The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday approved suspending former Jacksonville-area Public Defender Matt Shirk from practicing law for one year. Justices unanimously approved a suspension recommended in April by appointed referee Kenneth James Janesk.
Cops/Courts
75-Year-Old Man Killed, Dive Team Searching for Another Victim at Head-On Crash on US1
A 75-year-old Deland man was killed and a dive team was called out to search for possibly another victim at the scene of head-on, wrong-way crash on U.S. 1 at Eagle Rock Road in Favoretta early this morning.
In Re-Trial, Kwentel Moultrie Is Found Guilty of Raping a 16-Year-Old Girl and Faces Up to 30 Years
The trial of Kwentel Moultrie, 23, had hinged on whether he’d had consensual sex or raped a 16-year-old girl who’d invited him in when he was 20 at a P-Section house in Palm Coast. An April jury couldn’t reach a verdict. A jury today found him guilty at the end of a five-day trial, but it may have erred on its interpretation of law.
Jevante Hamilton Guilty of Manslaughter In 1st Ever Flagler Trial on Drug Overdose Murder Charge
After deliberating three hours today, a Flagler County jury found Jevante Tyquan Hamilton guilty of manslaughter, not first degree murder, for selling the drugs that resulted in the overdose death of Timothy Davidson in August 2019.
Palm Coast’s Jonathan Rockholt Arrested on 3 Federal Charges in Jan. 6 Attack on Congress
Jonathan Rockholt, a 38-year-old Palm Coast resident who described himself as a member of the Three Percenters militia, was arrested on three federal charges in connection with the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, where he confronted and attempted to overcome police.
Brooke Lorenzen, 20, Sentenced to 3 Years in Prison for DUI Crash Causing Death of Mario Bizier, 56
Truck driver Mario Bizier’s family and friends forgave Broke Lorenzen for causing Bizier’s death on I-95 in 2020 in an emotional sentencing hearing this morning. Lorenzen was also sentenced to 12 years on probation, will no longer have the right to drive, and will have to give 100 hours of presentations to youths about the dangers of drunk driving.
County Resists Sheriff’s Request for Additional $700,000 in Surprise 3-2 Vote, Heralding Shift
With Joe Mullins’s surprise vote providing the majority, the Flagler County Commission this afternoon resisted Sheriff Rick Staly’s request for an additional $700,000, opting instead to hope for “savings” during the coming year, either on the sheriff’s side or on the county’s side of the ledger, that could fill that gap.
Same Scripts, Same Looming Absence of Chief Witness in Kwentel Moultrie’s Rape Trial Redux
A mistrial was declared in April on Kwentel Moultrie’s trial on a charge of raping a 16-year-old girl in a P Section house in 2019, when he was 20. He was back in court today for a re-trial, with the defense and the prosecution reprising their almost identical arguments from April: rape versus consensual sex.
Federal Ruling Clears Way for Lawsuit Against School Officer Who Attacked Student
A panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a district judge’s ruling that former Officer Mario Badia was entitled to immunity from allegations of excessive force and battery. The panel upheld immunity for Badia on a claim of false arrest.
Dune Reconstruction Project Is Set for Next June Even as 1 Property Owner Holds Out
Flagler County Attorney Al Hadeed and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Project Manager Jason Harrah told the Flagler Beach City Commission Thursday evening that the now two-decade-old plan to rebuild 2.6 miles of beach south of the pier is set to begin in June.