A 39-year-old Lake City man was arrested Wednesday afternoon after discharging a firearm inside his room at the Baymont Inn and Suites, causing significant property damage. On May 28, 2025, at approximately 2:23 p.m., officers from the Lake City Police Department responded to the hotel at 3598 W US HighwayContinue Reading
Kimberly Lovitt, 52, of Pace, Florida, and Amy Williams, 46, of Milton, Florida, have been sentenced to federal prison for their roles in embezzling over $844,000 from their employer. Lovitt received a 36-month sentence, while Williams was sentenced to 18 months. Both were convicted of wire fraud, money laundering, andContinue Reading
Zackery Brandon Barfield, 31, of Panama City, Florida, was sentenced to 30 days in prison and ordered to pay a $51,000 fine for three counts of poisoning and shooting dolphins, violating the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act. The sentencing was announced by MichelleContinue Reading
U.S. District Judge Roy B. Dalton has sentenced Orlando Rosa-Rodriguez, 59, of Orlando, to five years and ten months in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and money laundering. Rodriguez was also ordered to forfeit two vehicles that were purchased with proceeds from the offense. He pleaded guilty onContinue Reading
U.S. District Judge Paul G. Byron has sentenced Robert Donoso, 33, of Orlando, to seven years and three months in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Donoso pleaded guilty on February 26, 2025. According to court documents, Donoso was involved in importing and distributing methamphetamine for approximately a yearContinue Reading
A Colorado man, Michael Karl Geilenfeld, 73, most recently of Littleton, has been sentenced to 210 years in prison for the sexual abuse of numerous children at St. Joseph’s Home for Boys, an orphanage he founded and directed in Haiti. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, GeilenfeldContinue Reading
On May 23, 2025, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) arrested 33-year-old Vernesha Patrice Johnson of Miramar on multiple charges related to a public assistance fraud scheme involving more than $63,000 in requested aid. Johnson, a civilian employee with the Miami Police Department, was charged with one second-degree felonyContinue Reading
A fatal two-vehicle crash occurred on May 28, 2025, at approximately 12:52 p.m. near S. Williamson Boulevard, just south of the intersection with Town West Boulevard. Officers with the Port Orange Police Department responded to the scene, where one of the drivers was pronounced dead by Port Orange Fire DepartmentContinue Reading
Steven R. Parker of Ormond Beach was sentenced on May 27, 2025, to eight years in Florida State Prison, followed by 22 years of probation, for multiple cases of contractor fraud committed in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian. Following the 2023 hurricane and during a declared state of emergency, ParkerContinue Reading
A Hillsborough County Assistant State Attorney, William Andrew Jones, 32, has been arrested and charged with multiple counts of Transmission and Possession of Child Pornography, as well as Transmission of Material Harmful to a Minor. The investigation by the Crimes Against Children Unit began on July 30, 2024, after detectivesContinue Reading