News Update 7/12/24
Skeletal remains were discovered yesterday afternoon in Avon Park at an abandoned residence on Memorial Drive. The remains were reportedly found by a group of local boys that entered the residence to play. Reportedly, the remains found still had clothes and were found next to a sleeping bag and other items indicating that the person was staying at the dilapidated house when the death occurred. Highlands County sheriff’s deputies and crime scene technicians said the remains were likely there at least a year or two before being discovered. The investigation is ongoing, pending results from the Tenth Judicial District Medical Examiner’s Office.
A Sebring man has been charged with attempted murder and armed robbery in relation to a shooting incident on March 15th at the Veranda Breeze Apartment Complex in Sebring. 19-year-old, Abner Yasir Martinez allegedly shot the victim while he and two other suspects attempted to rob him at gunpoint. The victim sustained a gunshot wound to his left leg but survived after a shootout between himself the three suspects. Martinez and the other two suspects denied involvement but a search of Martinez’s phone found several photos of firearms matching the description of firearms used in the robbery. Martinez was arrested on Tuesday and is being held at the Highlands County Jail without bond.
An Orlando woman won’t have to go to prison for bringing ammo into a foreign country. A judge yesterday in Turks and Caicos fined Sharitta Grier 15-hundred dollars, gave her a 23-week suspended sentence and released her. The 45-year-old was arrested in May while visiting with her daughter. Police say they found two bullets in Grier’s carry-on luggage. She pled guilty and could have gotten as much as 12 years in prison.
Florida’s digital driver’s licenses are no longer available in app stores. The state this week pulled the product from iOS and Android app stores, and those that have already been downloaded are no longer active. Users have been told to remove the app from their phones. The state did not give a reason for the change, but it says a new app should be available early next year.
A car that followed the same path of Madeline Soto’s alleged killer has detectives in Osceola County intrigued. Court documents released yesterday show Kissimmee Police saw a white Nissan travel almost the same route as Stephen Sterns the day after Soto disappeared. Sterns is accused of killing the 13-year-old Soto. The 38-year-old was dating her mother. According to the documents, investigators used surveillance cameras to track Sterns’ car on February 26th as it traveled from the Venetian Bay Village apartments to Old Hickory Tree Drive. The next day, the white Nissan traveled almost the exact same route between 3:00 and 4:30 in the morning. Soto’s body was found in the woods nearby on March First. Sterns’ trial is set for October.
An Orange County city is the first in Central Florida to vote against Florida’s new affordable housing law. Winter Park leaders decided to partially opt out of the Live Local Act during yesterday’s meeting. The measure would have provided tax breaks for developers who build middle-income apartments through at least 2027. City officials made the decision to protect their budget since they say apartment complexes are their biggest taxpayers. The vote will not impact incentives for low-income housing developments.
A man on death row will stay there in connection to the murder of a Tampa Bay child more than five years ago. The Florida Supreme Court unanimously upheld the death sentence for 48-year-old Tyrone T. Johnson yesterday. He was previously convicted in the deadly shooting of his girlfriend and her ten-year-old son at a Hillsborough County apartment in 2018. The justices say there is evidence to prove Johnson shot Ricky Willis while he was hiding under a bed. Meanwhile, the defense tried to argue that the crime scene was poorly managed, potentially disrupting the evidence. The state’s highest court released its final weekly opinions yesterday before going on its annual summer break until August 22nd.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are mourning the loss of a legend. Former defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin passed away yesterday. He was 84. Kiffin was with the Bucs for 13 seasons, from 1996 to 2008, and he was part of the staff that won the 2002 Super Bowl. The Glazer family that owns the team says Kiffin was a beloved and iconic member of the Buccaneers family, and a true innovator who helped create one of the signature defenses of the early 2000s. Kiffin was inducted into the Bucs Ring of Honor in 2021.