Free Republic

CITRUS COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — A Florida woman was arrested Sunday after police say she walked into a Citrus County home and undressed herself before hugging and sitting on multiple people, including several who were 65 years or older. Police say Heather Cruz, 35, of Dunnellon, Fla., walked into the Citrus County home through a side door. Once inside, Cruz allegedly removed her clothing and exposed her genitalia before she grabbed and hugged the homeowner. When Cruz was told to stop, documents say she sat on the lap of two other residents while naked, saying “you like it” to one...

A manatee was found with the word “TRUMP” scrawled on its back in a Florida swimming hole, prompting an investigation from the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, reports said Monday. The defenseless animal was spotted with the political inscription over the weekend in the Blue Hole headwaters of the Homosassa River in Citrus County — about 80 miles northwest of Orlando, the Citrus County Chronicle reported. SNIP “It’s been my experience that this is very out of character for this community,” Craig Cavanna, a senior federal wildlife officer in charge of the investigation, told the outlet.

A Citrus County social studies teacher is being accused, in a recent Huffington Post article, of having a white nationalist podcast, and even secretly bringing her beliefs into the classroom. Dayanna Volitich has been at Crystal River Middle School since 2016, but online she used the pseudonym Tiana Dalichov. "I get to talk about topics that people don't like to talk about. They don't want to be seen as a bigot, racist, whatever you want to call it. I honestly don't care." That's a snippet from the podcast "unapologetic" previewing the topics listeners can expect to hear. he Huffington Post...

BROOKSVILLE — A last-minute lawsuit may put the brakes on the long-awaited extension of the Suncoast Parkway north into Citrus County. Construction was slated to begin early next year. At a Hernando-Citrus Metropolitan Planning Organization meeting last week, city and county officials talked about a push at the state level to move the project ahead even faster. A ground-breaking ceremony was in the works. But like other steps in the process of building the toll road extension known as Suncoast Parkway 2, within days of that discussion, another shoe dropped. On Dec. 15, the Friends of Etna Turpentine Camp, Inc.,...

Police in Citrus County, Florida said Sunday that a man reportedly seen shooting at a natural gas pipeline had been fatally shot by officers after a vehicle chase. Citrus County Sheriff Mike Prendergast was quoted in a statement on his office’s Facebook page as saying no police were injured. He said officers from Citrus County, Marion County and the Florida Highway Patrol were involved. The chase began in Marion County and ended with a “crash” near Floral City in Citrus County, according to the statement. “This is where the suspect engaged the deputies and was subsequently shot and killed,” it...

A 15-year-old freshman shot himself in the head in a Lecanto High School classroom Tuesday morning. According to Citrus County Sheriff Jeff Dawsy, the unidentified boy suffered the self-inflicted gunshot wound in an English class with about 20 other students in the room. There were no other injuries. The school was placed on lockdown at about 10 a.m. while emergency officials responded. The boy was taken to a Tampa-area hospital in critical but stable condition. Officials recovered a semi-automatic 9 mm pistol in the classroom. "By the grace of God, even though we had a horrific event, only one individual...

Well, congratulations to Citrus County, Florida for providing America with the next Daniel Harless-style video. Harless, of course, was the Canton, Ohio cop who threatened to execute a law-abiding card-carrying good guy for having the audacity to lawfully exercise his right to carry the means with which to protect himself. Harless was eventually canned (links to videos can be found here) and subsequently won his job back if he could pass a medical screening. A couple of days ago, this new video from Citrus County, Florida made its splash. Now it’s gone viral. (Sorry we’re a little behind the curve....

Citrus County Florida Deputy Andy Cox threatens to shoot concealed carry licensee for lawfully carried handgun & then arrests him for accidental exposure.

A Florida woman claims that police pulled her over for a minor traffic infraction, strip searched her on the side of the road, and “forcibly removed” a tampon that she was wearing.... The woman... filed a lawsuit against the Citrus County government, Sheriff Jeffrey Dawsey and six unknown officers last week seeking damages.... The policeman, the lawsuit says, then pulled her over, approached with his gun drawn and put Tarantino in handcuffs while her two small children — ages one and four — watched... Over the next two hours, five other policemen arrived, including a female officer, and Tarantino was...

TAVARES, Florida — The judge in the murder trial of a man accused of killing Jessica Lunsford has stopped jury selection because he says an impartial panel can't be found in the area. John Couey's taped confession and other details of the case have received widespread media coverage. The judge threw out the confession before the trial because investigators ignored Couey's requests to speak to an attorney during questioning. Attorneys spent three days this week weeding out potential jurors who had been exposed to news reports about the case. Circuit Judge Ric Howard had moved jury selection to Tavares in...

WILL THERE BE JUSTICE FOR JESSICA LUNSFORD IN Circus (Citrus) County On March 19, following the arrest of John Couey. I realized I had knowledge of whereabouts Couey on and around March 3. He was living in the home of Gene and Madie Secord, on N. Whitewater Terrance in Crystal River, which the Secord had just rented on March 2. Couey’s resided with them after they all fled from their pervious home in Homosassa, which they shared with Dorothy Dixon and Matthew Dittrich only 8 days after a innocent soul, Jessica Lunsford disappeared. He immediately refurbished the kitchen floor for...