A civil lawsuit has been filed in Polk County that accuses an owner of a law firm that recently closed its three offices, of embezzling nearly $1.8 million dollars from a client’s trust fund to support his self-proclaimed "raging" addiction. The suit alleges that Jason Penrod funneled the funds into his personal account to gamble at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Tampa. Reportedly, the surviving children of David D. Anderson say Penrod confessed to the crime. Penrod is the owner of Family Elder Law which suddenly closed its offices in Sebring, Lake Wales, and Lakeland in July. The complaint filed August 21st, accuses Penrod of conversion, civil theft and breach of trust and seeks damages of more than $50,000. It also seeks Penrod’s removal as trustee of the fund. A spokesperson for the Polk County Sheriff’s Office said that the agency is currently investigating Penrod and Family Elder Law.
A man accused of trying to kidnap a woman in Orlando has a history of doing this sort of thing before. Juan Perez was arrested after allegedly trying to stuff a woman into the trunk of her car and steal her purse outside a Walmart on Monday. The 54-year-old Perez was on probation for kidnapping and assaulting a 14-year-old girl in Marion County decades ago. He served almost 20 years in prison for that crime in which he forced the girl into a van. Perez may have been successful in Monday’s attempt if it wasn’t for a man who saw what was happening and scared him off. Perez was gone by the time police arrived, but the OPD says surveillance videos and data from his ankle monitor prove he was there.
Manatee sheriff’s detectives have closed a cold case murder going back 28 years, with the arrest of the victim’s former boyfriend. Police in Delaware arrested 72-year-old Stephen Ford last month, to face second-degree murder charges in the killing of 45-year-old Doris Korell of St. Petersburg, in late 1996. Randy Warren with the sheriff’s office says, even now, detectives don’t have all the details. Warren says Ford tried to take his own life and detectives believe his actions after Korell’s disappearance show a pattern of guilt.
Rick Scott says his heart breaks for the families of those killed in Georgia by a deranged monster. A 14-year-old boy shot to death two students and two teachers at a school yesterday. Senator Scott wrote on X he knows from his experience with the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting this is a devastating level of grief that no one should have to experience. He adds he worked to pass historic school safety legislation after the Parkland shooting, and he urges other states to follow Florida’s lead.
A hit-and-run driver is in custody in Brevard County. West Melbourne Police arrested Palm Bay’s Rebekah Tate yesterday for a crash on Sunday. The 24-year-old allegedly hit a motorcyclist with her car at US 192 and Dairy Road. Police say while the 34-year-old man was lying in the middle of the road with life-threatening injuries, Tate drove away, dragging his motorcycle with her car to a nearby parking lot. Surveillance video shows her in the parking lot talking on the phone before she was picked up by someone in a black car. The motorcyclist was taken to the hospital, and police say he’s in critical condition. Tate is charged with leaving the scene of a crash with great bodily injury and tampering with evidence.
A Manatee County man reported missing two weeks ago is dead. Authorities say 69-year-old William Golden used his employer’s truck for a delivery from Sarasota to Bradenton on August 20th. The truck was discovered abandoned the following day on I-75. The sheriff’s office says Golden recently died at a local hospital after he was found. The details about where and when Golden was discovered have not been released.
Relatives of the Parkland victims are going to court today challenging Anthony Borges’ claim that he owns the rights to the shooter’s name and the 400-thousand-dollar inheritance from his mother’s death. Attorney David Weinstein says Borges was working with all the other families as they sued the shooter, Broward Sheriff’s Office and three security guards. Borges’ attorney says he’s entitled to more consideration as a surviving victim facing a lifetime of medical bills. The other families say the shooter had no right to sign his name or finances to one plaintiff.
And it’s no surprise that five Florida cities are among the best places to retire in the county. A new survey from WalletHub compared 180 U.S. cities by looking at more than three dozen different key metrics, including affordability, number of activities, and quality of healthcare. Orlando was placed in the number one spot, primarily for its lack of taxes and recreation options. Meanwhile, Miami, Tampa, Fort Lauderdale, and St. Petersburg were all ranked within the top ten.