Florida's Recent News

A teenage boy died in Levy County as Hurricane Debby made landfall as a Category 1 storm in northern Florida, officials said Monday morning. The 13-year-old was inside of a home in Fanning Springs and died when the tree fell on top of the house, officials with Levy County Emergency Management said. He was a student at Chiefland/Middle High School and living with his grandparents at the time; both were home but uninjured, sheriff’s officials said. The storm is also

Key West police arrested an out-of-town visitor over the weekend after they said he followed a woman into a bathroom at a popular restaurant, cornered her and exposed himself. Robert Jake Farnsworth, 43, of Arlington, Virginia, is facing charges of false imprisonment, battery and indecent exposure. According to police, the incident happened at around 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville, located at 500 Duval St. An arrest report stated that Farnsworth, whose occupation is listed as “military,” followed the

An arrest has been made in connection with the death of a Miami woman whose body was discovered inside her apartment over two months ago, authorities confirmed Monday. According to Officer Mike Vega, a spokesman for the Miami Police Department, officers received a call just before 8:30 a.m. on May 28 about an unresponsive woman who was found inside an apartment building located near the 400 block of Northeast 82nd Street. Police said 41-year-old Sujelry Brito, who lived alone, was found dead

 A 31-year-old man was arrested over the weekend after Miami Gardens police say he slapped a girl outside her home before spitting in an officer’s face. According to his arrest report, the incidents occurred just before 10 p.m. Saturday. Miami Gardens police said Dmytro Krakhmalny, of Ukraine, approached the girl in the front yard of her home and slapped her in the face. The victim told police that he then grabbed onto her, at which time she screamed out to

A Weeki Wachee man was killed, and five other people were injured in a Pasco County crash on Friday, authorities said. According to a Florida Highway Patrol report, the 61-year-old Weeki Wachee driver in a Honda Accord was traveling westbound on Hodza Street at about 9:47 p.m. A Dodge Ram pickup driven by a 51-year-old Brooksville woman traveling northbound on U.S. Highway 41. A third driver, a 50-year-old Brooksville man, was driving a GMC Envoy northbound on U.S. 41 behind

The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office arrested a prior Riverview High School teacher and coach for sexual battery and unlawful sexual activity with a minor on Friday. HCSO said that David Patrick Coffey, 34, was using social media apps to have inappropriate conversations with the victim. Detectives later learned that Coffey and the victim would meet up on “numerous separate occasions” for sexual interactions. Coffey was hired by Hillsborough County Public Schools in 2015 as a Social Studies teacher and coached

Photo by: Florida Highway Patrol A tractor-trailer overturned after its driver lost control and spilled sod onto a Tampa Road early Monday morning. The Florida Highway Patrol said around 7:55 a.m., the driver, a 49-year-old Bowling Green man, was traveling north on SR-589. When he exited onto Independence Parkway, he lost control and overturned under the overpass. The driver was uninjured during the incident. Truck accidents can result in severe injuries and significant property damage, leaving victims facing a daunting

A 40-year-old Marion County man was arrested after he allegedly choked his wife outside a local residence over a YouTube video that made him upset, blaming the incident on the “influence of alcohol.” On Thursday, August 1, a Marion County Sheriff’s Office deputy responded to the incident location in reference to a physical altercation involving a married couple. Neighbors had called 911 to report that a man, Christopher Lewis Schanding, was “strangling” his wife in the front yard of a

A stranded driver was struck and killed by a motorcyclist while trying to cross Interstate 95 in Broward early Saturday in an incident that also left the motorcyclist in intensive care, officials said. The incident happened around 3 a.m. on southbound I-95 near Hollywood Boulevard. According to the Florida Highway Patrol, a 44-year-old man had his SUV stuck in the center lane because of a crash. The man tried to cross from the center to the shoulder when suddenly he

A 46-year-old man was arrested in connection to a deadly shooting at an Orlando gas station that left an innocent bystander dead, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.  Jeffrey Figueroa Rivera, 46, is facing multiple charges, including second-degree murder, after he allegedly returned to the scene of an earlier physical fight with a man and opened fire “indiscriminately” on three people at the gas station in the 800 block of West Lancaster Road at around 11:20 p.m.  “None of

Two people are dead in Summerfield following a shooting Saturday evening, according to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office. It happened just after 7:45 p.m. in the 142000 block of SE 30th Terrace where two individuals were located with gunshot wounds, according to officials. It is unclear what led to the shooting.  Victim information has not yet been released.  Officials said the incident appears to be isolated. Negligent shootings can have life-altering consequences, but you don’t have to navigate this difficult

 A man was arrested after police said he shot and killed a person in Sarasota on Saturday afternoon. The Sarasota Police Department said Richard Minor, 66, was arrested for fatally shooting the victim near the 900 block of John Ringling Causeway just after 2:30 p.m. Minor is facing multiple charges, including murder and aggravated assault with a firearm. Police said Minor is being transported to Sarasota County Jail. The aftermath of a negligent shooting can be overwhelming, but Ovadia Law