 days later, an eternity of comfort for phishing scams to evade controls and make it out of the country.
Woman Survives Suicide Attempt Off Flagler Beach Bridge as Rescuers Pull Her from Intracoastal
A woman survived an apparent suicide attempt off the Flagler Beach bridge early this afternoon as passersby immediately alerted authorities, and paramedics dove into the Intracoastal to rescue her.
Sheriff Chitwood’s Dangerous, Irresponsible Attacks on News-Journal’s Frank Fernandez
Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood’s repeated, vilifying and unjustified attacks on News-Journal reporter Frank Fernandez irresponsibly and dangerously inflame his social media base at a time when reporters’ safety is nothing to take lightly–the more so when a law enforcement chief who should know better is stoking the flames. Volusia County media should respond in concert.
Flagler School District Loses ‘Significant Amount of Money’ in Apparent Phishing Scheme Involving Vendor
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a case of fraud, or phishing, targeting the Flagler County school district and one of its vendors. The district may have lost as much as $700,000 intended for one of the contractors building the Matanzas High School addition. If it is a case of phishing, the likelihood of recovering the money is not high, especially since the district may not have been timely either in discovering the fraud or in reporting it.
Alleged Circle K Robber Flees with $368 and Is Apprehended Near the Library
John Ramsey Davis, a 44-year-old homeless man, faces felony charges after allegedly robbing the Circle K at Palm Coast Parkway of $368 Monday night. Flagler County Sheriff’s deputies apprehended him shortly afterward near the public library. No one was physically hurt. The stolen money was recovered.
Here Are the 3 Lawsuits Against the District the School Board Will Discuss Behind Closed Doors Tuesday
When the Flagler County School Board meets behind closed doors early Tuesday afternoon, a meeting that may at least in part be in violation of state law, it will discuss three pending lawsuits against the district, and potential settlements in two of them, including an employment discrimination lawsuit scheduled for trial in federal court in December.