The Latest Local News

Jurors in the Zephen Xaver penalty trial started Thursday morning off by hearing testimony from Imani Davis, on-again and off-again girlfriend of Xaver. Davis said she met Xaver sometime between 2014 and 2015 online. Around 2018, Davis and Xaver broke up and lost communication but on the day of the murders, Xaver reportedly resumed contact Continue reading

On Day two of the sentencing trial of Zephen Xaver, jurors heard testimonies from witnesses who were inside and outside the Sebring SunTrust bank during the 2019 massacre. Ben Wysokowski, a former SunTrust Bank teller, was called to the witness stand and said that he was on his lunch break when he heard gun shots. Continue reading

A Polk County woman is accused of robbing the place she used to work. Lakeland Police announced yesterday that Iesha Williams was arrested for robbing the McDonald’s where she used to work on South Florida Ave. Police say she wore a mask, but employees recognized her anyway. She was found about half-an-hour later and arrested. Continue reading

Three weeks of painstaking juror qualification wrapped up on Friday for the Stephen Xaver sentencing trial. Friday afternoon concluded with the successful selection of 14 jurors. Xaver pled guilty and was convicted of five counts of first-degree murder. The sentencing trial is set to begin this morning more than 5 years after the execution style Continue reading

A traffic stop for illegal tint led to a high-speed chase in Zolfo Springs on Wednesday. The chase ended when Hardee County Deputies deployed spike strips to stop the vehicle as it travelled the wrong way down US 17. Nelson Tyrone Lee of Wauchula was arrested on multiple charges including possession of a large amount Continue reading

A couple has been arrested after being found with more than a kilo of cocaine. The Highlands County Sheriff’s Office Crime Suppression Unit made the arrests after a traffic stop on Hwy 27, near Stryker Road in Avon Park late Tuesday night. Detectives pulled over 45-year-old Noel Hernandez-Alvarez and his passenger, Luz Maria Carrasquillo-Figuero, both Continue reading

Fire rescue crews and Florida Forest Service were dispatched to a brush fire off Grace Lane in Sebring late yesterday afternoon. In a 9:00 PM update, Highlands County Fire Rescue has reported that the brush fire has been contained at 6.5 acres. No injuries were reported and no structures were damaged. The Florida Forest Service Continue reading

A search is still underway for a man accused of violently attacking a woman in Winter Haven. Police say the victim told officers that Randy Leon Gillis hit her in the face and strangled her until she lost consciousness last Friday. The woman was sent to the hospital with serious injuries. Gillis took the victim’s Continue reading

A cyclist was struck on US 27 Friday morning, when the rider tried crossing from a shoulder by a Schooner’s BBQ Shack driveway- toward a turn lane meant for southbound traffic. A woman driving a gray Dodge Charger was not successful in evading the rider and hit the cyclist. Several motorists were able to block Continue reading

A burn ban is now pretty well universal around our neck of the woods – yesterday, Glades County joined Highlands and Hardee County is banning any open fires without a state permit. It’s dry – the State Patrol is still issuing traffic advisories for that blaze near Bowling Green they got under control the other Continue reading