A Polk County man was under arrest for shooting three passing cars with an automatic rifle.
Haines City police caught the man standing along Bates Road and US-17/92 with the high-powered gun Saturday. Officers said one woman was shot in the leg and another victim was hit by shattered glass.
The suspect was booked in the Polk County jail as "John Doe" because he gave police three different names.
A pet store is offering a cash reward for the safe return of a pricey parrot who can bark like a dog.
Employees at Petland on Waters Avenue said a man went into the store Thursday and looked at some dogs and birds.
The next thing they knew, the man and Skittles the parrot were gone. Employees said it looked like a planned operation.
"They came here to steal. They might not have known what they were going to steal, but they came here to steal," assistant manager Deidra Rosenberg said.
Skittles is a Yellow-shouldered Amazon parrot who can say "I'm a Rottweiler" and bark like a dog. Rosenberg said the parrot is worth about $2,000.
Petland is offering a cash reward for the bird's safe return.
Ah huh, caught! He didn't come here to steal our jobs! He came here to steal our birds!!!
Palm Bay police used calls made from a rape victim's stolen cell phone to track down her attacker. Police said the 19-year-old suspect from Trinidad broke into a home and raped a woman with her family members nearby.
Police said the man came to Palm Bay from Trinidad to look at colleges. It started with him allegedly looking at a young girl and a young woman through their windows, but now he's looking at spending his time in the U.S. behind bars.
Dwayne Modeste had little to say as he was led away to jail. Police said the 19-year-old was walking down his street when he saw a 13-year-old girl and 20-year-old woman in front of their home. When they went inside, he still apparently wanted to see more.
"He started by looking in the windows and watching them and then he entered the house," explained Det. Steve Hill, Palm Bay Police Department.
When the 13-year-old screamed, police said, he originally ran outside, but then came back in and went into a room where the 20-year-old was and was able to attack her sexually.
The victim's aunt started beating him with a mop handle, until she was overpowered and then she ran back into a bedroom.
"He armed himself with a machete that he found in the kitchen, threw it into the bedroom in their direction," Hill said.
Modeste eventually left with their cell-phone. He was staying with his grandparents, who told Eyewitness News they didn't know about the crime until police showed up and said he has brought disgrace and shame upon their family.
Police were able to find him by essentially tracing cell phone calls made from the stolen cell phone. Federal immigration officials were called, but local police said they believe he will be prosecuted in the U.S. before being allowed to go back to Trinidad.
On top of his license revocation, Rodriguez was sentenced to clean-up the memorial to his adult victim and her unborn child. What a travesty of justice here. The judge should be banished from the bench forever and the invader should be banished from this earth forever. Complete injustice, a very disgusting and sickening case.
Rodriguez Pleads Guilty to DWI Charge
A Leland man suspected of being under the influence of alcohol when he hit and killed a woman five years ago has been convicted of driving while impaired.
Efrain Rodriguez pleaded guilty to a DWI charge in a New Hanover County courtroom on Monday.
Rodriguez has a history of driving drunk.
He has been arrested twice before on DWI charges. In 2003, he hit and killed a pregnant woman then drove away.
Police suspect he was drunk but couldn't prove it since they didn't find him until the next day.
Rodriguez served less than a year for the hit and run.
The victim's father says he wants Rodriguez behind bars for life.
Rodriguez will lose his license for a year.
As part of his guilty plea, he will have to serve community service by cleaning up the memorial of the woman he killed.
Victim, her murderer was sentenced to a year of license revocation and to clean-up her memorial, she, was sentenced to death.
The passive father, he tried to the best of his ability to seek justice for his daughter's killer, but the cards were stacked against him. He was insulted, abused and intimidated at the court house and in the end, his worst fears were realized, justice escaped him, his daughter and his unborn grandchild.
The invader, comes in to a country in which he doesn't belong. Kills a citizen of that country and walks away as if nothing happened. Some claim there is a conspiracy against the White inhabitants of America, to those I say, this case strengthens your argument even further. They can kill a member of our race, even an innocent young woman with child and it's like "nothing happened." Yet, we kill a member of theirs and it's like the world stopped. Well, stops with the exception of the printing presses and the talking heads on TV, they never forget. Once again I'm left with few words but those few words need to be said . . . what a lowdown, dirty shame! Wake-up folks, before it's too l-a-t-e.
