Only in Florida minute for April 21st, 2014

Woman drove wrong way, ignored police warnings, report says

     Someone driving the wrong way isn't too unusual unfortunately. However, someone turning themselves in and then being upset at what follows, is. At least she save the police and taxpayers the time and expense of tracking her down.

Man passed out at intersection for half-hour arrested for DUI

     Alcohol induced nap attacks almost never happen at a good time. You have to hope no one got stuck behind him. The only thing worse than a long red light, is a long turn signal from the car in front. 

Man in bar lets off fire extinguisher; $1,400 in liquor ruined

     No fog machine for your party? This man has the answer.

Man found wandering amid wreck he wasn't involved in

     Rubbernecking on drugs, not even once.

Lastly, the headline of the day: Deputies: Man smothered crying son over video game

     Parent of the year material here. Seeing headlines like this make me wish there was some sort of qualification exam or screening process you had to go through to become a parent. I understand how crazy it can be being a parent, I have a daughter of my own, but there is no excuse for things like this.

Only in Florida 9/9/2013

     Rat infestations have been a problem for mankind for almost as long as we can remember. From acting as a carrier for the black plague, to swarming in like a flood to destroy crops, or just eating holes in everything around our homes, rats have caused problems all over the world. With all this in mind, being trapped in a rat infested jail is one of the worst things I can think of.

     Rat problems in the Miami-Dade County Jail have taken a turn for the worse recently. While the older building has always had issues, things came to a head when inmate Everette Slocum reported to the jail medical staff that he had been bitten by one of the rats while he slept. A rat biting a person is usually not that huge a deal  these days. However, the location of Slocum's bite is. As he slept, a rat crept up onto Slocum's cot, and proceeded to bite him in his testicles. “Blood was everywhere,” Slocum wrote in a complaint to the jailers. “I don’t feel right sleeping in this jail no more,” he continued. “Because it’s rats everywhere and no one is doing nothing to help.”

     Fortunately Slocum made a full recovery, but the rat infestation isn't the only issue with the jail. Several inmates have recently died when they fell ill in the jail. The Department of Justice found that conditions at several of the county’s jails pose a serious health risk to those they keep incarcerated. Management at those jails have vowed to improve, at least while they are under the watchful eye of federal overseers.


More news in brief:

Drunk man tried to get in truck, left takeout on floorboards - At least he left the owners some thing for their trouble?

Police say man threw fan at teen for not looking enough like him - Got to love family.

Naked man collapses, dies in neighborhood rampage - Ahh, good old cocaine, what a drug.

Getting back to nature

Alligator, magic mushrooms led to arrest, wildlife officers say

By Susan Jacobson, Orlando Sentinel

8:47 p.m. EDT, June 11, 2013

Five people were arrested Sunday after a wildlife officer caught them with psychedelic mushrooms, marijuana and an alligator, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said Tuesday.

The officer saw four men and a teenager go into Little Big Econ State Forest near Oviedo and come out with psilocybin mushrooms in a plastic grocery bag, said Joy Hill, an agency spokeswoman.

One man also had a 2-foot-long alligator tucked into a bandanna, she said. It is illegal to possess an alligator without a permit.

Read the rest here.

Well, at least he was honest...

Report: Man declares he's on crack, punches stepdad

Jeremy Brooks Dolan


MARY ESTHER - A local man faces a felony battery charge after he allegedly punched his stepfather and pushed him to the ground.

On Oct. 20 the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office investigated a battery complaint at a Cascabellas residence that occurred between a man and his stepfather.

The victim and several witnesses told a deputy the stepson began "ranting and yelling about different things," according to the arrest report. Then, he told his stepfather he was on crack and began punching him and pushed him. The stepfather fell to the ground.

The stepfather was bruised and bleeding.

Witnesses said the man, 32-year-old Jeremy Brooks Dolan of Mary Esther, acted like "he was on something," the deputy wrote.

Dolan had received stitches on the back of his hand several days before. At the time of his arrest he was bleeding from the stitched area.

He was charged with battery with one prior conviction or subsequent offense. His court date is Dec. 4.