News Update for 8/26/25
A Highlands County pool contractor has been ordered to repay customers he defrauded. On August 11, Timothy Robert Eaton pleaded no contest to seven felony counts after taking tens of thousands of dollars in deposits for in-ground pools he never built. Eaton was sentenced to 10 years of probation and must pay restitution to victims, including Peter Vande Walle, who signed an $80,000 contract and paid half up front before Eaton abandoned the job. Authorities say several other residents were affected, but thanks to help from Senior vs. Crime volunteers and the courts, victims are now beginning to receive their money back.
A Polk County man is facing multiple charges after deputies say he opened fire in a Lake Wales neighborhood — with bullets coming dangerously close to a sheriff’s deputy and a bystander. The incident happened Saturday evening near Walk-In-Water Road and Cypresswood Drive. Deputies say 31-year-old Jonatan Amaria initially claimed he was using a pellet gun, but a search turned up a .45 caliber pistol and shell casings on his property. One vehicle was struck by bullets, but thankfully no one was hurt. Amaria now faces charges including shooting into an occupied vehicle, tampering with evidence, and culpable negligence.
A Polk County woman is accused in a deadly hit-and-run that left a young woman dead on a Lakeland street. Deputies say 24-year-old Aliya Cruz struck and killed 27-year-old Danielle Stilwell in the early hours of August 18th — then drove away without stopping. Investigators later found Cruz’s car hidden in a nearby driveway, its bumper and fender matching parts left at the scene. Detectives say Cruz admitted she “might have hit someone,” but went to work instead of calling 911. The sheriff’s office says she now faces serious charges in the fatal crash.
The Coast Guard is marking what it calls a historic milestone. The Cutter Hamilton offloaded over 76-thousand pounds of illicit drugs at Port Everglades yesterday. With a value of over 470-million dollars, it’s the largest quantity of drugs offloaded in Coast Guard history. Most of it was cocaine. The rest was marijuana. The Coast Guard seized the drugs over the last couple months in the Eastern Pacific and the Caribbean. It estimates there were enough drugs for over 23 million potentially lethal doses. An official says that’s enough to kill everyone in Florida.