Todd Rainey, 55, told a sheriff’s deputy he “whacked” a raccoon that had been trapped in a cat trap because it couldn’t get out, and had left his own cat’s injured leg go without medical attention for three months. He faces a felony count of animal cruelty.
Flagler, Palm Coast & Other Local News
Plagued With Problems, Flagler Beach Bar and Restaurant Formerly Known as Jimmy’s Hang Ten Closes Permanently
The restaurant and bar at 1112 South Oceanshore Boulevard, immediately north of the Topaz motel, dealt with the difficulties of the pandemic before James Harris, who had co-owned the bar with his wife, was arrested on July 3 on charges of molesting his stepdaughter. Then a different set of problems emerged: code enforcement issues with the city over noise, music permits and insufficient bathroom accommodations.
Mandates Decline as Appeals Court Signals Alachua and Duval ‘Defiance’ on Masks Violates Law
A seven-page order said two school districts have been “remarkably open in their defiance” of the state over masking. Meanwhile, as Covid cases go down, several school districts that had been strict about mask mandates are now loosening their policies.
Father of 20-Month-Old Boy Found Guilty of Brutalizing and Burning Him, and Faces 80 Years in Prison
A jury this evening found Deviaun Toler, 29, formerly of Palm Coast, guilty on all charges of aggravated child abuse, felony abuse and neglect at the end of a five-day trial. The victim was his 20-month-old son, who was near death when hospitalized, but survived.
A Divided Flagler Beach Commission Rejects Church’s Proposal to Open a Small Christian School Near Center of Town
In an unusual land-use decision that bowed to public concerns over firearms and economic activity, the Flagler Beach City Commission on Thursday rejected a church’s request to run a non-traditional parochial one-room school on South 6th Street, between South Central and South Daytona avenues.
School Officials and Sheriff’s Deputies Again Forced to Respond to Generic Attempt to Disrupt the Day at FPC
A local school–this time, Flagler Palm Coast High School–was again the target of a vague threat of violence, disseminated on social media and mirroring similar, low- to no-credibility threats circulating in other parts of the country.
After 3 1/2 Years of Lies, Keith Johansen Is Found Guilty of Murdering His Wife and Is Sentenced to Life Without Parole
A jury found Keith Johansen, 39, guilty in the first degree murder of his 25-year-old wife Brandi Celenza in April 2018 at their Felter Lane home in Palm Coast. Johansen had been angered by his wife’s online “infidelities.” She was the mother of a boy, 6 years old at the time, who was in the house when Johansen shot her twice.
Homeless Man Didn’t Want to Walk Back to Volusia. So He Carjacked a Truck.
Eric Christian Marcotte is a 25-year-old homeless person who normally makes Volusia County, is accused of carjacking the work truck of a power line crew on State Road 100 in Bunnell because he didn’t want to walk back to Volusia.
Flagler Beach Commission Votes to Build 800-ft., $12.5 Million Concrete Pier Replacement
The Flagler Beach Pier will be demolished and rebuilt as an 800-foot concrete pier, with $10 million in federal funds already allocated, and $2.5 million in money the city must still find. The city hopes the new, more hurricane-resistant pier will be completed by the time Flagler Beach marks its centennial in 2024.
After Lying to Cops, EMTs and His Own Parents About Killing Brandi Celenza, He Takes the Stand to Say He’s Now Truthful
Keith Johansen, who faces a first-degree murder charge in the shooting death of his wife, Brandi Celenza, said he lied about killing her–fabricating stories that she’d killed herself accidentally or by suicide–to protect her name: he didn’t want his parents to know they’d done meth. Now he’s claiming he killed her in self-defense because she was out of her mind and was about to shoot him.