The anonymous tipster helped lead to the arrest of Joseph Bova, who faces first-degree murder charge in the execution-style killing of Zuheily Rosado in Palm Coast on Feb. 21. Crime Stoppers upped its rewards for tips in homicide investigations from $1,000 to $5,000.
Palm Coast
24-Ton Recycling Waste Pro Truck, Full to Capacity, Overturns in Palm Coast’s R-Section
A 24-ton Waste Pro recycling truck that was near the end of its run for the day overturned and crashed on its side on Palm Coast’s Reybury Lane at 3:15 this afternoon, slightly injury its driver, Bob Ackerman.
Town Hall Road Show: Residents Grill 4 Local Governments’ Heads in Freewheeling Forum
A 90-minute town hall forum brought some 50 people to the Palm Coast Community Center to grill and hear Flagler County Commission Chairman Nate McLaughlin, Flagler Sheriff Jim Manfre, School Board Chairman Andy Dance, and Palm Coast City Council member Jason DeLorenzo address a long list of public concerns in a rare and informal cross-agency discussion.
For Taxpayers, A Rain of Excuses From Deficit-Ridden Palm Harbor Golf Club Contractor
Since Palm Coast began running the Palm Harbor Gofl Club on taxpayers’ dime in 2009, the facility has cost close to $6 million in capital and start-up costs, and annual deficits since. Contractor Kemper Sports told the city council Tuesday that it aims to break even next year, but greater success may be elusive as golfing faces numerous challenges.
Bank of America Robber Kevin Cotterman Is Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison, No Parole
Kevin Cotterman, the 42-year-old serial bank robber who stole $805 from the Palm Coast Bank of America branch on Palm Coast Parkway in May 2012, was sentenced today (Oct. 8) to 15 years in prison, with no possibility of parole, by Flagler County Circuit Judge J. David Walsh.
Shawn Dyer, 38, Accused of Growing Pot for a Year in Seminole Woods House; 20 lb Seized
Shawn Dyer had allegedly bypassed the house on 2nd Path’s electric meter to keep an elaborate marijuana growing operation going. An estimated 6.5 pounds of packaged marijuana, worth $19,500, was found in the house, among other related items.
What The Live Grenade Looked Like On Palm Coast Parkway Crosswalk
FlaglerLive obtained an image of the grenade discovered on a Palm Coast Parkway crosswalk Tuesday evening, as the image was relayed to the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Bomb Squad through a robotic camera. The grenade was destroyed that evening.
Runs, Flags and Shirts: Pink Armies Invading Flagler County for Breast Cancer Awareness
Highlights of this month’s Pink Army events in Palm Coast and Flagler include a 5K run or walk on Oct. 13, pink flag-raising ceremonies, and allowances, on Oct. 13, for school district students who participated in the run to wear their pink shirts instead of the required uniform.
For 3 Gallons of Gas: Suspect Chased and Arrested After Theft from Cline Construction
John Mancuso, 50, of Palm Coast faces a burglary and felony fleeing and eluding charges after allegedly stealing three gallons of gas in a 30-gallon fuel drum from Cline Construction’s fuel depot on Utility Drive, off of Old Kings Road, Wednesday evening.
Bomb Squad Removes Live Grenade Found at Belle Terre and Palm Coast Parkway Intersection
Authorities confirmed that the object found at the intersection of Palm Coast Parkway and Belle Terre around 6 p.m. Tuesday was a live grenade, an Mk 2 that the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office’s bomb squad secured and took to a different location to detonate. There were no injuries.
Elections Supervisor Accepts Compromise on Use of Community Center for Early Voting
The Palm Coast City Council was willing to make broad concessions to Elections Supervisor Kimberle Weeks, including either cancelling or moving one of its meetings so she could have the use of the larger Community Center room for Election Day voting, but the council stopped short of granting her that room for all 26 days she was requesting.
A Man Is Accused of Dragging and Running Over His Girlfriend Off Palm Coast Parkway
When Flagler County Sheriff’s deputy Frank Gamarra arrived at the Palm Coast Parkway scene at 8 p.m. Thursday, Toni Bater, a 50-year-old Palm Coast resident, was lying on the ground with severe injuries to her legs, arms and head and bruising to her right eye. She was in the parking lot of West Point Plaza, […]
Mysterious China Series Airs on Palm Coast Municipal TV199 Starting Sunday
Palm Coast Municipal Access Television, PCMA-TV199, usually focuses on local and regional public affairs, but–with “Marco Polo’s Shangri-La,” the first espisode in the Mysterious China series airing for the next three weeks–also shares interesting content from a diverse variety of sources.
Eighteen Months In, Palm Coast Observer Retrenches Back to Once a Week
After scoring a series of successes in the Daytona Beach News-Journal’s backyard and launching an ambitious effort to go head-to-head with the twice-weekly News-Tribune a little over a year and a half ago, the Palm Coast Observer is doing what most newspapers have had to do to survive: it’s cutting back.
Sheriff Busts Meth Lab in Palm Coast’s R-Section, Arresting Same Suspect Twice in 24 Hours
Micahel Marsh, 30, was arrested in the Friday bust at 6 Raeitan Way, where he lived with Amber Troha, 19, and others. After bonding out, Marsh was re-arrested the next day, along with Troha and Virdell Myers, 28, on charges of possessing prescription drugs without a prescription, among other charges.
Rapid Response Limits Fire as Lawnmower Sets Garage Ablaze on Palm Coast’s Woodward Lane
The Palm Coast Fire Department’s rapid response–about eight minutes between the call to 911 and the time water was on the flames–helped limit the fire damage to a house at 36 Woodward Lane, where a lawnmower is believed to have started a blaze that demolished the garage.
Accused of Abusing a 4-Year-Old Boy With a Belt in April, He’s Arrested Only Wednesday
Luis Betancourt-Rodriguez was charged with child abuse after allegedly hitting a 4-year-old with a belt buckle in April, and with aggravated battery after allegedly striking a man in the face and causing him to almost lose his vision in one eye, but Betancourt-Rodriguez was not arrested until a traffic stop on Wednesday that revealed two arrest warrants.
Homes Sales and Inventory Decline a Bit in Flagler as Interest Rates Continue to Rise
After July’s buoyant home-sale figures in Flagler County, which hit a post-recession high of 243 closed sales for the month, August’s numbers are somewhat less bubbly, but the trend remains solidly positive even as interest rates creep up.
Palm Coast Data Parent Warns Grimly: Don’t Expect “Profitability in Near Term Or at All”
In the most sobering annual report to investors to date, Palm Coast Data parent Amrep Corp. raises numerous questions about the long-term viability of its operations as debt, recurring losses and competition burden its prospects–and those of what was once Palm Coast’s largest private employer.
Weekend Violence: Gun-Brandishing on Oceanshore, a Blade at White Eagle Lounge
Gregory Thilesen and Ken Guarnieri were jailed on separate charges involving the allegedly threatening display of weapons, and a Medical Examiner investigator is arrested for allegedly robbing and pawning off possessions of the dead.
Manfre Calls Story Behind Rosado Murder Arrest “Unsettling” and Still Without a Motive
Joseph Bova II was identified as the suspect in the execution-style murder of Zuheili Roman Rosado, the Mobil Mart store clerk, on Feb. 21 in Palm Coast, an alleged murder without a motive, Sheriff Jim Manfre said Friday.
Suspect Arrested in Murder of Mobil Store Clerk Zuheily Rosado, But Sheriff is Mum on Identity
The sheriff’s office is not releasing the identity of the suspect or saying who made the arrest, nor has an individual on murder charges been booked at the Flagler County jail, suggesting that the arrest was made elsewhere, possibly by another agency.
Deficit Be Damned: Palm Coast Golf Course Springs for $200,000 Golf Cart Lease
The golf cart lease the Palm Coast City Council was suddenly faced with comes after the council learned that the city’s golf course has yet to break even after four years, though they were not reminded of a $1 million expense the city shelled out for the course in 2009 that was due to be repaid to the city with course profits, but never has been.
Drinking Game in Reidsville Drive Garage Leads to a Man Shot in the Stomach
Edward Towers, Jamie Goodell and Lukas Skeans were drinking in an R-Section garage in Palm Coast and coming up with what-if scenarios when Towers took out a 9mm and put it against Goodell’s stomach. The gun went off. He was evacuated to Halifax hospital, and Towers was arrested on negligence and firing a gun in public charges.
Swipe 4 the Kids: Clerk of Court Gail Wadsworth Lauds New Credit Card Venture
It was an unusual endorsement from Gail Wadsworth, Flagler County’s clerk of court, before her Rotary Club Tuesday, but using her own office as an example, she touted the power of a new credit card transaction-fee company’s mechanism as an effective way for local businesses to raise large sums of money for their favorite children’s programs–at no new cost to businesses or customers.
At Palm Coast’s 9/11 Memorial Ceremony, Memory as Duty to the Dead, and the Living
Palm Coast’s annual 9/11 memorial ceremony at Heroes Park Tuesday morning, under a sky as blue as the blue over New York 12 years ago, drew some 150 people, including throngs of active and retired firefighters and cops.
U.S. Marshals Arrest Suspect Wanted in Bank Robberies in Flagler, Volusia and St. Johns
William Carl Styffe, 32, of Coconut Creek in Palm Beach County, was arrested by U.S. Marshals Monday as the suspect believed to have tried to rob Hancock Bank in Palm Coast on Aug. 30 and to have robbed a SunTrust bank in Volusia the same day, and a bank in St. Johns County four days later.
Snap-and-Run: Sheriff Looking for Driver Who Sheared Off Red-Light Camera Pole
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office is seeking the public’s assistance in locating a vehicle captured on video that struck an ATS red light traffic camera pole on Moody Boulevard (State Road 100) at the intersection of Memorial Medical Parkway in Palm Coast. The pole belongs to American Traffic Solutions, the Arizona-based company that runs the red-light spy-and-snap camera system for Palm Coast.
19-Year-Old Accused of Molesting 12-Year-Old Step-Sister; R-Section Armed Robbery Report
Earl Robinson III, a 19-year-old resident of Rolling Sands Drive in Palm Coast, is accused of molesting his 12-year-old step-sister; an odd report of an armed robbery in the R-Section; a Good Samaritan Act gone bad on SR100, and rock-throwing and knife-pulling on Point Pleasant Drive.
Lawmakers File Bill to Prohibit Red-Light Cameras in Florida as Palm Coast Snaps On
GOP Sen. Jeff Brandes blames red-light cameras “as backdoor tax increases,” but the Palm Coast City Council Tuesday reasserted its commitment to its 43 cameras even as they siphon out more than $3 million a year from the local economy–in taxes to state government, and in revenue to ATS, the Arizona-based company that runs the system.
Palm Coast Quietly Plans Community Center Expansion For Bridge Club, Raising Questions
The Palm Coast Bridge Club and the Palm Coast city administration have agreed in principle on a plan that would have the bridge club writing a $250,000 check and the city building a facility it would lease to the Bridge Club as an expansion of the Community Center on Palm Coast Parkway.
Flagler Chamber Signals More Political Engagement With New Government Affairs Director
In the latest signal of the Flagler County Chamber of Commerce’s growing political profile, the chamber on Tuesday announced that it was creating the position of government affairs director, and appointing Gretchen Smith to fill it. Smith has been the chamber’s communications director since joining the chamber five years ago.
Labor Day Weekend Violence: Pointing a Gun at a Stepson, Punching a Pregnant Woman
Charles Lockhart, 23, of Palm Coast was jailed after allegedly punching his girlfriend, 34 weeks pregnant, and threatening a murder suicide, and Robert Knoblaugh, 63, of Bunnell was jailed for threatening his stepson with a gun front of grandchildren.
A Feral Cats Plea to Palm Coast: Time to Adopt Trap, Neuter and Return Rather than Kill
As Palm Coast continues to trap and kill feral cats, Jacksonville, Deland, Port Orange and Flagler Beach are among the growing list of cities and towns that have adopted trap, neuter and return programs. Cities are turning to the protocol not only because it is humane, but because it is cost effective.
Flagler and Ormond Cops Looking For Cavalier Bank Robber; Hancock and SunTrust Targeted
Flagler County Sheriff’s deputies and Ormond Beach police are looking for a man believed to be involved in an attempted robbery at Hancock Bank in Palm Coast and an actual robbery at SunTrust Bank in Ormond Beach Friday afternoon.
Memo to Palm Coast Council: Don’t Let an Unelected Manager Dictate Democracy in the City
By letting Jim Landon’s feud with Supervisor of Elections Kim Weeks drag on at voters’ expense, the Palm Coast City Council is improperly letting its unelected city manager set early voting policy while reminding us why it bears a big share of the blame for sending election turnouts in Palm Coast tumbling to record lows for the past several cycles.
She’s Accused of Burglarizing a Sheriff’s Employee’s Home, Then Defrauding the Elderly
After burglarizing the home of a Flagler County Sheriff’s employee in the W Section, Jennie McAfee, a habitual offender, was arrested for defrauding a 79-year-old woman who was convalescing in a nursing home.
Palm Coast Food and Wine Festival Returns, This Time With Wine, and Free Admission
The Palm Coast Food and Wine Festival at Town Center’s Central Park is scheduled for noon to 8 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 31, with no gate admission, a dozen wines and more than a dozen food vendors from several countries, along with cultural and other entertainments.
Palm Coast Tax Holds Even, But Council Tiring of Deficit-Ridden Golf and Tennis Operations
The Palm Coast golf course had a $50,000 deficit this year, the tennis center a $100,000 deficit, both covered by taxpayers, with more deficits expected ahead. Palm Coast City Council members are wearying of carrying both centers. But they’re not ready to end the subsidies, either.
Majority of Palm Coast Council Would Forego Early Voting Fees, But Weeks Hardens Over Space
The clash between Supervisor of Elections Kimberle Weeks and Palm Coast City Manager Jim Landon is not nearing resolution even as a majority of the city council would extend free use of a room at the community center for early voting, because Weeks is insisting on using a larger room, which the council won’t concede.
Firehouse Subs Marks 10 Years in Palm Coast As Community Ties Aid Longevity
Monday afternoon Palm Coast’s Firehouse Subs celebrated its tenth anniversary, $8 million in business and considerable donations to local fire houses with visits from its core constituents—firefighters—but also company CEO Don Fox, Palm Coast Mayor Jon Netts, several other city council and county commission members, and of course franchise owner David Hause and his wife Melinda.
Mystery Burglar in B-Section, Counterfeit-Topped Pizza in Ps, and Strangulation in the Rs
Flagler County Sheriff’s deputies contended with at least two mystery men and one case of domestic violence that ended with a suspect hiding in a bathtub with a knife Wednesday in three separate incidents that stretched from the B Section in North Palm Coast to the P and R sections further south.
Supreme Court to Hear Red-Light Camera Challenge in Case That Will Affect Palm Coast
The $1.7 million Palm Cast reaped in red-light camera fines between 2008 and 2010 may be at stake if the Florida Supreme Court rules such systems illegal after it hears the much-anticipated case on Oct. 8, with ramifications for numerous cities and counties across the state.
Weekend Blotter: An Argument Over Kitty Litter, Another Over Sex, Land 2 in Jail
Avelino Garon, 59, of Palm Coast was accused of threatening his wife’s life after allegedly threatening to throw a cat against the wall during an argument over its kitty litter. Separately, Christina Quintanilla was accused of aggravated assault against Jessica Nagledinger, whom she accused of having oral sex with her husband.
Alertness Leads to Arrest of 2 Suspected Burglars in the Act, Texts Lead to Their Accomplice
Three young Ohio residents–Haylie Harger, her fiancee Corey Shaw and Michael Pettit–are accused of attempting to burglarize Truss Systems in Palm Coast on U.S. 1, but were caught in the act, with Harger leading cops to her location after texting her fiancee–who by then was at the Flagler County jail.
Kevin Spearmon Leads Police on Yet Another Chase, Ending With Taser, Jail and No Bond
Kevin Spearmon of Palm Coast has repeatedly been arrested–and served a prison sentence–for fleeing police and doing drugs. He was arrested again for the same reasons Thursday, when he was in the company of a 16-year-old girl, and was subdued after another chase in the P-Section and a Taser shot to the back before being taken to jail where he’s being held without bond.
Palm Coast’s Landon Digs In Heels Against Elections Supervisor “Demands” For Early Voting Arrangement
The Palm Coast City Council is backing City Manager Jim Landon’s decision to charge the elections supervisor for early voting use of the Community Center on Palm Coast Parkway, while the supervisor shows equal intransigeance as she refuses to accept a smaller room Landon is ready to make available for the 13 days of early voting at the center.
Battle of the Trees: Palm Coast Slams Lawsuit’s “Inaccuracies” By Citing Inaccuracies of Its Own
In an unusually long and defensive press release, Palm Coast counters an attempted injunction by Dennis McDonald–to stop the cutting of trees around Palm Harbor–by calling his claims “inaccurate” and “misleading,” even as the city itself makes flatly inaccurate claims about the age of trees it is about to remove, among other issues.
Sharps Liquor Again Target of Armed Robbery Followed By Shot Fired at Subway in Flagler Plaza
Sharps Liquor at Flagler Plaza was the target of an armed robbery late Monday night, the fourth time the store has been targeted by armed robbers in less than two years. The robbery may have failed. Moments later, a man fired a gun at the Subway sandwich shop adjacent to Sharps. No one was hurt. The suspect fled.
Elections Supervisor Wants to Expand Early Voting to Palm Coast Community Center. City’s Response: Pay Up
Even though Palm Coast City Council candidates will be on the ballot, the city is charging the Supervisor of Elections for use of the Community Center on Palm Coast Parkway as a second early voting location in the city, raising questions about cooperation from a city that has seen its voter turnouts fall drastically over the years.