Man purposely crashed into wife’s bedroom March 7, 2013

CAPE CORAL, FL – Police arrested a Cape Coral man and charged him with Attempted Felony Murder and Aggravated Assault for his alleged involvement during a domestic violence dispute.

At 6:20 a.m. Tuesday, Cape Coral Police got a call about a vehicle that crashed into a home at 303 SW 16th Terrace.
When officers got to the scene, the found out a mini-van had hit the rear wall of the home where the master bedroom is located.

Officers found 41-year-old Jose Luis Acevedo and his wife, 45-year-old Yolima Papa-Sanchez, in the home.
Papa-Sanchez was seriously injured.
Investigators say they found out Acevedo drove his van into the exterior wall of the home where the master bedroom was located on purpose, knowing that his wife and their 7-year-old son were inside.
Police say Acevedo then exited the van, walked around to the open garage door and confronted Papa-Sanchez.
The two began to arguing and then, according to police, Acevedo grabbed an aluminum baseball bat.
Police say he then hit Papa-Sanchez multiple times with the bat causing serious injuries to his wife.

“I heard screaming… a woman screaming a lot,” said neighbor, Pat Townsand

They say he did all of this in front of his son.

Papa-Sanchez suffered injuries to her skull, fractures to her forearm, multiple contusions, lacerations and defensive wounds.

Papa-Sanchez was trauma-alerted to Lee Memorial  Hospital for her injuries, where she remains.

Officials there say she is expected to survive.

Jose Luis Acevedo was taken into custody and taken to Cape Coral Police headquarters where he told detectives that he tried to kill his wife.
Acevedo has since been taken to the Lee County Jail.
The 7-year-old boy was not injured and is in the care of relatives.

Ricky Michelena, a friend of the family for about three years, says he noticed Acevedo did have a bit of a temper but the couple rarely argued around him.

Naked Florida man throws toddler down stairs March 6, 2013

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — A man ran naked around his apartment complex and threw a toddler down the stairs early Monday morning, according to St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office deputies.

Joseph Izzi, 24, was arrested and charged with child abuse, battery and resisting an officer.

According to the SJSO, around 1 a.m. Monday, Izzi was seen running through Fairview Apartments in the St. Augustine Shores neighborhood.

When deputies arrived, they say Izzi ran up to his second floor apartment, jumped out of the balcony onto the ground and then kicked and bit a deputy.

A SJSO report said Izzi had earlier thrown a child out of the front door and down a flight of stairs.

The 2-year-old had face and head injuries and has been released from the hospital. The child is now in the care of relatives, according to John Harrell with the Florida Department of Children and Families.

Harrell said DCF did not draw Izzi’s blood.

“That would be something done by law enforcement,” Harrell said.

Police did not test Izzi for drugs because they had enough probable cause to charge him for child abuse, according to SJSO Public Information Officer.
Izzi’s roommate Kevin Funk said the child is Izzi’s daughter. Funk said he has never seen Izzi act like that before.

“He is a great father,” Funk said.

That night, Funk said Izzi had part of a drink and smoked some marijuana. Funk believes Izzi was drugged and may have been hallucinating, as Izzi said “demons were there” to get him.   Funk said Izzi acted like he was going to throw her down the stairs, but Funk said he caught her before she hit the ground. The police report said the child was thrown down the stairs.

Izzi is going to school to be a chef and has a full-time job, according to Funk, who said Izzi would never hurt his child.
“He can’t even spank her,” Funk said.

Dad made son, 9, steal copper wire

New Port Richey, Florida — A New Port Richey man was arrested Saturday after police say he had his 9-year-old son steal a can of copper wire from a woman who helped them find a place to stay.

Pasco Sheriff’s deputies say Troy Davis went over to Pamela Zaineb’s home, whom he had recently stayed with with his son, to talk to her about a bicycle in her back yard. While Davis distracted her, a neighbor reported seeing his 9-year-old son run into the house and come back out with a coffee can.

After Davis and his son left, the neighbor informed Zaineb of the incident and she called police. When police interviewed Davis’ son at their motel room in Holiday, he told them he stole the can because his dad told him to because they needed money. Davis told deputies he sold the 1.5 pounds of wire for $4.

Davis, 49, was arrested and charged with Petit Theft and Dealing in Stolen Property.

Daughter, 12, captured dad torturing family cat on video

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Shocking video shot by a 12-year-old girl shows her father abusing the family cat, police say, with allegations of much worse off camera.

James Fiengo was arrested Tuesday for hurting the family cat, Joey. Fiengo, of 400 Airoso Blvd., also is accused of abusing Daisy, a female German shepherd, according to a Port St. Lucie police report.

RAW VIDEO: Watch the full video provided by Port St. Lucie police

Port St. Lucie Animal Control learned of the abuse from Fiengo’s wife, who showed animal control the video taken by their 12-year-old daughter. Fiengo is seen squeezing the cat’s head and twisting and pulling the cat’s ear.

In another video he forcefully squeezes the cat’s head then holds the cat upside down and bats its head.

Not shown on the video are other claims of abuse by Fiengo made by his wife. Police report Fiengo regularly picks Joey up by the tail and swings him back and forth, squeezes the cat’s tail in an attempt to “crack it like a stick,” throws the cat across the house and punches him in the stomach.

Fiengo’s wife says the cat “doesn’t chew right” and has a deformed ear now. She also told police Fiengo abuses the dog Daisy by sitting on her and biting her muzzle until she yelps. She said the family has had two cats prior to Joey that she had to get rid of “for their own protection” because Fiengo “cracked” the tail on the first one and threw the second one against a wall, knocking it unconscious.

Fiengo’s wife said she has obtained a restraining order against her husband for threats he has made to his daughter for recording the videos.

A veterinarian examined the cat and found cartilage damage to the cat’s right ear. The vet also x-rayed the cat’s tail and found it showed chronic trauma.

He has been arrested on two counts of felony animal cruelty.UPDATED: Daughter captures Port St. Lucie man torturing family cat on video

Dad busted after son told church leader about his kiddie porn collection March 3, 2013

A 49-year-old Montverde resident was arrested Friday on 200 counts of possession of child pornography after his 16-year-old son confided with his church youth leader about his father’s collection on Thursday, according to a Lake County sheriff’s report.

The youth leader told the church’s pastor, who alerted law enforcement, the report said. David James Mahn turned himself in to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, accompanied by the pastor, youth leader and two external hard drives on which he admitted to storing thousands of images of child porn including images of children as young as 1 year old, the report said.

The pastor, whose identity was not listed in the report, told authorities he confronted Mahn on Thursday about the illegal images. He said Mahn admitted to downloading child porn and decided it was time to come clean, the report said.

Mahn told authorities he had a problem with child porn since he was a teen, stating he first subscribed to nudist magazines and then turned to the Internet to expand his collection. He was taken into custody and transported to Lake County Jail, where he is being held at $400,000 bond, after a detective previewed one of the external hard drives.

Boy, 3, in critical condition after drinking Drano from sippy cup at meth lab February 27, 2013

A Milton boy, 3, is in critical condition at Sacred Heart Hospital after drinking what is believed to be Drano that was being stored in a sippy cup at an apartment where methamphetamine was being produced.

Both parents and five other people are charged in the case.

The incident occurred Feb. 20 in a unit in Pineywoods Place apartments in Milton, according a report released today by the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s office. On the evening of the incident, the child drank the chemical from a sippy cup in the bathroom of the apartment while unsupervised and suffered an immediate reaction.

The child was transported to a medical facility and is still undergoing critical care, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

Investigators believe that several people were at the apartment that night making methamphetamine, in which Drano is a component.

The child’s father, Jonathan Wayne Glass, 36, was arrested on Friday and is being held at Santa Rosa County Jail in East Milton without bond, according to the report.

Glass is charged with one count of cruelty towards a child/abuse that causes great bodily harm or disability, three counts of possession of a harmful drug without a prescription, four counts of drug possession without a prescription, one count of opium or derivative trafficking and one count of possessing or using drug equipment.

Victoria Lauren Cain, the child’s mother, is also facing charges related to this investigation, as are Debbie A. Harris, John Q. Adams, Ronnie E. Olson and Justin E. Godwin.

Florida couple arrested while making meth with children in home February 21, 2013

A Casselberry couple has  been accused of manufacturing methamphetamine with children in the  home.

Scott McFarland, 33, and  Rachel Pernestti, 27, were arrested by Casselberry police Tuesday night.

Officers served a search  warrant on the home they share and found an active meth lab, including  methamphetamine itself.

The couple have two  children who live with them, ages 8 and 13 months.

Officials said they also  found a handgun.

McFarland and Pernestti  are in jail without bond.

Florida man arrested after posting photos of his kids riding manatee calf February 19, 2013

A 21-year-old Fort Pierce man is facing charges of harassing a manatee calf during a visit last month to Taylor Creek.

Authorities arrested Ryan William Waterman after he allegedly posted online photos of himself and two young children petting a manatee calf at a park area along the Intracoastal Waterway opposite the St. Lucie Inlet and southwest of St. Lucie County International Airport.

One image on Waterman’s Facebook page shows him lifting the calf partially out of the water and another shows a child sitting on top of the manatee, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

The Florida Manatee Sanctuary Act makes it illegal to injure, harm, harass, capture or attempt to capture a manatee. If convicted, Waterman faces a fine of $500 and up to 60 days in jail, FWC spokeswoman Katie Purcell said.

A human interaction of this kind may seem harmless but can have serious consequences for manatees and other wildlife, FWC officials said.

“This was a young manatee which was likely still dependant on its mother for food and protection,” said Thomas Reinert, an FWC manatee biologist. “Separating the two could have severe consequences for the calf.”

The calf also appeared from the photos to be experiencing cold-stress syndrome, which can kill manatees in extreme cases, Reinert said.

“Taking the calf out of the water may have worsened its situation,” Reinert said.

Last November, Pinellas County authorities arrested Ana Gloria Garcia Gutierrez for allegedly riding a manatee along the coastal waters of Fort De Soto Park near St. Petersburg.

Florida father accused of feeding bleach to baby February 18, 2013

OCALA,  Fla. —A 2-month-old baby was recovering Sunday after authorities said her  father added bleach to her baby formula.

Ocala Police Department  Sgt. Michael Summer said Carron Washington, 20, fed the infant bleach because he  heard it could help with the baby’s congestion.

However, Summer said  Washington changed his story several times.

The baby was originally  taken to Munroe Regional Medical Center in Ocala but was moved to Shands Medical  Center in Gainesville, where she was listed in stable condition.

Medical staff said they  noticed the baby’s vomit smelled like bleach, and the bottle of baby formula  also smelled the same way.

Washington faces charges  of aggravated child abuse.

He was held on $25,000  bond.

Florida girl witnesses father commit double murder, tells mother: “Daddy killed two black men” February 16, 2013

An accused shooter is  charged in the deaths of two men after his daughter told her mother she  witnessed the killings, according to Orange County Sheriff’s Office  investigators.

Laureano “Larry” Romero’s  arrest report indicates his daughter said she saw him shoot DeAngelo Cox, 22,  and Nick Lewis, 21, on Tuesday at a home in the Taft area.

Romero, 39, was arrested  and faces two first-degree murder charges.

According to the report,  the girl told her mother, “Daddy killed two black men.” Deputies said it was  Romero’s mother who called authorities to report what her granddaughter said she  saw.

Other witnesses apparently  told deputies they saw Romero drive away from his Taft home after the  shootings. He was using Cox’s Pontiac, according to the report.

“I can say there was a  relationship between the suspect and the murder victims, that they had a prior  relationship and that they were known to one another before this happened,” said  Orange County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Jane Watrel.

Deputies believe the  shooting stemmed from some kind of drug deal gone awry. Romero told  investigators that he shot the men out of fear and in self-defense.

According to the arrest  report, Romero called his brother and told him he had killed two men because  they were making threats and he “had to protect himself.”

The deaths shocked friends  of the men killed.

He’s a good kid. He was an  awesome guy, a hell of a friend,” friend Jamar Clark said about Cox, who worked  at an area Boys and Girls Club.