Palm Beach County
PROBATION VIOLATION
John Austin Kinley, 24, of Boca Raton has been charged with lewd behavior with a child under the age of 16. Authorities are keeping tight-lipped on the specifics. Kinley also is being held on a charge of violation of probation. This case seems mysterious; we’ll see.
AT&T JOBS
AT&T is hiring 55 people immediately to work as wire technicians. The jobs are part of a 300-employee expansion in South Florida related to the company’s Project Velocity IP investment plan, which is expanding its broadband networks.
PERFUME BUST
Adriana Torres of Miami allegedly was seen on video stealing several bottles of high-end perfumes from the Abercrombie & Fitch store at Boca’s Town Center Mall several weeks ago. When security guards spotted her entering the store this week, they were ready. She was allegedly caught trying to steal more than $2,000 worth of perfume from the same store. Police said she used a bag lined with tin foil to avoid detection by security sensors.
Broward County
EX-HOA CHIEF CHARGED
Catherine Helen Morris, 56, former president of the Springtree West Cove Homeowners Association, was charged with stealing $73,584.75 from the association. Police said Morris transferred the money from an association account to her personal bank account between November 2012 and February 2013.
Miami-Dade County
FRAUD SENTENCES
A federal judge in Miami has sentenced two people to prison in connection with a fraudulent tax returns scheme that netted them nearly $2 million. Geto Dorlizier, 25, of Boynton Beach, was sentenced to more than nine years and Jourmel Thomas, 38, of Lake Worth to five years. The two, who operated a tax preparation business, were charged with filing more than 700 fraudulent tax returns valued at more than $29 million and made more than $1.9 million. They pleaded guilty to lesser counts.
WALMART HIRING
Walmart is hiring 300 people to work in its new store in Naranja scheduled to open in the summer. A hiring office has opened in the Madeira Center at 28850 S. Dixie Hwy, Homestead. Applications can be taken to the center between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m., Mondays through Fridays or completed online.
COP ON DRUG CHARGES
Miami-Dade Police Department Director J.D. Patterson is having to deal with a federal cocaine conspiracy indictment against Lt. Ralph Mata. The FBI has accused Mata of providing protection, sensitive information and security for a drug trafficking organization. The ring allegedly smuggled cocaine into the U.S. by concealing it in shipments of bananas and other produce from the Dominican Republic and Ecuador.
SALES SAVVY
Clinton Portis, former NFL Pro Bowl running back turned broadcaster, was able to avoid a $512,000 foreclosure on his 2,070-square-foot condo in Bristol Tower located on Brickell Avenue in Miami. Through some savvy dealing, he sold the unit for more than $900,000 and was able to pocket some hefty cash in the process. It’s a sign that the real estate market is on the way back in South Florida. Portis played for the University of Miami, the Denver Broncos and Washington Redskins, retiring in 2010.
Monroe County
WAR MEMORIAL
The Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall was a big hit when it made a stop at Key Largo Community Park. It is a three-fifths scale replica of the original Vietnam Veterans Memorial national monument in Washington, D.C. The exhibit is scheduled to make only two other appearances in Florida this year, in Melbourne and DeSoto counties.
WRONGFUL DEATH
The family of Charles Eimers, who died in custody after Key West police pulled him over for a traffic stop, has sued the city and 12 police officers alleging wrongful death. Defendants were served this week. On Thanksgiving Day, police pulled over Eimers, 61, of Birch Run, Mich. Officers said he drove away and was stopped at the end of Duval Street. When he got out of his car, police forcibly subdued and handcuffed him. He stopped breathing, began turning blue and was rushed to a hospital, where he was put on life support. He was pronounced dead on Dec. 4. The family claims he was suffocated and beaten by police. An autopsy revealed that Eimers had 10 broken ribs. Some medical experts say that could have been caused by efforts to resuscitate him.
UNDERSEA LAB
Fabien Cousteau’s much-delayed “Mission 31” experiment will begin June 1 at Aquarius Reef Base. He is the grandson of the late ocean explorer Jacques Cousteau. His team will conduct experiments for 31 days in a research laboratory in the Florida Keys that sits 60 feet under water.
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