Florida's Recent News

A now former teacher at a high school in Hollywood headed to jail after federal authorities arrested him in connection with what they described as a sexual affair with a 15-year-old girl who was his student, and he wasn’t the only Hollywood schoolteacher who received a lesson in the law. 7News cameras captured Boris Fernando Bastidas as he walked into jail in Pompano Beach in handcuffs, Thursday afternoon. The FBI took the 35-year-old suspect into custody at his Coral Springs

Two people were OK after they drove their car into a canal in Margate, and they have a quick-thinking police officer to thank. Coral Springs Police and Fire Rescue units arrived at the scene near the corner of West Sample Road and Riverside Drive, Thursday afternoon. The victims’ car was in a parking lot located next to the canal when it somehow ended up crashing into the water. Body camera video captured a police officer, an orange rope in his

A Hollywood middle school teacher was arrested on Wednesday, accused of inappropriate behavior with a student. Felicia Sharonda Smith, 39, was charged with molestation of a child between the ages of 12 and 16 and lewd and lascivious conduct. During her court appearance on Thursday afternoon, a judge set her bond at $150,000. “I realize the charges are serious,” said the judge. Smith paid the bond and is expected to be released soon. If Smith pays her bond, she must

A Melbourne, Florida, man who pretended he was kidnapped by the drug cartel allegedly extorted his wife of over $71,000 in support of his drug habit, arrest records show. According to Fox 35 Orlando, Eric Paul Johnson, 29, was reported missing by his wife in December 2023 after believing he was being held for ransom by the Mexican Cartel. Johnson’s Wife Told Her He Owed Money to the Cartel Over a Drug Bust His wife told detectives the two met in

A Florida man is facing charges after police say he threatened and injured two teens with a sword who knocked on his door looking for a friend. The incident occurred at an apartment complex on North Clyde Morris Boulevard over the weekend, when a frantic mother called 911 reporting that a man had stabbed a minor. According to police, 70-year-old Robert Robb allegedly confronted two teenagers, a 14-year-old and a 17-year-old, with a sword after they knocked on his door

Two 19-year-olds from Brevard County were gunned down in Indian River County. They were allegedly going there to sell $1,300 vape pens that had THC in them. “These two guys are dead over vape pens. It’s crazy. And we’ve seen multiple deaths over marijuana with these young kids,” says Indian River County Sheriff Eric Flowers. 19-year-old Joseph Cardella and his best friend, 19-year-old Logan Thompson, were gunned down and killed Monday afternoon. “Very tragic situation out there, and so we’re

A man shot and killed himself inside a South Florida home in front of his girlfriend, who was also struck by the bullet that killed him. Authorities say the tragic shooting occurred on Wednesday morning at a resident on Southwest 30th Street in Miami-Dade County. Police responded to a reported shooting at the residence, and upon arrival, officers discovered a man with a fatal self-inflicted gunshot wound and his girlfriend wounded by the same bullet. Detective Alvaro Zabaleta, a Miami-Dade

A man released from Halifax Health Medical Center early Wednesday was later found dead in the river, Daytona Beach police said. The 39-year-old man. who police said is a resident of a sober living home, was found at 10:50 a.m. in the Halifax River in Daytona Beach by a boater, police said. The resident last checked in at the sober living facility at 11 p.m. Tuesday and on Wednesday morning went to the hospital where he was released at an unknown

 A 52-year-old New Jersey man was attacked by an alligator on Sunday while fishing in Lake County, according to Florida wildlife officials. The attack happened around 4 p.m. at a retention pond at the ninth hole on the Pennbrooke Fairways golf course near Leesburg, a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission incident form states. According to the report, the man’s left hand was amputated by the alligator, which retreated into the water with the body part. It was unknown how the alligator

A Florida man was arrested Monday after a 27-year-old woman was found dead inside her cabin on a cruise en route to the Bahamas. The incident happened on the Margaritaville at Sea Paradise that departed Palm Beach on Sunday for a two-night sailing to Freeport, cruise officials said. According to the Royal Bahamas Police, officers responded to the cruise at around 5:30 p.m. after cruise employees contacted them about an unresponsive female passenger. Medical staff performed CPR, but she was

Lehigh Acres, FL – A man is in custody after deputies say he shot a woman who wanted him to get his six cats out of her Southwest Florida home. Lee County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested 59-year-old Glen White following the shooting at a Lehigh Acres residence on Friday. Authorities say the victim sustained multiple gunshot wounds but survived the attack. An investigation revealed that White, who had been evicted from his own home, was staying with the victim. However,

The Treasure Coast woman convicted in the hit-and-run crash that killed a 10-year-old girl in Fort Pierce was sentenced to 12 years in prison. On Jan. 25, a jury found Arianna Colon guilty of leaving the scene of a crash involving death and of vehicular homicide. Colon hit and killed Yaceny Rodriguez Gonzalez, who was headed to her school bus that morning. If you’ve been the victim of a hit and run accident, you’re likely dealing with not only physical