Authorities in Avon Park have arrested a 34-year-old man in connection with a stabbing that occurred May 14, 2026, outside Room 111. Detectives say David J. Lozano was taken into custody on May 19 and charged with attempted murder. Investigators initially received conflicting accounts but later determined Lozano and the 24-year-old victim were involved in an ongoing dispute, and the stabbing was not considered self-defense. Lozano has been booked into Highlands County Jail.
The murder trial for a Colorado man arrested last year in Lake Placid has been delayed after prosecutors say new evidence surfaced in the case. A new trial date is expected to be selected by May 28th. Sixty-three-year-old Clifton Clayton Boggess Jr. is charged in the 2023 death of 25-year-old Britani Meek of Yuma, Colorado. Jury selection began May 11th in Colorado, but officials say a new jury pool will now be needed. Boggess was captured by U.S. Marshals in Lake Placid in July of 2024 and faces charges including first-degree murder and kidnapping.
Deputies in Polk County say a Palmetto woman turned a golf course into her own personal driving range after allegedly cruising across fairways at Streamsong Golf Resort near Bowling Green with dozens of tiny liquor bottles in her car. Investigators say 34-year-old Erika Mayer crashed her Hyundai on May 14th before deputies found her sitting beside the vehicle with slurred speech and poor balance. Authorities reported finding more than 20 open mini bottles of Fireball whiskey inside the car. Mayer now faces multiple DUI-related charges.
The Highlands County Sheriff’s Office is reminding residents about a new Florida law allowing cash purchases to be rounded to the nearest nickel as pennies are phased out. Totals ending in 1 or 2 cents round down, while 3 or 4 cents round up to 5 cents. Amounts ending in 6 or 7 cents round down to 5 cents, and 8 or 9 cents round up to the next 10 cents. The law only applies to cash payments — card transactions and sales tax calculations are unchanged.