Naples man accused of possessing child pornArrest report for volunteer softball coach accused of inappropriate behavior released
NAPLES Naples man accused of possessing child porn After an investigation, a Naples man has been arrested after allegedly having child pornography in his home.
CAPE CORAL Arrest report for volunteer softball coach accused of inappropriate behavior released New details have been released about the arrest of a Cape Coral volunteer softball coach accused of sending nude photos and touching a 17-year-old student.
the weather authority Dry, warm, and humid morning before isolated storms pop up this afternoon and evening The Weather Authority is tracking a dry and humid Wednesday morning before afternoon isolated storms in Southwest Florida.
FORT MYERS BEACH Fort Myers Beach to test hurricane emergency messaging alert The Town of Fort Myers Beach is set to test its CodeRED alert system as hurricane season begins in 31 days.
FORT MYERS Students make goodie bags for kids fighting Cancer A special delivery, straight from the heart, to Galisano’s Children’s Hospital. Three 8th graders from Lexington Middle School delivered 100 goodie bags to bring smiles to kids fighting cancer.
TICE Large police presence seen at park in Tice Lee County Sheriff’s Office deputies and K-9s were seen investigating at Schindler Hall Community Park on Palm Beach Boulevard in Tice.
CAPE CORAL Lee County superintendent candidates face off in debate These three people, Denise Carlin, Morgan Wright and Sheridan Chester, are making it clear that they want the job.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA DEA to reclassify Marijuana as Schedule Three drug When you think of marijuana in Florida, You might think of an illegal drug seized by law enforcement. Kim Rivers, the CEO of Florida-based cannabis retailer Trulieve, says when used medicinally, it can help a lot of people.
FORT MYERS Expect more delays on Colonial and Fowler due to intersection project Work on the Colonial Fowler intersection in Fort Myers is underway, and there are many moving parts.
FORT MYERS Possible pay-by-text scam in downtown Fort Myers may have cost woman nearly $1,000 Pay-by-text parking may have cost one woman nearly a thousand dollars after her credit card was hacked.
FORT MYERS Lee County STET team protecting our schools with cameras There are cameras in our kid’s schools, dozens of them, but did you know that Lee County Schools sends those live video feeds to the sheriff’s office, and it’s someone’s job to watch them?
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA Six-week abortion ban to take effect soon A stricter abortion ban will take effect in Florida on Wednesday.
Estero’s Golf Coast Driving Range shuts down, visitors devastated A place to relax, let loose and hit a few drives, has come to the end of an era for this community. “This is the first place we came to,” said Roxanne Henningsen, a Bonita Springs resident. “And it like became our second home. The people are wonderful. It’s just a great atmosphere. And we’ve […]
CAPE CORAL Business owners reeling after massive fire in Cape Coral “Very scary” are the words Denise Creacy used to describe what she felt when she saw plumes of black smoke, firefighters, and police fill her neighborhood.
LEHIGH ACRES Changing how you are represented in Lee County Leaders want to hear your thoughts this week at a town hall on how you elect county commissioners.
NAPLES Naples man accused of possessing child porn After an investigation, a Naples man has been arrested after allegedly having child pornography in his home.
CAPE CORAL Arrest report for volunteer softball coach accused of inappropriate behavior released New details have been released about the arrest of a Cape Coral volunteer softball coach accused of sending nude photos and touching a 17-year-old student.
the weather authority Dry, warm, and humid morning before isolated storms pop up this afternoon and evening The Weather Authority is tracking a dry and humid Wednesday morning before afternoon isolated storms in Southwest Florida.
FORT MYERS BEACH Fort Myers Beach to test hurricane emergency messaging alert The Town of Fort Myers Beach is set to test its CodeRED alert system as hurricane season begins in 31 days.
FORT MYERS Students make goodie bags for kids fighting Cancer A special delivery, straight from the heart, to Galisano’s Children’s Hospital. Three 8th graders from Lexington Middle School delivered 100 goodie bags to bring smiles to kids fighting cancer.
TICE Large police presence seen at park in Tice Lee County Sheriff’s Office deputies and K-9s were seen investigating at Schindler Hall Community Park on Palm Beach Boulevard in Tice.
CAPE CORAL Lee County superintendent candidates face off in debate These three people, Denise Carlin, Morgan Wright and Sheridan Chester, are making it clear that they want the job.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA DEA to reclassify Marijuana as Schedule Three drug When you think of marijuana in Florida, You might think of an illegal drug seized by law enforcement. Kim Rivers, the CEO of Florida-based cannabis retailer Trulieve, says when used medicinally, it can help a lot of people.
FORT MYERS Expect more delays on Colonial and Fowler due to intersection project Work on the Colonial Fowler intersection in Fort Myers is underway, and there are many moving parts.
FORT MYERS Possible pay-by-text scam in downtown Fort Myers may have cost woman nearly $1,000 Pay-by-text parking may have cost one woman nearly a thousand dollars after her credit card was hacked.
FORT MYERS Lee County STET team protecting our schools with cameras There are cameras in our kid’s schools, dozens of them, but did you know that Lee County Schools sends those live video feeds to the sheriff’s office, and it’s someone’s job to watch them?
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA Six-week abortion ban to take effect soon A stricter abortion ban will take effect in Florida on Wednesday.
Estero’s Golf Coast Driving Range shuts down, visitors devastated A place to relax, let loose and hit a few drives, has come to the end of an era for this community. “This is the first place we came to,” said Roxanne Henningsen, a Bonita Springs resident. “And it like became our second home. The people are wonderful. It’s just a great atmosphere. And we’ve […]
CAPE CORAL Business owners reeling after massive fire in Cape Coral “Very scary” are the words Denise Creacy used to describe what she felt when she saw plumes of black smoke, firefighters, and police fill her neighborhood.
LEHIGH ACRES Changing how you are represented in Lee County Leaders want to hear your thoughts this week at a town hall on how you elect county commissioners.
Howell Emanuel Donaldson, 24 (Photo via Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office) TAMPA, Fla. (AP) A 24-year-old college graduate who was arrested in a string of deadly shootings that terrorized a Tampa neighborhood will make his first court appearance Thursday to face four counts of first-degree murder. Howell Emanuel Donaldson was arrested Tuesday after he asked a co-worker at a McDonald’s restaurant to hold a bag carrying a gun. The co-worker looked inside the bag, spotted the weapon and approached a Tampa police officer who was sitting in the restaurant doing paperwork. When Donaldson returned to the McDonald’s, police were waiting. The arrest brought immense relief to the Seminole Heights neighborhood, where many outdoor activities had stopped since the first death Oct. 9. Two more fatal shootings happened in the weeks that followed, and residents were so scared that police escorted children while they trick-or-treated. The fourth killing happened in November. “Relief. Sadness. I think it’s a slew of emotions,” said Brittany Lott, who said she hasn’t walked her dogs in 51 days, choosing to spend time in the backyard instead. Donaldson’s neighbors said Wednesday that they’d recently seen him playing basketball with his younger brother in the suburban driveway of the family’s brick home. Now they’re watching news of him on television, puzzled as to how a kid who went to college in New York on a basketball scholarship ended up behind bars. “He’s very nice, he waves, very polite,” said neighbor Kelly Fabian, who said she walked Donaldson to school when he was younger. “Quiet kid. It’s a shocker.” Arrest records didn’t list an attorney for Donaldson and the police chief said he didn’t know if he had a lawyer yet. New York City police say they’d like to examine ballistics results of the gun used in the Florida killings to see if the weapon matches any unsolved crimes in New York. Donaldson attended St. John’s University in Queens, graduating in January. Police in New York said he had been arrested in 2014 for a minor crime, but the arrest was sealed. The crack in the case came Tuesday when Donaldson brought a bag with a loaded handgun in it to his job at a McDonald’s and asked a co-worker to hold it while he went across the street, authorities said. Restaurant workers reported the gun to a police officer who was there, setting off an investigation. Aside from matching shell casings at the shootings, authorities said location data from Donaldson’s cellphone put him at the scene of at least three of the killings. “The gun is what we needed,” Police Chief Brian Dugan said at a news conference surrounded by family members of the victims. Co-workers at McDonald’s told the Tampa Bay Times they’d teased Donaldson about his resemblance to the suspect after police released surveillance video that showed a shadowy figure walking in the area around the time one of the victims was killed. “I called him the killer to his face,” Gail Rogers said. “He didn’t like that.” Robert Hoffa, the uncle of victim Monica Hoffa, said he was “overjoyed” when Tampa police called him to say they had made an arrest. Donaldson did not live in the Seminole Heights neighborhood where the shootings occurred and the police said authorities have not been able to determine why Donaldson chose the area. Dugan said Donaldson has been cooperative and friendly to officers, but hasn’t shed any light on why he committed the crimes or picked the victims. After graduating from college, Donaldson worked in customer support at the Ultimate Medical Academy, a school that trains workers for health care jobs. He started there in February and worked for about three months before he was fired for absenteeism. The academy said he passed a background check before he was hired. His LinkedIn account also listed a job as a “guest experience host” for the New York Mets in 2016. The Mets would neither confirm nor deny that he was employed by them. Donaldson was a crew chief at the McDonald’s when he was arrested. The tip that led police to him came from one of his co-workers at an Ybor City McDonalds, which is near the Seminole Heights neighborhood. “The person who called us, I cannot thank them enough for standing up and doing the right thing,” Chief Dugan said. Donaldson bought the gun and a 20-round box of bullets from Shooter’s World in Tampa on Oct. 3. He picked it up after the four-day waiting period and the first killing happened two days after that. Detective Austin Hill wrote in a police report that Donaldson told investigators “no one, except for himself had control of the Glock firearm since his purchase.” A police report said the gun matched shell casings in three of the four homicides. Authorities said a search of Donaldson’s cellphone found location data that indicated three days of recorded times and activities corresponding with the first three shootings on Oct. 9, Oct. 11 and Oct. 19. The casings in the fourth homicide weren’t available for comparison, the report said, but had been previously identified as being fired from the same firearm as the first three. The arrest report said police found clothing inside Donaldson’s car that was similar to what was worn by a person spotted in surveillance video taken the night of the first shooting. “We had a community that was on edge,” Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn said Wednesday. “Today the light shines. The darkness is over. This community begins the healing process.” Associated Press researcher Rhonda Shafner and Associated Press writers Freida Frisaro in Miami, Kelli Kennedy in Fort Lauderdale, Florida; and Colleen Long in New York contributed to this report.