On Tuesday, December 17, 2024, at approximately 7:45 p.m., Orlando Police officers responded to reports of an in-progress assault with a knife at the Fountains at Metrowest Apartments on the 5900 block of Westgate Drive. Upon arrival, officers approached a second-story apartment with an open door and observed the suspectContinue Reading
On December 19, 2024, Robert David Gulledge, 59, of Jacksonville, pleaded guilty to one count of making a false statement to a federal agency. Gulledge faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled. According to court documents, Gulledge created aContinue Reading
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office has arrested 36-year-old Donald Mitchell of Lakeland for sexual offenses against a student by an authority figure (F2). On December 10, 2024, the former student, a 19-year-old female, reported via social media that she had been engaged in a sexual relationship with Mitchell from October of 2023,Continue Reading
Senior U.S. District Judge Timothy Corrigan has sentenced 41-year-old Anthony Tyrone Mackey of Jacksonville to seven years in federal prison for possessing firearms as a convicted felon. A federal jury convicted Mackey on August 27, 2024. The conviction stems from an incident on March 29, 2023, when officers with theContinue Reading
Deputies with the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office arrested 70-year-old Harold Church Jr. of St. Petersburg on December 5, 2024, for felony Misuse of a Laser Lighting Device after he illuminated an airborne Sheriff’s Office helicopter. According to deputies, at approximately 8:10 p.m. on Thursday, the Sheriff’s helicopter was assisting inContinue Reading
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) arrested 34-year-old Warner Reid Smith of Leesburg, on three felony counts of possession of child sexual abuse (CSAM). The arrest is the result of FDLE’s statewide initiative to locate and arrest criminals sharing files depicting the sexual abuse of children. The investigation began inContinue Reading
Thomas Griffin, a 51-year-old middle school teacher at McLaughlin Middle School in Lake Wales, was arrested on December 17, 2024, following a violent attack on an adult male. Griffin faces charges of burglary with assault, false imprisonment, and battery by strangulation. On December 14, 2024, Polk County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO)Continue Reading
Sarasota Police arrested two 15-year-old suspects in connection with a series of bicycle thefts reported across the city, recovering a stolen electric bike and a firearm during an undercover operation on Tuesday afternoon. Detectives conducted the operation in the 2700 block of Cocoanut Avenue to recover a stolen electric bicycle.Continue Reading
Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office detectives are investigating the death of 27-year-old Jareesha Wilkerson, whose body was recovered from the St. Johns River a week after she was reported missing following a traffic crash on the Mathews Bridge on December 8. On the evening of the crash, Jacksonville Fire and Rescue andContinue Reading
On Tuesday morning, December 18, 2024, Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters announced the results of a multi-agency investigation, Operation Fish and Chips, targeting illegal gaming operations in Jacksonville. Spanning from March 2023 to December 2024, the long-term undercover investigation led to the arrests of 12 individuals on charges including violations ofContinue Reading