Seconds after a SWAT team stormed his home, a suspected drug dealer ran to his bedroom closet and emerged pointing a gun at a detective, according to a grand jury report released Tuesday. Police opened fire, and the man fell back into the closet. But when officers moved closer, they found him still breathing -- his finger still on the trigger. Then, the suspect raised his gun again. This time, he died in a hail of police bullets. Such was the account released in the Broward County grand jury report exonerating two Sunrise SWAT officers in the shooting of Anthony Diotaiuto, 23, on Aug. 5, 2005. The shooting had come under scrutiny after neighbors watching the raid said they did not hear police announce they were serving a search warrant. Family and friends protested that Diotaiuto, a disc jockey who attended Broward Community College, was merely a recreational pot smoker with no history of violence. Inside the home, police found 30 grams of marijuana, about an ounce. [continues 268 words]
After a Period of Decline, Cocaine Is Back. University of Florida researchers said Tuesday that a rise in cocaine-related deaths in wealthy communities and college towns in Florida - including Gainesville - could mean a recurring epidemic of abuse. New data from UF and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement shows that the number of cocaine deaths per 100,000 people in the state has nearly doubled in the past five years, from 150 in 2000 to nearly 300 in 2005. The steepest per capita rise in death rates was in college towns like Gainesville and Tallahassee and wealthy, upper-class seaside communities, such as Melbourne, West Palm Beach and the Florida Keys, according to the data. [continues 390 words]
First Lt. Arthur Gaines III has served more than 17 years in the Army, fighting for his country and now he's helping with another fight. The 35-year-old travels across the Big Bend talking to students about the dangers of drugs and, more importantly, how to make better decisions. Gaines is the commander of the 144th Transportation Company in Marianna and speaker for the Florida Army National Guard's Drug Demand Reduction Program. He presented his message to a group of 20 teenagers and adults Tuesday evening at an annual meeting sponsored by the Military Order of the World Wars. [continues 220 words]
I am responding to the Oct. 10 letter "Bring drugs out of the closet," by Seymour Block. While I share Block's concerns about the profits gained from illegal drug sales, harm to the environment, and the nexus between drug trafficking and evil in the world, I do not support his conclusion that we should legalize drugs. To his credit, Block cautions that addiction "is a very serious problem and must be confronted." However, legalization will cause significant increases in addiction with related medical and societal costs. [continues 161 words]
Regarding your Oct. 6 article: "Vero man sentenced to 30 years in prison for marijuana charges": Sending David L. Bennett to prison for 30 years for a "marijuana crime" shows the utter immorality of drug prohibition. Such a cruel sentence clearly violates the biblical standard of justice: Exodus 21:23 "life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise" (also see Leviticus 24:20, Deuteronomy 19:21). [continues 232 words]
I've worked in Brownsville for 15 years. For 15 years I've driven by prostitutes and drug dealers on my way to work. Go to the intersection of Green Street & Cervantes and look left or right. Within a few blocks in either direction, you can see people standing on the street. The activities are taking place in broad daylight as the school buses pick up the kids each morning. Maybe it's easier to allow the illegal activity to stay where it's easily monitored as opposed to dispersing it through actively arresting the culprits. [continues 66 words]
Re: District gets grant for drug tests, Oct. 8, Citrus Times As a mother of three children in the Citrus County School District and as a nurse, I urge the Citrus County school educators, parents and board members to be wary of "feel good" promises and to proceed with caution when it comes to student drug testing, as it may be doing more harm than good. Consider the real pitfalls: There is no proof that random drug testing deters drug use. In 2003, the National Institute on Drug Abuse funded the largest study ever conducted on the topic. Researchers compared 76,000 students in schools with and without a drug testing program. They found no differences in illegal drug use among students from both sets of schools. [continues 647 words]
PUNTA GORDA -- Vernon Peeples Jr. apologized in court Monday for bringing shame to his family's name after being arrested twice on drug charges. Peeples, a former local Democratic Party chairman, pleaded no contest to charges of possession of cocaine, possession of less than 20 grams of marijuana and possession of cocaine with intent to distribute. Circuit Judge Michael McHugh accepted the plea agreement and sentenced Peeples to a suspended term of one year in prison. He will not serve any time in jail as long as he successfully completes six months of drug offender community control, or house arrest, and then two years of drug offender probation. [continues 217 words]
As a Manatee County resident and a 33-year veteran of local law enforcement, I appreciate the opportunity to be able to respond to the recent articles on rogue cops. I feel it's important to be able to do so since I am acquainted with many of the fine officers who have gotten a black eye as a result of the infamous Delta fiasco and now the current Cleopatra's investigation. First, I would like to say that Manatee Sheriff Charlie Wells has done an excellent job with his department, together with upper echelon officers such as Col. Brad Steube and Chuck Hagaman, plus a variety of old-line officers he inherited with his term. Wells clearly instilled in all of them a type of leadership that has served the MSO very well. That's quite an accomplishment considering that the Department employs approximately 1,300 staff members. [continues 667 words]
MIAMI -- The U.S. military's commander for Latin America says Washington should gradually reduce its roughly $600 million in annual military and anti-drug aid to Colombia, support that has been crucial to putting the region's most potent rebel force on the defensive. "I'm not concerned there's going to be a loss of funding," Gen. John Craddock said Monday when asked about reports that the State Department wants to phase out Plan Colombia, which has provided the country with some $4 billion in total aid since 2000. [continues 684 words]
MIAMI -- The guilty pleas by the two highest-ranking Colombian cocaine traffickers ever to appear in a U.S. courtroom had their roots in a hot summer morning 15 years ago when a drug-sniffing dog named Iowa found something suspicious. The dog's alert Aug. 26, 1991, led to the discovery at the Port of Miami of more than 12 tons of cocaine. The shipment served notice to federal investigators that the Cali cartel had surpassed the better- known -- and much more violent -- Medellin cartel in controlling Colombia's cocaine trade and was employing ingenious new smuggling methods. [continues 948 words]
Red Ribbon Event, Week Aim to Curb Drug Use Al Sharlow thinks spending quality time with children is a sure-fire way to prevent drug abuse. That's why he brought his grandson, T.J., 5, to the Community Drug and Alcohol Council's Red Ribbon celebration Saturday at the Corry Sports Complex. "The younger kids don't really understand the concept of drug prevention yet," Sharlow said. "They understand heroes. That's why they need to spend time with these role models out here." [continues 287 words]
A ceremony marking Red Ribbon Week will take place at 10 a.m. Wednesday at the Educational Support Center in Sanford. The event will include appearances by Seminole County Public Schools Superintendent Bill Vogel, School Board Chairman Jeanne Morris, Seminole County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Steve Harriett and DEA agent Steve Collins. Master of ceremonies will be Dave Medley of Seminole County's community-assistance program. There also will be performances by the Seminole County Sheriff's Department Cadet Program Color Guard and the Seminole High School Gospel Choir. [continues 451 words]
DreShawna Davis was a trooper. A healthy child who hadn't lived long enough to believe she wasn't supposed to thrive amid such unhealthy circumstances. Her mother was serving time in prison on a kidnapping conviction. Her grandmother was struggling to rear her in a neighborhood where random gunfire often creates a macabre symphony that sends children her age scrambling beneath the bed. Yet the plucky 8-year-old became one of the top readers at Lola Culver Elementary School; she read enough books to win herself a bicycle. [continues 719 words]
I am a reader of The News-Press and I think the paper is very depressing! Don't you have anything good to print? Crime, crime, crime! Please, stop! It has been just terrible! I am sorry to say this, but every morning I read, all I see is murders, drugs, etc. You have to start digging deeper to find some positive things! How about students on honor roll, honoring people, etc. Please, think about this letter; it just might save the community and not make it look like the Bronx! Richard Cottrell, Fort Myers [end]
The Franklin County Sheriff's Office's BUSTang, a souped-up Ford Mustang used in the fight against drugs, recently took home first place at the National DARE Conference in Orlando. The BUSTang competed with more than 60 cars used in DARE, or Drug Abuse Resistance Education, programs and was deemed the "best DARE car in the nation," according to a news release from the Sheriff's Office. The Sheriff's Office, students in Franklin County Schools and Williams Communications Inc. designed and created the BUSTang, a 2006 Ford Mustang GT. [continues 108 words]
I continue to hear people speak about the drug problem in the Charlotte County area. My friend, Kai Hockel, died two weeks ago, possibly due to an overdose, so I don't need to hear about the problem; I can see it. This fast-growing community begs the question, what else are we supposed to do? Please tell me why, with a plethora of resources, we can build ourselves into a housing boom, but when someone mentions building a refuge for young people, everyone scratches their head. I wonder how some counties build parks and recreational areas for all ages, along with shooting ranges and preserves for youth recreation. I wonder how many construction people and tax dollars must be needed for them, because we obviously don't have enough. [continues 165 words]
FORT PIERCE - A man accused of robbing pharmacies to feed an OxyContin addiction after Dr. Ascuncion Luyao was arrested has agreed to a plea deal to resolve his four-year-old cases. Robert Bittle, 39, pleaded no contest to trafficking in OxyContin, robbery and three counts of robbery with a deadly weapon. He was sentenced today by Circuit Judge Gary Sweet under the plea agreement to 20 years in prison, but the sentence was suspended as long as he successfully completes two years of house arrest and 10 years of probation. [continues 234 words]
FORT PIERCE - A man accused of robbing pharmacies to feed an OxyContin addiction after Dr. Asuncion Luyao was arrested has agreed to a plea deal to resolve his 4-year-old cases. Robert Bittle, 39, pleaded no contest Wednesday to trafficking in OxyContin, robbery and three counts of robbery with a deadly weapon and was sentenced by Circuit Judge Gary Sweet under the plea agreement. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison, but the sentence was suspended if he successfully completes two years of house arrest and 10 years of probation. [continues 492 words]
Ex-Clerk May Have Violated Probation DeLAND -- Anthony Mesa went to jail this year because he urinated in a bottle of Mountain Dew and an unsuspecting customer at the Deltona convenience store where he worked got violently ill after drinking the contaminated soda. Now, the former Pix store clerk could get into more trouble because he can't urinate while somebody is watching. One condition of Mesa's sentence -- six months in jail and two years of a form of house arrest -- is that he periodically urinate into a sterile cup as part of a drug test. [continues 386 words]
Lake Worth Even people police say are gang members cry when they're arrested. On Wednesday, that's what happened with [Name redacted] , alleged by police to be a Top 6 gang member and one of 43 suspects involved in cocaine sales in the city during a two-day sting. Sixteen are thought to be affiliated with the Top 6 gang, which is responsible for dozens of drive-by shootings this year, authorities said. Police run the drug sweep twice a year, and this year was the first with that many suspected gang members, Lt. Peter Ebel said. [continues 575 words]
LAKELAND -- The fact that underage drinking is killing more teens than all other drugs combined should motivate communities into action, channeling anger and frustration into new policies and laws. Such was the message Wednesday at the annual luncheon and meeting of the Drug Prevention Resource Center in Lakeland, which coincides with the national Red Ribbon campaign. About 70 people, including Mayor Buddy Fletcher, Police Chief Roger Boatner and other community leaders, attended the meeting held at Highland Park Church of the Nazarene. [continues 448 words]
Recent news reports told of a house in Florida that was gutted and filled with marijuana plants. This venture was so profitable to the drug gang that ran it that they gave the illegal immigrant who took care of the plants free room and board and told him after three years he could keep the house. Another recent story was about a remote part of a state park in Washington that was secretly deforested and planted in marijuana by Mexican drug lords and farmed by armed illegal immigrants. [continues 210 words]
It is intriguing how lawyers and family members come to the aid of violent criminals despite their previous displays of disregarding human life. It appears that Angilo Freeland's family and their lawyer should be investigating the lives and families of the victims of his drug trade and their subsequent demise. Drug addiction is responsible for multiple deaths, widespread family abuse, residual child abuse, diseases such as hepatitis, HIV and AIDS and, last but not least, violent crimes. This nation has been suffering too long at the hand of violent criminals and their disregard for others. [continues 55 words]
The article that dominated Page A3 of the Sentinel a week ago told of big trouble in Afghanistan: "Insurgency, opium traffic erode nation," the headline read. The fifth paragraph of the article informed readers, "By failing to stop Taliban leaders and Osama bin Laden from escaping into Pakistan, then diverting troops and resources to Iraq before finishing the job in Afghanistan, the Bush administration left the door open to a Taliban comeback." The article, by Jonathan S. Landay, the national security and intelligence correspondent for McClatchy Newspapers, was labeled "Analysis." [continues 533 words]
Killings Highlight Factors That Fuel Violence In Once-Quiet Areas Three bodies. Two cities. Three days. It's not something anyone might blink an eye at in an urban sprawl such as Miami or Tampa, but the recent homicides in Cape Coral and Lehigh Acres tied or set records in both cities, and experts say explosive economic and population growth are indirect factors. Lonnie Athens, criminology professor at Seton Hall University in New Jersey and author of several books, including "Why They Kill: The Discoveries of a Maverick Criminologist," said the rapid migration of people from different backgrounds could have a lot to do with it. [continues 963 words]
I understand that the family of Angilo Freeland, who killed Deputy Matt Williams and wounded Deputy Doug Speirs, is asking for an investigation into why he was shot so many times. Perhaps they should be asking for an investigation into why their relative was not obeying the laws of the state: driving without a valid license, using an alias, carrying a concealed weapon and dealing drugs. He was obviously leading a lifestyle of a criminal and he posed a danger to the community. [continues 114 words]
If a person should know his products will be used to take drugs, he could be fined $500 or jailed for 60 days. CLEARWATER - Attorneys in suits and ties or residents dressed Florida casual are usually the ones pleading for a favorable decision before the County Commission. But on Tuesday, it was men with facial piercings, a marijuana legalization advocate and a woman making a distinction between appearance and truth by dressing as a prostitute. They didn't do so well. [continues 482 words]
Tamiami Prostitution Clean-Up Overdue The thing that apologists invariably say about prostitution is that it is a "victimless" crime. That rationalization usually comes amid efforts to legalize the "oldest profession," which advocates like to euphemize as the "sex trade" and its practitioners as "sex workers." Prostitution is anything but victimless. Start with the women - and it's a predominantly female "profession" - themselves. Many begin as runaways who are befriended by men who get them hooked on drugs and then force them to sell their bodies to pay for their habits. Others are women who start with recreational drug use, then graduate to becoming addicts and selling themselves to support their habits. [continues 486 words]
Re: When a positive is a negative, Oct. 2 Citrus Times. The Citrus County School Board should think twice before it institutes random student drug testing. While seemingly based on good intentions, drug testing young people can oftentimes have counterproductive results. The only federally commissioned review examining the effectiveness of student drug testing programs found the policy to have no discernible impact on youth drug use. Districts that tested students had no lower rates of use than districts that did not. [continues 140 words]
Re "Marijuana link to lethal behavior," Florida Voices column, Sept. 25: Bill Janes' article is most misleading. No one in his right mind would suggest in any way that children should be using marijuana. If the ban on scientific research of marijuana's benefit to the medical and pharmaceutical professions were lifted, perhaps we who oppose Mr. Janes would have more scientific facts to present. Mr. Janes is just plain wrong, and so is everyone else he referred to in his column, when he said marijuana has "no medicinal value." Just ask anyone who has used it to counter the nausea and vomiting that very often occur with chemotherapy treatments for cancer patients. Ask them! [continues 82 words]
A discussion in my doctor's waiting room produced a thoughtful, sensible idea. Some members of Congress, being an embarrassment with many a moral or ethical lapse in behavior that is attributed to addiction, should be subject to the same test many employers use: a routine, frequent urine test for substance abuse. If there are excuses we are to accept as solid reasons for unsound thinking in morals or ethics, we must remember these people are also making laws that govern, many of which some of us think have been terribly wrong lately. Leesburg [end]
PORT ST. LUCIE - Few people have seen the inside of the Northwest Halibut Street home, with its marble countertops, high ceilings, stainless steel appliances - and sophisticated rooms used in farming pot. That will likely change at 10 p.m. Thursday, when the Spanish-language network Univision airs a segment on "Aqui y Ahora" ("Here and Now") focusing on the more than 60 marijuana grow houses raided by police since May. The story generated local headlines for months, but lately it appears to have gotten the attention of big-time broadcasters. [continues 390 words]
PORT ST. LUCIE - A Port St. Lucie woman's apparent plan to start a marijuana grow house just got nipped in the bud. Port St. Lucie police came to [Name redacted] Southwest Cameo Boulevard home Saturday evening while investigating a shoplifting at the Wal-Mart on Okeechobee Road. According to an arrest report, the 35- year-old admitted to stealing a large, flat-screen television from Wal- Mart after police found it in the back of her green Chevy Blazer. Police also found six other televisions in the house - including two [Name redacted] said were stolen from Wal-Marts in Port St. Lucie and West Palm Beach. Together, the televisions are worth almost $5,000, according to police reports. [continues 147 words]
School drug testing sounds like witch hunt, Sept. 24 Times editorial, and Drug tests benefit kids, parents, Sept. 29 letter to the editor from Calvina Fay. Are the citizens of Hernando County aware of Fay's economic interest in selling drug detection kits to the county? Calvina Fay is the executive director of Drug Free America Foundation and operated a company that sold test kits to businesses and agencies. Anything she says has to be weighed against the potential economic conflict of interest she represents. [continues 241 words]
INDIAN RIVER COUNTY - A Vero Beach man who testified he fled from police because he discovered a large amount of marijuana in his lap and thought it was a bomb someone tossed into his car was sentenced to 30 years in prison. Circuit Judge Dan L. Vaughn ordered David L. Bennett, 38, to serve 30 years for his conviction by a jury Aug. 15 on charges of possession of marijuana with intent to sell, fleeing and eluding police, and driving with a revoked driver's license. [continues 376 words]
Editor, Daily News: Re: Sept. 24 guest commentary headlined "World's environment also victim of drug addiction." Wallace Nichols makes astute points about the wasted program known as Plan Colombia and/or the Andean Initiative - two different titles for one utterly failed foreign policy. As a recovered cocaine abuser (clean 11 years now), I weep at the billions of tax dollars spent by the U.S. government to drop poisons on South American farms and fields and to arm soldiers who kill and destroy innocent civilians in their never-ending battle for control of the country of Colombia - currently in de facto control of the coca producers and exporters. [continues 179 words]
Editor, Daily News: Wallace J. Nichols' Sept. 24 op-ed was right on target. In an effort to eradicate Colombian coca crops used to make cocaine, toxic herbicides are sprayed from airplanes, hitting water supplies, staple crops and people. The U.S.-funded aerial fumigation campaign in Colombia drives peasants deeper into the Amazon basin, which in turn leads to more deforestation. If South America's rain forests are to survive, the self-professed champions of the free market in Congress had better learn to apply basic economic principles to drug policy. [continues 72 words]
DELAND -- The 11th methamphetamine lab found this year -- in a woman's mobile home in Edgewater -- is further proof that a special response team is needed to destroy the clandestine operations, Sheriff Ben Johnson said Thursday. Johnson is getting help from the Volusia County Council, which voted Thursday to authorize use of $80,000 in confiscated drug funds to train a six-member team and equip it with tools to destroy labs and dispose of dangerous chemicals used to make the drug. [continues 346 words]
Miami - Israeli undercover agents want to wear wigs, fake facial hair and makeup so they can testify without revealing their true identities at the upcoming trial of a man charged with running a worldwide Ecstasy distribution ring. As many as six surveillance officers of the Israel National Police also want to appear in the U.S. federal trial of Zeev Rosenstein using only an "officer identification number" rather than their names. They want to limit defense cross-examination that might reveal confidential tactics and spy technology. [end]
Levy County's public libraries are struggling to get books checked out or reshelved because retirees who usually handle many of those chores have balked at a requirement that they "pee in a cup" as part of a mandatory drug test for all county volunteers. "It's not like we are a high-risk group for coming in drunk or high or stoned or whatever," said one volunteer. "This is just a common-sense issue - why are we spending tax money to test 75-year-old grandmothers for marijuana? We should be using that money to buy more books and computers." [continues 592 words]
R.J. Cobb went to a fair share of house parties while he was on the Citrus High School football team. A few times, he said, he watched as some teammates succumbed to pressure from friends to drink. He wondered whether they would have pounded as many beers if there had been a good excuse to say no. "I did occasionally have a drink," said Cobb, who graduated in 2005. "But I never felt pressured. You could tell, though, that some people would just do it to fit in." [continues 1542 words]
Regarding your Sep. 28 editorial, the case of the Manatee Sheriff's deputies allegedly protecting drug dealers is not an isolated incident. The institutional corruption engendered by the drug war stretches from coast to coast and reaches the highest levels. The high-profile Los Angeles Police Department Rampart scandal involved anti-drug officers selling drugs and framing gang members. A former commander of U.S. anti-drug operations in Colombia was found guilty of laundering the profits of his wife's heroin smuggling operation. Entire countries have been destabilized by the corrupting influence of the illegal drug trade. Like alcohol prohibition in the 1920s, the drug war is causing tremendous societal harm, while failing miserably at preventing use. [continues 121 words]
But The Federal Money Would Come With Limits, And The Board Is Already Divided Over Random Testing. BROOKSVILLE - The Hernando County schools can have $183,289 in federal money for a random drug-testing program - if they want it. U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson's office said Wednesday that both Hernando and Citrus counties have won part of the funding they sought this summer to randomly test high school students for drugs. But with a School Board that's evenly divided on the question of random testing, and strong community voices on both sides of the issue, it's not at all clear whether the program will go forward. [continues 470 words]
Re: Drug tests benefit kids, parents, Sept. 29 letter to the editor: As a high school student who graduated from Northeast High School, played football, was on the track team, and tried smoking cannabis (marijuana) my senior year, I can assure you that at 17 years old, urine tests would not have changed a thing for me. Everyone knows that harder drugs, such as alcohol, LSD, cocaine, heroin, ecstasy and methamphetamine take much less time to leave one's system and, thus, become more attractive to those who desire to do drugs but have to pee in a cup. I'd prefer my children smoke cannabis to any of these dangerous substances. [continues 206 words]
Are You Kidding Me? If I got pulled over in Brevard County with a loaded weapon and two grams of cocaine and marijuana were found in my car -- not to mention driving under the influence of a controlled substance -- I would be told go home like a good boy, and that I'd done nothing illegal? Oh, did I mention the loaded weapon? There is obviously a double standard when you're an influential cop's son, which was the case here that involved the son of Brevard Sheriff's chief deputy Mike Lewis. [continues 61 words]
Belinda Knox compares her life to a carton of orange juice. To get the best out of it, she had to turn it upside down once or twice. "You know how all that good stuff sits at the bottom, and if you don't shake it up, it's useless. You can use it, but it doesn't taste that good," said Knox, 45. "That's how my life has been." Once homeless, cocaine addicted and isolated from her three children, Knox, who lives in Lauderhill, now helps other parents turn their lives around at the Jack and Jill Children's Center in Fort Lauderdale, a non-profit organization that provides child care and support for lower-income working families. [continues 369 words]
ARCADIA -- Methamphetamine. It is a drug that has become a serious problem in DeSoto County over the last decade. At a DeSoto Sun round table Tuesday, local law enforcement, health and education officials explored some of the aspects of the devastating drug. Arcadia City Marshal Charles Lee described the drug: "Methamphetamine - -- or 'meth' as it's called -- is a 'designer drug' made from ephedrine and pseudoephedrine and a lot of other store-bought items." Methamphetamine has effects similar to crack cocaine except that it's easier and cheaper to mass produce than most other drugs -- and it's highly addictive," Lee said. [continues 1718 words]
Re: School drug testing sounds like witch hunt, Sept. 24 Times editorial: The Hernando County School Board needs to educate itself on the limitations of student drug testing. Student involvement in afterschool activities like sports has been shown to reduce drug use. They keep kids busy during the hours they are most likely to get into trouble. Forcing students to undergo degrading urine tests as a prerequisite will only discourage participation. The invasive tests also may compel marijuana users to switch to harder drugs to avoid testing positive. [continues 157 words]
Re: School drug testing sounds like witch hunt, Sept. 24 Times editorial: School drug testing may look like a witch hunt, but it isn't one. The difference between superintendent Wendy Tellone's drug-testing initiative and the witch hunts of old is this: There weren't really any witches in New England, but there really are drugs in Hernando County schools. The drug problem in our schools isn't limited or isolated, but rather it is pervasive and sweeping. When I was a student at Hernando High School until 2003, I implored Dr. Tellone and School Board members to do whatever it takes to turn our schools back to a culture of learning and away from a culture of drug and alcohol abuse. [continues 76 words]
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