Leaders discuss possibility of shutting down Caloosahatchee BridgeFGCU softball parents cherish NCAA Tournament experience
FORT MYERS Leaders discuss possibility of shutting down Caloosahatchee Bridge Should residents endure two years of partial lane closures, or fully shut the Caloosahatchee bridge down for 10 weeks?
GAINESVILLE FGCU softball parents cherish NCAA Tournament experience The parents of the FGCU softball team are relishing seeing their daughters play in the NCAA Tournament.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA The Weather Authority: Hot, hot, hot Heat advisory in place for Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers teen finds dead body in bed of his truck A 16-year-old in Fort Myers drove to school, drove home, drove to the barbershop and back home again. Then, he noticed a swarm of flies in the back of his truck.
Scottie Scheffler facing felony charges; local attorney reacts The attorney we spoke with told us that, at a minimum, we’d spend the night in jail before having our first appearance and getting bail.
GAINESVILLE FGCU softball falls to No. 4 Florida in NCAA Tournament The FGCU softball team couldn’t keep up with the No. 4 Florida Gators as the Eagles drop their first Regional game 6-0 to the Gators.
Summer Safety: Swim safety tips to know before the summer The pool is warming up to be the hot spot for kids and families this summer. It’s now also the number one leading cause of drowning deaths for children ages 1-4 in the state.
FORT MYERS BEACH ‘The Whale’ restaurant to break ground on new building The Whale is a place that has shown great strength and determination.
COLLIER COUNTY Endangered Florida panther deaths surpass 2023 total in 5 months It’s taken wildlife officials just over four and a half months to report finding more dead endangered Florida panthers than in all of 2023.
FORT MYERS FMPD honors 7 officers and 2 K-9s who died in the line of duty dating back to 1930 Nine lives were given, and all nine will remain remembered. A lifetime of gratitude for the fallen officers.
Firefighter recovering from heat exhaustion after battling flames in Collier County It happened at Progress Rail, a transit corporation on Mercantile Avenue just before 5am on Friday.
FORT MYERS How do SWFL graduation rates compare to the state average? How do graduation rates for Charlotte, Lee and Collier Counties stack up against the state? WINK News crunched the numbers.
FORT MYERS Community divisive over ‘justified’ officer-involved shooting of Christopher Jordan A detective who killed an unarmed black man in a controversial shooting will be back at work on Monday.
CAPE CORAL Family submits civil complaint against Cape Coral Police Department The family of a 13-year-old boy who was struck and killed while riding his scooter has officially filed a civil complaint.
FORT MYERS Community reacts to ‘justified’ officer-involved shooting of Christopher Jordan Leaders with the NAACP are saying there is a divide between the black community and Fort Myers police.
FORT MYERS Leaders discuss possibility of shutting down Caloosahatchee Bridge Should residents endure two years of partial lane closures, or fully shut the Caloosahatchee bridge down for 10 weeks?
GAINESVILLE FGCU softball parents cherish NCAA Tournament experience The parents of the FGCU softball team are relishing seeing their daughters play in the NCAA Tournament.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA The Weather Authority: Hot, hot, hot Heat advisory in place for Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers teen finds dead body in bed of his truck A 16-year-old in Fort Myers drove to school, drove home, drove to the barbershop and back home again. Then, he noticed a swarm of flies in the back of his truck.
Scottie Scheffler facing felony charges; local attorney reacts The attorney we spoke with told us that, at a minimum, we’d spend the night in jail before having our first appearance and getting bail.
GAINESVILLE FGCU softball falls to No. 4 Florida in NCAA Tournament The FGCU softball team couldn’t keep up with the No. 4 Florida Gators as the Eagles drop their first Regional game 6-0 to the Gators.
Summer Safety: Swim safety tips to know before the summer The pool is warming up to be the hot spot for kids and families this summer. It’s now also the number one leading cause of drowning deaths for children ages 1-4 in the state.
FORT MYERS BEACH ‘The Whale’ restaurant to break ground on new building The Whale is a place that has shown great strength and determination.
COLLIER COUNTY Endangered Florida panther deaths surpass 2023 total in 5 months It’s taken wildlife officials just over four and a half months to report finding more dead endangered Florida panthers than in all of 2023.
FORT MYERS FMPD honors 7 officers and 2 K-9s who died in the line of duty dating back to 1930 Nine lives were given, and all nine will remain remembered. A lifetime of gratitude for the fallen officers.
Firefighter recovering from heat exhaustion after battling flames in Collier County It happened at Progress Rail, a transit corporation on Mercantile Avenue just before 5am on Friday.
FORT MYERS How do SWFL graduation rates compare to the state average? How do graduation rates for Charlotte, Lee and Collier Counties stack up against the state? WINK News crunched the numbers.
FORT MYERS Community divisive over ‘justified’ officer-involved shooting of Christopher Jordan A detective who killed an unarmed black man in a controversial shooting will be back at work on Monday.
CAPE CORAL Family submits civil complaint against Cape Coral Police Department The family of a 13-year-old boy who was struck and killed while riding his scooter has officially filed a civil complaint.
FORT MYERS Community reacts to ‘justified’ officer-involved shooting of Christopher Jordan Leaders with the NAACP are saying there is a divide between the black community and Fort Myers police.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) – A tourist who felt threatened by another driver and aimed his gun at the man shouldn’t have to prove his actions were protected under Florida’s “stand your ground law,” his attorney argued before the Supreme Court on Tuesday, adding that it should be up to prosecutors to prove the opposite. Jared Bretherick had the right to defend his family and shouldn’t have been charged because of the state law that says people can use force if they are in danger, said his attorney, Eric Friday. The 25-year-old Indiana man was given a hearing in which he requested immunity from an assault charge under the “stand your ground” law, but a lower court said no. Now Friday is arguing that Bretherick shouldn’t have even been charged until prosecutors first proved he wasn’t defending himself and the burden shouldn’t have been placed on Bretherick to prove he was. Some of the justices seemed skeptical of the argument. Justice Barbara Pariente said the 2005 legislation never spelled out a process for pretrial hearings to claim immunity from charges in “stand your ground” cases. It was the court that created the pretrial hearing process in 2010 in response to another “stand your ground” case. “I’m trying to see, other than sort of pulling it out of the stratosphere, where we come up with that additional burden,” she said. Friday said the Legislature passed “stand your ground” to give citizens more protection in self-defense cases. “So why then has this court created a burden that the Legislature never authorized and put the burden on the citizen?” Friday said. The Avon, Indiana, family was in Kissimmee driving to Walt Disney World in 2011 when the incident happened. The family says Derek Dunning almost ran them off the road and Bretherick’s father Ronald honked the horn. When he did, they said Dunning pulled in front of their pickup truck, jammed on his brakes and trapped them in traffic. When Dunning got out of his SUV and approached them, Ronald Bretherick displayed his holstered pistol. Jared Bretherick says Dunning told them he also had a gun and returned to his SUV and backed toward them. At that point Jared Bretherick took his father’s gun, left the vehicle and pointed it at Dunning’s SUV. In 911 tapes, Ronald Bretherick repeatedly said his son was prepared to shoot Dunning. “My son got out to try to get a better aim on him if he jumps out and tries capping at my family,” the elder Bretherick told the operator. “If he comes out with a gun in his hand, my son’s going to drop him.” No shots were fired, but Jared Bretherick was charged with aggravated assault with a firearm. Dunning didn’t have a gun. Friday argued the state should have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that someone wasn’t using self-defense before charging them. “It would seem to me if that’s the case and that’s your position it would require an entire trial,” said Chief Justice Jorge Labarga. “How can you make that determination … unless you hear all the evidence?” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Davenport told the justices no other states place the burden on prosecutors to prove someone wasn’t defending themselves before charging them. She also said the pretrial procedure the Supreme Court established hasn’t been questioned until now. “Nobody’s questioned it. Defendants aren’t complaining about it, the trial judges aren’t complaining about it,” Davenport said. “The Legislature knows what this court does. They’ve had four shots at amending this statute. They’ve never done anything.”