Convicted Murderer Woodward Gets Two Life Terms (Viera, FL) -- Titusville's William Woodward was sentenced yesterday to two life terms for killing two neighbors more than five years ago. Woodward's defense claimed a brain injury and PTSD from his military service should have led to a more lenient sentence. The 50-year-old claimed the killings were in response to threats the men made against his family.
Teacher Claims To Have No Memory Of Her Arrest (Daytona Beach, FL) -- A Volusia County teacher arrested for shoplifting is blaming her medication. Hinson Middle School's Kimberly Vicars said yesterday she was on so much medication for chronic pain she doesn't remember the incident that led to her arrest last week. Daytona Beach Police say she tried to steal more than 500-dollars worth of goods from Target and had about 30 hydrocodone pills on her without a prescription. The New Smyrna Beach resident tells "The News-Journal" she does have a prescription, and she takes the pills to deal with pain from two car accidents.
Police Officer Fired For Online Comments (St. Petersburg, FL) -- A St. Petersburg police officer is out of work after online comments the department says discredited himself and the agency. Officer David Garrett was fired yesterday for Facebook comments saying young gang members deserve death or prison. He also wrote in December there is no saving them, and they are a lost cause. Garrett had been on the force for four years, but the department says his comments adversely affected his job, his reputation and goodwill in the community.
Teenager Arrested For Kidnapping Baby (Miami, FL) -- A teenager is facing charges for a kidnapping that led to an AMBER Alert. Sebring 15-year-old Marisol Pimental was arrested yesterday for kidnapping ten-month-old Noah Florvil from his home last weekend in Miami. Police say Pimental snuck into the home in Liberty City and took the boy while his mother was asleep. Pimental and Noah were found the next night in a Hialeah hotel, and the boy is now in foster care.
Universal Orlando Adding Pokemon Park (Orlando, FL) -- Woody Woodpecker and Barney are getting a new neighbor. Universal Orlando is reportedly going to add Pokemon to the KidZone section in 2020. The Mario Kart and Donkey Kong roller coaster that were planned for that area will instead be moved across the street to land Universal recently bought near Kirkman Ave. Those attractions will be part of what Channel 9 reports will be Universal's fourth Orlando theme park.
Palmer Mom Charged With Punching Bus Driver (Lower Nazareth Township, PA) -- A Pennsylvania woman is in a world of trouble over accusations she punched a school bus driver. Officials in Lower Nazareth Township say Lisa Conte punched the driver right in the eye earlier this week while she was trying to find her six-year-old son. Police say the driver told her the bus was empty but she replied with the fist to the face. It turns out she was on the wrong bus and was so late that the child's father had already made the pick-up. Officers responded to a Walmart when the ordeal took place and took Conte into custody but she didn't make it easy. They say she managed to slip out of the handcuffs and had to be recaptured.
Man Found Sleeping In Child's Closet Arrested Again (Brevard County, FL) -- A Brevard man is back behind bars, just a few weeks after being released in bail. Michael Maynard was placed in a cell a couple of weeks ago after allegedly getting caught sleeping inside of a four-year-old's closet. However, he was taken into custody again this past Monday in Cape Canaveral for armed burglary. A homeowner says more than a dozen guns and a car were stolen from his house while he was out of town. Maynard is locked up tight in the Brevard County jail.
TODAY IN HISTORY:
2015, Freddie Gray suffered a severe spinal cord injury while being transported in a police van after being arrested in Baltimore. His death a week later led to days of protests and rioting. Six Baltimore police officers were charged in connection with the case. All of the officers were found not guilty or had their charges dropped.
2009, high seas drama came to an end when U.S. Naval forces rescued the captain of a U.S. cargo ship who was held hostage for five days at sea by Somali pirates. The Navy confirmed that three of the four buccaneers who held Captain Richard Phillips were killed by naval forces. A fourth pirate was taken into custody.
1999, a federal judge in Little Rock, Ark., found President Clinton in contempt of court for lying during his sworn deposition in January 1998, when he had testified that he had not had sexual relations with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky. He became the first sitting president ever to be held in contempt of court.
1981, the space shuttle Columbia, the first reusable spacecraft, blasted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on its first test flight.
1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gargarin became the first person to orbit Earth.
1861, the Civil War began when Confederate forces fired on Fort Sumpter in Charleston, South Carolina.