LAKE COUNTY, FLA. — A judge has sentenced a Lake County, Fl. man to life in prison for committing heinous sex acts on a child and sharing the images on social media. Jesse A. Keifer, 38, of Clermont pleaded no contest to sexual battery of a child younger than 12, five counts of lewd and…
Author: frank
Don’t let baloney blitz keep you from voting.
Thomas Jefferson said, “We do not have government by the majority. We have government by the majority who participate.” I saw one post on social media by a person who said they were not going to vote because the election is going to be stolen anyway. Show me the evidence. Let’s don’t let our divided…
Don’t go bats over bats
Just in time for Halloween, state wildlife officials are telling people not to harm bats that might be literally hanging around in your house. Unlike vampire Dracula, Florida bats are beneficial, capable of eating hundreds of insects each night, including mosquitoes and crop pests, and acting as pollinators. In fact, it is illegal to kill…
Man gets life sentence for strangling stepmom at cemetery
TAVARES, FLA. — Ian Anselmo, who strangled his pregnant stepmother in the cemetery she was later buried in, was sentenced to life in prison Friday. Anselmo’s lawyer, Richard Hornsby, argued that while there were aggravators, there were also “extreme” mitigating circumstances that called for a lower sentence. He suggested 15 to 20 years. The extreme…
Hurricane Milton death toll rises
LAKE COUNTY, FLA. – The death toll from Hurricane Milton climbed to 3 in Lake County with the discovery of a couple in Tavares that died of apparent carbon monoxide poisoning from a generator at their home. The bodies of Perry Leintz, 67, and Constance Albrecht, 85, were discovered Tuesday afternoon at 24 Holly Drive…
‘Say ‘cheese’ security cameras, odd sweatshirt leads to murder arrests
LEESBURG, FLA. – A suspect’s unusual fashion statement and a series of security cameras has led to his and a codefendant’s arrest for the murder of an 87-year-old man at a gas station. Police have arrested Kenneth D. Bailey and Craig A. Stevenson Jr., both 22, in the slaying of Clarence H. Ervin on Sept….
87-year-old robbery victim dies, police arrest 2 men
LEESBURG, FLA. – The 87-year-old man who was robbed and shot at a gas station on Sept. 28 has died, and two of the three suspects have been arrested, police announced Monday. Clarence Ervin died Sunday of his injuries in the brazen daytime attack at 2101 W. Main St. Kenneth D. Bailey, 22,…
Three men sought in shooting of elderly man at gas station
LEESBURG, FLA. — Police are searching for three men in the shooting of an elderly man at a gas station Sept. 28. Officers responded at 2:40 p.m. at 2101 W. Main St. to find the victim unconscious in his automobile. Cell phone video collected by investigators show that there was a confrontation, possibly an attempted…
Women charged with exploiting elderly widow
LEESBURG, FLA. – Police have arrested three women on charges that they were defrauding an elderly woman in a scheme that that robbed her of $350,000. Kimberly Bitting,56, Lara Larsen, 57, and Ashton Silvis, 35, were arrested by Leesburg police. “Bitting, who had obtained power of attorney over the senior widow, abused this authority to…
What does it mean to be a Southerner?
How great is it to be a Southerner? It is not just about being native-born. Some people, like me, were hatched in the Midwest or other places but have spent years feeling the red clay of Georgia or the sand of Florida squeeze up between our toes. So, what is it, exactly? It is barbecue,…