The prosecution concluded its first full day in the murder trial of Paul Miller Tuesday by painting a portrait of Dana Mulhall, the victim in the March 2012 shooting in Flagler Beach, as a non-confrontational creature of habit who liked his Miller Lites, his friends and his lottery tickets. The defense laid low.
Cops/Courts
Report of Incident Involving 11-Year-old and a Possible Sex Offender Has R Section on Edge
An incident took place Sunday afternoon in Palm Coast’s R-Section that rattled a boy and his mother, and has since rippled beyond the R-Section into an alert throughout local schools about a potential sex offender. But evidence is based on a single report.
Miller Killed Mulhall “With Depraved Indifference, With Ill Will, Hate, Spite,” Prosecution Argues
In the second day of Paul Miller’s trial (Monday was devoted to jury selection) the prosecution was piecing together a picture of a shooting no witness actually saw, but that several witnesses described in sounds and sights before, during and after the shots that claimed the life of Dana Mulhall on March 14, 2012 in Flagler Beach.
Sheriff Manfre Declares in Favor of June 7 School Tax Referendum
Citing the benefits of a longer school day and deputies in elementary schools, Flagler County Sheriff Jim Manfre issued a statement Monday afternoon in support of the June 7 tax referendum proposing to increase property taxes to support programs in the school district.
As Jury Is Seated in Paul Miller Murder Trial, Questions About Guns Weed Out Prospects
The most anticipated trial of the year—of Paul Miller, the 66-year-old Flagler Beach man accused of murdering his neighbor Dana Mulhall last year during an argument over Miller’s barking dogs—began Monday with jury selection, which by day’s end had seated an all-white jury of three men and three women, plus three alternates (a woman and two men, one of them black).
Matanzas High Student Allen Brown Tasered After Allegedly Punching Student and Deputy
Matanzas High student Allen Brown, 18, was Tasered by a Flagler sheriff’s deputy Monday after being involved in a fight with a 15-year-old student and allegedly punching the deputy, in the first use of a Taser on a Flagler school campus in six years.
Will Gerald Hofer, Feared School Attacker in December, Is Sentenced to Probation
Will Gerald Hofer, the 20-year-old who led police on a daylong chase in December over fears that he might attack a local school, was sentenced to three years’ probation Monday morning, with possibility of early probation termination. He was freed after spending five months in jail.
Joseph Drenner, 50, Is Killed in Early Morning Wreck on U.S. 1; Companion Survives
Joseph Drenner, 50, was killed when he was ejected from a Toyota SUV his companion, Christina Laming, 41, was driving north on U.S. 1 in Palm Coast early Saturday morning. Charges are pending against Laming, who refused to have her blood tested at the scene for impairment.
Fleming Farewell: Flagler Crime Rate Falls to Lowest Level in 12 Years in Ex-Sheriff’s Last
In Flagler, crime declined in every major category except robberies (up by one), including overall domestic violence, though domestic aggravated assaults account for half the county’s total. The crime in Florida hit a 42-year low, with falling crime continuing despite the bad economy.
Blacks Charge Cop Harassment and Bullying As County Cancels Block Party in Bunnell
When Bunnell police alerted the county of a large block party for South Bunnell’s black community the county had previously permitted–as a “picnic/party”–to take place on county land near Carver Gym, the county cancelled it. Monday evening, several members of Bunnell’s black community complained to the city commission of chronic harassment and bullying by Bunnell police.