Free Republic

Florida man was arrested last week after he was caught on video pointing a laser — attached to an AR-15 — at a police helicopter flying overhead, the Martin County Sheriff’s Office said Friday. The sheriff’s office chopper was working with Port St Lucie Police on an unrelated burglary last Saturday when the incident took place, the sheriff’s office said. A video camera onboard the helicopter captured Norman Flaxman walking outside his home, pointing the rifle directly at the helicopter and “deploying the laser two to three times,” deputies said.

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Should students get half credit for an assignment they didn’t even turn in? A former St. Lucie County teacher doesn’t think so. That’s why she wrote a goodbye message to her eighth graders on a white board saying, "Bye Kids, Mrs. Tirado loves you and wishes you the best in life! I have been fired for refusing to give you a 50% for not handing anything in. 💓 Mrs. Tirado" Diane Tirado has been a teacher for years, but she started at West Gate K-8 School in Port St. Lucie in August as an eighth...

Gannett rules.

Several weeks before he massacred 49 at an Orlando gay nightclub, Muslim terrorist Omar Seddique Mateen transferred over his interest in his Florida home to his older sister and Afghan brother-in-law, property records show — an indication the family possibly had some knowledge of his martyrdom plans. Authorities say the fatally shot Mateen clearly was prepared to die in a gun battle with police during the June 12 attack, the deadliest act of terrorism on U.S. soil since 9/11. On April 5, Mateen “quit-claimed” the deed on his Port St. Lucie, Fla., house, signing it over to his sister, Sabrina...

FBI Special Agent Ron Hopper, who’s in charge of Orlando’s FBI office, says that the individual who attacked an Orlando nightclub Sunday morning bragged about “having ties to terrorist organizations.” The shooter is reportedly Omar Mateen, a U.S. citizen from Port Saint Lucie, Fla., according to CBS News. Hopper said, “The history that we know of this individual so far is that he may have made threats that he was tied to” islamic terror. In an interview on Fox News’s “Fox & Friends Sunday,” Hopper said, “There’s allegations that the individual has made threats in the past to having ties...

The father of Omar Mateen, identified by police as the man behind the carnage at an Orlando nightclub early Sunday morning, is an Afghan man who holds strong political views, including support for the Afghan Taliban. Seddique Mateen, who has been referred to as Mir Seddique in early news reports, hosted the “Durand Jirga Show” on a channel called Payam-e-Afghan, which broadcasts from California. In it, the elder Mateen speaks in the Dari language on a variety of political subjects. Dozens of videos are posted on a channel under Seddique Mateen's name on YouTube. A phone number and post office...

A message from Captain Stan Jarusinski, Licensed Master, to Florida’s Port St. Lucie Anglers In 2008 the new administration closed down fishing from Maine across the Gulf Coast to Texas and on the Pacific Coast from Cal. to Wash. and all Alaskan waters. When I talked about this at the Fishing Seminars, Florida fishermen were unaware of this fish closing. According to the Administration, the closings were implemented to “create jobs.” Interesting that no one in the Administration mentioned where the jobs were going to be created. Due to our North Carolina, coastal waters being closed to fishing, we lost...

From hurling the vilest of racial epithets at African American children and teens who had volunteered for the Port St Lucie, Florida re-election campaign of Mayor Joann Faiella, to smear attacks on a patriot and Viet Nam War Commander, the behavior of people who disagree with what these candidates exemplify has reached lows that I never witnessed even while living in the Chicago metropolitan and suburban scenes for 40 years. Yes, I’ve been retired here in Florida for over ten years. But knowing the Midwestern mind set I believe in my heart that no such meanness would find its way...

Where the heck is Patrick Murphy, the House Democrat who ousted beloved war hero Allen West in the bitter Florida 18th Congressional District race still argued about here on Florida’s Treasure Coast? Murphy appears to be so much more caring now than he was back then, even listening to the complaints of veterans suffering at the hands of an Obama VA chief who won’t resign. Or so says the local media. How come Murphy is trying to be all things to all? Could it be there’s an election creeping up? Well, let’s analyze this 31 year old. Is this young...

In a stunning slap in the face of Florida homeowners, RINO Budget leader Joe Negron (R-Stuart) let die in the Florida Senate this week a well written, Sober Homes Regulations Bill sponsored by Sen. Jeff Clemens (D-Lake Worth). Negron used his power as head of the State Senate Appropriations Committee to ignore much needed legislation in Florida, as the sunshine state is fast becoming the nation’s go-to rehab locale! According to a Palm Beach Post (PBPOST) article written by reporter Christine Stapleton, Clemons said Negron warned him twice on April 23, that he, Negron, would NOT call up Senate Bill...

[TODAY] PORT ST. LUCIE, FL (WFLX) - Fresh off of a busy week of campaigning, Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney prepares to make a stop along the Treasure Coast for a rally in Port St. Lucie on Sunday. The "Victory Rally with Mitt Romney, Port St. Lucie" event is put campaign crews into overdrive on Saturday as workers fought against the clock to prepare Tradition Square for crowds. "I'm wondering if there's going to be enough room?" said Cindy Mulleady, a Tradition resident. "I think we're going to have a much bigger turnout." The Romney campaign on Saturday said with...

A woman said to have howled "like a dog" and harassed neighbors was arrested on a disorderly intoxication charge in a situation involving a lawnmower, recently released records show. The case against accused dog howler Merrilee Schwarz, 51, began before 11 p.m. Sept. 14 after complaints that the owners of a home in the 4500 block of Southwest Cacao Street were "riding a lawnmower down the roadway, back and forth," a Port St. Lucie police report states. A neighbor showed police video surveillance of a man riding the lawnmower in circles, but when investigators arrived the mower had been put...

A self-described drunk man who apparently used pliers in efforts to extract a tooth got locked up after accusations he shouted obscenities at authorities and disturbed the peace, according to recently released records. Port St. Lucie police on Sunday went to Francisco Rojas' home after his wife told 911 dispatchers her 49-year-old husband was "drunk and in the garage trying to pull his tooth out with a pair of pliers, and she needs the police to respond." Three officers made contact with Rojas. "We observed him attempting to extract his tooth and there was vomit on the floor from his...

The wheels on the school bus go 'round and 'round, but eventually students are supposed to get off. Not so for one South Florida boy, who was trapped on his school bus the entire day after the bus driver forgot to check and see if all of the students got off for school. Dylan Gottshall was found Monday on his school bus around 1 p.m., hours after he was supposed to get off and go to class at Parkway Elementary School in Port St. Lucie, TCPalm.com reports. The 7-year-old first grader was picked up at his bus stop around 7:30...

PORT ST. LUCIE — A man who showed up at the door of a Port St. Lucie home about 3 p.m. Friday forced his way into the residence and was shot dead by the homeowner, Port St. Lucie Police Department Information Officer Tom Nichols said. Identification of the people living in the house in the 2100 block of Southwest Pruitt Street will not be available until early next week. Nichols said the home’s resident retreated to a bedroom and retrieved a shotgun after the intruder forced his way in and argued with him. The two struggled with the gun and...

PORT ST. LUCIE - Authorities say a homeless Treasure Coast man claimed to be the devil and attacked another man outside a Port St. Lucie convenience store. The victim told police that a man, later identified as 53-year-old John Eugene Yale Jr., approached him early Monday morning and began speaking with him. After a few minutes, Yale shouted, "I am the Devil and I am going to kill you." A reports says Yale jammed his thumbs into the man's eyes, which were caused to bleed.

Note: The following text is a quote: Port St. Lucie man sentenced to 60 months on Arms Export Control Act conspiracy WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - A 55-year-old Port St. Lucie man was sentenced Friday to sixty months in prison, to be followed by two years of supervised release following a joint U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Department of Commerce, Office of Export Enforcement (OEE) investigation. Joseph Piquet was convicted on March 5, 2009, on seven counts of conspiracy to evade the Arms Export Control Act by a federal jury in Fort Pierce. Court documents show he...