Putnam County

PUTNAM COUNTY, Fla. — An 82-year-old former educator who worked with migrant families in Putnam County has been sentenced to life in prison following a three-day trial involving the abuse of a child whose family he had been helping. Gilberto Del Castillo-Espana, 82, was found guilty by a jury afterContinue Reading

PUTNAM COUNTY, Fla. – A 32-year-old San Mateo woman has been sentenced to life in prison for the 2024 murder of a man whose body was dragged by a horse, submerged in a pond and later buried in a shallow grave on a farm in Hastings. Caylen Suvanna Deller, 32,Continue Reading

EAST PALATKA, Fla. – A 19-year-old Palm Coast man was arrested Friday afternoon, Oct. 16, 2026, after deputies say he pointed a gun at his girlfriend’s head, fled from law enforcement and crashed his vehicle along U.S. Highway 17 in Putnam County. Reginald De’George Lumpkin, 19, faces multiple felony chargesContinue Reading

PALATKA, Fla. — A Putnam County woman was sentenced to 15 years in state prison on Friday, October 9, 2026, following a 2023 fatal shooting that stemmed from a domestic dispute in Palatka, state prosecutors announced. Regena Daniels was sentenced by Circuit Judge Alicia Washington after entering a plea ofContinue Reading

PALATKA, Fla. – Four people were arrested after a traffic stop involving a driver with a suspended license led Putnam County deputies to methamphetamine, cocaine and suspected fentanyl, including drugs authorities said were concealed inside milkshakes. Deputies stopped a vehicle driven by Rocky Shuman, 41, of Keystone Heights after heContinue Reading

PALATKA, Fla. – A 40-year-old Belleview woman faces up to 30 years in prison after a Putnam County jury convicted her of leading deputies on a high-speed chase with her three teenage children inside the vehicle. Sherry Denese Martin was found guilty following a two-day trial of fleeing or attemptingContinue Reading

PALATKA, Fla. — A 22-year-old Palatka woman has been arrested on felony child neglect charges following a monthslong investigation into the death of her 11-month-old child and a separate juvenile drug overdose occurring in her care, Putnam County authorities announced. Diamond Bryant, 22, was taken into custody after detectives withContinue Reading

PALATKA, Fla. – A Putnam County Sheriff’s Office crossing guard was struck by a vehicle Wednesday morning while working near a Palatka school, and authorities say the driver continued from the scene without stopping to check on her. The incident happened on the morning of Aug. 12, after the crossingContinue Reading

SATSUMA, Fla. – A 19-year-old man is accused of fatally shooting both of his parents after a domestic dispute escalated inside a Putnam County home late Friday night, according to the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies were dispatched at approximately 11:16 p.m. on July 31 to a residence in theContinue Reading