Hit-and-run crashes in Florida are reportedly on the rise, with the Florida Highway Patrol recently calling a Miami news conference to raise awareness of the issue. State data shows more than 92,600 drivers fled auto accident scenes in 2015. That was approximately 8,000 more than had done so in 2014.…
Authorities in Weston are tracking down leads trying to find a suspected light-fingered woman with a penchant for long skirts. According to the Sun Sentinel, the woman first appeared on law enforcement radar last year, when she reportedly heisted some $1,000 up or into her flowing, floral skirt. Now, almost…
Ron Cacciatore is a man who has spent his life in Broward law enforcement. He worked for years as an undercover agent, targeting drug traffickers. He took on high-profile, influential members of organized crime. He even spoke at one about about running for Broward sheriff himself. But now, he’s on…
The man said he was roped into an international fraud after striking up a conversation with a group in a Romanian night club. That was back in 2007. The plan didn’t involve physically hurting anyone, simply separating them from their money. The following year, he was on a flight to…
Prosecutors say Pelayo Alexander Cerulia grew increasingly brazen with his exploits over the course of two years. He allegedly started by peering into the homes of unsuspecting women. Then he started doing so while touching himself. Then, he began shattering their windows with marbles fired from a slingshot. Then, in the most…
After reportedly plowing into seven vehicles at a Boynton Beach intersection, the driver of a pickup reportedly failed a number of field sobriety tests. He was arrested by police for DUI and driving on a suspended license. James Dean Martin, a 47-year-old from Delray Beach, was hauled out of his…
Broward County leaders are pressing ahead with lesser penalties for marijuana possession, plunking down $175,000 to launch a civil citation program and hire a coordinator who will steer it. Previously, arrests for marijuana possession in Fort Lauderdale resulted in a misdemeanor charge, punishable by up to one year in prison.…
Following a scathing report criticizing treatment of mentally ill defendants who languish sometimes for years in the criminal justice system (and six times longer than a person with comparable charges in regular court , the Broward State Attorneys Office devised a partial solution: A mental health diversion program that would get…
A man from Boca Raton who was acquitted last fall of felony stalking charges involving a neighbor is now facing additional stalking charges involving a former business partner. Ahmad Dastjerdi, 55,was found not guilty of third-degree felony stalking in September after leaving about five dozen profanity-laced voicemail messages on his…
As far as robberies go, this one was about as daring as you can get. According to authorities, four men burst into the jewelry store located in The Galleria Mall in Fort Lauderdale, armed with hammers, their faces covered with masks. Inside, stunned store owners and customers scrambled for cover…