News Update for 7/22/24

Broadband internet is a step closer to be being provided in Highlands county. County Commissioners voted last week and approved a request to award IBT Group USA a 4.5 million contract to complete the project. In addition, the county seeks a private wide area network to be established so that county wide facilities can maintain connectivity and communicate effectively.

A Jacksonville woman is dead and three others are hospitalized following Friday’s single-vehicle crash near Davenport. Polk County officials identified the driver as 36-year-old Tiffany Alexander West of Orlando. Reportedly she veered off the road at a high rate of speed, went over a guardrail and through a fence before slamming into a tree. Thirty-nine-year-old Alicia Carmona – who was ejected from the vehicle – was declared dead at the scene. West was hospitalized with facial injuries. Two children in the vehicle were hospitalized in stable condition. The crash remains under investigation, and criminal charges are expected.

A nationally recognized Tampa Bay murder case is set to go to trial this week. Thirty-two-year-old Ashley Benefield is accused of killing her 54-year-old estranged husband in 2020 in what’s known as the "Black Swan Murder Trial." The former ballerina claims the deadly shooting at her mother’s Manatee County home was in self-defense. Investigators say the incident happened while the couple was going through a custody battle over their daughter. The case was featured on the crime series "48 Hours." Jury selection is set to begin today.

Today is the last day to register for Florida residents who want to vote in the state’s primary election on August 20th. State officials say, because Florida is a closed primary state, voters will have to lock in their party affiliation by today in order to participate in their chosen primary elections. Following the primary, the general election will take place on November 5th, with early voting running from October 21st through November 3rd.

South Florida State college has now migrated to using the Ellucian Saas Platform with Banner. SFSC has gone live with the Enterprise Resource Planning platform which is designed specifically for higher education- delivering comprehensive student, human resources, finance, and financial aid management solutions. The partnership will help to achieve a more modern technology infrastructure and better support the institution’s more than 5000 students. Peter Elliott, vice president of administrative services at SFSC also believes that it will provide more focused support for faculty to help drive student success.

A former Seminole County Sheriff’s Office employee says his view on law enforcement may never be the same. Leroy Green spoke Friday after charges against him from his arrest in May were dropped for lack of evidence. Green resigned as youth intervention specialist after he was charged with soliciting prostitution and indecent exposure. Now, with the charges dropped, he says he wants Sheriff Dennis Lemma to punish those responsible for his arrest. Green says deputies were unprofessional, unethical, lacking integrity and character. He also says his perception of law enforcement is now tainted.

A suspected gas thief is in custody in Hillsborough County. The sheriff’s office announced Saturday that Kiusler Perez Ortiz was arrested for stealing diesel fuel from a gas station on Hillsborough Ave. When deputies confronted him, he allegedly put his car in reverse before accelerating rapidly and hitting the back of an unmarked sheriff’s office vehicle and nearly hitting a deputy. That led to a chase into Pinellas County before Ortiz was arrested in the woods off Sunray Drive. Investigators say Ortiz stole 93 gallons of diesel fuel from an underground fuel tank. The 24-year-old is facing charges that include criminal mischief and aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer with a deadly weapon.

A Florida man is facing charges after making threats to kill former President Trump and his VP pick JD Vance. Jupiter Police announced the arrest of Michael Wiseman on Friday. He’s charged with "written threats to kill" after an investigation discovered he made the threats on social media. Police said they were alerted by online crime tips and by people that came to report it in person. It comes after Trump was grazed by a bullet in the ear during an assassination attempt at a rally in Pennsylvania.