Crime

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Four men, on of whom was armed with a handgun, forced their way into a home on Downing Street overnight and robbed two young men, before fleeing, police said.

Here is a synopsis of what happened as described by New Smyrna Beach Police Sgt. Christopher Roos in the 1:30 home invasion at 804 Downing St.: "The initial responding officers were able to ascertain from the victims, Stephen Michael Jackson, 20, and Aramis Arkeem Ponder, 22, that at least four unknown males, one of whom was armed with a handgun, forced entry into the home and demanded money and property belonging to the victims. The suspects later fled the scene with the victims’ property. The scene was secured and turned over to the New Smyrna Beach Investigative Division, who is investigating the incident. The identity of the suspects is still unknown."

Anthony Michael Shaw, 35, known to local police as shown in this March booking mug, was found dead over the weekend in a homeless camp in a wooded area of Daytona Beach. His name was released to the media on Monday. How or why he died has not been released.

DAYTONA BEACH -- The body of a homeless man found in a makeshift camp in the woods of Brentwood rive over the weekend has been identified as that of 35-year-old Anthony Michael Shaw. How the man was killed or when has not ye been released by police.

James Seagrave and his apparent girlfriend, Kelly Nemoto were found dead inside a mobile home Thursday afternoon after a lengthy standoff with a Hillsborough SWAT team. Seagrave was the prime suspect in the March 31 fatal shooting of Tom Walsh, the manager of the Mainstreet Grill restaurant during a botched robbery.

DELAND -- The man believed responsible for murdering the manager of the Mainstreet Grill on New York Avenue in March was found dead in a mobile home today in Hillsborough County after a standoff with a SWAT team, authorities said.

James Seagraves, a convicted felon, shot and killed the manager, Tom Walsh, during a bothed robbery on March 31. The 29-year-old suspect had just been released from prison March 2, after serving a two-year term for an armed robbery in Marion County.

The standoff ended just after 6 p.m. in Gibsonton, a rural unincorporated community in Hillsborough County. The SWAT team entered the mobile home where Seagraves had barricaded himself after tear gas cleared and found his body and that of a woman presumed to be his girlfriend, Kayla Nemoto, Hillsborough County Sheriff's Detective Larry McKinnon said. How they died has not yet been released.

Willie Henderson Jr., 48, of New Smyrna Beach, remains jailed on this Sunday evening on charges of sexual battery with a deadly weapon/force, aggravated battery, false imprisonment and burglary with assault or battery, all felonies, that could net him a sentence of 40 years or more if convicted at trial in what Sheriff's deputies said was a violent attack on a woman in her home in the middle of the night.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- A woman was awakened in the middle of the night, -- 3:30 a.m. to be precise, by a knock at the door and a face she knew: A man she had paid 20 bucks to mow her lawn.

ORMOND BEACH -- The Volusia County Sheriff's Office is investigating a shooting here in the overnight hours that sent a motorist to the the hospitsal with two gunshots.

The 48-year-old victim had just driven away from a store in Ormond Beach when he was shot twice in his car near 1336 Par Ave. at 11:30 p.m. Wednesday.

The man was transported to Halifax Health Medical Center in Daytona Beach where he is currently in surgery. A female in his car was uninjured.

About five minutes later deputies found a van that matched the description of the suspect vehicle given by eyewitnesses to the shooting.

"With the assistance of the Daytona Beach Police Department and a Sheriff's Office helicopter, the van was tracked as it drove recklessly through a residential area until it finally crashed a 421 Whitney St. in Daytona Beach," Sheriff's spokesman Brandon Haught said.

VCBJ mug /

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- When Monte Andrew Henkenberns was pulled over early Sunday in the 500 block of South Peninsula Avenue, it marked the fourth time he'd been arrested on a charge of driving under the influence.

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PORT ORANGE -- A 57-year-old man who allegedly threatened adult family members with an axe before barricading himself in a bedroom with a knife, was taken into custody after Port Orange police stormed the house on Hawks Ridge Road, an agency spokesman said.

Police responded to a 9-1-1 call at 11:45 a.m. to the residence about a domestic situation involving a man armed with a knife. After a police negotiator was unable to get the man to surrender on his own and nearby residents were safely evacuated, the police department's emergency response team -- similar to SWAT-- stormed the house at 749 Hawks Ridge Road just after 4 p.m. Elbert Hale was taken into custody without further incident.

ORMOND BEACH -- The body of a man with "obvious signs of trauma" was found early this morning outside a residence at 788 Buena Vista Ave. and is being treated as a suspicious death, Ormond Beach police said.

Here is a synopsis of what led homicide investigators to the home at 12:40 a.m. as described by Ormond Beach police spokesman Lt. Kenny Hayes at 4:45 on this Friday morning: "Ormond Beach Police were dispatched to this location after a 9-1-1 call was placed by a female resident reporting a suspicious person in her yard. Two Ormond Beach police officers arrived and began checking the area."

Hayes continued, "They quickly discovered an unresponsive man lying in the side yard of the home. He was deceased and had obvious signs of trauma to his body. Investigators have determined that the man lived in an upstairs back apartment at the home. Family members are being notified and the victim’s identity will likely be released later this morning."

Brian Bouchard, 21, is accused of beating 14-month-old Isaiah Mitchell so badly he is on life support at Halifax Medical Center in Daytona Beach.

EDGEWATER -- While a 14-month old baby remains on life support with head injuries, his alleged abuser's run from the law lasted a mere seven hours with the apprehension Thursday of 21-year-old Brian Bouchard.

Acting on a tip, Volusia County Sheriff's deputies stopped a car near Acee Drive and Tatum Boulevard in Edgewater at 10:30 p.m., agency spokesman Gary Davidson said.

"And sure enough, their suspect, 21-year-old Brian Bouchard, was a passenger in the vehicle," Davidson said.