Free Republic

DELRAY BEACH, Fla. – A man is facing charges in Palm Beach County after authorities said he purposely damaged an LGBTQ Pride crosswalk by doing burnouts in his truck. Dylan Brewer, 19, of Clearwater, is accused of damaging the Delray Beach mural on the evening of Feb. 4. Video released by the Delray Beach Police Department shows the driver of a pickup truck, with a large flag on the back, performing burnouts in the intersection, located at Northeast First Street and Second Avenue. Police said in a news release that the “reckless action caused significant damage to the streetscape painting,...

The woman whose lifeless body was found clenched between a 14-foot alligator’s jaws was arrested just two months earlier for trespassing on county wetland property. Sabrina Peckham, 41, was identified by police Saturday as the victim being dragged by the beast in a canal along a residential street in Largo, a small community just four miles south of Clearwater. The homeless woman was caught by Pinellas County deputies around 6:30 a.m. on July 14 for trespassing onto county wetland just half a mile from where she was found dead Friday, court records show. Peckman ignored posted signage warning against unlaw...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) — A sticky puddle of lemonade wasn’t the only thing to be canned from a 7-Eleven store in St. Petersburg late Sunday night. Police said that 35-year-old Clearwater clerk, Miles Jenkins “got frustrated with a customer over payment” and “threw a Big Gulp cup filled with lemonade at [her].” The woman told police the flying lemonade struck her in the left side of her head. Three other customers in the store at the time told officers they witnessed the battery. Authorities said Jenkins also “made spontaneous statements admitting to striking [the woman] with the drink.” Officers...

CLEARWATER, Fla. (WFLA) — Two paramedics with the Clearwater Fire & Rescue Department were suspended after a man they pronounced dead last week was found to be breathing. The agency said two medics from Station 47 responded to a home in an unincorporated area of Pinellas County Wednesday morning after Thomas Maxwell reportedly suffered cardiac arrest. “His lips were blue and he was cold but I was doing CPR, and my friend was there and she was doing chest compressions,” said his daughter, Phebe Maxwell told WFLA. “His chest was going up and down and he was making noises, so...

A 55-year-old Florida man allegedly attacked his girlfriend with a holiday ornament on Christmas morning, documents showed. Frankie Caldwell, of Clearwater, was arrested after he allegedly struck his girlfriend in the head with an "angel figurine" during a confrontation in the couple's home at around 7 a.m. Sunday, the Smoking Gun reported, citing an arrest affidavit. The "fragile" Christmas ornament shattered into pieces as a result of the attack, with the unnamed victim claiming that some of the bits had fallen down the back of her dress, according to police. Caldwell denied carrying out the attack and instead claimed it...

CLEARWATER, Fla. — A Florida man is accused of being the driver of a vehicle when a pedestrian was killed last year, instead of the woman who was originally charged, authorities said. Adam Wayne Garabrant, 60, of Seminole, was arrested Thursday and charged with one count of leaving the scene of a crash involving death, according to a news release from the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office. Thomas Rothwell, 70, of St. Petersburg, was crossing “in the area of a designated crosswalk” in Seminole at 12:49 a.m. EST on Dec. 16, 2021, when he was struck by the driver of a...

Chad Mason, 36, was arrested on several charges, including sexual activity with an animal A Florida man was arrested after he had sex with a dog in front of families, wrecked a nativity scene at a nearby church and attempted to steal a vehicle. Chad Mason, 36, was arrested Sunday on several charges, including sexual activity with an animal, exposing sexual organs and criminal mischief to a place of worship. Mason knew the owner of the Goldendoodle dog and was taking it out for a walk in an apartment complex in the 2600 block of McMullen Booth Road at around...

A 50-year-old Florida man was arrested after deputies questioned him for loitering and things became “methed” up. Robert Lawson, 50, was questioned by Pinellas County Deputies on Wednesday after he was spotted loitering near a wooded area in Clearwater. Deputies say that during a “consensual encounter,” Lawson reportedly gave investigators permission to search him and his bags. According to an affidavit, Lawson produced a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and a small baggie containing a “crystal substance” that field tested positive for methamphetamine. In a grocery bag, the deputy located an uncapped syringe with a brown liquid residue. After...

Inflation is impacting the entire United States population as prices continue to be a burden for families, but certain California cities are feeling the impact more than others. In a new study from WalletHub, cities were ranked on how much inflation is rising. The study pointed to the year-over-year inflation rate of 8.2% last month, but noted that some cities are feeling costs increase more than others. In the report, 23 Metropolitan Statistical Areas were examined. The site looked at the Consumer Price Index information available for the most recent month and compared it to two months ago and one...

President Biden called three Florida mayors Tuesday as Hurricane Ian nears Florida’s western coast — but didn’t call Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, with whom he has clashed on issues such as COVID-19 policies and migration. Presidents frequently speak directly with governors during emergency events — both to demonstrate political unity and to help coordinate federal and state relief efforts. As the devastating Category 3 storm approached, Biden instead spoke with Tampa Mayor Jane Castor, St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch and Clearwater Mayor Frank Hibbard. Castor and Welch are Democrats, while Hibbard is a Republican. DeSantis is a potential 2024 Republican...

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A Clearwater man who was arrested for allegedly driving under the influence had a blood alcohol level more than five times the legal limit, according to deputies. According to an affidavit, deputies got a number of 911 calls about Michael Sewell, 42, driving a Nissan erratically in the area of East Lake Road and Eagle Cove Boulevard around 9:50 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 10. The deputy who pulled over Sewell noted his breath smelled like alcohol, he was unsteady on his feet and he had glassy and bloodshot eyes. He was unable to perform a field...

PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — A Clearwater man was charged with two felonies for throwing pizza at a person 65 years or older during an argument Sunday afternoon. According to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, Kyle Barthelmes, 44, of Clearwater, got into a verbal argument with a woman after she told him to lower his voice because he had been drinking and taking Xanax. When the argument escalated, a third person intervened, separating Barthelmes and the woman. Barthelmes continued to argue before he threw several items from the freezer. Deputies said he also grabbed a piece of pizza and threw...

INDIAN ROCKS BEACH, Fla. (WFLA) — A Clearwater woman was accused of berating employees at an Indian Rocks Beach ice cream shop, flipping them off, stealing their tips and hitting the owner with the empty tip jar. According to a Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office arrest report, Michelle Haag, 55, entered the Tropical Ice Cream at around 9:20 p.m. on July 27 and began cursing at the workers and flipping them off. Deputies said Haag took approximately $50 out of a plastic tip jar and hit the store’s owner on the head with it.

LARGO, Fla. (WFLA) — A Clearwater woman was allegedly caught stealing from a Largo Walmart Saturday, according to the Largo Police Department. An affidavit said loss prevention officers at the Walmart on Roosevelt Boulevard confronted Amanda Spree Mears, 35, as she tried to leave the store. Police said Mears tried to hide a “Plus One” massager in her purse and walk out with it. When confronted, Mears ran away into some trees nearby but was caught by the officers, according to the affidavit.

An issue that has plagued the Republican debate for years now might actually be resolved in Florida. Common Core, which has been debated as far back as the 2015 GOP Presidential Primary, has effectively been eliminated by Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL), making Florida the first state to replace it. In Clearwater, Florida, the governor announced what could possibly be the end for Common Core education in Florida. The deal is a legislative proposal that will eliminate the common-core-based, end-of-year, high-stakes Florida Statewide Assessment and create the new Florida Assessment of Student Thinking (F.A.S.T) plan, which will monitor student progress and...

A Florida man who "drove well over 100mph" on his motorcycle in a bid to escape police told officers he was trying to show off for his passenger, as it was their first date. That's according to Clearwater Police, who say 22-year-old Taylor Beverly ran a red light while riding his white 2017 Suzuki, accompanied by a female passenger, on Saturday night, per Newsweek. He then turned around and made eye contact with officers before speeding away(snip) Officers pursued Beverly but ultimately ended the chase after he ran several more red lights and began weaving in and out of traffic...

A Clearwater man is facing a charge of robbery with a deadly weapon after deputies say he tried to steal a Snickers bar from a Largo WaWa gas station. The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office arrested 49-year-old Erick Minto after responding to a call from the WaWa on Walsingham Road, where deputies say an employee was threatened over the chocolate, caramel, and nougat bar. Plant City woman arrested for stealing Bentley from Clearwater Beach home, police say According to an affidavit from PCSO, Minto attempted by force to take a Snickers bar, “with intent to temporarily or permanently deprive” the employee...

A Connecticut man is behind bars after more than 40 years on the run from police. According to the Department of Justice, 76-year-old Douglas Bennett was convicted by a jury in Connecticut of robbery, kidnapping, sexual contact, deviate sexual intercourse, and the 1974 rape of a teenage girl. He was sentenced to nine to 18 years in Connecticut State Prison in 1976. However, Bennett, never turned himself in to begin his sentence. Records show that, in 1977, Bennett assumed the identity of a 5-year-old who had died in 1945 and remained on the run for more than 40 years. Court...

A shocking story has emerged out of Clearwater, Florida, where two saggy-pants-wearing thugs carjacked a woman and her son in the parking lot of a Bank of America. The story went viral after the fed-up “helpless” woman they targeted turned the tables on them. The punks definitely realized their big mistake too late. A Clearwater, Florida, woman shot two thieves attempting to carjack her, resulting in the death of one of the suspects and a second-degree murder charge for the other. Now, many people are applauding her efforts to protect herself, her son, and her property from a couple of...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) - A Florida man is charged with providing material support to the Islamic State extremist group, including attempting to buy multiple weapons and scouting potential targets for an attack in the Tampa Bay area, federal prosecutors said Wednesday. A criminal complaint charges Muhammed Momtaz Al-Azhari, a 23-year-old U.S. citizen, with attempting to provide material support or resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization. The charge carries a potential 20-year prison term. **SNIP** According to the affidavit, Al-Azhari scouted a number of targets in the Tampa Bay region, including beaches, parks and even the Tampa FBI field...