Florida's Recent News

Tampa Police detectives arrested a 19-year-old man for allegedly sending inappropriate photos to a minor. Christopher Patrinostro, 19, was arrested after allegedly contacting a 16-year-old girl and sending her nude photos of herself and demanding more. Police said he threatened to release the photos if the victim did not. Through investigative efforts, TPD issued an arrest warrant and arrested Patrinostro at his home in Brandon. He was charged with extortion, promotion of a sexual performance by a child, use of

The Polk County Sheriff’s Office Homicide Unit is investigating the fatal shooting that occurred in Lake Wales. According to the preliminary investigation so far, 21-year-old Vincent Thomas, Jr., and at least three others drove to a residence on Northside Drive in Lake Wales around 7:00pm on Tuesday, June 18th. According to law enforcement, Thomas got out of the car armed with a handgun, and confronted a 20-year-old male outside the residence, threatening to shoot him. The two men went to

A Florida man who is a “potential serial killer” and allegedly strangled two women to death while having sex with them was indicted on murder charges this week. Carlos Baez Nieves, 25, was indicted by an Orange County grand jury Wednesday on two counts of first-degree murder for the brutal deaths of Fatia Flowers, 44, in March and Nichole Daniels, 41, in April, the state Attorney Andrew Bain’s office said in a news release. Nieves was also charged with two counts

A  double crash in Miami, Florida on Saturday resulted in the death of a Guyanese woman and the hospitalization of her husband. The dead woman has been identified as Devina Bissondial and her husband is the well-known pandit, Sarva Dyal Bisoondial. According to reports from NBC Miami, the incident occurred when a white SUV and grey sedan collided in the southbound lanes near Bird Road, causing both vehicles to become disabled and partially block the left lane. The occupants of

A Florida mother has been sentenced to more than 21 life terms in prison after she was convicted of committing sex crimes against her own children. Natalie Wagner, 28, was given the sentence last week in a St. Lucie County courtroom. Wagner had been convicted on more than 80 criminal counts ranging from incest to transmitting child pornography. Authorities arrested Wagner back in 2022 after they discovered she’d recorded videos of herself committing sex acts with her 1-year-old-and 3-year-old children, WPTV

Photo by: WPLG A man was injured early Thursday morning in a shooting that occurred at an intersection in southwest Miami-Dade, authorities confirmed. According to Miami-Dade police Detective Angel Rodriguez, the shooting was reported just before 12:30 a.m. in the area of US-1 and Southwest 232nd Street. Sky 10 was above the scene around 6:40 a.m. as a gray car with at least two bullet holes in the front windshield remained blocked off by police in the middle of the

A woman has been charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon after shooting her boyfriend and barricading herself inside an apartment Friday morning in Martin County. According to the Martin County Sheriff’s Office, it happened in the Hobe Heights neighborhood of Hobe Sound. The victim was taken to HCA Florida Lawnwood Hospital. Chief Deputy John Budensiek says the man was conscious and breathing when he was taken to the hospital. “Despite the gunshot wound, his injuries are said to

A Florida teenager has mysteriously died in her sleep at her parents’ home after a night out at a bar in what officials have deemed a possible homicide case. Ava Hulett, 19, was pronounced dead in her family’s home in Estero, just hours after she was released from the hospital after an incident at Pelican Larry’s Raw Bar and Grill in Fort Myers early June 15.   Lee County detectives have now launched an investigation into the death, according to Anthony Rickman, a

A Florida firefighter killed his wife in an apparent murder-suicide just weeks after she opened up online about how his grueling work schedule left him “exhausted” and “never functioning 100% at home.”  St. Johns County Fire Rescue Lt. Shawn Yarbrough, 46, and his wife, financial adviser Andrea Nichole Nahrup Yarbrough, 34, were found dead in the bathroom of their St. Augustine home earlier this month, the sheriff’s department said. Police were called to the couple’s home on June 13 after Andrea’s

A Florida mother who locked her adopted son in a tiny, cage-like room, custom-built specifically to house the boy like a prisoner in his own home, pleaded guilty on Monday and walked away with probation. Tracy Ferriter, 48, pleaded guilty to one count each of aggravated child abuse, false imprisonment, and child neglect for the torture-like punishment meted out to the boy. For several weeks in late 2021 and early 2022, she and her husband, Timothy Ferriter, 48, forced their son to

A 54-year-old Florida woman shot a wheelchair-bound victim after a verbal argument, and after an extensive trial where the prosecution presented compelling evidence, a jury found Virginia Lee Hizer guilty of Aggravated Battery with a Firearm. The verdict comes after Hizer took the stand in her own defense for her 2022 arrest. According to the State Attorney, back on July 8, 2022, Hizer and the victim had become engaged in a verbal argument. After consuming an entire bottle of wine

A 92-year-old Palmetto woman died after driving her SUV into a ditch Tuesday night, according to a Florida Highway Patrol news release. She was traveling south on 3rd Avenue West, passing 42nd Street Court West, at the time of the crash, just before 7:30 p.m. After she lost control at a curve, she drove off the road and into the ditch, FHP said. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Expert Legal Representation for Car Accident Victims by Ovadia Law