NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. -- Christopher Trull is back in prison, where he belongs, according to the prosecutor who presided over the sensational murder trial for which he was found to be the least culpable among his three brothers in the slayings of two Maryland Spring Breakers and the near killing of a third a decade ago.
TALLAHASSEE -- Florida has 63 confirmed cases in the following counties: one in Osceola, Alachua, Indian River, Marion, Clay, Collier, Lake, Manatee, Flagler, Seminole, Okeechobee, and Duval, two in Brevard and Palm Beach, 3 in Pinellas, Sarasota, and Orange, 7 in Lee, 8 in Hillsborough, 11 in Dade , and 12 in Broward .
New confirmed cases:
* Sarasota: a 6 year-old female
* Palm Beach: an 18 year-old male and a 75 year-old male
* Broward: a 60 year-old male
* Orange: a 21 year-old male
* We have 2 probables in Okaloosa County.
NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Two men were bitten within 10 minutes of each other Saturday morning near the South Jetty, becoming the third and fourth bite victims of the year, the Volusia County Beach Patrol said.
The first victim, a 55-year-old Sanford man, sustained a small bite on his right hand about 9:20 a.m., and was briefly treated at Bert Fish Medical Center and released.
The second surfer, a 49-year-old Southeast Volusia resident, had a more serious bite to his foot that required surgery at Bert Fish Medical Center later in the day. He was expected to make a full recovery.
DELTONA -- A 48-year-old New Smyrna Beach man was killed Saturday afternoon on State Road 415 after the driver of the car he was in lost control of the vehicle and collided nearly head-on with an Edgewater motorist, the Florida Highway Patrol reported.
Keith Hall, 48, died in the 1:15 p.m. crash after being ejected. The driver, Doreen Hall, 45, and the other motorist, Kenneth Davis, 55, of Edgewater, were taken to Halifax Medical Center in Daytona Beach. Dorren Hall was in critical condition and Davis was in serious condition.
(Updated 6:11 a.m. to include accomplice)
NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Police were looking for a gunman Sunday night believed responsible for shooting a 37-year-old man on the city's west side, who underwent surgery at Bert Fish Medical Center for a gunshot wound to his left shin.
Marcus Peterson, 37, was shot at least once in a confrontation at 554 Josie St., about a block from Ronnoc Lane. Police responding to the 6:34 p.m. shooting, found the bleeding victim, who was expected to survive, police Sgt. Valerie Joyce said.
Mrs. Frederick and I took in a ballgame Saturday with the Tampa Rays defeating the Cleveland Indians 4-2 before announced crowd of 33,000-plus. Baseball here, though is so different from up north. First is the driving distance: 360 miles round trip. Second is the atmosphere -- too genteel. But one thing that remains constant: The cost. Expensive.
OSTEEN -- Volusia County Fire Services received a call for a brush fire in the vicinity of Lake Harney Road and Underhill Branch Road in Osteen at 3:05 p.m. Saturday, that by the next day had consumed 1,500 acres.
No structures were threatened and no roads were closed.
Fire crews worked to cut lines around the fire and provide structural protection at Lake Harney Road and Underhill Branch Road. Winds are pushing the fire west/northwest toward Gobblers Lodge/Osteen-Maytown Road in Osteen, where more crews are working the fire and cutting lines.
NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- With a third shark-bite attack reported this weekend in the surf off the South Jetty, the Volusia Beach Patrol has a plausible increase for the flurry of activity: warmer waters.
"Last weekend, the water temperature was between 67 and 68, but this weekend it was 73 to 74 degrees," said Beach Patrol Capt. Scott Petersohn, the agency's spokesman.
Not only does the warmer weather mean more active bait fish, which create a feeding frenzy for the 5- and 6-foot sharks that feed on them, but also more humans enjoying the surf.
EDGEWATER -- City Council member Gigi Bennington informed her colleagues earlier tonight that the Pet Society, a group of private volunteers, raised and donated $14,000 to benefit the surgical unit at the city's animal shelter.
Bennington's announcement came during a discussion of a revised animal control ordiance that has more teeth in it in terms of enforcement.
