Three costumed gunmen are on the loose after robbing a bank, Oviedo police said. About 9:40 a.m., three people wearing masks and full costumes and bearing handguns went into the Trustco Bank in the 1500 block of Alafaya Trail, Deputy Chief Mike Beavers said. The gunmen’s garb were “scary” Halloween...
The gloves have come off in the race between Commissioner Robert Stuart and attorney Asima Azam to represent District 3 on the Orlando City Council, which now features dueling complaints to the state’s elections commission. On Tuesday, Stuart’s campaign said his son had filed a complaint against...
A 16-year-old boy accused of manslaughter in the beating death of Roger Trindade in Winter Park last year is now being charged as an adult, according to the Orange-Osceola State Attorney’s Office. The decision comes after Simeon Hall’s arrest earlier this month in a separate assault case. “I feel...
The University of Central Florida Police Department is unveiling a “soft” interview room on Tuesday, police spokeswoman Courtney Gilmartin said. An interior designer, funded with donations from real estate agent Veronica Figueroa, worked with advocates on transforming the space. Gilmartin said the...
PENSACOLA — Authorities say a 325-pound woman is charged with killing a 9-year-old girl by sitting on the child as punishment. The Pensacola News Journal reports that 64-year-old Veronica Green Posey was arrested and charged with homicide and cruelty toward a child. The Escambia County Sheriff's...
“Our fellow Americans are dying, and they desperately need our help,” U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson said in his remarks on the Senate floor Monday after returning from a visit to Puerto Rico. Nelson was on the island Sunday to meet with Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello and military and local leaders...
The Orange County School Board on Monday joined 12 others in a lawsuit that challenges the constitutionality of a new Florida education law. The lawsuit against HB 7069 — a controversial education measure that became law in July — was filed in Tallahassee by 13 school boards, including those in...
Vice President Mike Pence is scheduled to be the keynote speaker at a Republican Party of Florida event in Orlando next month. The state party announced Monday that Pence will headline the annual Statesman’s Dinner at the Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa at Walt Disney World on Nov. 2. The...
On any given weekend during conventions, dozens upon dozens of pedicab drivers will pedal up and down International Drive, picking up and dropping off hundreds of people — a business largely unregulated by Orange County. But Tuesday, the County Commission plans to consider establishing more rules...
A former UCF film instructor who resigned in 2015 after an arrest in a Seminole County Sheriff’s Office undercover child-sex sting was sentenced Monday to more than a year in prison. Stephen Alan Schlow, 77, appeared in court Monday with defense attorney Mark Longwell, where he entered a guilty...
A Longwood woman was indicted for first-degree murder in a fentanyl death, Seminole County prosecutors announced Tuesday. Jamie Nelson, 34, was arrested Oct. 9 in connection with the June 15 death of fellow Longwood resident, Tracy Skornika. Skornika, 41, overdosed on heroin, fentanyl and another...
Seminole County residents whose homes were flooded from an Interstate 4 retention pond blown out by Hurricane Irma’s rains say they have been further traumatized by the state Department of Transportation’s indifference. The three-acre pond — which sits just east of I-4 and north of State Road 434...
It’s been more than a month since Hurricane Irma blasted through Central Florida but some streets look like she just left. “It stinks that it’s still here,” said Andy Gillis, 41, who lives on West Williams Avenue in northwest Orange County and has a mountain of logs and limbs at the side of his...
At 79, Noel Paul Stookey has become a little selective about the shows he chooses to perform. “Will it facilitate a family vacation?” said the songwriter of his criteria. “Is it a benefit? Is it for a cause that is dear to [me]? … Is it political in nature?” Color the folk singer’s upcoming performance...
Gov. Rick Scott has appointed Leesburg police Chief Rob Hicks to the Florida Violent Crime and Drug Control Council. The council originally was created in 1993 to assist local law enforcement with violent crimes and its focus was expanded in 2001 to include funding for drug investigations. The 14-member...
TAVARES — On Sept. 11, Hurricane Irma whipped through America’s Seaplane City, smashing docks and piling boats like crooked teeth on the shores of Lake Dora. A month later, the city was acclaimed for its beauty. America in Bloom, a national beautification organization, awarded the city of 16,000...
CLERMONT — Longtime City Council incumbents Ray Goodgame and Keith Mullins are asking voters to return them to office Nov. 7 to help continue to lead Lake County’s largest city, population 35,000. A pair of first-time candidates, Julie Santos and Heidi Brishke, respectively, say it’s time for new...
After nearly two years of effort, a lawsuit filed by three homeowners against one of the state’s largest homeowners associations is finally moving forward. Polk County Circuit Judge Larry Helms ruled two counts alleging breach of contract can proceed to the discovery stage, though several other...
Central Florida’s latest portrayal on the big screen shows a darker slice of the tourist-centric region — children growing up living at old Kissimmee area hotels in the shadow of theme parks. “The Florida Project,” named for Walt Disney’s vision to remake much of Central Florida, centers on a 6-year-old...
A Kissimmee woman whose 3-month-old baby died of a fentanyl overdose in 2016 is now charged with child neglect causing great bodily harm — not manslaughter — on which she was initially booked. The deadly dose of the opioid, about five times the amount that can kill an adult, was found in the blood...
Osceola County Sheriff's deputies say a former GOP staffer and Disney employee was shot 13 times while he was sleeping in bed. Nick Corvino, 30, had gunshot wounds to his back, head and legs, according to an arrest affidavit. His roommate, Scott Waddell, 45, is at the Osceola County Jail on a first-degree...
Two Volusia County Sheriff’s Office deputies are no longer employed with the agency after an investigation found they pursued personal relationships with women in drug-court programs, according to WKMG-Ch. 6. Deputy Jay Hayman, who was fired in July, admitted to a five-year relationship with one...
ST. AUGUSTINE — Tyshawn Jackson testified on Monday that his neighbor, Luis Toledo, seemed frantic as the two drove back to Deltona after Toledo left his wife's car in a Publix parking lot in another county. Jackson then said Toledo turned to him and said, “I snapped.” Jackson, 25, took the stand...
ST. AUGUSTINE — Kevin Dredden testified on Thursday that the last time he talked to his lover, Yessenia Suarez, she sounded stressed and her speech was slurred. Dredden, who had an affair with Suarez, testified he last heard from Suarez when the phone call ended at 1:03 a.m. on Oct. 23, 2013. The...
ST. AUGUSTINE — A prosecutor told jurors during opening statements on Wednesday that the Deltona man accused of killing his wife and her two children told investigators: “I'll never tell you where the bodies are.” Luis Toledo sat a few feet away, still and straight in his chair at the defense table....