PORT ST. LUCIE — A 19-year-old bicyclist sustained critical injuries Monday night after being struck by a dark-colored vehicle that fled the scene, police said Tuesday.
John J. Mejias, of the 2700 block of Northwest Hatches Harbor Road, was pedaling north on Floresta Drive south of Thornhill Drive about 8:20 p.m. when a vehicle hit him from behind, Officer Alex Gaufillet said, standing at the scene.
Mejias, who was flown to St. Mary’s Medical Center in West Palm Beach, ended up about 130 feet from where he was struck. (more…)

FORT PIERCE — Plans for a $90 million project to build a hotel, restaurants, shops and homes on the old H.D. King Power Plant site may be in jeopardy because of a glitch in the contract.

Jonathan Snyder, president and chief executive officer of Nevada-based Snyder Development LLC, wants the city to donate 6.87 acres of waterfront property on Indian River Drive to build his project, but language tied to the deed says the city has to use the land for a public purpose or the property reverts back to the state.

The glitch might kill the project, Snyder said.

The City Commission, seated as the Fort Pierce Redevelopment Agency board, will discuss the city’s options during a 12:30 p.m. Wednesday meeting at City Hall. (more…)

Alejandro Perez

The U.S. Marshals Florida Regional Task Force found Alejandro Perez, 45, trying to escape out a window at a home in the 4600 block of Sutton Terrace, according to a news release from the U.S. Marshals Service. (more…)

Family slain

Jose and Yessica Escobedo with sons Luis Julian (left) and Luis Damian (right). Husband, wife and two children from Greenacres found shot to death off Florida’s Turnpike in northern Port St. Lucie. More news, photos

More than a month ago, a federal grand jury for the first time saw the bullet-riddled bodies of Jose Luis Escobedo and his family as they lay dead on Florida’s Turnpike.

Today they may begin deciding the fates of four people accused of participating in the drug ring prosecutors say eventually led to the family’s deaths. Two of those men, Daniel Troya and Ricardo Sanchez, could face death if convicted on charges related to the deaths.

Testimony in the case ended with more pictures Tuesday as defense attorneys tried in less than two hours to counter weeks of testimony from government witnesses who gave jurors a view into the alleged drug empire headed by Danny Varela that brought high quantities of cocaine to South Florida and gun violence to Palm Beach County streets.

(more…)

PORT ST. LUCIE — A bicyclist is in critical condition after he was struck by a vehicle last night.

John Mejias, 19, was heading north in the 1900 block of Floresta Drive when he was struck from behind, Port St. Lucie police spokesman Officer Thomas Nichols said. Mejias, of Port St. Lucie, fell, hitting his head on a concrete driveway, Nichols said. (more…)

Greg Osborne has trouble sleeping at night.

Osborne, a former Piper Aircraft Inc. employee who got laid off earlier this month, wonders how he’ll be able to pay for his five prescriptions when his medical insurance runs out at the end of the month. He worries about how he’ll make rent this month and how he can delay paying for utilities.

But most of all, he prays that his kidney cancer doesn’t return.

“I loved my job. I loved that company, I loved my co-workers, it was my life. It was my family,” said Osborne, a former aircraft inspector at Piper for more than 11 years. “There’s days go by, I don’t even eat.”

Osborne joined other former Piper employees at a workshop organized by the United Way and Workforce Solutions of Indian River County Monday. The two agencies held seminars to help former Piper employees find social services and other financial assistance from the county and state. (more…)

VERO BEACH — Security was tight at the Riverside Theatre Monday when humanitarian, author and Dutch feminist Ayaan Hirsi Ali spoke to an overflow crowd about issues in the Muslim world.

The backstage area for the theater was locked down for security reasons, and patrons with bags had to submit to a search by theater personnel, marketing director Oscar Sales said. Vero Beach police officers were also stationed at the building’s entrances and exits.

Hirsi Ali is a 40-year-old Somalia native and former member of the Dutch Parliament who is well known for defending the rights of women in Muslim society. She gained international attention following the murder of Theo Van Gogh, who had directed her short film “Submission,” a documentary about the oppression of women under Islam. The assassin, a radical Muslim, left a death threat for her pinned to Van Gogh’s chest.

During her prepared remarks on Monday, the second speaker for this year’s Distinguished Lecturer series told the audience there are two schools of thought regarding the religion of Islam. (more…)

FORT PIERCE — Despite the Florida sunshine, a nationwide report by California-based ZipRealty that tracks the hottest ZIP codes nationwide pegged an area of Fort Pierce as not being so hot.

The report, which tracks how offers submitted by buyers and accepted by sellers compares to a home’s original list price, said 81.75 percent of all homebuyers gave lowball offers to sellers in Fort Pierce’s 34949 ZIP code. (more…)

STUART — Business is down so much in the Martin County Courthouse that Court Clerk Marsha Ewing said Monday she may have to resort to layoffs in her 15-person office.

“I’m hoping and I’m praying that it doesn’t come to it, but it’s very possible that it will come to layoffs if things don’t turn around,” Ewing said.

Ewing said she rescinded a 3 percent pay raise in January and required all workers to take an unpaid day off each month in response to the downturn in filings that has reduced fee payments by nearly $600,000 compared to last year. (more…)

Prosecutors this morning delivered what so far is the closet thing they have to direct evidence against two men accused in the 2006 killings of a family of four along Florida's Turnpike.

A firearm expert told jurors that bullets found in a gun magazine and a box of ammo found in a Briar Bay home appeared to match some of the bullets that killed Jose Luis Escobedo, his wife, Yessica, and their sons, Luis, Julian and Luis Damian.

Daniel Troya and Ricardo Sanchez could face the death penalty if convicted on car jacking charges in connection with the deaths.

Family slain

Jose and Yessica Escobedo with sons Luis Julian (left) and Luis Damian (right). Husband, wife and two children from Greenacres found shot to death off Florida’s Turnpike in northern Port St. Lucie. More news, photos

Prosecutors say the two worked and lived with Danny Varela, who along with Liana Lopez, are also on trial for drug conspiracy and gun charges.

St. Lucie County Sheriffs Office firearm and toolmark analyst Mark Chapman spent the morning telling jurors about similarities between markings on ammunition found at the group's home and bullets fired at the crime scene.

Particularly, Chapman said 9 mm ammunition found in a box in the home's garage matched bullets of the same caliber at the scene.

Chapman also said a .40-caliber bullet found in a gun magazine at the house had similar markings as .40 caliber-bullets fired at the scene, making it likely that the bullets were at some point in the same magazine clip.

The statements fulfilled a promise Assistant U.S. attorney Stephen Carlton made to jurors in opening arguments in the case more than a month ago when he said prosecutors would tie the group's house to the crime scene.

Sanchez's defense attorney, Donnie Murell, tried to discount Chapman's findings on cross examination, saying the evidence fell short of pointing to a particular shooter.

"None of your examinations say who was holding the gun, do they?" Murell asked Chapman.

No, Chapman replied.

Murell also asked Chapman about national studies that challenged the reliability of the types of comparisons he made.

Prosecutors are expected to rest their case this afternoon. Closing arguments in the case could begin as early as Wednesday.