News Update for 12/17/24
Judge Angela Cowden has gone along with the recommendation of the jury and sentenced Zephen Xaver to death for killing five women at a Sebring bank in 2019. Xaver entered a guilty plea to five counts of murder earlier this year, and in June, the jury voted nine to three for the death penalty. During his sentencing trial, defense attorneys tried to show Xaver had a history of psychological and mental issues. In issuing her ruling, Judge Cowden said she gave those mitigating factors little to no weight.
Police are investigating bomb threats at two Publix locations in Florida. The first incident took place at a Central Florida store yesterday. St. Cloud police evacuated staff and customers while they searched the area. No threat was found. St. Johns County police were also dispatched yesterday to the Publix in Ponte Vedra Beach’s Sawgrass Village. Investigators have not said whether the threats are related.
Walt Disney World is suing over how much it had to pay in Central Florida taxes. The company filed more than a dozen lawsuits against Orange County Property Appraiser Amy Mercado late last week, accusing her of inflating the value of its properties for the 2024 tax year. The alleged impacts were directed at Disney’s Orlando area theme parks and hotels, which caused the company to pay nearly 100-million dollars in taxes. Similar cases have been submitted by other big name attractions, including Universal Orlando Resort. Mercado, as well as the county’s tax collector and the Florida Department of Revenue, have been named in the lawsuits.
A five-year-old boy is safe after he was reported missing out of Lake County. Tavares police say Jace Saunders, who’s autistic and semi-verbal, is in good health and will be released to the Department of Children and Families. The child’s grandmother is accused of kidnapping Saunders Sunday afternoon after officers and social workers showed up to a home off Tara Drive in an attempt to remove him. The grandma, Kelly Dasilva, has been taken into custody for questioning. Meanwhile, the boy’s parents, Taylor Judy and Brandon Saunders, and a family friend were arrested for the interference of child custody.
A Central Florida deputy is hurt after an apparent road rage incident in Osceola County. It happened yesterday afternoon in St. Cloud near 13th Street and Connecticut Ave. St. Cloud Police say Daniel Siekawitch stabbed the off-duty deputy in the shoulder. The deputy then pulled his gun and detained the 32-year-old suspect until police arrived. He’s charged with aggravated battery. The deputy has not been identified. His injuries are not life-threatening.
A Central Florida school nurse is facing child sex crime charges. Ormond Beach investigators arrested 50-year-old Joshua Leggett Sunday morning. The New Smyrna Beach High employee is accused of traveling to meet a child after using a computer to lure the victim. The school district released a statement after he was taken into custody, saying Leggett has been placed on leave and will have no interaction with students moving forward. New Smyrna Beach police say they are conducting their own investigation to determine if additional allegations surface in their jurisdiction.
A global biotech company is hoping to conduct its own cancer research in Central Florida. Osceola County Commissioners are set to vote on a multi-year expansion in Neo City’s tech district as part of Empyrean Medical Systems’ plan to build a facility for cancer treatment developments. Starting next year, the medical group wants to lease a building in the area for the manufacturing of high-beam radiotherapy systems before constructing its own operation by 2028. The development is expected to create at least five dozen jobs. If the contract is approved, a plan could be finalized in the coming months.
A family’s pets are credited with saving a woman’s life during a fire in St. Petersburg. A home on 66th Way North caught fire Sunday while Carly Rush was in the shower. She says she heard her three dogs barking, and when she came out of the bathroom, she could smell smoke and saw it spreading in the living room. Rush estimates that in another five minutes, she would have died. Rush and the dogs got out OK, and no one was hurt, but she, her fiancé and their ten-year-old daughter are displaced. Also, her fiancé’s landscaping equipment was destroyed. A GoFundMe page has raised over three thousand dollars, and the family is grateful. Rush tells 10 Tampa Bay it’s the help they have received that makes her emotional.
A new bill is trying to end in-state tuition for undocumented college students in Florida. The measure recently filed by Republican Senator Randy Fine would reverse a 2014 state law, potentially impacting thousands of people. Currently, young immigrants who grew up in Florida are able to qualify for DACA, or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, which temporarily protects them from deportation and allows them to benefit from in-state tuition. Fine says he believes it’s maybe time to stop giving illegal immigrants a reason to come to America. Meanwhile, Democrat State Representative Anna Eskamani says it’s important to stress that in-state tuition is being accessed by people who grew up in Florida and also pay taxes. Lawmakers are scheduled to return to Tallahassee for the next legislative session in March.
Florida’s attorney general is asking FEMA to address what she calls a disturbing issue. Attorney General Ashley Moody announced yesterday she has asked the federal agency to ease regulations that prevent many families from rebuilding or repairing their homes after the recent hurricanes. Moody says these burdensome regulations by FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Plan require repairs many can’t afford. She says this is making it so people on limited budgets could be forced to leave the communities they love.