Top Local News Stories for Umatilla, Florida.

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Suspected terrorist lived in Central Fla.

The FBI said a Moroccan man suspected of carrying out a suicide attack on the U.S. Capitol used to live in the Kissimmee area.

Published: Sun, 19 Feb 2012 04:37:33 GMT

Deputies: Man arrested after dealing drugs to teens

Lake County deputies arrested a teen they said is suspected of dealing drugs to students at East Ridge High School. Deputies said 18-year-old Morgan Johnson was arrested early Saturday morning on drug charges at his home at 2324 Golden Aster St. in Clermont. Deputies said surveillance was done on Johnson's home Friday, where they watched after school was let out. Deputies said they were led to believe drugs were being sold out of the home. Street crimes detectives made traffic stops on several cars that left the home, where they got more information and were able to get a search warrant. During the search of the home, detectives located and confiscated approximately one-and-a-half pounds of high-grade marijuana that was packaged for sale, drug paraphernalia, $5,000 in cash, and other items related to the sale of narcotics, deputies said. Deputies said the marijuana that was confiscated has a street value of approximately $4,500. Johnson was charged with felony possession of marijuana with the intent to sell within 1,000 feet of a school and possession of drug paraphernalia. His bond was set at $30,500 at the Lake County jail. The investigation is ongoing and at least one additional arrest is expected.

Published: Sat, 18 Feb 2012 21:32:19 GMT

Explosion at vacant home sparks blaze

Orange County firefighters were sent to a home at 300 Dover Street around 2:42 p.m. Saturday after a report of an explosion came in. Authorities said a caller advised there was a loud explosion and fire coming from the vacant home. Firefighters arrived and found a part of a wall pushing out and flames come from a window, officials said. Officials said firefighters were able to put out the blaze and it caused significant damage to the home. Officials said there were no injuries from the fire or explosion. The State Fire Marshal office was requested to investigate the exact cause and origin the fire.

Published: Sat, 18 Feb 2012 21:13:34 GMT

3-Car accident shuts down Interstate 4

Altamonte Springs police were at Interstate 4 just west of State Road 436 trying to clear an accident that had the road shut down, Saturday morning. Police said three cars were involved in the accident, with one of those cars flipped on the road. Eastbound I-4 was completely shut down and westbound was moving slow, for miles. Police eventually cleared the accident just before noon. Traffic is moving smoothly in the area.

Published: Sat, 18 Feb 2012 22:06:20 GMT

Shooting at party injures 2

The Orange County Sheriff's office is investigating a shooting that happened at a birthday party around 2:22 a.m. Saturday. Deputies said they were called to 4591 Charleen Terrace after shots were fired at a party. When deputies arrived, they discovered the suspects fled, leaving behind two victims. Deputies said one of the shooting victim's had already been taken to Health Central hospital for treatment. Another person was shot and still at the party, deputies said. That victim was taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center, and deputies said he was listed in critical condition. Deputies did not identify the victims. Deputies said they have very little information and are continuing their investigation.

Published: Sat, 18 Feb 2012 16:26:15 GMT

New document say police investigated more hazings

Documents show that Florida A&M University police investigated at least 10 complaints about hazing involving the school's famed marching band between August 2007 and November, when a band member died after being hazed, the Orlando Sentinel reported Saturday. The newspaper reported that it received the campus police documents through a public records request. Among the documents is a complaint from former FAMU student Bria Shante Hunter days before alleged hazing ceremonies Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 left her with a broken leg. Three students have been charged with hazing Hunter. Hunter told campus police that she complained to a band employee during a band trip to South Carolina around Oct. 22 about being "battered" earlier in the semester during an initiation by a group affiliated with the band, the documents show. Chuck Hobbs, an attorney for longtime band director Julian White, said that if the employee heard a complaint about hazing, he should have reported it. "Protocol dictates that band staff, upon receiving reports of hazing, are required to report them to Dr. White, who immediately reports any alleged incidents to FAMU police," Hobbs said. White was not informed of any hazing involving Hunter until her parents contacted him about her injuries in November, Hobbs said. White is on administrative leave. The documents detail hazing Marching 100 band members reported in the years before Robert Champion died in November. Authorities are still investigating Champion's death on a charter bus during a band trip to Orlando. On Aug. 25, 2007, the mother of a clarinet player complained to campus police that her daughter was hospitalized after being hit with a clothes hanger and other items during band practice, according to the documents. It's unclear whether anyone was disciplined for that incident. Later that month, after a freshman reported being hit on the elbows with the metal portion of a musical instrument's mouthpiece, two seniors were suspended from the band, and two people were later arrested, the records show. One man was charged with battery after allegedly hitting another student twice in the face on Sept. 18, 2007, calling him a racial slur and demanding that he quit the band, the records show. The documents show that one campus police investigation was prompted by a letter from FAMU President James Ammons' office in late 2007. The result of that investigation was not available. After Champion's death, Hobbs wrote Ammons a letter stating that hazing had been met with "reckless indifference by White's superior officers who often ignored his requests for assistance," according to the records.

Published: Sun, 19 Feb 2012 04:42:09 GMT

Deputies: Mom accused of killing son 'hated baby since he was born'

Neha Patel, a mother of two, made her first appearance in Hillsborough County Court Saturday after confessing to killing her one year old son. She slapped him. She let him drown. Polk County detectives said she hated him. Her husband, Rasesh Patel told authorities his wife, Neha suffered from post partum depression after giving birth to their son Ishan. Experts say post partum depression affects 10 to 15 percent of mothers and could last even a year after the baby is born causing a mother to suffer from fatigue, crying fits, depression and mood swings. Doctors say PPD is treatable and if you are having harmful thoughts, seek help immediately. The 32-year-old had nothing to say to reporters Friday night as she was carted off to jail, but she did tell detectives all the disturbing details. Even after the baby drown, she dressed him back up and drove around, ultimately driving to Tampa International Airport where she planned kill herself. Detectives say Patel blamed baby Ishan for her state of mind. Patel was brought back to the Polk County jail Saturday afternoon.

Published: Sat, 18 Feb 2012 21:54:58 GMT

Man released after plea deal in infant's death

Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers reports that 32-year-old Christopher Evers spent a total of 3,192 days at the Indian River County Jail and a state mental treatment facility before pleading no contest Friday to manslaughter. Evers had been facing charges of murder and aggravated child abuse for the 2002 shaken-baby death of 4-month-old Katherine. If convicted, he could have been sentenced to life in prison. Friday's plea deal makes him a free man. Evers' attorney says his client maintains his innocence.

Published: Sun, 19 Feb 2012 04:45:46 GMT

Burglars scale beachside balconies

Brevard County Sheriff's deputies said they have distributed more than 300 fliers to residents from Cocoa Beach to Sebastian Inlet after a string of burglaries targeting sliding glass doors. These burglars are brave and apparently in great shape. In Ted Bieniewicz's Indialantic beachside apartment, they even scaled up a wood beam to get onto the balcony. He said the burglars ripped a 14 foot plank from a nearby beach access ramp, then used it to scale up to his sliding glass door. "They put a plank from here down to there, and walked up the plank right up to here," said Bieniewicz as he stood on his balcony that is roughly 10 feet above the ground. "Keep things locked up. Some people go out and they leave the screen [open] and they go downstairs. They think they're safe up here, they're not. Even up above. These guys can climb." Up the beach in Satellite Beach, Bunny Thompson thought living on the second floor made her safe. Not anymore. "I never lock my slider," said Thompson. "But I'm going to start to lock it now." Burglars have hit her condo complex several times and now neighbors are using storm doors to close off their ocean views day and night; opting for safety over beauty. "You just have to take precautions," said Fred Schwecke. "You put pins in your sliders or bars. We close our shutters at night and make sure they're locked all the time." "My fear is to be asleep at night and have somebody in the house," said Debbie Schwecke. "I used to be adamant about not locking the shutters. I lock them every night now." So far, deputies said there have been at least 22 different burglaries and they're all breaking in through the sliding glass doors. It seems, however, that anybody with a sliding glass door can become a victim because deputies said the burglaries are not confined to apartments and condos along the beach. Deputies still need help catching the burglars and are asking people with information to call Crimeline at (800)423-TIPS.

Published: Sat, 18 Feb 2012 04:36:24 GMT

Victim says alleged con woman took $200k, husband made death threats

Bin Lin came to the United States in 1995 in search of a better life. He lost his legal visa status several years ago, after trying to go to Canada. When he met Melissa Domato, he thought she could help him legally regain the proper status in the United States. Lin said he first met Domato in 2009 as Melissa Rosario, a woman who claimed to be an immigration attorney who had ties to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He said she promised to help him get a green card and that she could secure legal immigration status for dozens of his friends and family members too. Lin began giving Domato payments ranging from $2,000 up to $15,000 for the work she was supposedly doing. He said he paid her $60,000 of his own money but she took around $200,000 total from he and his family members. He said he handed the payments to Domato's office manager, Sorraya Leon, who would sign off on each receipt. By the spring of 2011, Lin had seen no results and was frustrated. He said he called Domato several times, and went to her then office in Metrowest to try to speak to her. According to Lin, that is when Domato's husband started making threats. "He said I'm gonna come to you. I'm gonna kill you," said the 36-year-old restaurant owner. In May 2011, Domato was extradited to New Jersey on an arrest warrant for theft by deception. She's accused of taking $25,000 from a man to take care of his immigration paperwork. The arrest warrant indicates that according to that victim, Domato did not provide any services. Five Central Florida families, not including Lin's, have spoken to Local 6 regarding Domato's alleged scam. Many of them are British citizens who had legal visa status until they sought out the help of Domato. Natalie Cockerill and her husband, Mark, run a successful real estate business in Orlando and went to Domato to update their visas out of convenience. "We were completely legal we went to a person we believed to be an immigration attorney she had a position of trust," said Cockerill, who paid Domato $6,000 last year. They also said Leon handled the processing of the money and the contracts. Local 6 tried to contact Leon several times for information about Domato's business, but she would not return any phone calls. Local 6's Mike Holfeld tracked down Leon outside a coffee shop in Kissimmee, but she refused to comment about Domato or her affiliation with the business. Lin and the Cockerill's are trying to renew their visas under a victims of crime provision on the immigration law. The Cockerill's said they gave sworn statements to officers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement who are reportedly investigating Domato's alleged scam. A spokesperson for ICE could neither confirm nor deny any ongoing investigation. The Florida Bar said they recieved a complaint about Domato identifying herself as an attorney in December. They are currently investigating that complaint. A spokesperson for the bar said depending on the outcome of the investigation there could be both criminal and civil actions taken. The unlicensed practice of law is a third degree felony in Florida. Domato has a court date in Essex County, New Jersey on Feb. 27. The prosecutor's office there is looking into whether or not she violated the conditions of her bond by returning to Florida after her arrest. As a condition of her bond, she was not supposed to leave New Jersey. However, alleged victims in Central Florida cliam they met with her in Orlando in the fall. They said they will issue a new warrant for her arrest if it is determined she violated her bond. Many of Domato's victims said they are now waiting for a law enforcement agency to sign off that they are willing witnesses to this reported crime, so they can get their visa status adjusted. Local 6 will continue to follow this story.

Published: Sat, 18 Feb 2012 04:44:11 GMT

Brevard mom battles partner for custody of their child

Two Brevard County moms are headed for the State Supreme Court in the first custody battle of its kind in Florida. Two women in a relationship for 11 years split up—but they had a child together in 2004 after they had been dating for eight years. They had planned to raise their little girl together, which they used one partner’s egg in the other’s womb. The woman whose DNA was used sued for custody but based on state law, a Brevard County circuit judge found the woman who delivered the child is the birth mom, and therefore, has parental rights, while the biological mother does not. Attorney Robert Segal represents the biological mother, Tina, the woman whose egg was used to conceive the child. "They decided to harvest an egg from my client, have it fertilized in vitro-inplanted into the birth mother, who then gave birth to the child," Segal said. Tina said she was devastated and appealed. "They were very deliberate in bringing this child into the world and she was a very committed parent and she still is, but she is being denied access," Segal said. The Court of Appeals agreed with Tina, saying state law has not kept up with the times. It directed the lower court to work out an agreement, but it also asked the Florida Supreme Court to weigh in on the constitutionality of the law, which could take several more months. "We are asking for time sharing as much time as she can get with this child,” Segal said. Tina said she has kept cards and artwork from her daughter. She said she and her partner tried for years to have the child and when it finally happened it was "a miracle." She said they lived as a family until the women broke up in 2006. Afterward, Segal said they continued to share custody and his client even paid child support. "December 2007 rolled around and birth mom decided she wasn't interest in having my client be a part of the child's life anymore and she disappeared," Segal said. It took several months before the birth mother and child were tracked down in Australia. Local 6 reached out to the other woman's attorney, but they were not available to comment.

Published: Sat, 18 Feb 2012 00:07:52 GMT

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