Palm Beach County
CLUB VIOLENCE
Four people were shot, one of then fatally, at the Club 21 nightclub located at 1533 Northwest Ave. L in Belle Glade. The names of the victims had not yet been released and authorities have not said what might have led to the violence. Police are asking anyone with knowledge about the shooting to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-458-8477.
OFFICE DEPOT
Boca Raton-based Office Depot is buying Naperville, Ill.-based, OfficeMax for $1.17 billion. The merger will enable Office Depot to better compete with Staples, the largest office supplier in the country. Neil Austrian, chairman of Office Depot, and Ravi Saligram, president of OfficeMax, could both be out as CEO of the newly formed Office Depot. A team will be created from among board members of each company and Austrian and Saligram will have to interview for the position.
Broward County
IN CUSTODY
The manhunt for 36-year-old drug trafficking suspect Kendrick Similien, also known as “Newport,” ended when he turned himself in to authorities. Similien is accused of trafficking in oxycodone and other controlled substances. He surrendered as Broward Sheriff’s detectives were closing in on his whereabouts.
ARSON CHARGE
Nancy Brewer, 25, was charged with one count of arson after, police said, she set Travis Lindsey’s Lauderhill house on fire. Lindsey is a detective with the Miami Police Department and he and Brewer were romantically involved. According to the police report, she drove from her Miami home to Lindsey’s house, poured gasoline around the property and set it afire, causing damage. She later turned herself in to Miami police and confessed, the authorities said.
MONITOR CHARGED
Trevor Allen, a campus monitor at Crystal Lake Middle School in Pompano Beach, is facing one count of misdemeanor battery over his alleged assault on a 12-year-old seventh-grade girl at the school. The South Florida Times previously reported that Allen was captured by the school’s surveillance cameras fighting with Raenesha Donald, a student at the school. The video shows the altercation ended with Allen and the child on ground. Allen was reassigned after the South Florida Times detailed he was in a second alleged altercation with a different 12-year-girl at the school.
MAYOR ROBB
Jean Robb, who served as mayor of Deerfield Beach from 1980 to 1993, defeated incumbent Peggy Noland to once again lead the city. Robb opposed a utility tax imposed on businesses and residents by Noland and commissioners. She effectively campaigned against privatizing the city’s garbage collection operations and often criticized the manner in which the predominantly black, unskilled workers were laid off without notice. Robb has not been shy about her dissatisfaction with the city’s management and often spoke of bringing changes to City Hall.
FORECLOSURE
Former NFL linebacker Joey Porter, who played for the Miami Dolphins, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Arizona Cardinals, has been hit with a foreclosure lawsuit on his 10,600-square-foot Southwest Ranches home. The $2.8 million house sits on 2.3 acres in the Landmark Ranch Estates community where several professional athletes live. Former Miami Dolphins quarterback Daunte Culpepper, former receiver Brandon Marshall and former linebacker Karlos Dansby, as well as former Miami Marlins pitcher Mark Buehrle are among sports figures who once owned homes in the neighborhood. Porter retired from the NFL in 2011.
Miami-Dade County
NEW MANANGEMENT
Emilio T. Gonzalez, who served as the director of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), will take over as director of the Miami-Dade Aviation Department effective in April. He will replace Jose Abreu, who announced his resignation in January. Gonzalez will oversee 1,227 employees, a $428.9 million budget and a $6.5 billion capital improvement initiative. In addition to Miami International Airport, he will oversee Homestead General Airport, Kendall-Tamiami Executive Airport, Opa-locka Executive Airport and the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport.
SIMPLY SHOCKING
A security worker for the Metrorail commuter train service asked 82-year-old Emma Anderson to stop singing spiritual hymns while riding the train. When she would not obey his directive, the security guard threw her bags and belongings off the train and wrestled her off as well. The incident, which was captured on video, prompted Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez to offer a personal apology to Anderson.
Monroe County
GUILTY PLEA
Lisa Druckemiller, former Monroe County Technical Services director, pleaded guilty to grand theft and dealing in stolen property. Her sentencing is scheduled for April 1 before Monroe County Circuit Court Judge David Audlin. Druckemiller, 51, confessed to stealing $23,311 worth of county-owned iPads, computers and other electronic equipment which she then sold to family members, friends and other employees for a total of $4,778. She faces up to 30 years in prison but Assistant State Attorney Mark Wilson, who is prosecuting the case, is recommending two years.
CRAB HARVEST
Commercial fishermen are reporting one of the scarcest crab harvests in 50 years. Stone crab hauls are down 50 to 70 percent since the season opened on Oct. 15. Some fishing operations have already shut down, citing lack of profit in crab fishing this season and seafood suppliers around the state are selling only to local restaurants as prices skyrocket due to the shortages. Marine biologists have yet to determine the cause for the abrupt dropoff in crab yields. Suggestions range from the BP oil spill to overfishing. It is causing a shortage throughout the state. Expect the price of crab to continue rising before the May 15 stone crab season ends.
CHILD KILLED
Austen Mark Alward, 2, was reported missing from his home in Key Largo just after midnight. Monroe County Sheriff’s deputies, Florida Highway Patrol troopers and U.S. Border Patrol officers searched for the child, whose body was discovered in the median of U.S. 1 highway. He had been fatally struck by a car. Edward Krajewski, 63, of Pennsylvania, who was pulled over on U.S. 1 about 35 miles away, told officers he may have hit something earlier. Monroe County State Attorney Catherine Vogel’s office is investigating.
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