News Update for 09/09/24

An alleged murder plot has been thwarted by Highlands County Sheriff’s Office investigators. The plot cooked up by Highlands County Jail inmate Dori Anne Burke and Robert Clyde Diamond of Avon Park reportedly involved a male victim that they were trying to extort in an effort to force the victim to move out of a shared residence. Burke and Diamond were involved in a romantic relationship at the time of her July incarceration and Diamond subsequently moved into a residence with the intended victim. When Diamond couldn’t convince the victim to leave, he brought sex videos to law enforcement and alleged the victim paid and provided women with drugs to perform on tape. Per arrest records, this reason as well as others are the reason the murder plot was formed. Investigations into suspicious communications between Burke, Diamond, and the victim revealed threats to harm the victim. Diamond has been arrested and charged with using a two-way communication device to facilitate a felony and conspiracy of first-degree premeditated murder. Burke is being charged with the same.

A woman goes on trial today for allegedly killing her husband in Lake County. Jury selection will take place for Laurie Shaver’s murder trial. The 37-year-old allegedly killed her husband nine years ago and buried him in their backyard in Clermont on Sandy Pines Road. She’s charged with second-degree murder. Her lawyers claim it was their then-seven-year-old daughter who shot him to stop him from abusing Shaver.

There is a 50-50 chance a couple tropical disturbances could develop into storms over the next several days. The National Hurricane Center is keeping an eye on the storms currently located in the Eastern and Central Tropical Atlantic. The NHC gives another storm off the gulf coast of Mexico an 80-percent chance of developing into a tropical depression by mid-week. Forecasters say its moving in a north-westerly direction and could affect Mexico and Texas.

The Florida Supreme Court will hear arguments in a case involving the state’s largest electric company next month. The high court selected the date Thursday in an ongoing fight over a 2021 settlement that increased Florida Power and Light’s base rates. Several environmental groups are challenging the agreement approved by state regulators. The four-year settlement led to multi-million-dollar rate increases over the last two years, while allowing potential increases for this year and 2025 as a way to pay for solar projects. Advocates and the Florida Public Service Commission will get to make their own points during a hearing on October 8th.

A woman is accused of stealing an exotic bird in Pinellas County. The sheriff’s office says Grissel Nistal stole a Black Headed Caique on Saturday in Oldsmar. The bird belonged to Everything Birds at Oldsmar Flea Market on Racetrack Road. The bird is valued at 24-hundred dollars. Deputies say surveillance video shows her putting the bird in her purse. Two people who saw the video on the news contacted the sheriff’s office yesterday and identified the suspect as Nistal. She was arrested at her home in Largo on 15th Avenue Southeast. The 54-year-old is charged with felony grand theft. Deputies say the bird was returned to the store in good health. The store wrote on Facebook they have decided to name the bird Bandit.

More than two dozen suspects are facing charges in connection to a South Florida drug trafficking investigation. The U.S. Department of Justice says 27 people played a role in a major drug ring that distributed cocaine within Miami-Dade County and the Florida Keys. Among those arrested Thursday were Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority employees, charter boat operators, and a former Marathon employee. The suspects accused of actually trafficking drugs could face up to life in prison. The FBI and multiple South Florida law enforcement agencies helped in the case.

Busy start to the week for storm trackers. Potential Tropical Cyclone 6 is expected to become a tropical storm later today. As of the 4 a.m. advisory, the National Hurricane Center in Miami says it is packing maximum sustained winds near 50 miles per hour. On the forecast track, the disturbance is expected to move just offshore of the northern Gulf Coast of Mexico through tomorrow, and approach the Louisiana and Upper Texas coastline on Wednesday. An area of low pressure in the central tropical Atlantic has a 60 percent chance of formation and another several hundred miles West-SW of the Cabo Verde Islands is not likely to develop. The peak of the Atlantic hurricane season is tomorrow, and the season officially ends on November 30.

Tyreek Hill’s run-in with Miami-Dade Police could lead to a lawsuit. The Dolphins wide receiver was placed in handcuffs yesterday morning on his way to Hard Rock Stadium for the game. The MPD says he was pulled over for reckless driving and detained after he exchanged words with the officer. Agent Drew Rosenhaus says Hill’s legal team will be pursuing the matter. Rosenhaus tells the Miami Herald what happened to Hill is completely unacceptable, and Tyreek did not deserve to be treated that way by police. The MPD is investigating the incident, and one of the four officers involved is now on administrative leave. As for the game, Hill caught a touchdown pass in Miami’s 20-17 win over Jacksonville.