Michael Renaud, now 44, was 17 when he murdered Margaret Rogers at a house on Point Pleasant Drive in Palm Coast in 1992. Today he was back in court, arguing for his early release.
Cops/Courts
Flagler Clerk of Court Will Hold Mass Wedding Ceremony on Valentine’s Day in New Tradition
On Feb. 14, Clerk of Court Tom Bexley will lead a mass marriage ceremony for all willing couples of all denominations and orientations.
Man Wanted In Hit-and-Run Crash Involving Flagler Deputy Is Extradited to Flagler
James Rex Vorhees, a 74-year-old resident of Beauford County, South Carolina, was booked at the Flagler County jail on $11,000 bond after two hit-and-runs in late November.
2 Suicides, in Flagler Beach and at Palm Coast Econo Lodge, Bring Year’s Total to 19
Sharon Keeler, 66, lost her husband Karl to a vehicle crash earlier this month and died by suicide over the weekend. Seth Michael Rice, 47, of Jupiter, died of a gunshot wound at a Palm Coast hotel.
A Dubious Arrest, a Compromised Prosecutor, a Tainted Plea: How One Murder Case Exposes A Broken System
One innocent man’s odyssey through the justice system shows why defendants often agree to virtually inescapable plea deals for crimes they didn’t commit.
Found Guilty of Escape Out of Cop’s Car, George Wood Faces Up to 30 Years in Prison And Two More Trials
George Wood III of Palm Coast, 31, a felon now 11 times over, had busted out of a cop car after his arrest on SR100 in January and led police on an air and foot chase.
Sidestepping Health Concerns, Flagler Approves 5 New Cell Towers, 2 Rising 350 Feet
Without denying health hazards, the Flagler County Commission approved the siting of five new cell towers, including one in Palm Coast, as part of its next-generation emergency communications system.
In 18 Minutes, Jury Finds Paul Dykes Guilty on 24 Counts of Child Sex Crimes, Including Rape
A jury of six women barely deliberated in the case of Palm Coast’s Paul Dykes, 21, found guilty of directing the rape of a 1-year-old girl with an ex-girlfriend, also found guilty in September.
Dale S. Winton Sr., 52, Takes His Own Life in Garage on Palm Coast’s La Mancha Drive
Dale S. Winton Sr., 52, in the hours before his death had written a note to his girlfriend, but it was unintelligible. She later found him unresponsive and paramedics found him without a pulse.
In Paul Dykes Trial, A Shaken Jury Is Subjected to Unrelenting Accounts of Unspeakable Acts
The first full day of trial for Paul Dykes, accused of raping a 1-year-old girl, subjected the jury to a tortuous onslaught of disturbing evidence. At day’s end, Dykes’s accomplice in the alleged rapes appeared.
Notes From Underground
In Afghanistan, there may be up to 1,000 children in prison with a parent–not because they committed a crime, but because Afghan law permits their imprisonment with a criminal parent until the children turn 18.
After Wrenching, Day-Long Process, A Jury Is Impaneled In Child-Rape Trial of Paul Dykes
A jury of six women and one man was chosen from a pool of 50, as potential jurors were excused for a variety of reasons, many of them over the anxieties triggered by the trial’s subject matter.
Death Sentence Commuted to Life For William Gregory, Double-Murderer of Flagler Beach
William Gregory was on Death Row for the 2007 murders of his ex-girlfriend Skyler Dawn Meekings, 17, and her boyfriend of two months, Daniel Arthur Dyer, 22, at a house on John Anderson Highway.
Florida Gun Store Burglaries, Often Brazen And Unresolved, Quadruple in 4 Years
Weak security practices at many gun stores have made commercial burglaries an increasingly significant source of weapons for criminals in Florida and beyond.
82,000 Stolen Guns Are Missing in Florida, Feeding Traffic Among Drug Dealers and Felons
Car burglaries are driving the epidemic as many gun owners leave their vehicles unlocked. Gun stores offer another easy target. Firearms stolen from these businesses during burglaries have more than quadrupled over the last five years.
In Latest Complication, Judge Craig Recuses Himself From David Snelgrove Death Row Case
The Supreme Court has ordered a re-sentencing in the case of David Snelgrove, sentenced to die 15 years ago in the double-murders in Palm Coast of an elderly couple.
Dozen Men Arrested For Soliciting Prostitution In Sheriff’s Sting at Palm Coast Hotel
Some 100 people inquired in response to the ad, but only 12 showed up at a room at the Days Inn in Palm Coast. Seven were from Palm Coast, one from Bunnell, the others from out of town.
Investigation and Officials Detail Ordeal in Alleged Rape Case That Ended Off Old Kings Rd
Obtravies Watkins, a 34-year-old registered sexual offender, faces attempted murder, rape and kidnapping charges after the alleged brutalization of a 25-year-old woman found naked and pleading for help Tuesday morning.
Sex Offender Arrested on Rape and Kidnapping Charges in Attack Extending Between Volusia and Flagler
Obtravies Watkins, 33, of Palm Coast and Daytona Beach, a felon and sex offender with a long record, is accused of kidnapping a woman in Volusia and raping her there and in Palm Coast.
Defense Will Argue That Bobby Gore Suffered From “Battered Spouse Syndrome” When He Killed His Son
Bobby Gore, 74, shot and killed his son Lucas in Flagler Beach in April and pleaded guilty to manslaughter. To reduce his life sentence, his defense attorney will argue that Lucas had been terrorizing his father to the point of reducing him to the equivalent of a battered spouse.
Taken For A Ride: Ambulances Stick Patients With Surprise Bills as Insurers Balk
Ambulance and private insurance companies often can’t agree on a price. That leaves patients stuck in the middle with out-of-network charges that are not negotiated.
Flagler Deputies’ Thanksgiving Break: A Half Dozen Domestic Violence Arrests
Cases included a siblings’ brawl that turned into charges of felony child abuse and strangulation and the case of a repeat domestic-violence offender biting his wife on the head after she declines sex.
New Regulations Give Flagler Government Policing Powers Over Towing Companies
A new Flagler County ordinance sets out requirements, fees and penalties for the county’s three towing companies, reining in what the county administration said had been some abuses in the industry.
Nine Flagler County Firefighter-Paramedics Get Lifesaving Awards For I-95 Truck Rescue
Crews were called out to a rollover crash on Interstate 95 and worked four hours to extricate the driver, Scott Breidenstein, from the crushed cabin – a mere 24 inches of space to maneuver.
For Some Victims, Reporting a Rape Can Bring Doubt, Abuse — and Even Prosecution
There are many reasons for women to think twice about reporting sexual assault. But one potential consequence looms especially large: They may also be prosecuted.
Armed Robbery Victim in Hammock Seeks Out and Finds Suspect, Leading to Arrest
Cody Wilson, 26, was booked at the Flagler jail on $110,000 bond after he allegedly robbed at gunpoint a man who was smoking marijuana in his driveway in the Hammock.
Paul Miller, Serving Life for Murder of Dana Mulhall in Flagler Beach in 2012, Returning To Court
Now 70, Paul Miller shot and killed his neighbor Dana Mulhall, 52, in a dispute over barking dogs in 2012. Miller is arguing that he did not get a proper defense from his attorney.
Flagler Sheriff’s Deputy Bret Wood Injured in Crash Caused By Fleeing Hit and Run Suspect
Sheriff’s Deputy Bret Wood was bleeding significantly after crashing his motorcycle when a fleeing driver stopped abruptly then fled.
Sheriff Again Urges Transportation Secretary to Improve Safety at “Deadly” White Eagle Intersection
The transportation department last February largely ignored recommendations by Sheriff Rick Staly for more safety measures at the crash-prone intersection on U.S. 1. Staly again wrote the transportation department on Tuesday.
In Rare Move, Sheriff Is Publicly Critical of Judge’s Decision to Let Shooting Suspect Out of Jail
Judge Margaret Hudson allowed Michael McRoberts, 21, to go under house arrest at his home even though he violated probation and is a suspect in the Nov. 13 double-shooting on Seamanship Trail in Palm Coast.
Scott Wants Justice Pariente Disqualified From Decision on Governor’s Authority to Pick Her Successor
The issue in the case is whether Scott or his successor will have the power to make the appointments — an issue that could shape the balance of the court for years.
Gordon Therrien, 60, Killed When Motorcycle and Semi Truck Collide on U.S. 1 at White Eagle
The White Eagle Lounge intersection claimed its 6th traffic-crash death in nine month when a motorcyclist and a semi truck collided in mid-afternoon.
Man at Wheel of Truck in Crash That Killed 10-Year-Old Arrested on Drug Charges; Cited 3 Times in Last 6 Months For No License
Thomas Rando, the Palm Coast man at the wheel of an SUV that crashed Friday, killing 10-year-old Hannah Beard, was arrested Sunday trying to leave a house allegedly with backpacks of drugs and has a long history of driving without license.
Hannah Beard, 10, Is Killed, 3 Seriously Hurt in Single-Car Crash on I-95 South of Palm Coast Parkway
The crash took place at 6:39 p.m., involving a single vehicle that somehow lost control, rolled and ended up on its flank on the driver’s side, facing north in the grassy shoulder next to the center guard rails.
Case Against Kimberle Weeks Now Hinges On Judge’s Precedent-Setting Decision on Searches in Electronic Age
Ex-Elections Supervisor Weeks’s attorneys argue that the search warrant that produced incriminating evidence against her was an illegal fishing expedition. Without it, the case against Weeks collapses.
Threat of Violence at FPC, Mirroring Pranks Elsewhere, Prompts Heightened Cop Presence
The threat of violence in a boys’ bathroom told students not to show up today at FPC. It is similar to threats made at schools elsewhere on social media.
Flagler County on Periphery of Opioid Crisis, But Deaths Report Signals Lethal Spikes
Deaths related to heroin and fentanyl use are rising locally, and deaths related to prescription drugs spiked 22 percent as the region proves not immune to the opioid crisis.
A Pair of Fights At Matanzas High School Spill Over Into B Section, Implicating Several Teen Girls
Battery charges were forwarded to the State Attorney’s Office against several Matanzas High girls following a series of fights that stretched over several days and locations.
Five New Towers Part of County’s Plan to Replace $11 Million Emergency Communications System
Flagler government unveiled vast new plan to replace the aging emergency communications system starting next year, keeping mum on final cost estimates, which will be steep.
Samantha Posella, 17, Missing Three Weeks From Her Llama Trail Home
Samantha Lynn Posella, a 17-year-old resident of 45 Llama Trail in Palm Coast, walked out of her house on Oct. 25 and hasn’t been seen since.
Armed Robbery at Taco Bell Leads to Chase and 2 Arrests, But Flagler Deputy Injured In Crash
Craig Rossi, a 10-year veteran of the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office, was injured when his car collided with the fleeing vehicle,w hose two suspects were arrested soon afterward.
Evidence Was Illegally Obtained, But Judge Rules It Admissible In Dykes Child-Sex Case
The defense’s attempt to suppress illegally obtained evidence against Paul Dykes, the Palm Coast man accused of raping a child, fell to an exception to the Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate oneself.
2 Men Shot on Seamanship Trail in Seminole Woods; Sheriff Looking For Woman of Interest
Two men were critically wounded in a shooting involving “a lot” of gunshots after midnight this morning outside 28 Seamaship Trail, Sheriff Rick Staly said from the scene.
Matanzas High Student Fabricates Gun Incident, But School’s “Security Status” Was Not Changed
A Matanzas High School student’s fabrication of a gun sighting on campus around noon today led to a localized lockdown in the school’s parking lot, car searches and a lot of police activity on campus.
Appeals Court Rejects Patrick Hannon Stay, Will Be 26th Executed On Gov. Scott’s Watch
A federal appeals court rejected Hannon’s claim that a new state death-penalty requirements relating to the unanimity of juries should be applied to his case. He murdered two men in 1991.
Palm Coast Opioid Dealer’s Arrest Points Only To Fractional, Street-Level Source of Crisis
Palm Coast’s Joseph Colon, 34, has been in and out of jail and prison over drug dealing for years, but his arrest on heroin and fentanyl trafficking charges masks the much broader, more legal source of the crisis.
Suspect In Custody After Pursuit Shuts Down Portions of Belle Terre and Disrupting School Busing
A high-speed chase that went into Quail Hollow turned into an extensive search on foot and by air in Palm Coast’s Z-Section as a suspected car thief ran into the woods this afternoon just before 3 p.m.
Car Reported Stolen By Inmate Leads to 4 Arrests at Suspected Drug House on Palm Coast’s Ft. Caroline Ln.
The house at 21 Fort Caroline Lane in Palm Coast had been under sheriff’s deputies surveillance for a while because of suspected drug activity there.
Truck Terror Attacks May Be a Sign of ISIS Weakness, But They’re Very Hard to Stop
As ISIS loses territory on the battlefield, lone-actor assaults are expected to increase. The question for cities is what more can be done to protect against such attacks.
L’Darius Smith, 21, Acquitted of Molesting 2 Step-Sisters; Jury Finds Guilt on Minor Charge
Palm Coast’s L’Darius Smith could have faced 15 years in prison on accusations he molested girls age 8 and 9 but was essentially acquitted.