Palm Beach County
STUDENT ARRESTED
Park Vista High School student Maxon Forest, 18, of Lake Worth, is facing charges after he was allegedly caught with a handgun at school. Forest also had a bag of marijuana and was taken to the Palm Beach County Jail. He could be expelled from school.
MARIJUANA
DISCOVERED
Eight bales of marijuana washed ashore in Jupiter. Boats and aircraft from the U.S. Border Patrol combed the area unsuccessfully looking for the smuggler. They did find more bales on nearby Jupiter Island, which is in Martin County. The marijuana was neatly packaged in one-kilo bales and authorities suspect it was dumped from a boat or dropped from an airplane to waiting suspects.
MAN KILLED
Martiece T. Jennings, 22, was killed and a second man was injured by gun shots in Riviera Beach. It happened in the 600 block of West 9th Street. Jennings was pronounced dead at the scene and the condition of the second man is undetermined. Police have no motive for the shootings, but the investigation is active. Anyone with information about this shooting is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-458-8477.
Broward County
ABUSE CHARGES
John Dosal, 31, is charged with beating a 2-year-old toddler with a cell phone cord and throwing him against the wall because the child would not eat. Dosal is also accused of beating the child’s pregnant mother when she attempted to intervene. The child threw up from forced feedings and was left with a black eye and bruises over his body.
WHAT A MESS!
The Broward County Democratic Party is in a mess. Party Chair Cynthia Busch is being heavily criticized by some black party members after she fired a black staffer in the local party’s headquarters. Office manager Michael Howson was fired and replaced with Travis Perron, who is white. Busch dismissed the controversy by calling it a “stunt” by black party activists; however, it appears that with just over a year until the presidential election cycle, Democrats are fighting and the controversy could have an impact on voter turnout and volunteers.
FLAKKA BUST
Lauderhill Police infiltrated an alleged flakka distribution ring, which resulted in the arrest of 8 people who are accused of selling the drug near schools. Police believe they are all members of the Bloods street gang. Authorities say David Moore, who has a long list of convictions, is the ring’s leader.
Miami-Dade County
BABYSITTER CHARGED
Stephanie Pensado, 24, of Miami is facing charges after admitting to having sex with a teenage boy she was babysitting on multiple occasions. It is unclear how her actions came to light, but she told police she had sex with the child at least eight times, at her home. Both she and the teen said the sex was consensual.
MANAGER RESIGNS
North Miami’s City Manager, Aleem Ghany, announced he is quitting the $209,000 a year post. He was hired just over a year ago. He has been with the city for more than 19 years and previously held the position of Public Works Director. Ghany had been criticized about the preparedness of his staff for commission meetings. The elected officials wished him well, but no one asked him to reconsider his decision.
FIRING BACK
Wireless services provider T-Mobile has announced its extended range service and coverage in South Florida and a lifetime guarantee for faster connections and downloads, even in rural areas, particularly for smart phones. In an industry first, if customers are not satisfied with the enhanced services, T-Mobile will unlock their phones for use with any other carrier. T-Mobile eliminated contracts in 2012, which led other major wireless carriers to do the same or offer cheaper plans.
Monroe County
COMMISSIONER
ARRESTED
Miami-Dade County Commissioner Jose ‘Pepe’ Diaz was arrested in Key West on driving under the influence charges. Diaz, 55, was charged after he was pulled over for speeding. He was going 74 miles per hour in a 30 miles per hour zone, in the city, on a motorcycle. Officers became suspicious after Diaz failed to put the motorcycle’s kickstand down and it fell to the ground. Sobriety tests were administered and he was placed under arrest.
$100K SETTLEMENT
The Monroe County School Board has settled a lawsuit with the parents of a child abused by former substitute teacher William Britton for $100,000. Britt is serving an 18 year federal prison sentence on sexual assault charges. He was convicted of molesting one of his students.
CHILD SEX CHARGES
Roberto Carlos Aquino Arevalo, 33, of Stock Island, was taken into custody for allegedly having sex with 13-year-old girl. The child told a school official about the encounter, which led to an intensive investigation. That investigation led to Arevalo being charged with lewd and lascivious behavior with a child.
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