Crime

Woman in domestic argument tells police she saw several 'bright flashes' but was not struck

Timothy Griffith is charged with attempted murder for allegedly firing a gun in his New Smyrna Beach residence during an early Monday argument with a woman who was not struck by any bullets.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- A 26-year-old man was arrested early this morning on attempted murder charges after allegedly firing a handgun in his apartment during an argument with a 34-year-old woman.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. -- Debra Gibson was a street walker with a record of petty crimes. James Desmond Booth was a convicted drug dealer. When their paths met again on Jan. 25, 2011, she was shot dead.

Courtesy photo / Tiffany and James Pembertonlived in Daytona Beach about a year. Both were found dead Sunday in their Breakers apartment, victims of an apparent murder-suicide.

DAYTONA BEACH -- An Iraqi war veteran shot and killed his wife and then turned a rifle on himself in a murder-suicide over the weekend, Daytona Beach police said.

The wife was identified as Tiffany Pemberton, 25, and the husband, Jason Pemberton, 28. Both were found in their residence at 778 Jimmy Ann Drive No. 1614.

PIERSON, Fla  -- The Volusia County Sheriff's Office arrested a 25-year-old man early Monday morning on a first-degree murder warrant for Saturday night's shooting death in Seville.

Gerry Burkatovsky, shown in the larger photo, is charged with murder in the throat-slash slayings of Michael Shaffer and Danny Edwards, whose bodies were dumped in Edgewater, according to law enforcement.

EDGEWATER -- Police Chief Dave Arcieri remembers the bodies like it was yesterday -- two stabbed men with slashed throats found in a remote area of the edge of the city near Interstate 95. It was obvious they were killed elsewhere and discarded here.

Buzzards flying overhead drew the attention of passersby on Opossum Road and the grisly find, which led to Edgewater police response.

PORT ORANGE, Fla. -- A robber who implied he had a gun walked up to a teller on this busy Christmas eve shopping morning at the TD Bank, 1101 Dunlawton Ave., demanded money, and after getting it, walked right back out and drove off in a tan-colored 4-door car, Port Orange police said.

Headline Surfer photos / Above: A memorial outside the New Smyrna Beach Police Station recognizes police officer Roy L. Nelson Jr.  and his k-9 partner, Caesar, killed in the line of duty on Aug. 13, 2005.

By HENRY FREDERICK / Headline Surfer

NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. -- Before the new police station was built last year, the only public recognition of canine officer Roy L. Nelson Jr., and his dog, Ceasar, was a photo in the lobby of the former facility.

Courtesy photo / Nicholas Leach, 31, of Lake Mary, is being held at the Volusia County Branch Jail in Daytona Beach on a felony charge of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon after his arrest Saturday in an alleged stabbing of a Deltona man over a drug debt.

DELTONA -- Nicholas Leach of Lake Mary drove to Deltona to collect on a drug debt, but after he allegedly stabbed the victim several times earlier today, he was arrested and transported to jail, Volusia County authorities said.

Sheriff's deputies were called out early Saturday morning to investigate the stabbing of a Deltona man who said he was attacked by a stranger trying to force his way into the victim's home, agency spokesman Gary Davidson said, adding it took some doing, but Sheriff's investigators uncovered the real story.