Alyce Whitman, a 63-year-old resident of Crescent City, was killed Friday afternoon in a two-vehicle collision at the intersection of County Road 304 and County Road 305 at the southwest end of Flagler County.
Cops/Courts
Some Demotions and New Faces as Sheriff-Elect Rick Staly Outlines Agency Changes, But Greater Focus on Policing
Incoming Sheriff Rick Staly announced an agency-wide reorganization this morning, with some demotions but no firings, and an attempt to adapt an existing organization to his vision rather than to reinvent the law enforcement wheel.
Striking at Balance of Powers, Florida Lawmaker Files Measures to Nullify Court Decisions
Gonzalez’s bills are a reflection of the Legislature’s latest assault on judicial power. But taking aim at separation of powers considered fundamental, if not sacred, to American government may be more of a partisan than a realistic exercise.
Christmas Day Claim of Assault and False Imprisonment of Mother of 3 Lands Palm Coast Man in Jail
Matthew Robert Johnson, a 30-year-old resident of 13 Collins Lane in Palm Coast, is alleged to have threatened the woman to kill her and her boyfriend and bury them both in the woods.
Rick Staly To Be Sworn-In as Flagler’s 18th Sheriff By Judge Emerson Thompson, Jr.
Senior Judge Emerson R. Thompson, Jr., who made history as the first black judge in Orange County and the first black judge to be appointed to the 5th District Court of Appeal in Daytona Beach, will administer the oath of office at Rick Staly’s swearing-in on Jan. 3.
Justice James E.C. Perry’s Last Dissent Denounces Florida’s Death Penalty
Justice Justice James E.C. Perry in a blistering condemnation of the death penalty in general rendered a blistering analysis of the manner in which capital punishment is carried out in Florida.
3 Flagler Death Sentences Among More Than 200 Invalidated By Florida Supreme Court
The invalidation of 55% of death sentences affect those of two Flagler double-murderers–William Gregory, of Flagler Beach, David Snelgrove of Palm Coast–and Cornelius Baker, who killed a woman in Flagler.
European Village Attacker Daniel Noble Pleads Guilty on 3 Charges, Faces 8 to 35 Years
Daniel Noble, the Army veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, had fired two shots with an assault weapon before being wrestled to the ground in a 2014 incident. He’d originally faced attempted murder charges.
18-Wheeler Overturns at I-95 On-Ramp Off Palm Coast Parkway
Roger Lopez, 47, was at the wheel of the 18-wheeler and was not injured, though the crash closed the on-ramp. The truck was hauling 44,000 pounds of plastic in 1.6-ton rolls.
Sheriff Manfre Talks Up Good of Body Cameras and Bad of Emergency Communications in Adieus
Sheriff Manfre described Flagler’s emergency communications system in dismal terms but spoke highly of other achievements in appearances before local governments.
Palm Coast Man Falsely Arrested Sues Sheriff, Saying Deputies “Did Not Act Reasonably”
Dakota Ward, 19, was arrested in March when he was mistaken for a man called De’Coda Ward, and was booked at the jail. A Sheriff’s internali investigation faulted a deputy’s carelessness for enabling the error.
Pleading Guilty to Manslaughter Death of Invalid Uncle, Woman Now Faces Up to 15 Years in Prison
Prosecutors say Holly Norris, 38, had neglectfully left her 65-year-old invalid uncle alone for days by the time he was found unconscious on the floor of a bedroom. He died two weeks later. He’d had a stroke.
6 Palm Coast Adults and Teens, 2 Children Injured in SUV Wreck on I-95, South of SR 100
One of the children, who’s roughly 5 years old, was flown to Shands hospital in Jacksonville. A 3-year-old child was transported by ground to Halifax hospital in Daytona Beach.
Single-Engine Plane Crashes in Hunter’s Ridge, Pilot Survives With Severe Injuries
A single-engine plane crashed in Hunter’s Ridge, at the south end of Flagler County, at 4 p.m. today. The pilot survived with serious injuries, authorities are reporting.
In Tilt to Right Gov. Scott Appoints Appeal Court Judge C. Alan Lawson to Supreme Court
Lawson’s appointment to the Supreme Court reduces the influence of the liberal-leaning court majority, which has been made up of Perry, Chief Justice Jorge Labarga and justices Barbara Pariente, R. Fred Lewis and Peggy Quince.
Salvo Art Is Evicted in Dispute With Nature Scapes, Rendering Vanguard Gallery’s Artists Homeless
JJ Graham’s Salvo Art Project, the vibrant gallery and artist colony, had a 10-year lease with Nature Scapes, but a long dispute with the nursery’s owners culminated in an eviction and mediated settlement today that closes Salvo’s doors on Jan. 7.
At Home Depot, a Road Rage Incident Goes From Parking Row to Pellet Gunshot
Trevor Mullennix, 37, of Lee Drive in Palm Coast, pulled out a pellet gun and fired a shot at another driver after his vehicle allegedly cut-off another in the Home Depot parking lot, and was charged with felony assault.
Cops Aren’t Under Siege.
Civilians and Liberties Are.
It’s a widely accepted but dangerous myth: that cops are under siege, handcuffed by “new restrictions.” The reality is the opposite, with more unbridled and brutal policing than we care to admit.
For 100 Children, Christmas With a Deputy Is a $150 Shopping Spree to Jingle Bells of Sirens
Larry Jones’s and the Sheriff’s Office’s Christmas With a Deputy this year is scheduled for Friday, Dec. 16 at City Centre at 145 City Place in Palm Coast’s Town Center. The event kicks off at 6:30 p.m.
Two FPC Students Involved In Feared Plot Against the School Face Felony Charges
Two of the six students suspended from school after the feared plot was uncovered in September were charged with making false bomb threats and apparently expelled from school today, but have not been arrested.
Another Rash of Car Break-Ins Hits High-Visibility Business Locations Across Palm Coast
Car windows were smashed out during the business day at Chick-fil-A, Sunshine Academy and several other locations along Palm Coast Parkway in the third such wave of the year.
Crime in Flagler and Palm Coast Continued Decline in 2016, But Violence Is Up Again
Overall crime declined in the first six months of the year but violent crime was on the rise again, with increases in murders (there were two in 2015), rapes, and aggravated assault.
Revealed: Florida Stockpiling Lethal Injection Protocol Never Used Before, Inviting Litigation
The new triple-drug cocktail would be the only one of its kind among the states that rely on similar procedures to kill prisoners, including a drug never used to that end before.
Almost 40 Christmas Trees Stolen From Hollar and Greene Distributor in West Bunnell
The facility at 3258 County Road 305 in west Bunnell has long been managed by Duane Weeks, the husband of the former elections supervisor, Kimberle Weeks. He put the loss of the two thefts at $2,000.
Ex-Soccer Coach Sean Stern, Accused of Molesting 2 Teens, Turns Himself In, Held on $500,000 Bond
Sean Stern worked for the now-defunct Professional Sports Pathways Academy in Palm Coast, at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and in other local soccer programs.
Sheriff Meets With FPC and Matanzas Students On Timely Issues But Again Gives Neither Public Nor Press Notice
It was the sixth time Sheriff Jim Manfre held “One Common Ground” meetings with community members, and the sixth time his office neglected to publicly notice the meetings or inform local media so they could be properly reported.
Flagler Circuit Judge Scott DuPont Faces Charges of “Recklessly” Spreading Baseless Claims About Opponent
Circuit Judge Scott DuPont may face serious disciplinary action from the Florida Supreme Court if the Judicial Qualifications Commission recommends it after finding probable cause that he violated ethical rules in his latest election campaign.
Enormous Debris Pile from Hurricane Matthew Inadvertently Catches Fire Off U.S. 1
One of three of the nearly-20-foot-high piles of flammable debris collected over the past two months after Hurricane Matthew caught fire Tuesday morning and continues to burn today, though the fire consumed much of the pile.
18-Year-Old Palm Coast Man Accused of Molesting Girl, 12, On Bike Ride in R-Section
Owen Parker, 18, faces a second degree felony charge of molesting a 12-year-old elementary-school girl as they were riding bikes near Rymfire Elementary earlier this month.
Nominating Commission Sends 3 Names to Scott for Next Supreme Court Appointment
Fifth District Court of Appeal Chief Judge C. Alan Lawson, appellate Judge Wendy Berger and Orlando lawyer Dan Gerber made the final cut of the Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission.
3rd Set of Human Remains Found in 4 Months as Dune Erosion North of Varn Park Uncovers Bones
For the third time since August, authorities in Flagler County have been led to what they believe to be human remains, this time apparently uncovered by beach erosion caused by Hurricane Matthew.
Staly Names Bisland Undersheriff as Transition Team, Including Big Donors, Gets to Work
Jack Bisland, an investigator at the State Attorney’s office, had been Jim Manfre’s chief of investigations briefly in 2013, but the two men quickly parted ways.
In Month of Spiking Violence Against Police, 2 Palm Coast Men Arrested Separately For Threatening or Battering Cops
Anthony Banks, 42, allegedly battered and threatened an FHP trooper following a car crash, and Jarret Register, 24, threatened to shoot a sheriff’s deputy in the chest after an altercation at Smiles bar. Both men were allegedly drunk.
Palm Coast Man With Long Criminal Record Charged With Arson at Fenimore Ln House Fire
Vitaly Tsabak is accused of spending more than an hour stealing televisions, computers and other items from the house on Fenimore Lane in Palm Coast before setting it on fire Friday morning.
Crime Scene Declared at Suspicious Dawn Fire at Fenimore Lane House in Palm Coast
A fire broke out at dawn in the living room of a duplex at 164 Fenimore Lane in Palm Coast this morning. Firefighters were able to contain the fire to the living room. But it was almost immediately termed suspicious.
Human Remains Found in Wooded Area of Hunters Ridge, May Have Been There 1 or 2 Years
A resident of Hunter’s Ridge, the sparse, isolated development straddling the Flagler-Volusia County line, found human remains while searching for his drone this morning, not far from his home on Ashford Lake Drive.
Flagler Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Jamie Burnsed’s Family House Burns in Morning Blaze
Jamie Burnsed, one of three battalion chiefs at Flagler County Fire Rescue, and one of its longest-serving firefighters, had lived at the property with his family for just about 10 years.
Palm Coast Man Charged With Felony Child Abuse For Allegedly Knocking 6-Year-Old Girl to Ground
Richard Kenney, 33, was arrested after briefly resisting deputies, and charged with a felony count of child abuse and domestic battery after deputies learned he had allegedly slugged a 6-year-old girl hard enough to knock her to the floor, then slapping his wife or ex-wife.
Man Charged With 2 Counts of DUI Manslaughter and Vehicular Homicide in Deaths of Kathleen and Carl Boos on A1A
William G. Schwarz, 52, of Ormond Beach, is being held on $400,000 bond at the Flagler jail. His blood-alcohol level was 0.252 at the time of the March 11 wreck involvinf four cars near Painters Hill.
Two Kindergarten Students of Mixed Races Come Home From Imagine School With Swastikas on Their Skin
School officials say clear video from the school bus captured the incident, in which a middle school student is said to have drawn swastikas on at least two kindergarteners’ skin. A motive has not been disclosed.
Michael Dunn’s Conviction Upheld In Racial Murder of Jordan Davis in Jacksonville in 2012
A three-judge panel of the 1st District Court of Appeal said prosecutors presented sufficient evidence to rebut Michael Dunn’s claims of self-defense in the 2012 shooting of 17-year-old Jordan Davis.
Revered School District Administrator Is Baker Acted Outside Government Services Building
Hearts are breaking at school district offices at the Government Services Building in the wake of an unsettling incident Wednesday afternoon involving Shawn Schmidli, one of the district’s most admired and prized administrators.
“Shoddy Police Work” Helps Bunnell Man Facing Life in Prison Turn Trial In His Favor
Grant Gieger, 30, accused of armed burglary and other violent charges, was found guilty on minor charges instead as the case against him appeared to fall apart because of “shoddy police work,” according to his attorney.
Man Injures Flagler Beach Police Officer in Escape Attempt After Arrest
David Scott, who’d been put on three years’ probation over a violent incident in February, smashed a patrol car’s window and injured a Flagler Beach police officer after an arrest over a probation violation.
Musical Chairs Continue as Flagler Will Have 5th Different Criminal Court Judge in 7 Years
Circuit Judge Matthew Foxman, in Flagler less than a year, is being reassigned to Volusia County, and will be replaced by Judge Dennis Craig, a Flagler resident who’d previously presided over civil and family court law.
Bunnell Police Will Borrow $70,000 From Its Utility to Buy 2 Cop Cars as Department Grows
The city will borrow $70,400 from its own water and sewer fund, buy two patrol cars from a Polk County dealer and repay the fund over five years from the general fund, at 1.5 percent interest.
Palm Coast Man Held on $100,000 Bond After He’s Caught in Live Facebook Video Brutalizing Girlfriend With Machete
Ricardo Lazo, 46, of 600 Shady Oaks Drive in Palm Coast, is accused of beating his girlfriend with a machete and threatening her life. Parts of the confrontation were captured in a Facebook video chat by his son, who used the chat to get a friend to call 911.
Suspect Who Once Eluded SWAT Team Escapes Again and Jumps In Bunnell Water Tank
Monti, 42, of Palm Coast, was being arrested on a domestic battery charge at the courthouse, where he was answering to another charge, when he fled police and jumped in a filtration tank at the Bunnell water plant.
Manfre and Staly Bury Hatchet: “He Will Add to Progress I’ve Made and Make the Place Better”
Flagler County Sheriff-Elect Rick Staly met with Sheriff Jim Manfre Wednesday as the two men agreed to a transition plan while restoring what had previously been a cordial professional relationship.
Joel Fallon, Owner of Granny Nannies, and Co-Pilot Seriously Hurt in Plane Crash Over Plantation Bay
Joel Fallon, owner of Granny Nannies of Flagler and St. Johns counties, was at the controls of a Beech single-engine plane built in 1969 with co-pilot Josh Rosa, owner of Flagler Air Exchange, a business at the Flagler County Airport.