News Update for 11/26/24
An investigation into a fatal shooting in Avon Park Monday night, is underway. Highlands County Sheriff’s Office Deputies were dispatched to a basketball court on Fred Connor Street where they found an adult male lying on the ground, the apparent victim of gunshot wounds. He was later pronounced dead at the hospital. Initial reports indicate that there were multiple witnesses to the shooting and that several 911 calls about the shooting were made. Detectives are now in the process of identifying witnesses and following up on leads. Authorities are asking anyone that may have been in the area or have any information about the crime to contact them at 863-402-7200, the HCSO smartphone app or online at heartlandcrimestoppers.com.
New details reveal the ordeal a Central Florida woman put her daughter through before allegedly killing her. Court documents have been released in the case of Poinciana’s Kelsey Glover. She’s accused of killing her 14-year-old daughter last week by holding her head under water. Days before, though, Glover allegedly took her daughter off her diabetes medication. Glover’s roommate told police the girl wound up bedridden, vomiting and screaming for help. The roommate says Glover threatened to kill her. The 35-year-old Glover is charged with murder, and she’s due in court next week.
A Central Florida university is working with the federal government to combat a nationwide air traffic controller shortage. The Federal Aviation Administration has signed an agreement with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University to offer a training program at the Daytona Beach campus. Embry-Riddle will be only the third university to provide this kind of course. Graduates will be able to immediately start training at an air traffic facility. The FAA is hoping to hire two-thousand new controllers next year.
Florida homeowners and renters are getting more time to apply for financial help following recent hurricanes. FEMA says it has extended the deadline for federal assistance to January 7th for residents impacted by Helene and Milton. The money would go toward displacement, basic home repairs or other uninsured disaster-related expenses. Applications are available through the FEMA app or Disaster-Assistance-dot-gov.
A white Florida woman is sentenced to 25 years in prison for the deadly shooting of her Black neighbor. Sixty-year-old Susan Lorincz was found guilty in August of first-degree felony manslaughter after shooting AJ Owens through the front door of her Ocala apartment in June of 2023. The 35-year-old mother of four had gone to Lorincz’s home to talk about a dispute involving her children. Lorincz was facing up to 30 years behind bars. The judge said Monday the shooting was completely unnecessary as Lorincz had already called law enforcement, knew they were en route and was in a relatively safe position.
Two Central Florida men are facing charges for the January 6th breach of the US Capitol. Port Orange’s Jarod Hawks and Edgewater’s John Padgett were arrested yesterday. The Justice Department says the two assaulted law enforcement officers with a deadly or dangerous weapon. Prosecutors say the 43-year-old Hawks and 40-year-old Padgett used a large metal object to attack the police line and kicked a bike rack barricade multiple times while it was being held by police. That led officers to lose control and another rioter shoved the barricade aside, and that created a breach in the police line. Hawks and Padgett also allegedly moved bike rack barricades so more rioters could get to the Capitol. Later, the two allegedly used a large object as a shield and a battering ram against a line of police officers.
It’s going to cost Florida drivers more to fill up their gas tanks during their Thanksgiving road trips this year. Triple-A says the current state average for gas is three-13 per gallon. That’s ten cents higher than this time last year. The auto club says an uptick in oil prices over the ongoing tensions in Ukraine is the reason for an uptick in fuel costs. In the Sunshine State, about four-point-five-million residents are expected to either drive or fly for the upcoming holiday. The busiest travel days are forecasted to be today and Wednesday afternoon.