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Trial begins in case of white woman who fatally shot Black neighbor during dispute
Read full article: Trial begins in case of white woman who fatally shot Black neighbor during disputeA Florida jury will determine whether a 60-year-old white woman was justified when she fired through the door of her central Florida apartment a year ago, killing a Black mother during an ongoing dispute over neighborhood children.
Jury selected in trial of Florida woman accused of fatally shooting mother of 4
Read full article: Jury selected in trial of Florida woman accused of fatally shooting mother of 4A jury of six men and two women were selected Tuesday for the trial of Susan Lorincz, a 60-year-old Ocala woman accused of fatally shooting her Black neighbor last year, an incident that has sparked outrage and protests.
Families need help after Florida workersโ bus crash with DUI driver kills 8, injures 37
Read full article: Families need help after Florida workersโ bus crash with DUI driver kills 8, injures 37Families in need are grieving on Thursday after seven men and a woman from Mexico โ who were in central Florida on a temporary work visa for Cannon Farms workers โ died in a crash.
Florida elementary school principal faces charges for allegedly beating special needs student
Read full article: Florida elementary school principal faces charges for allegedly beating special needs studentA Central Florida school administrator is facing charges after deputies say he was caught on camera beating a student.
Broward court: Probation officers give up on man and recommend โmaximum prison sentenceโ
Read full article: Broward court: Probation officers give up on man and recommend โmaximum prison sentenceโAdam Joseph Stone, who was at the Broward County main jail on Wednesday, has a history of violence, according to court records. Broward County judges gave him a chance for years, but the Florida Department of Corrections recently had enough.
VIDEO: Road rage incident leads to shooting between two truckers on Florida highway, deputies say
Read full article: VIDEO: Road rage incident leads to shooting between two truckers on Florida highway, deputies sayA truck driver is facing charges after deputies said he shot at another truck driver on I-75 in Marion County and it was all caught on camera.
Search for fatal Ocala mall shooting suspect continues
Read full article: Search for fatal Ocala mall shooting suspect continuesDetectives were searching for a 39-year-old suspect on Tuesday after a shooting at a mall in Ocala killed a man and injured a woman. There is a $5,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.
A man is killed and a woman injured in a 'targeted' afternoon shooting at a Florida shopping mall
Read full article: A man is killed and a woman injured in a 'targeted' afternoon shooting at a Florida shopping mallAuthorities in central Florida have issued an arrest warrant for a 39-year-old man accused of fatally shooting another man at a shopping mall two days before Christmas in which police say the victim was โtargetedโ for the attack.
Protesters call for arrest of white woman who fatally shot Black neighbor
Read full article: Protesters call for arrest of white woman who fatally shot Black neighborA Florida sheriff says detectives must investigate self-defense claims before any criminal charges can be brought against a white woman who fatally shot her neighbor last week in the violent culmination of what the sheriff described as a 2ยฝ-year feud.
Mother fatally shot by neighbor after dispute over playing children, sheriff says
Read full article: Mother fatally shot by neighbor after dispute over playing children, sheriff saysA Florida mother was fatally shot through the front door of her neighborโs home while her 9-year-old son stood next to her, a violent culmination of what police said was a 2ยฝ-year feud.
Mother fatally shot by neighbor after dispute over playing children, sheriff says
Read full article: Mother fatally shot by neighbor after dispute over playing children, sheriff saysA Florida mother was fatally shot through a door outside a neighbor's home after what officials characterized as a 2 1/2-year feud over playing children.
Suspect arrested in Florida after killings of 3 teens
Read full article: Suspect arrested in Florida after killings of 3 teensA 16-year-old boy wanted as part of an investigation into the killings of three teenagers in central Florida was captured by authorities, days after another teenager and a 12-year-old were charged in the deaths.
Gov. Ron DeSantis holds news conference with FDOT secretary
Read full article: Gov. Ron DeSantis holds news conference with FDOT secretaryGov. Ron DeSantis is holding a news conference Friday morning with Florida Department of Transportation Secretary Jared Perdue and EFI President and CEO Laura Dibella in Ocala.
DeSantis-Disney feud continues to heat up; Governor claims company โwill pay its debtโ
Read full article: DeSantis-Disney feud continues to heat up; Governor claims company โwill pay its debtโGov. Ron DeSantis held a press conference in Ocala on Wednesday where he answered questions about a bill that was introduced Monday, which would give Florida control of Disneyโs Reedy Creek Improvement District, changing its name to the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District.
Man accused of fleeing from deputies on stand-up scooter in Florida Keys
Read full article: Man accused of fleeing from deputies on stand-up scooter in Florida KeysA 38-year-old man from Ocala was arrested Wednesday after fleeing from deputies on a stand-up electric scooter and then jumping in the water, authorities said.
Florida men who attacked Black man with axe handle, punches, yell slurs face federal hate crime charges
Read full article: Florida men who attacked Black man with axe handle, punches, yell slurs face federal hate crime chargesTwo men have been charged by a federal grand jury for committing a hate crime after they allegedly attack a man because of his race.
Prison guard extradited to Miami to face charges in inmateโs beating death
Read full article: Prison guard extradited to Miami to face charges in inmateโs beating deathA prison guard has been extradited to Miami from Los Angeles to face charges in connection with the beating death of an inmate in February.
Gov. Ron DeSantis signs $1B tax cut bill; diapers, gas among items affected
Read full article: Gov. Ron DeSantis signs $1B tax cut bill; diapers, gas among items affectedFloridians will save on items ranging from diapers and gasoline to auto racing tickets and energy efficient appliances under a $1 billion tax cut package signed into law by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Teens arrested after drive-by shooting were facing charges in prior fatal shooting
Read full article: Teens arrested after drive-by shooting were facing charges in prior fatal shootingEarlier this month, a teenage boy told police his friend, 16-year-old Christopher Broad, died while they were testing a bulletproof vest.
Florida couple pleads guilty to attacking bears with dogs
Read full article: Florida couple pleads guilty to attacking bears with dogsA married couple has pleaded guilty to using doughnuts and pastries to lure black bears in rural Florida, allowing packs of dogs to attack them and then posting the gruesome videos on social media.
Florida woman has bizarre defense after being accused of trespassing at hotel pool
Read full article: Florida woman has bizarre defense after being accused of trespassing at hotel poolA Florida woman, who was arrested at an Ocala hotel for disorderly intoxication, said she was targeted because "her body looked good".
Man and bear killed in Florida motorcycle crash
Read full article: Man and bear killed in Florida motorcycle crashOCALA, Fla. โ The Florida Highway Patrol says a motorcyclist hit a bear that was standing in the westbound lane of State Road 40 near Ocala. Troopers say the crash late Thursday night killed the man and the bear. A news release says the 42-year-old man was taken to Ocala Regional Medical Center where he later died of his injuries. The bear was dead at the scene. The agency did not release the name of the man.
Ernst wins Drive On Championship for 3rd LPGA Tour title
Read full article: Ernst wins Drive On Championship for 3rd LPGA Tour titleAlbane Valenzuela misses a putt during the final round of the LPGA Drive On Championship at Golden Ocala in Ocala, Florida on Sunday, March 7, 2020. [Alan Youngblood/Special to the Ocala Star-Banner]OCALA, Fla. โ Austin Ernst won the Drive On Championship on Sunday for her third LPGA Tour title, pulling away to beat fellow former NCAA champion Jennifer Kupcho by five strokes at Golden Ocala. She won the NCAA title in 2011. Itโs just unfortunate thatโs when mine came for the week.โWinless on the tour, the former 23-year-old former Wake Forest star from Colorado won the NCAA title in 2018 and the inaugural Augusta National Womenโs Amateur in 2019. Nelly Korda, tied with Ernst and Kupcho for the first-round lead, had weekend rounds of 76 and 75 to tie for 28th at even par.
Florida prison failed to protect women inmates from staff, report shows
Read full article: Florida prison failed to protect women inmates from staff, report showsOCALA, Fla. โ Federal investigators say a Florida womenโs prison has likely violated inmatesโ constitutional rights by failing to protect them from sexual abuse by staff. According to a report released Tuesday, the U.S. Justice Departmentโs Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorneyโs Office for the Middle District of Florida concluded that there is reasonable cause to believe that the conditions at Lowell Correctional Institution in north Florida violate the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution. The Eighth Amendment prohibits โcruel and unusualโ punishment. The Justice Department provided the prison with written notice and suggested minimum remedial measures that include installing additional video surveillance and adopting new policies to protect inmates.
Fugitive of 35 years was living in Florida under fake ID
Read full article: Fugitive of 35 years was living in Florida under fake IDOCALA, Fla. โ Authorities say a man who fled a drug conspiracy charge in Nebraska 35 years ago has been arrested in Florida, where he was living under a false identity. Court records show 72-year-old Howard Farley Jr. was arrested Wednesday at his north Florida home. He faces a passport charge in Ocala federal court and up to 10 years in prison. According to a criminal complaint, Farley applied for a passport in February using the false identity. Records show that Farley was the only defendant not apprehended in the case.
Florida police chief killed in plane crash
Read full article: Florida police chief killed in plane crashDUNNELLON, Fla. โ Authorities say a Florida police chief died when the plane he was piloting crashed into an open field. Ocala Mayor Kent Guinn confirmed the death of Ocala Police Chief Greg Graham on Sunday. Marion County Fire Rescue says the plane crashed around 11:30 a.m. into an open field, not far from the Marion County Airport. Guinn says Ocala Deputy Chief Mike Balken will be named interim police chief. โHe loved Ocala and Ocala loved him,โ Sheriff Billy Woods told WKMG-6 in Orlando.
Wall Street-owned loans tricky for hoteliers in virus era
Read full article: Wall Street-owned loans tricky for hoteliers in virus eraFILE - In this Oct. 23, 2019 file photo, developer Danny Gaekwad talks about the roof top bar on his Hilton Garden Inn hotel that is presently under construction in Ocala, Fla. Since the coronavirus crisis started, hotel owners say they are struggling to get relief on a type of loan that Wall Street investors buy. [Doug Engle/Ocala Star-Banner via AP)
Boy, 9, charged with attempted murder of 5-year-old sister
Read full article: Boy, 9, charged with attempted murder of 5-year-old sisterOCALA, Fla. โ A 9-year-old boy has been charged with trying to kill his 5-year-old sister by stabbing her with a kitchen knife inside their Florida apartment last month, officials said. The boy was charged Tuesday with attempted first-degree murder and appeared in court on Wednesday in the central Florida city of Ocala, prosecutors said. When she returned, she said she found the boy stabbing his sister with a kitchen knife in a bedroom. The child told investigators he thought of killing his sister two days before the Jan. 28 stabbing, Ocala police said. The public defender's office is awaiting results of a competency examination that will determine whether the boy understands the charges, the Ocala Star-Banner reported.
Florida mother, her 4 kids found dead
Read full article: Florida mother, her 4 kids found deadCasei Jones, 32, and her children, who range in age from 1 to 10, were last seen about six weeks ago in the Ocala, Florida, area, the sheriff's office said. On Sunday, Michael Jones crashed his van near Brantley County in southeast Georgia, about 150 miles north of Jones' last known Florida address. Deputies "smelled a foul odor" coming from Michael Jones' van, according to a Brantley County Sheriff's Office press release. Marion County officials said a warrant for second-degree murder charges has been issued for Jones' arrest. "True evil poked its head up here in Marion County," Sheriff Billy Woods said.