Free Republic

YouTuber King Cid, who has 2 million subscribers on the platform, was last week arrested after he and his friends in January misused 911 as part of a YouTube "coke" prank, according to police. Cid, whose legal name is Jason Cid, in a video uploaded to his YouTube channel showed the January 27 incident. In the video, Cid told a friend call local police about "weird, suspicious activities" at a gas station in Southern Florida. But the car the friend reported to the dispatcher was the one occupied by Cid and his friends. Cid was charged with the third-degree felony...

A 15-year-old Florida boy who shares the name of the iconic, fictional crime boss portrayed by Marlon Brando in “The Godfather” faces multiple charges after a wild chase that ended in him being shot by authorities, according to reports. Vito Corleone-Venisee was charged with aggravated assault Friday in connection to the pursuit by Miami-Dade authorities that left him paralyzed from the neck down, the Miami Herald reported. Young Vito and two other people were on their way to a car meetup in a 2021 Dodge Challenger on Jan. 16 when authorities spotted a stolen vehicle, a Dodge Charger, next to...

John M. Graham, 33, and Klandi Brooks, 24, arrested TuesdayA man who dressed as a woman to carry out two robberies was arrested along with another man in Volusia County, according to the sheriff’s office. Deputies said John M. Graham, 33, is accused of robbing two stores and Klandi Brooks, 24, is accused of helping Graham flee. The sheriff’s office said Graham is accused of robbing a Circle K store clerk at gunpoint in DeBary just before 3 a.m. Tuesday, demanding cigarettes and money. Deputies said surveillance video of the robbery shows a man wearing a black hat, black wig,...

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (FIRSTCOASTNEWS) — A Jacksonville woman allegedly poisoned her boyfriend’s drink because he wouldn’t stop talking. Alvis Parrish, 54, is facing charges of poisoning food or water with intent to kill or injure. According to an arrest report from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to a home on Dec. 7 in reference to a poisoning. When law enforcement got there, Parrish was sitting on her front porch yelling at them, reported local NBC/ABC affiliate First Coast News. As deputies got closer to her, Parrish reportedly said, “Yeah, I did it… because he wouldn’t shut the f*** up.” As...

A Jacksonville woman allegedly poisoned her boyfriend’s drink because he wouldn’t stop talking. Alvis Parrish, 54, is facing charges of poisoning food or water with intent to kill or injure. According to an arrest report from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to a home on Dec. 7 in reference to a poisoning. When law enforcement got there, Parrish was sitting on her front porch yelling at them, reported local NBC/ABC affiliate First Coast News. As deputies got closer to her, Parrish reportedly said, “Yeah, I did it… because he wouldn’t shut the f*** up.” As she was being handcuffed,...

A judge ordered a Florida man arrested after he missed a court date last week on charges he helped scam an 82-year-old Milford woman out of $83,000 — despite the fact that the man’s lawyer said his client died months ago. Johnny Masesa, 45, was due in court Nov. 4 on a first-degree larceny charge connected to the 2018 theft from the woman, who told police a man claiming to be from Publisher’s Clearing House sweepstakes called her saying she “was in the running for a prize,” but needed to transfer money to claim it. Over the course of a...

A "Teacher of the Year" in Florida was arrested Friday after she allegedly struck a minor in the face – causing a nosebleed – after the student posted a message on Instagram questioning the educator's selection for the top honor, according to a report. Caroline Melanie Lee, the 60-year-old teacher at Darnell-Cookman Middle/High School, was subsequently arrested. She denied ever striking the student, The Florida Times-Union reported, citing the arrest report. The paper described troubling allegations from a student. The alleged incident occurred after some Instagram commenters questioned Lee being tapped for the honor, the paper reported. One issue that...

Deputies are crediting a smear of red sauce and a pizza box with helping to nab a man accused of breaking into at least two cars in Deltona. SNIP Deputies said they found what appeared to be marinara on the interior of a car door. A few houses down the road, an empty pizza box was found near another car that had been broken into, records show. Investigators said a 9mm handgun and an old concealed weapons permit were taken from this vehicle. As deputies canvased the neighborhood, they said they spoke with a woman who said Smith, an acquaintance...

A 24-year-old Florida former porn star was sentenced on Oct. 6 to 10 years in prison for her role in the shooting and killing of a man in July of 2020, court records show. Lauren Wambles, known also by her performer name, Aubrey Gold, pleaded no contest to an accessory after the fact to second-degree murder with a firearm charge in the death of 51-year-old Raul Guillen, according to court records. Her sentence includes five years felony probation. Guillen was reported missing on Jul. 4, 2020; his body was not found until Aug. 25, 2020, when police search and rescue...

TALLAHASSEE — A Democratic research and political advocacy group wants some of America’s most powerful companies to stop donating to Florida abortion opponents. But local television markets won’t air the group’s ad. Last week, American Bridge 21st Century planned to launch a six-figure ad blitz — the group wouldn’t specify the exact size — in three Florida media markets to call out AT&T, Disney, and NBCUniversal for donating money to anti-abortion politicians. The commercial accused the corporations of backing politicians who plan to pass an abortion law like Texas’ “heartbeat bill,” which bans nearly all abortions after six weeks of...

A Florida man landed behind bars after attempting to trade in a car to the same dealership he stole it from, police said. Timothy Wolfe, 50, is facing charges of grand theft of a motor vehicle, dealing in stolen property, criminal mischief, and petit theft, according to the Lake City Police Department. Early last week, Lake City police responded to a report of a stolen vehicle at a Chrysler Dodge Jeep dealership. According to investigators, employees told officers that Wolfe was trying to trade in his vehicle for a new ride but when a VIN search was performed, Wolfe’s trade-in...

A Chicago woman was arrested in a Florida airport after allegedly making a false bomb threat, officials said. Marina Verbitsky, 46, of the Old Town neighborhood, was arrested Monday night at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, the Broward Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. Verbitsky told airport employees there was a bomb in her checked luggage that was on the plane after she was told she and her party were too late to board the plane, deputies said.

The central Florida diner that announced it will not be serving anyone who still supports President Biden was temporarily forced to shutter on Wednesday after selling out of food. Following the Kabul airport attack that killed 13 United States service members and almost 200 civilians late last month, DeBary Diner owner Angie Ugarte posted a sign in the DeBary, Florida, restaurant’s window informing those who “voted for and continue to support and stand behind the worthless, inept and corrupt administration currently inhabiting the White House that is complicit in the death of our servicemen and women in Afghanistan” to take...

A Pensacola man is recovering from a gunshot wound on Monday, after accidentally shooting himself at a tavern last week. Pensacola police said 28-year-old Carlos Feituuaki Tuifua shot himself at O’Riley’s Uptown Tavern, while showing it off to bar patrons on Thursday. According to a report, Tuifua suffered a gunshot wound to his upper torso and left the bar after the shot was fired. Police found Tuifua at a nearby hospital on Friday, after he checked himself in to be treated for his injury.

A man washed ashore in a cylindrical floating contraption on Saturday after attempting to float all the way to New York. He was not injured. The man told officials he came back to shore after having problems with his vessel. The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office reported that the man left St. Augustine in the vessel with the goal of reaching New York.

Prices in Florida’s ultra-rich Palm Beach community hit an all-time high in the second quarter, as brokers grappled with a record-low number of mansions to sell. The average price for a single-family home in Palm Beach hit $11.7 million in the quarter, up 38% from a year earlier and marking a new high, according to Douglas Elliman and Miller Samuel. Brokers say the flow of wealthy hedge funders, private equity chiefs and other executives in finance moving from New York and other finance capitals has created a sharp rise in demand and prices for a market already known for its...

Suspect tried to flood holding cell after arrest, police sayA Florida man who stole an alligator from a miniature-golf course, swung it around by its tail and threw it into the air claimed he was teaching the reptile “a lesson,” according to the Daytona Beach Shores Department of Public Safety. Police said they were patrolling on South Atlantic Avenue around 3:20 a.m. Thursday when they saw a man later identified as William Hodge attempting to throw a live gator onto the roof of a building. Hodge, 32, grabbed the creature by its tail and hit it against a building awning,...

A woman in Pinellas County, Florida, was arrested late Sunday after she allegedly punched her girlfriend in the face for "talking in her sleep about an ex," documents showed. Officers responded around 10:39 p.m. to a neighbor's report of a fight happening at a residence in the city of Dunedin and encountered the alleged 21-year-old victim, The Smoking Gun reported, citing an arrest affidavit. According to the police report, the unnamed woman said she was asleep at the apartment she shares with her 23-year-old girlfriend Alexis Talley when the latter woke her up because she allegedly started "talking in her...

When business owner Bobby Read approached the Brooksville City Council about purchasing a municipal building at the base of the small Florida city's water tower, he didn't expect the water tower to come with it. Read discovered the mistake after the property had been sold to him for $55,000. The certified personal trainer intended to turn the building, which various city departments used for storage, into a personal training studio named Downtown Athletics. But when he went to the county property appraiser's office to get an address for his new business, the county told him he'd received much more than...

Owner reunited with UrusWhen a 14-year-old boy tried to steal a $200,000 Lamborghini, the luxury SUV’s owner hopped on a scooter to chase after the culprit who’d stolen his prized possession. Chris Sander told WSVN he was at his home in Miami Beach Tuesday night when he heard the sound of his Lamborghini Urus’ engine roaring. “It’s just a straight hustle. Police going everywhere,” he said. “I’m in my home. I hear this thing start up. I look out the window and I see somebody driving it away. I got on the scooter, went after the guy.” The station reports...