Only in Florida minute for April 25th, 2014

Florida woman calls police over sun halo in the sky

     The residents of Tampa were treated last week to a sun halo. A sun halo is a when the light from the sun is refracted by the ice crystals of very high clouds, making sometimes a darker patch of sky around the sun with a rainbow ring at its edge. While most simply enjoyed the view, a Tampa woman panicked, ran to a bus station and called 911.

     "This has never happened before in Tampa, Fla. Please go outside and look up in the sky and look at this weird object," she said pleadingly. "It's a big dark circle and it's all the way around and it has never been in the United States of America. Never, ever."

     I love the confidence of this woman. Not content to stop with the city, she brings the entire country into it. As it turns out, sun halos are not that rare of an event. The 911 dispatcher is recorded promising the woman that she would send an officer to her location to check it out. The woman was apparently confused why they would send someone to her, told the dispatcher that it could be seen from anywhere.

GOP Lawmaker Arrested After He Allegedly Ran A Red Light Leaving Taco Bell Drunk 

     A Florida lawmaker's early morning taco run was cut a bit short when he was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence around 2 a.m. Monday morning.

     Rep. Dane Eagle (R) was taken into custody after officers saw him nearly hit one curb, then veer into another after running a red light. Eagle's eyes appeared to be bloodshot and offices claimed they could smell alcohol on his breath. Eagle refuted the last claim, saying the smell was not from him, but from some friends who had been to a bar and had ridden with him earlier.

     Eagle refused to take a sobriety test, telling the officers that he was good to go home on his own, despite stumbling out of his car after the officers pulled him over. Eagle was taken to jail, but he was not there long. He made it back to the statehouse to vote on an issue Monday afternoon.

     Tuesday, Eagle released a written statement saying, "While there are some decisions that I would have made differently, I do not believe there is a complete and accurate picture of the events,". Eagle continued by saying, "Under advice of my legal counsel, I cannot discuss all the details right now, but I look forward to publically (sic) sharing the entire story at an appropriate time. Until then, I humbly ask for everyone's patience. I know that I am accountable for my actions, and I look forward to communicating with my constituents in the near future on this matter."

     Hands up, how many people think he really looks forward to talking about this with his constituents in the near future? Anyone? Anyone? Yeah, I don't think so either.

Only in Florida minute for April 24th, 2014

USF Bans Selfies at Graduation

     Selfies have been taken for nearly as long as cameras have been around. With cameras being more and more widespread thanks to their near universal inclusion on cell phones, the popularity of the selfie has soared to new heights. However, it seems like the administration of the University of South Florida are not as enamored with the selfie as almost everyone else is. 

     Graduation is coming up at USF and as a preemptive strike, the school's Division of Student Affairs, has been doing everything in it's power to discourage people from taking selfies as they are handed their diplomas.  In their fight against the selfie, the administration has sent out emails and placed ads in the school newspaper. They have gone as far as threatening to withhold the diplomas of those who whip out their cameras while they are shaking hands with the president of the university.

     "We want students to think about the dignity of the ceremony," said Michael A. Freeman, USF assistant vice president and dean for students. "It's supposed to be exciting, but it's a serious academic ceremony." The school has reasons to ban the selfie other than the lack of dignity on the part of the selfie taker. 

     From a practical standpoint, the planned ceremony is already lengthy, and adding time for selfies would make it even more so. Not to mention the poor audience. The parents and family members of those whose names are near the end of the alphabet will have to wait long enough as it is. The school is also paying a professional photographer to take a picture of every single graduating student as they receive their diploma. Who would want a poor self shot when a nice frameable one would be available? 

‘Her crazy’: Florida woman goes on rampage after store owner won’t exchange dollar bills for her jar of coins

     Coins, in any large quantity, can be quite heavy. Lugging around even a few dollars in quarters, nickels, dimes and pennies can get tiring fast. That's one of the reasons that paper currency is so popular. Can you imagine having to lug around a jar of change instead of carrying around a light 20 dollar bill just to get a tank of gas? One woman was dismayed, to say the least, after deciding to forgo all the other options such as a bank or machine like Coinstar, and demanded a clerk a store owner take the time to do it instead. 

     The unnamed owner tried explaining to the woman that he didn't have the time to count out all her change for her. This apparently drove the woman into a frenzy. Surveillance cameras captured the woman pointing aggressively at the owner, followed shortly thereafter by her knocking items off the counter and onto the floor. 

     The store owner then followed the woman outside, only to be greeted by racial slurs death threats from the woman. Looking for help, the owner asked Danya Bennett, who was sitting with her daughter, to call 911. Apparently, this sent the woman over the edge and she swung her fist at the store owner. Unfortunately, the woman hit Bennett's daughter, seven-year-old Kami. 

     Police are still investigating, and the woman has not yet been arrested. The outside surveillance cameras do show the woman swinging, but the tape is unclear as to where the blow landed. 

  

Only in Florida minute for April 23rd, 2014

     If you take anything away from this post, it should be that you might not want to mess with senior citizens.

Woman gets eyeful from would-be purse snatcher

     An unidentified 64-year-old lady got quite the eye full this past Sunday when, according to police, 25-year-old Michael Gallo attempted to steal her purse. As she exited her vehicle, Gallo grabbed the woman's purse, and attempted to run off with it. However, he didn't get far. 

     Intent on keeping her purse, the woman stood her ground against Gallo. As the pair struggled over the purse, the woman went as far as punching the would be purse snatcher.

     Eventually Gallo had enough and let go of the purse and began to run off. Yet, he wasn't content to part with out loosing one final offence at the woman. Gallo loosened a sweatshirt that had been bound around his waist, and exposed his genitals to the woman. Gallo then raised both his middle fingers and cursed at the woman before he escaped.

     Gallo didn't make it far. He was apprehended by police only three blocks away, and was positively identified by the woman as her attacker. Gallo was charged with attempted robbery by sudden snatching and lewd and lascivious exhibition for this incident, and also faces charges for soliciting in public related to a different incident. 

     Jacksonville man, 89, arrested after son-in-law shot in TV dispute, dare

     An 89-year-old Jacksonville man, Kenon Lee Ferguson faces charges of aggravated battery after a dispute with his 59-year-old son-in-law, Joel Edward Perry, over watching television. Ferguson reportedly told his son-in-law that “you don't own anything in this house,” to which Perry allegedly replied, "do something about it".

     Apparently deciding to do just that, Ferguson went to his bedroom and retrieved his .38 caliber pistol. After this, the fight between Ferguson and Perry escalated. At some point Ferguson fired off a round, hitting Perry in the leg. Officers arrived around 7:30 p.m., and took Ferguson into custody. 

     Perry and his wife, Ferguson's daughter, were living at the residence when the incident occurred. However, records show that the the house is in Ferguson's name.  

     

Only in Florida minute for April 22nd, 2014

Man busted in illegal napping location

     Most people like to take naps, however, few people would be willing to break into a house just to have one. Jeffery Dale Bolduc of Niceville claimed the he was doing just this when he was found by police in an unoccupied home with a broken window and a cinder block.

     Bolduc told officers that he knew the house was unoccupied when he entered it. When asked about the window, Bolduc claimed it was that way when he arrived there. He claimed that he only touched the screen and the block, but never used the latter on the former. 

     For his trouble, Bolduc was charged with criminal mischief and burglary of an unoccupied dwelling. No word on if he got his nap. 

Blotter: Fun Fact: It doesn't matter who put the weed in your glove box

     It has been said that hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. However, one woman's attempt to throw her ex to the cops came back to bite her. 

     A local officer pulled the unnamed woman over when she was discovered driving through the Panama City Mall parking lot around two in the morning. Smelling marijuana, the officer asked the woman to step out of the car so it could be searched. As she did so, she excitedly proclaimed that the weed in her glove box was put there by her ex-boyfriend. The officer quickly instructed the woman that it didn't matter who placed it there. As she was the one driving, the marijuana was considered to be in her, not her ex-boyfriends, possession.

     The woman now faces charges of possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Pair sentenced in videotaped beating of homeless man

     You can find almost anything on the internet. From cute kittens to the most offensive porn or gore imaginable, chances are it's there. Jeffery Williams of St. Petersburg, attempted to add to the negative end of that spectrum by filming a scantily clad Zuzu Vargo beating developmentally disabled schizophrenic James Cayer, in order to sell the film online as sadomasochistic pornography. 
     Both Vargo and Williams were found guilty last year of aggravated abuse of a disabled adult. While they could have faced up to 30 years they were sentenced this week with Vargo receiving 37 1/2 months jail time and Williams facing as much or more, as he was the organizer and was an experienced businessman.
     The sentencing judge denied the claim that the defendants had no way of knowing that Cayer was mentally ill when he signed the liability waiver before the incident. The judge also required that Vargo undergo treatment for her own substance abuse and mental disorders, including post-traumatic stress disorder.
     While this closes the case on the incident with Cayer, the pair still face charges for aggravated abuse of a disabled adult of another person.