The Florida Ethics Commission last year had rejected a deal that would have had Manfre admitting to one violation, seeking a deeper investigation that has now resulted in a potentially harsher penalty.
Cops/Courts
Court Will Hear Argument That Guns Should Be Allowed at UF Dorms as They Are At Home
A circuit judge ruled against Florida Carry Inc.’s argument last year that people have a legal right to possess firearms at University of Florida housing just as they do in their homes.
Dead Person Found Decomposing Behind Walmart; Identity and Cause Unconfirmed
The dead person’s identity and gender have not been positively identified nor a cause of death determined, with those questions pending an autopsy by the medical examiner’s office.
Palm Coast Motorcyclist Gregory Fagas, 40, Is Killed Across from Belle Terre Elementary, Rider Critical
Gregory Daniel Fagas, a 40-year-old motorcyclist from Palm Coast, was killed, and Nacomi Marie Campbell, 27, was flown to a hospital in critical condition
Palm Coast’s “D.J. Chris” and Owner of Kids’ Bounce House Co. Charged With Soliciting Minor for Sex
Christopher Pintek, known as “D.J. Chris,” a P-Section resident, was arrested on charges of luring a 14-year-old boy for sex through a phone app. He is the owner of Surround Sound DJ and Party Bounces.
2 More Men Arrested on Sex-Assault Charges Involving Children Closely Related To Them
Waldemar Rivera, a 36-year-old resident of Palm Coast’s R-Section, faces a charge of raping a 13-year-old girl, John J. Schenone, 32, of the W-Section, is charged with two counts of lewd and lascivious acts on a child younger than 12.
Don Apperson, Long-Time School Resource Deputy and Youth Leader, Retires
For 13 years until last fall Don Apperson was the face of school resource deputies in Flagler County and appearing before local government boards to advocate either for the SRD system or for stronger laws on various issues.
Sunday Night Standoffs: Deputies Contend With Armed Men in Hammock and W-Section
Both stand-offs, which began after domestic confrontations, ended peacefully, with the arrest of Val Mateyshin in the W Section and no arrest in the Hammock.
Palm Coast Man, 60, Faces Capital Felony on Rape and Molestation Charges of 12-Year-Old Relative
Mario Edward DiGirolamo is at the Flagler County jail on $300,000 bond following his arrest Friday on three sex-crime charges involving a 12-year-old relative, including a count of rape, a capital felony.
Reported Runaway, 14, Is Found at Her Father’s as Family Custody Issues Emerge
Ashley Martin, 14, had left home her mother’s June 20 and was found at her father’s June 26, where police were told of family conflicts and custody issues.
Bad Judges: Florida Supreme Court Seeks to Rein in Rogues and Hotheads
The number of judges facing sanctions in Florida jumped last year, and the high court is more often seeking harsher penalties than those originally proposed by the state Judicial Qualifications Commission.
Explosion at Santore Fireworks Causes Small Fire, Panic But No Injuries
The fire was restricted to a 12-by-12 area at Santore Fireworks’s manufacturing plant on County Road 305 in western Flagler. Two employees had minor injuries.
Following Her Dog, a 2-Year-Old Girl Wanders Across Belle Terre Parkway As Her Mother Sleeps
Heather Seils, the 24-year-old mother of a 2-year-old girl and a 3-year-old boy, was asleep Saturday morning in her B-Section home in Palm Coast when, somehow, her daughter manager to wander out of the house unattended.
Three Adults and a Child Hospitalized After Two-Vehicle Wreck on SR100 and CR305
A pick-up truck attempted to pass a Toyota in a no-passing zone as the Toyota was making the turn, triggering the wreck at 3:30 p.m. The road was reopened by 5:30 p.m.
Confrontation at Flagler Jail Nets New Felony Charge for One Inmate and 12 Stitches For Another
Kevin Harris Jr. of Bunnell is accused of attacking inmate Anthony M. Petrillo and calling him a ‘police ass cracker’. Harris is serving 270 days in a Volusia jail, and was brought to Flagler for breaking his probation on an earlier case.
Environmentalists Sue Florida Lawmakers Over Amendment 1, Claiming Misuse of Dollars
The suit seeks a court declaration that money from the state’s Land Acquisition Trust Fund, which will handle all the Amendment 1 funding, may not be substituted for general-revenue funds or used to pay for other services and programs.
Arson Suspected in Mondex Fire That Demolishes Family Home on Elder Street
Authorities termed suspicious a fire that engulfed a single-family house in the Mondex Friday morning, and brought in arson dogs to sniff for evidence of fuel or accelerants used in the blaze.
Two Are Killed, a Third Injured in 3-Vehicle Wreck at Cody’s Corner at SR 11 and CR 304
Two people are dead, a third was taken to Halifax hospital in Daytona Beach, after one car T-boned another and catapulted it against a loaded logging truck. The driver of the logging truck was not hurt.
Giuseppe Verdone Is Found Guilty on All Charges in Brutal Assault of Chinese Food Delivery Driver; He Faces Life in Prison
The jury took barely 50 minutes to reach a verdict of guilty on all five felony counts in the case of Giuseppe Verdone, the 24-year-old Palm Coast resident who two years ago was accused of assaulting and kidnapping the co-owner of a Chinese food restaurant in November 2013.
Tractor Trailer Crashes Into 3 Parked, Mostly Empty School Buses on I-95, Four Injured
A tractor trailer on a route from Miami to Jacksonville crashed into three parked and empty school buses as the buses’ drivers were working on one of them on the side of I-95 just north of the Palm Coast Parkway exit at 11 p.m. Tuesday.
Flagler Court Clerk Throws a Switch, and Mass of Criminal and Civil Records Becomes Accessible Online
Flagler County court records, from arrest affidavits to civil, criminal, county and probate court are now all available online, 24 hours a day, in a vast improvement of public record access ordered by the Florida Supreme Court.
Masked, Armed and Apologetic Man Robs Kangaroo Station Off Old Kings Road
The Kangaroo gas station and convenience store at 3 Kingswood Drive, just off of Old Kings Road in Palm Coast, was the target of a robbery at close to 3 a.m. Sunday, by a man armed with a nightstick and masked by a bandanna.
1,200 Customers in Palm Coast’s P-Section Lose Power Due to Underground Cable Issue
A problem with an underground cable emanating from a Florida Power and Light substation toward the south end of Palm Coast cut off power to around 1,200 customers north of State Road 10 and west of I-95, especially in the city’s P-Section.
Trial Begins for Man Accused of Kidnapping and Brutalizing Chinese Food Delivery Driver
Palm Coast’s Giuseppe Verdone, 24, could face life in prison on charges stemming from the 2013 attack on King Palace co-owner Ming Gong. The trial is expected to last much of the week.
Flagler Sheriff’s Police Athletic League (P.A.L.) Offers Free Summer Activities for Youth
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office Police Athletic League (P.A.L.) is now offering “KIDS, KOPS and K9” during the months of June and July. This free summertime program is being offered to children ages 4-18
Ex-Felon Duane Weeks, Former Elections Supervisor’s Son, Charged With 2 New Felonies
Duane Weeks Jr., 34, son Kimberle Weeks, is charged with brutalizing a 25-year-old woman, smashing her cell phone, and attempting to run her down with a farm vehicle on County Road 305, causing the woman to crash her own car into a trailer.
ACLU and Women’s Health Center Sue Florida Over 24-Hour Abortion Waiting Period
The lawsuit contends that for women — especially low-income women who must arrange for child care, time off work and overnight travel — the law can push them past the time it is legal to have abortions.
In Theoretical Mass Shooting at FPC, a Mass Exercise to Evaluate Vulnerabilities
A man denied custody of his children decides to take his rage out on FPC students in a shooting rampage: that was the scenario around which some 200 responders and volunteer actors recreated an emergency response this morning in a two-hour training exercise at the school.
SWAT Team Deployed Again, This Time for Marijuana Muffins and Chocolate
The SWAT team was deployed Wednesday morning against a Flagler Beach “grow house” where “several” muffins and chocolate laced in marijuana were seized.
Don’t Panic: FPC Will Be the Scene of a Large-Scale “Active Assailant” Exercise Thursday
Emergency management is not releasing more detailed information than that because the aim of the exercise is to simulate a stressful emergency as close to the real thing as possible.
Imprisoned for Burglarizing Joe’s Pizza in 2009, He Targets Oriental Garden Tuesday
Hugh W. McIntyre,a resident of Palm Coast’s B-Section, was arrested Tuesday shortly after burglarizing Oriental Garden. He was sentenced to two years in prison for burglarizing Joe’s New York Pizza to support a drug habit in 2009.
Arrested for Drunk Driving, She Tries to Roll Up Her Car Window on a Cop’s Arm
Erin Johnson, 26, of Palm Coast, was one mile from her Wellshire Lane house before she was arrested on charges of battery on a cop, resisting with violence and drunk driving.
Sheriff’s $2.5 Million Budget Request Increase Is Largest in 10 Years, With 5% Raise For Ranks
The increase reflects additional staffing at the new jail, money for 10 new patrol vehicles, a 5 percent across-the-board raise and state-required retirement contributions accounting for the bulk of the increase.
Stupid Pot Busts
The conviction for pot smoking of a Palm Coast resident who’d never had so much as a traffic ticket illustrates the sickness of a police and judicial system’s wrongheaded marijuana fixation.
Palm Coast Resident Accused of Operating A Crack-and-Pot Operation in Bunnell
Tyrone Patterson, a 37-year-old resident of Palm Coast’s R-section who was charged with child abuse in March, is being held on $720,000 bond for trafficking cocaine and growing pot near Carver Gym in Bunnell.
Judge William Parsons Is Resigning to Join Cobb Cole Firm in Daytona
Circuit Judge William Parsons, twice the chief judge in the judicial district that includes Flagler, will end 17 years on the bench to return to private practice next January.
When LOL Means Loss of Life: Flagler Students Rap Texting-and-Driving In Video
A coalition of local agencies initiated by Chiumento Selis Dwyer led to a student video project at Matanzas High School and a 150-second public service announcement video warning of the dangers of texting and driving, which premiered Wednesday.
Veteran Accused of Shooting His Wife Deemed Incompetent to Stand Trial, For Now
Jonathan Canales, 27, is accused of shooting his wife in their Mondex home in November as three young children slept. He denies shooting her, saying she shot herself.
Palm Coast Bragging Rights: City’s Fire Protection Rating Vaults to Near Highest
Palm Coast’s fire-protection ISO rating improves from 4 to 2, topping the county and yielding likely cheaper property insurance rates for commercial and residential property owners.
Sheriff, Seeking Public’s Help, Investigating Series of Car Break-Ins in Palm Coast’s B-Section
Targeted residents were on Birchwood Drive, Brooklyn Lane, Brookside Drive, and Birchview Place, but cars were left unlocked or unattended in every case.
Machete-Wielding Palm Coast Man Arrested Over Assaulting Roommate’s Boyfriend
Before his arrest Monday on two felony aggravated battery charges for allegedly cutting a man with a machete, Mayko Rodriguez, 58, has had a checkered past with the law, going back at least 13 years in Flagler County.
Flagler Firefighters Have Current Contract For 1st Time in 4 Years, With Some Pay Hikes
The firefighters’ union’s first contract since 2011 gives firefighters with more experience more money. For nine years, firefighters were hired at the same rate of pay as existing firefighters with many more years of service.
Daughter Fights Mom to Keep Her From Driving Drunk; Mom Is Charged With Child Abuse
Melissa Holloway of Palm Coast’s R-Section is accused of fighting with the daughter who tried to prevent her from driving her and her younger sister while intoxicated.
Elder Abuse: A Huge, Expensive and Lethal Problem
There is little doubt that elder abuse is growing, driven by growth in the elderly population. To address it, some governments are training police and social workers to investigate it.
After Victim Testifies of Being Raped, James McDevitt Is Sentenced To 40 Years in Prison
James McDevitt, the 23-year-old man who pleaded guilty to raping a woman in Flagler Beach in June 2013, was sentenced today to 40 years in prison Friday. He will be on probation for 20years, and will be branded a sexual predator for the rest of his life.
Sheriff’s Cmdr. Steve Brandt Is Crime Stoppers’ Flagler Officer of the Year
Steve Brandt, an 21-year veteran of the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office promoted just two weeks ago to Commander, was named just days later Flagler County Officer of the Year by Crime Stoppers of Northeast Florida.
Sheriff’s Office Puts Up Reward in Search for George Contos, 58, Who Disappeared in Suspicious Circumstances May 9
George Contos, a 58-year-old Bunnell resident and a diabetic with a prosthetic leg, went missing on May 9. His car has been recovered. The disappearance is now considered suspicious, a sheriff’s spokesman said.
Behind Friday’s McDevitt Sentencing For Rape, the 911 Call That Told a Harrowing Story
Published here for the first time, the 9-minute 911 call from Rob Tier described what Tier, a Flagler Beach pastor, at one point termed a rape as the dispatcher repeatedly kept him from intervening. Tier’s house is across the street from the scene of the rape.
Fight at Matanzas High School Sends a 15-Year-Old Student to the Hospital
Charges are pending against a 14-year-old Matanzas High School student after he allegedly assaulted a 15-year-old boy who was making fun of him and his family.
In Split Decision, Sheriff’s Sergeant Fired 2 Years Ago Ordered Reinstated, With 9 Months’ Back Pay
Sheriff Manfre fired Sgt. Chris Ragazzo 2 years ago for accessing police databases for personal business. An arbitrator today ruled the firing was disproportionate to the offense and did not follow due process.