WEST PALM BEACH — An appellate court Wednesday overturned the murder conviction of one of several men serving life in prison for the 2005 beating death of Julio Paxtore outside a Fort Pierce convenience store.

The 4th District Court of Appeal said police violated Jerry Pierre’s Miranda rights when they continued questioning him after he told a detective that “I’m not saying any more” during an interrogation after the killing.

Paxtore, 32, died in August 2005 after a group of teens pulled him off his bicycle, then kicked and stomped him. It was Paxtore’s payday, and he had just purchased a phone card to call his wife in Guatemala and tell her that money was on its way.

Circuit Judge Burton Conner sentenced Pierre to life in prison for murder and 15 years in prison for robbery after a jury convicted him of participating in the beating. Pierre is now 23.
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The Little Auction That Could, a Stuart auction that’s raising money for Martin County’s Hibiscus Children’s Center, just sold a Babar book signed by former First Lady Barbara Bush and her son Jeb, the former governor of Florida, for a whopping $850,000 — guaranteeing that the auction will raise more than $1 million!
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STUART —A wrongful death suit brought by the estate of an illegal immigrant against the Martin County Sheriff’s Office was settled prior to opening statements at the Martin County Courthouse Tuesday.

Just before bringing in the three-man, four-woman panel, attorneys for the Sheriff’s Office and Port St. Lucie resident Brenda Gonzalez, 33, the personal representative of Matias F. Alonzo’s estate, told Circuit Judge Elizabeth Metzger that a $15,000 settlement had been reached. (more…)

Martin County residents at greater risk to catch swine flu or have complications from it can get vaccinated against the H1N1 virus Saturday at the city of Stuart Fire Rescue Department, 800 S.E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

Martin County Health Department officials will administer the H1N1 vaccine from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. or until the supply is gone.

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JUPITER ISLAND — A lifeguard swimming in waters off the Jupiter Island Beach Club this morning became the victim of a shark attack.

Martin County Fire-Rescue officials said they received the call for the shark bite at about 9:30 a.m. and transported the man to Jupiter Medical Center for treatment to a bite on his foot. Hospital officials identified him as Steve Burdelski, 22.

Hospital officials said Burdelski, a lifeguard at the club, was still at the hospital Monday afternoon being treated for his injuries. Burdelski through hospital officials declined an interview.
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By Michael LaForgia
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

A Port St Lucie truck driver was involved in a two-truck crash that killed another driver Friday night on Florida’s Turnpike near Orlando, authorities said.

Jorge Dipre, 38, of Port St. Lucie was driving a FedEx semi northbound on the exit ramp to Orange Blossom Trail about 9:30 p.m. when a semi driven by Carl W. Van Wasshnova, 54, of Port Orange lost control of his truck while on the southbound on-ramp, crashed through the center guard rail and collided with Dipre’s truck, cutting it in half, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

Wasshnova was taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center, where he died.

Dipre wasn’t hurt.

The highway patrol was investigating whether some medical condition caused Wasshnova to drive off the road.

Kim Roden, the Martin County manager who was thrown in the middle of the Mahoney sex scandal, is leaving her $73,000-job with the county. County officials say the hottie’s affair with the married congressman has nothing to do with her departure.
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FORT PIERCE — Two treasure Coast scientists have solved a mystery that for decades has been wrapped up in the coils of a conch shell.

With less than two years of research and experimentation, Megan Davis and Héctor Acosta-Salmón, both scientists at Florida Atlantic University’s Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute in Fort Pierce, have developed a technique to culture, or grow, pearls inside queen conchs. (more…)

STUART — An online neighborhood Web site is including the city of Stuart in its top 20 list of best places to retire.

NeighborhoodScout.com ranked the city No. 18 in the nation on a list of 20 cities where people can retire for less than $150,000.

The rankings were posted on the popular Web search engine AOL.com.

Corpus Christi, Texas is No. 1 on the list.
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The list of those who signed their favorite childhood books and shipped then to Stuart for a charity auction reads like a pop culture Top 100: Poet Maya Angelou; The Apprentice’s Donald Trump; golfer Tiger Woods; former First Lady Barbara Bush; her son, former Gov. Jeb Bush; chimp lover Jane Goodall; former Miami Heat star Shaquille O’Neal; Pres. Barack Obama; Nike’s Phil Knight; Hollywood stars Sean Connery, Steve Martin and Robert Wagner; TV news readers Katie Couric and Brian Williams; Palm Beach musician Jimmy Buffett; and Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, among others.

In all, a total 60 A-listers contributed. It took time, nearly two years, said organizer Karla Preissman. The first to respond to her requests was Jeb Bush, who shipped her The Travels of Babar. The last? The prez. Obama rush-mailed a pop up book of the White House two weeks ago.

What charity will benefit? For more, and the pictures of Thursday night’s preview of the auction at the Elliott, please click here.