Winter Haven, Florida – The Florida Highway Patrol is advising that 71 yr old Winter Haven Man was killed early Monday morning around 2:30am.
According to reports an SUV was traveling eastbound on North Lake Howard Drive when, for unknown reason, the 71 yr old lost control of the vehicle and failed to negotiate a curve. The SUV traveled across the westbound lane and departed the roadway where the vehicle struck a fence, wooden pole, and a tree in successive order before coming to final rest in the front lawn of a home on North Lake Howard Drive. Transported to an area hospital, the driver later expired from injuries suffered during the crash.
Editors note: The FHP does not release names of victims due to Marsys Law.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office Traffic Homicide Unit is currently on the scene of a fatal hit and run crash in unincorporated Lakeland.
The crash occurred at about 6:13 PM, on 1st Street NW, near Stroud Road, in the Kathleen area of Lakeland.
A bicyclist was struck by a work van, which sped away from the scene.
The bicyclist passed away from injuries a short time later.
Traffic Homicide detectives believe the suspect vehicle is an older model white Ford E350 work van. The van likely has damage to the right front area (passenger side), including a non-working right front headlight.
If you have any information regarding this crash or the suspect vehicle, please call the Polk County Sheriff’s Office at 863-298-6200 .
Marsy’s Law is named after Marsalee (Marsy) Ann Nicholas, a beautiful, vibrant University of California Santa Barbara student, who was stalked and killed by her ex-boyfriend in 1983. Only one week after her murder and on the way home from the funeral service, Marsy’s family stopped at a market to pick up a loaf of bread. It was there, in the checkout line, that Marsy’s mother, Marcella, was confronted by her daughter’s murderer. Having received no notification from the judicial system, the family had no idea he had been
released on bail mere days after Marsy’s murder.
Marsy Ann Nicholas
The experience of Marsy’s family is typical of the pain and suffering family members of murder victims so often endure. Marsy’s family was not informed because the courts and law enforcement, though well-meaning, had no obligation to keep them informed. While those accused of crimes have more than 20 individual rights spelled out in the U.S. Constitution, the surviving family members of murder victims have none.
The Marsy’s Law initiative began in California and was led and sponsored by Marsy’s brother, Dr. Henry T. Nicholas III. When it passed in November 2008, Proposition 9, The California Victims’ Bill of Rights Act of 2008: Marsy’s Law, became the strongest and most comprehensive Constitutional victims’ rights laws in the U.S. and put California at the forefront of the national victims’ rights movement.
Said Dr. Nicholas after passage of the initiative, “This is a national movement already. There are hundreds of marches across the country for National Crime Victims’ Rights Week every year. We need to harness that energy to ensure victims’ rights for every American.” Marsy’s Law was opposed by nearly every major newspaper in California state and yet the people of California passed the measure with 54% of the vote. The message was clear – Californians wanted crime victims and their families to have guaranteed rights.
Now, Dr. Nicholas is now lending his support to equal crime victims’ rights efforts across the United States. Since Marsy’s Law was passed in California, it has been overwhelmingly approved by voters in Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. Currently, efforts are underway in Idaho and Tennessee.
Marsy’s Law seeks to give crime victims meaningful and enforceable constitutional rights equal to the rights of the accused. Some examples of the types of rights to which we believe all victims are entitled are:
To be treated with dignity and respect throughout criminal justice proceedings
To be notified of his, her or their rights as a victim of crime
To be notified of specific public proceedings throughout the criminal justice process and to be present and heard during those proceedings
On Tuesday, November
30, 2021, PCSO deputies arrested 34-year-old Charlie Lee Cook, Jr., of
Lakeland and charged him with indecent exposure (M1) and committing a lewd
act (M2) for exposing himself to a juvenile McDonald’s drive-thru cashier.
The incident was
reported in late September by the manager at the restaurant, after Cook (whose
identity was unknown at that time) placed an order one morning and proceeded
through both drive-thru windows – the window where he paid for his food, and
the second window where he picked up his food. After paying for and picking up
his food, Cook went through the drive-thru again with a second order, and when
he arrived at the second drive-thru window, he exposed himself to the juvenile
cashier while calling her by the name on her name tag. The cashier immediately
closed the window and reported the incident to management, who contacted PCSO.
At that time,
McDonald’s employees were unable to identify the suspect, and only had a
description of his vehicle as a black SUV. However, they did recognize him as a
regular customer. When he returned to the restaurant two weeks later, they
provided deputies with a possible name from his debit card, and the tag number
on his vehicle. He was positively identified as Cook, and deputies obtained a
warrant for his arrest. He was booked into the Polk County Jail on November
30th, and released after posting bond in the amount of $750.00.
Cook admitted to
deputies that he committed the lewd act. His criminal history includes a 2014 arrest for battery domestic
violence, and a 2017 arrest for transmission of material harmful to a minor and
use of a two-way communication device to commit a felony. The 2017 arrest was
made during a PCSO undercover investigation – click here to read
the news release. “We previously arrested Charlie Cook during an
undercover child pornography investigation – he was sending nude images to a
15-year-old girl he met as a youth leader at a church. Now here he is again,
trying to groom and solicit a child. He clearly wasn’t rehabilitated or held
accountable back in 2017, but we will do everything in our power to ensure he
is held accountable now.”–
Grady Judd, Sheriff
LAKELAND, FL (November
30, 2021) – The Lakeland Police Department is currently investigating two
independent traffic crashes with fatalities, both occurring on Kathleen Road
within hours of each other.
INVESTIGATION 1
/ 1000 Block of Kathleen Road / Monday, November 29 / 9:43 p.m.
On Monday, November 29, 2021, at approximately 9:43 p.m.,
officers responded to a traffic crash involving a single vehicle near the 1000
block of Kathleen Road. According to reports, just prior to the crash, a
Hyundai sedan was traveling northbound on Kathleen Road. As the vehicle was
attempting to negotiate the curve of the roadway, it struck the raised median
and subsequently impacted a tree located in the median.
The Lakeland Police Department Patrol Unit, Polk County Fire
Rescue, and the Lakeland Fire Department all arrived on the scene and began to
provide life-saving measures. The driver, a 42-year-old male, was pronounced
deceased at the scene by medical personnel.
The roadway was shut down for approximately three hours while
the scene was processed for the ongoing investigation.
This remains an open and active investigation. If anyone has any
additional information regarding the crash, please contact Investigator Tyler
Anderson at [email protected].
Driver of the Hyundai sedan was identified as:
Rosel Hernandez
Age: 42
Lakeland, Florida
INVESTIGATION 2 / Quincy Street and Kathleen
Road / Tuesday, November 30 / 8:45 a.m.
On Tuesday, November 30, 2021, at approximately 8:45 a.m.,
officers responded to a traffic crash involving a motorcycle and single
vehicle. According to reports, just prior to the crash, a Kawasaki motorcycle
was traveling in the outside southbound lane of Kathleen Road approaching
Quincy Street. At the same time, a Hyundai sedan was westbound on Quincy
Street, making a left turn into the outside southbound lane of Kathleen Road.
Based on preliminary information, the driver of the blue Kawasaki motorcycle attempted
an evasive maneuver to avoid a collision with the Hyundai but impacted the
vehicle on its passenger side. The motorcycle continued in motion striking the
curb and a cement light pole.
The Lakeland Police Department Patrol Unit, Polk County Fire
Rescue, and the Lakeland Fire Department all arrived on the scene and began to
provide life-saving measures. The operator of the motorcycle, a 23-year-old
male was pronounced deceased at the scene by medical personnel. The driver of
the vehicle was transported to Lakeland Regional Health for treatment.
The roadway was shut down for approximately 3½ hours while the
scene was processed for the ongoing investigation.
This remains an open and active investigation. If anyone has any
additional information regarding the crash, please contact Investigator Camilo
Almeida at [email protected].
Driver of the Kawasaki Motorcycle was identified as:
On Tuesday, November
30, 2021, undercover detectives from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office Vice Unit
arrested 69-year-old Donald Wayne Johnson of Lakeland for lewd activity
at Saddle Creek Park in Lakeland.
Johnson, who was inappropriately touching himself, solicited an undercover male detective to engage in a lewd act. Johnson was issued a trespass order from all county parks for a 10-year period and arrested for Offering to Commit a Lewd Act (M2). He was released from jail after posting a $250.00 bond.
“This is completely unacceptable. Polk County parks are places where families and children go to enjoy the outdoors – they should never have to encounter disgusting acts like these. We will continue to patrol our public parks and to arrest people who publicly engage in lewd activity.”– Grady Judd, Sheriff
Welcome, World Travelers! Home Sweet Home Alone Ain’t So Sweet!
by James Coulter
Home Alone is the quintessential 90s Christmas movie. So now that Disney owns 20th Century Studios and the rights to the classic holiday flick, and now that its shiny streaming service has been going strong for two years, and now that most companies are opting to remake their nostalgic hits rather that create anything original, Disney had decided to give the Home Alone franchise a soft reboot with its latest made-for-Disney-Plus flick, Home Sweet Home Alone. And if this movie succeeds in anything, it’s continuing the tradition of making every subsequent installment in the Home Alone franchise incrementally more subpar than the original movie.
This newest movie follows the same premise as the original movie: a young boy finds himself home alone during the holidays and forced to ward off intruders through elaborate Rube Goldberg-style traps created with his toys and other household objects. However, Home Sweet Home Alone decides to put a twist on the tired-and-true formula by asking that bold cinematic question: “What if the home intruders were the main characters rather than the child protagonist?”
In the movie, married couple Jeff and Pam McKenzie are forced to sell their family home upon falling into financial straits after Jeff was fired from his job. A young boy named Max Mercer visits their open house and allegedly steals an antique doll, which they later learn is worth enough money to save their home. Now the couple is forced to break into Max’s house to retrieve the doll while his family is on vacation. Unbeknownst to them, Max was left home alone and, under the assumption they’re going to kidnap him, wards them off with traps. Wacky shenanigans ensue!
And herein lies the problem: this movie wants to remake Home Alone without understanding what made the original movie work. The original Home Alone is a holiday classic because it’s a children’s movie about a child living out a child’s power fantasy by staying home by himself and saving it from intruders. Children loved the movie because they can imagine themselves as Kevin McCallister using his smarts to set up traps and outwit the adult criminals. They want to be Kevin. They do not want to be the Wet Bandits.
Speaking of which, while the home intruders in the original movie were opportunistic criminals, the intruders in this movie, on the other hand, are a desperate married couple who are only breaking and entering because Max allegedly stole a doll from them that they need to sell to save their family house, which they would have to sell otherwise because they’re facing financial struggles following Jeff’s termination.
When Harry gets his head burned by a blowtorch and Marv gets his foot pierced by a nail, we laugh at their suffering because they’re burglars who deserve it. When Pam gets her feet burned and Jeff gets bonked in the head with a paint can, we feel sorry for them because we sympathize with their circumstances. It’s not schadenfreude seeing them suffer. It’s sadism!
As for the child protagonist, Max fares no better. In the original movie, Kevin, being the main character, received enough character development for us to know and care about him. In the first
act, he gets into a tryst with his extended family, making him wish he were alone, then discovers he was left home alone and spends quality time in his unsupervised solitude before realizing he misses his family.
Max, on the other hand, being the secondary character, receives far less development. He only spends a few minutes of screen time getting in an inconsequential argument with his mother, being mildly annoyed by his extended family, and spending a three-minute montage enjoying being home alone before getting bored. We want to see Kevin reunited with his family. We could care less about what happens to Max.
Adding insult to injury is how much the new movie blatantly references the original. There’s a scene in a church where a choir sing “O Holy Night.” The song “Somewhere in my Memory” plays during a flashback. And even Buzz McCallister, Kevin’s older brother, makes an apperance as a cop. In a better made movie, these references would be loving homages to the original film; in this movie, it’s a painful reminder that the original was better.
Perhaps the most egregious pandering fanservice is when the main family watches a movie similar to “Angels With Filthy Souls”, only with the old-timey mobster being played by a galactic warlord in a sci-fi setting. One character watching the movie begrudgingly wonders, “why they are always trying to remake the classics [because] it’s never as good as the original.”
That pretty much sums up Home Sweet Home Alone. In short, if you want to watch Home Alone for the holidays, the original movie and its sequels are all available on Disney Plus. Watch them instead. Don’t watch this remake. It’s not as good as the original.
PCSO detectives
charged 45-year-old Bobby John Herrera, Jr. from West Palm Beach and 36-year-old
Nicholas Nigel Howard of Opa Locka with a combined 67 felonies after they
engaged in an organized cargo theft conspiracy where 5 businesses were
defrauded and about $704,487 of wooden pallets and 25 semi-trailers were
stolen.
In late July 2021, PCSO
detectives began investigating a reported theft of seven semi-trailers from two
different distribution centers – Saddle Creek Logistical Services in Auburndale
and the Walmart Distribution Center in Winter Haven – that contained a large
quantity of wooden pallets. During the initial investigation, detectives were
able to identify three semi-trucks with trailers filled with pallets had been
either stolen or burglarized by Herrera. Herrera is the owner of JCI Pallet in
Plant City.
Security footage obtained
by detectives from both Saddle Creek Logistics and the Walmart Distribution
Center showed a series of thefts where Herrera drove his company’s 2015
Freightliner semi-truck onto the facilities and illegally removing semi-truck
trailers filled with wooden pallets waiting to be delivered to other
distribution centers and businesses. Herrera was able to circumvent security
procedures at the distribution centers to steal the semi-trailers and their
contents.
PCSO detectives
traveled to JCI Pallet and met with Herrera. When detectives showed him one of
the security videos, Herrera said, “That looks like me.”
Herrera was initially
arrested in September with the assistance of the Plant City Police Department
and transported to the Hillsborough County Jail where he was later released on
a $4000 bond.
As the investigation
continued, detectives learned that Howard, the on-site manager of JCI Pallet
assisted Herrera in removing stolen trailers filled with pallets from two
different distribution centers, affecting four different companies. Over the
months of May, June, and July of 2021, the two men planned and coordinated the
theft of 25 semi-trailers which contained almost 5,000 wooden pallets. The
stolen trailers and pallets combined are worth approximately $935,663. The
victims of Herrara’s and Howard’s organized cargo theft conspiracy were Saddle
Creek Logistics, Walmart, 48Forty Solutions, and Monison Pallets.
Detectives tracked the
stolen trailers filled with wooden pallets to JCI Pallet where they were
emptied before being returned or abandoned without the stolen cargo. Two of the
trailers stolen by Herrera were determined to be empty when they were stolen
from the distribution centers. All of the stolen trailers were eventually
recovered.
Additionally, a
business in Alabama, Smith and Company, had hired Herrera to deliver pallets to
Saddle Creek Logistical Solutions. Herrera never delivered the product.
Instead, he submitted a fraudulently signed bill of ladings (detailed shipment
of goods delivered) and invoices for pallets never delivered.
“My detectives,
in partnership with the Plant City Police Department, did an outstanding job
investigating this organized crime enterprise. This type of theft negatively
impacts the consumer when business have to raise costs to account for this type
of loss. We will work hard to make sure Herrera and Howard are held accountable
for these cargo thefts. They won’t have the opportunity to steal while they are
in prison.” – Grady Judd, Sheriff
Bobby John Herrera,
Jr. was again arrested in Plant City and transported to the Hillsborough County
Jail with additional Polk County charges for:
Burglary of Occupied Structure (F2) (13
Counts)
Burglary of Unoccupied Conveyance (F3) (15
Counts)
Forgery (F2) (2 Counts)
Grand Theft $100,000 or More (F1)
Grand Theft (F2)
Grand Theft of a Motor Vehicle (F3) (19
counts)
Theft of Cargo in Stream of Commerce (F3)
Use of a 2-way Device to Commit a Felony (F3)
Conspiracy to Commit Grand Theft (F2)
Herrera’s previous
criminal history includes out of state charges from Texas, Arizona, and New
Mexico for credit card abuse, issuing bad checks, fraud, money laundering,
theft, illegal control of enterprise, forgery, conspiracy, tampering with
evidence, burglary of an automobile, and violation of probation.
Nicholas Nigel Howard
was arrested in Opa Locka and transported to the Miami-Dade County Jail with
Polk County charges for:
Burglary of Occupied Structure (F3) (3 Counts)
Grand Theft Motor Vehicle (F3) (4 Counts)
Grand Theft (F2)
Burglary of Unoccupied Conveyance (F3) (3
Counts)
Use of 2-way Communication Device (F3)
Conspiracy to Commit Grand Theft (F3)
Howard’s previous criminal history includes
charges of fraud, trespassing, resisting a law enforcement officer, possession
of marijuana, violation of probation and failure to appear.
LAKELAND, FL (November 28, 2021) – The Lakeland Police Department is investigating an officer-involved shooting that occurred early Sunday morning shortly at 2:15 a.m. on Interstate 4, near exit 31 at Kathleen Road. On Sunday, November 28, 2021, at approximately 2:05 a.m., the Lakeland Police Department (LPD) received a call requesting officers to respond to a suspicious vehicle parked in a construction zone on Interstate 4. Two uniform patrol officers responded to the location within minutes to investigate. As officers arrived on the scene, they observed a man sitting in the vehicle. Officers approached the vehicle and tapped on the window to speak to the driver. At some point, the man retrieved a handgun and pointed it toward one of the officers. In fear for their safety, officers fired their weapons, shooting the driver. The man, age 61 and sole occupant in the vehicle, was pronounced deceased at the scene, and the gun he possessed was recovered. No officers were injured in the shooting. Standard protocol for all officer-involved shootings will include four independent investigations. The LPD Violent Crimes unit is conducting the death investigation. LPD’s Office of Professional Standards is conducting an administrative review. The State Attorney’s Office responded to the scene and will conduct an investigation, and the 10th District Medical Examiner’s Office will conduct an investigation. Per agency protocol, the officers involved will be on administrative leave with pay during the initial phase of the investigation. The officers who responded to the scene are Tammy Hathcock, a 15-year veteran officer with LPD, and Garrett Zeigler, a 9-year law enforcement veteran who has served with LPD for the past five months.
On November 26, 2021, at approximately 11:54 PM, the Auburndale Police Department responded to a call at the intersection of Lime Street and Charles Avenue regarding a person lying in the roadway. Upon arrival officers located the victim, 18 year-old Zachary Jorden-Lee Brown, unresponsive with two stab wounds.
The suspect, 14-year-old Jerome Zacarez, who resides in close proximity to where the incident occurred, ran home to phone for medical assistance for the victim. The suspect returned to the scene and was still on scene when officers arrived. The suspect was taken into custody. The victim was transported to Lakeland Regional Health Medical Center and was pronounced deceased shortly after arrival. The incident is still an active and ongoing investigation. Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Chris Wall at (863) 965-5555 or if you have information and would like to remain anonymous call Heartland Crime Stoppers at 1-800-226-TIPS(8477).
Excerpt of the arrest affidavit:
“On November 26, 2021, a reported cutting occurred at the intersection of Lime Street/Charles Avenue at approximately 2352 hours. At approximately 2358 hours Auburndale Police Officers arrived at the location and located two individuals later identified as Zachary Brown (victim) and Jerome Zacarez (suspect) at the reported incident location. Brown was located in the street and appeared to be severely injured with a significant amount of blood loss where he was later treated by Polk County Fire Rescue and transported to Lakeland Regional Health for treatment. Brown and Zacarez have been in a dating style relationship for approximately nine months at the time of the incident and had previously arranged to meet near Zacarez’ house which was common for the two. Brown brought alcohol for the two of them and they both drank at least approximately one shot of Fireball (whiskey) while they were together. During that time Zacarez stated that they got into an argument about something he could not remember, and during the argument Brown closed Zacarez’ finger in the door toBrown’s vehicle that they were outside of. Zacarez stated that he got mad because of that and wanted to get his things and go home for the evening. Zacarez stated that he did go back to his house to treat his finger which he stated was bleeding. Once Zacarez treated the injury to his finger with a band-aid and some ice he collected a kitchen knife from a cabinet in the kitchen and returned to where Brown was still located in the area of his vehicle. Zacarez stated that he did not have the knife to where Brown could see it and confronted him about the argument that occurred approximately 10 minutes earlier. Zacarez stated he did not remember exactly whathappened other than he stabbed Brown in the arm, and maybe his chest. Zacarez stated that he panicked, and that Brown told him to call 9-1-1. Zacarez ran back to his house barefoot as indicated by the trail of bloody footprints leading from the location where Brown was bleeding to the back door of Zacarez’ residence at 319Pine Street, Auburndale, FL. Zacarez entered the residence for the second time and called 9-1-1 to request medical assistance for Brown. Prior to exiting the residence Zacarez also grabbed a standard bathroom type towel from the bathroom and brought it to where Brown was lying in the street. Zacarez stated that heattempted to render aid and stop the bleeding, and he stayed there until law enforcement arrived. Zacarez was taken into custody approximately eight minutes after the initial 9-1-1 call. At that time Zacarez’ clothes andparts of his body were covered in apparent blood and made several spontaneous statements indicating that he stabbed Brown. Zacarez stated that at no time was anyone else involved, and that he and Brown were the only individuals present at the time the incident occurred. Brown was later found to have a laceration to both the arm, and the upper chest area, that were consistent with being stabbed by a knife. Zacarez described the knife as a kitchen knife with a black handle that he later put in Brown’s truck after stabbing both Brown, and the tire of Brown’s vehicle. A black handle kitchen knife was also located in plain view in the front passenger seat of Brown’s vehicle. Brown was later declared deceased by the hospital staff at 0044 hours on November 27, 2021, as a result of the injuries sustained from the stabbing. Zacarez also later provided a post-Miranda recorded statement outlining the incident at 0222 hours. At this time there is no articulable reason to believe that any other parties were involved in the incident. On November 26, 2021, Zacarez unlawfully struck Brown with a knife against his will causing serious injuries that later resulted in Brown’s death. Due to the totality of the circumstances regarding this case, we would ask the Honorable Court to grant the issuance of this warrant in reference to FSS 782.04(2) related to the murder of Brown. In order to seize and secure any potential items of evidence, photographs, clothing, weapons, or other miscellaneous items of evidentiary value.“
