Crime

Sheriff's spokesman: At first, convenience store clerk thought man was joking

Headline Surfer® graphic / At left is a locate map of the Circle K, 1805 Elkcam Blvd., in Deltona that was robbed by a man, possibly armed with a handgun at 12:23 a.m. Sunday.

DELTONA -- At first, the convenience store clerk thought the man was joking when he approached the counter and demanded cash early this morning, but it was all too real.

The Volusia County Sheriff's Office respond to 9-1-1 call about the robbery at 12:23 a.m. Deputies, who began arriving at the scene at 1805 Elkcam Blvd. two minutes later, were told that the robber had entered the store and demanded that the clerk hand over the money in the cash register.

"At first, the clerk said he thought it was a joke," Sheriff's spokesman Gary Davison told Headline Surfer®.

Photos for Headline Surfer® /

DAYTONA BEACH SHORES -- The motorist that cops believe was intoxicated when he struck and killed a North Carolina tourist as she was walking on the beach in Daytona Beach Shores has bonded out of jail.

Elizabeth Braly, 45, was with her 21-year-old son and his wife walking on the beach around 9:30 p.m. June 24, a Tuesday, when she was struck by a vehicle driven by Shawn Doolan.

Photo for Headline Surfer® / Eugene Blackwell, Sr., 45, is being held without bail in the alleged Sunday shooting of his 18-year-old son, whose condition is critical.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- A dad shot his 18-year-old son multiple times during a domestic dispute on Father’s Day, New Smyrna Beach cops said.

Eugene Blackwell Sr., 45, was arrested on a charge of attempted murder for allegedly shooting his son, Eugene Blackwell Jr., 18, after a domestic argument turned violent, police said. The victim was airlifted to Halifax Medical Center shortly after the 6:34 p.m. shooting. He is currently undergoing surgery at Halifax Health Medical Center in Daytona Beach for multiple gunshot wounds and listed in critical condition.

Headline Surfer® graphic / Rocco Park, 2490 Sunset Drive, shown here at left, is where the body of a woman was found early Tuesday.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- The body of a woman was found this morning at a city park in Turnbull Bay, New Smyrna Beach cops said.

The discovery was made just after 6 a.m. at the park, located at 2490 Sunset Drive, Master Sgt. Eugene Griffith said in a press release, adding her death may have resulted from a drug overdose. Her name or age was not released.

An autopsy is scheduled for Wednesday to try nd determine the manner and cause of death.

Headline Surfer® graphic / Ruthy's Kozy Kitchen, 618 W. Canal St., as shown in the locator map in the inset, was the target of an overnight burglar or burglars,  who broke in through a window and made off with an undisclosed amount of cash.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Ruthy's Kozy Kitchen on West Canal Street, the eatery that nearly closed four years ago because of 18 months worth of delays in completion of a CRA-funded street beautification project, was burglarized earlier this week, New Smyrna Beach cops said in a delayed report.

Photos for Headline Surfer® / John DeJesus, 27, a reputed member of the Latin Kings gang, a drug dealer and sex offender, shown at left, now stands accused of first-degree murder in the April 30 shooting death of 22-year-old Yoliz Marie Borrero, shown in the inset.

ORLANDO -- Orange County Sheriff's investigators this morning arrested the man they said shot and killed his live-in girlfriend in cold blood right in front of her two small children earlier this month -- the youngest he is the father to.

John DeJesus, 28, was presented before a judge just before noon where he was ordered remanded to the Orange County Jail on a no-bond status, pending a formal arraignment to answer to the charge of first-degree murder.

OAK HILL, Fla. -- An 18-year-old has been booked into the Volusia County Branch Jail in Daytona Beach on DUI manslaughter charges in the July 24, 2013, horrific wreck on Maytown Road that took the life of his cousin.

Headline Surfer® graphic / Sheriff's homicide investigators are awaiting autopsy results before deciding if criminal charges will be levied in the early Easter morning shooting death of Sanford Olson at his residence at 7 Seabreeze Drive in Ormond by-the-Sea as shown in this locator map. His wife told a neighbor he was accidentally shot.

ORMOND BEACH -- The Volusia County Sheriff's Office's Major Case Unit is continuing to investigate the fatal shooting early Sunday morning of a 55-year-old man in Ormond-by-the-Sea, just north of the Ormond Beach city limits.

The victim's wife was being interviewed about the death at 7 Seabreeze Drive after receiving a call at 2:52 a.m. about a shooting that had happened. When they arrived on scene, deputies discovered he had been shot to death.