Thomas Butt

Thomas A. Butt, 57, dialed the emergency line that night to report that two men were raping a woman behind the Bank of America on U.S. 1.

When Martin County Sheriff’s deputies arrived, they didn’t find anyone except Butt, who was crouching down behind some bushes, according to a sheriff’s report. Butt told deputies the attackers were by a telephone pole but deputies said they found no one there.

Dispatchers told the deputies that Butt had called two other times that night to make false reports. In one call, he reported a burglary in progress but when deputies investigated they found that it wasn’t true, the report states. But also called to report a disabled vehicle on Interstate 95 that might be blocking the road.

Butt faces charges of making a false report using 911, loitering and resisting arrest.

Brandon Wester

He is being held at the St. Lucie County jail on a sexual battery charge in lieu of $150,000 bail.

The woman told police she was at a bar at the Sandpiper resort on Wednesday night. She had ordered a Mai Tai, danced with two Club Med employees, and then received another cocktail she hadn’t ordered before talking with two golf maintenance workers. When she asked who had ordered her the drink, no one answered her, she said.

The next morning her son woke her up and she realized she wasn’t feeling well. After she noticed she was bleeding, she began to remember small snippets of the previous night, she told police. (more…)

A Hobe Sound man died after apparently losing control of his motorcycle shortly before 1 a.m. Sunday.

Charles E. Thompson, 42, was killed in the accident that occurred on Southeast Seabranch Boulevard, about two miles west of U.S. 1, according to a Florida Highway Patrol release, TCPalm.com reported.

Thompson was driving his 1986 Honda east on Southeast Seabranch Boulevard when he reportedly lost control of the motorcycle, struck a curb and traveled onto the grass median. The motorcycle then struck a large tree and Thompson was thrown off, hitting a tree, according to the report.

Michael Gearde

That’s what Martin County Sheriff’s deputies said happened before they were alerted that Hobe Sound resident Michael F. Gearde had broken into his ex-girlfriend’s house early this morning.

Gearde, 44, now faces felony charges of armed burglary, aggravated assault and false imprisonment.

The woman told deputies she was in her room when Gearde appeared holding a knife.

When she tried to flee, Gearde allegedly grabbed her and kicked her. Eventually the woman’s mother came in and the two were able to get Gearde to leave, according to a sheriff’s report. (more…)

Mario Andres

Oscar Jimenez

Witnesses reported seeing the two men breaking into the Heritage Ridge Pro Shop in the Heritage Ridge Golf Club in Hobe Sound on Friday night.

Oscar F. Jimenez, 18, grabbed two bank bags from behind the counter, according to a Martin County Sheriff’s report.

Mario J. Andres, 24, told investigators he took clothes that he “really liked.”

Nearly two hours after the theft, Jimenez was spotted walking on U.S. 1. Sheriff’s deputies handcuffed him and found the cash inside his jean pockets and wallet, the report states. He was shocked twice with a Taser as deputies tried to restrain him, investigators said.

Andres, a former employee of the golf club, was stopped by two golfers as he ran from the shop.

Deputies said $595 was taken from the shop.

Both men face charges of burglary and grand theft.

Detectives with the Martin County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Unit in partnership with the Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco conducted an undercover operation on Thursday, when they checked 17 convenience stores throughout Martin County to see if they sold alcohol to minors.

One-hundred percent compliance was reported on that date. No sales were made to the concerned citizen volunteer that worked with detectives.

This operation was the second conducted in the past thirty days. Two arrests were previously made on May 7, 2009. These operations continue year-round.

STUART — It just doesn’t make sense to Bill Wallace.

Why would Chrysler close a profitable dealership in a growing area?

Why would the beleaguered automaker allow a franchise in out-of-the-way Okeechobee to remain open, while closing several on the more populated Treasure Coast?

He’s selling cars. He bought more of them than he needed from Chrysler this year, at the urging of the company’s top brass, he says.

But his Wallace Chrysler Jeep in Fort Pierce is still slated to shut down after June 9, along with 788 other dealerships that Chrysler decided to close as part of its Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition.

“We weathered this tsunami, and in America, you should be rewarded for that, not punished,” said Wallace, a third-generation dealer whose grandfather opened a Chevrolet dealership in West Palm Beach in the 1930s.

Wallace is among more than 300 dealers across the country who have joined forces to fight Chrysler’s decision. The group, called the Committee of Chrysler Affected Dealers, wants more time. More time to prove it would be a mistake to ax them.

But if Chrysler gets its way in bankruptcy court - as many industry watchers believe it will - five Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge dealers between Indiantown Road in Jupiter and Vero Beach will be among those that close next month. (more…)

John Williams

Hobe Sound resident John W. Williams told Martin County Sheriff’s deputies he had just put out a marijuana cigarette when he was stopped along Bridge Road on Wednesday afternoon.

Authorities said they searched his vehicle and found a baggie of pot and a manila envelope with cocaine inside.

Williams, 43, was arrested on misdemeanor marijuana possession and felony cocaine possession charges. His 2-year-old grandson was released to his mother.

Deputies issued Williams a traffic citation for failing to restrain the boy while driving.

Williams was released from the Martin County jail on Wednesday after posting $5,500 bond.

Investigators are still trying to figure out what caused the natural gas pipeline rupture that shut down Interstate 95 and Florida’s Turnpike for several hours Monday morning.

Florida Gas Transmission, the Houston-based company that owns the 5,000-mile pipeline, sent three investigators to Martin County to examine the damage.

They probably will ship pieces of the broken 18-inch pipe for metal testing to help find clues, said company spokesman John Barnett. The segment of the pipeline that ruptured was built in 1959.

It’s unclear how long the investigation will take, Barnett said.

The natural gas pipeline rumbled like a jet engine before it spewed a snow-white plume of fuel during the pre-dawn hours Monday.

The rupture in Martin County halted traffic on two of the state’s busiest highways, showered one of them with debris, triggered a car accident and sent a Palm Beach County sheriff’s deputy to the hospital.

But it could have been much worse.

“When an ignition source is found … it’s a cataclysmic event, bring on the mushroom cloud, the fireball, the whole thing,” said Jon Belding, a Martin County Fire Rescue spokesman.

Belding and his colleagues should know. Less than two weeks ago, the company that operates the 50-year-old pipeline - Florida Gas Transmission - flew in from Houston to train them to handle pipeline accidents.

They talked about how to gauge air quality and stop leaks - basics for the cities and counties that are home to the 2.2 million miles of natural gas pipelines in the country.
(more…)