NSBNEWS.net: Volusia County / State

DELAND -- The Volusia County Sheriff's Office teamed up with local and state law enforcement Thursday in a crime suppression operation in West Volusia that resulted in 40 arrests and 89 traffic citations.

The eight-hour sweep through DeLand, Orange City, Deltona and DeBary netted arrests for everything from open warrants and traffic offenses to possession of marijuana, Hydrocodone and steroids," Sheriff's spokesman Gary Davidson said.

DAYTONA BEACH -- An ex-convict is heading back to prison for another 15 years after his trial convictions today in the beating of a prostitute in a vacant lot on South Beach Street last September.

A jury found Michael Edward Beach guilty of three separate counts: battery, aggravated battery and false imprisonment.

DAYTONA BEACH -- Deathly ill from the effects of AIDS and hepatitis, friends and neighbors weren't surprised to learn of Michael Bobo's death on May 19, A Volusia Sheriff's spokesman said.

However, how the 52-year-old's body ended up at a Daytona Beach landfill amidst a pile of discarded recyclables remained a mystery. This week, Sheriff's investigators solved the mystery with the arrest of Bobo's former roommate and lover, 27-year-old Donald Richert, agency spokesman Gary Davidson said this afternoon.

DELTONA -- The Volusia County Sheriff's Office is investigating an early morning robbery of a Deltona grocery store pharmacy.

A man walked into the business and demanded that the pharmacist give him some drugs. The suspect implied he had a weapon, but one was not actually seen, Sheriff's spokesman Brandon Haught said. No one was injured during the incident. The robber was able to grab a few bottles of prescription pills and then flee. Several deputies, a K-9 unit and a Sheriff's Office helicopter responded to the scene, but the suspect was not found.

SEVILLE -- The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office is investigating an armed robbery of a Seville convenience store Tuesday morning.

Three employees were in the store when a man with a handgun entered and demanded cash. There were no shots fired or any injuries. Several deputies, a K-9 unit and a Sheriff’s Office helicopter responded to the scene, but the suspect was not found.

ORMOND BEACH -- A man found Monday at the bottom of an Ormond Beach motel pool has been identified by Ormond Beach police as 73-year-old Mikhail Levkovas.

The pool find was made by patrons at the Castillo Del Sol, 205 S. Atlantic Ave., who subsequently called police. Despite life-saving efforts by firefighters, the victim was pronounced dead on arrival at Florida Hospital-Oceanside.

Police did not know why he was in the pol or where he was from.

PONCE INLET -- Volusia County Marine Science Center rehabilitation team members are planning the release of an adult female loggerhead sea turtle called Morgan at 11 a.m. Wednesday, weather permitting, said Michelle Coates, a county spokeswoman.

The beachside release will be on the north side of the county’s Winter Haven Park, 4589 S. Atlantic Ave., Ponce Inlet.

From late February through March, the northeast coastline of Florida experienced a dramatic increase in the number of stranded sea turtles.

ORMOND BEACH -- The Daytona Beach chapter of the Florida Motion Picture & Television Association will officially re-open 7 p.m. Wednesday in the Cinematique Theater at the Book Store Cafe, 410 S. Nova Road in Ormond Beach.

"I look forward to being in this new meeting place," said FMPTA President Carole Ferrill, who will be on hand to officially re-open and
re-organize the chapter.

THREE IN CUSTODY FOLLOWING CARJACKING IN DELTONA

DELTONA -- The Volusia County Sheriff's Office has three people in custody after 38-year-old Moliek Hudson was carjacked Monday afternoon at gunpoint in Deltona with his 3-year-old son inside his van, agency spokesman Gary Davidson said.

The suspects put the toddler out of the vehicle at Florida Drive in the southwest corner of Deltona before taking off with Hudson's van and wallet. However, the culprits -- two males and a female -- didn't get very far, Davidson said.