VERO BEACH — A 25-year-old man rolled his father’s BMW into the Indian River Lagoon and then jumped 60 feet into the water from the Merrill Barber Bridge — all as a lark, police say.

Charges haven’t been filed in the 2:30 a.m. Monday incident. But George Peniston of the 100 block of Terrapin Point could face legal consequences, said police spokesman Officer John Morrison.

Jumping off a bridge could be considered disorderly conduct punishable by six months in jail.
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PORT ST. LUCIE — A 20-year-old Port St. Lucie man has been arrested for allegedly pouring peroxide in the face of his pregnant girlfriend.

Port St. Lucie police reported they received a call from Joshua K. Perry’s girlfriend at 8:48 p.m. Saturday.

The woman, three months pregnant, claimed that she told Perry not to leave the Rio Mar Drive house they have shared for four months. According to police records, Perry responded by grabbing the woman by the hair and throwing her onto the couch.
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VERO BEACH — Local amateur fossil collector James Kennedy appears to have made an unprecedented archaeological discovery that might help confirm a human presence here up to 13,000 years ago.

A prehistoric bone fragment found near Vero Beach contains a crude engraving of a mammoth or mastodon on it.

“It is humbling to realize that we are seeing what the hunter saw more than 13,000 years ago,” Purdy said.
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FORT PIERCE — Police found seagulls with ropes around their necks along with decayed fish and toys hanging from two palm trees in the 800 block of South Indian River Drive, a recently released report said.

Seagulls were hanging from one tree and items described as “miscellaneous toys” had been placed above the birds.

On the other tree, police found assorted toys, sandals, about nine decayed fish and two seagulls with ropes around their necks.

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Panel recalls serial killer Gerard Schaefer whose victims ended up on Hutchinson Island

STUART — Five panelists closely tied to the conviction of one of the first coined “serial killers” met to reflect on their involvement Monday evening.

Martin County Sheriff Robert Crowder, State Attorney Bruce Colton, attorney Bob Stone, writer Yvonne Mason and reporter Joe Crankshaw spoke in a community forum at the Blake Library about their work in the Gerard Schaefer case.

In April 1973, the remains of victims Susan Place and Georgia Jessup were found on Hutchinson Island in St. Lucie County. Schaefer was charged with their murders, linked to at least 30 missing women and girls by authorities, and given two life sentences in prison. The Fort Lauderdale resident was brutally killed by a fellow inmate in prison in 1995.

Schaefer also worked for the Martin County Sheriff’s Office as a deputy for 28 days alongside Crowder.

“I think it just made law enforcement more aware of the existence of serial murderers,” Crowder said. “It made us aware of things to key on when we have a crime like this there is the potential for it being one perpetrator and multiple victims.” (more…)

Brandon Murray

Brandon L. Murray, 18, was arrested by police after a resident in the 1700 block of Southeast Aires Lane reported seeing a man climbing out a bedroom window Wednesday afternoon.

Police used a description of the burglar to search for the man, which was later identified as Murray.

Murray told police he broke into the Aires house and also another home in the 100 block of Southwest Parish Terrace while the homeowner, an 86-year-old woman, was outside.

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FORT PIERCE — The State Attorney’s Office has dropped a charge that Tiffany Shepherd was making harassing phone calls to her former boyfriend’s new girlfriend.

Shepherd is the former Port St. Lucie High teacher who gained national attention claiming she lost her job because of her moonlighting gig as a bikini-clad worker on a charter fishing boat.

The charges were dropped Monday morning in Circuit Judge Kathryn Nelson’s courtroom.

See bikini teacher photos

Shepherd, 31, was arrested in December and spent a night in the St. Lucie County Jail after being arrested on a warrant claiming that in late November she left several text and voice mail messages on the cell phone of a 22-year-old woman now living with the father of one of Shepherd’s children. (more…)

STUART — A parent of a J.D. Parker Elementary School student was accused of stealing a teacher’s credit card and using it to make unauthorized purchases, according to an affidavit.

Cortina Renee Wobbleton, 26, of the 800 block of Southeast Bayou Avenue, was charged with fraudulent use of a credit card.

The affidavit states Wobbleton had been in the teacher’s classroom the morning of March 4 just before the teacher’s credit card and wallet were noticed missing.

Surveillance video from Wal-Mart in the 4000 block of Southeast U.S. 1 showed Wobbleton use the card to make a $318 purchase the same afternoon, according to the affidavit.

Wobbleton was arrested Saturday and was being held in the Martin County Jail in lieu of $5,000 bond.
By TCPalm.com

SEBASTIAN — The woman who kept her mother’s mummified remains in a bedroom of their home for six years told police she never reported the death because she couldn’t afford burial expenses.

According to interview records released Tuesday, Penelope Sharon Jordan had maintained the ruse over the deception of the fate of Timmie Jordan since 2003. The story she gave to a Sebastian officer Monday morning was that her mother, who was born in 1913, was living in Melbourne. However, officers said Penelope Jordan couldn’t provide an address for where her mother was staying.
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FORT PIERCE – The fifth anniversary of Zora Fest this year, “Zora Fest! Dust Tracks in Florida,” features some new ventures in recognizing the literary achievements of the late author and anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston.

The festival kicks off on Tuesday with a “Rent” party and re-dedication of the Hurston grave site at the Garden of Heavenly Rest Cemetery at 17th Street and Avenue S in Fort Pierce. The event is at 3 p.m. and is free and open to the public. In the tradition of the Harlem Renaissance, guests are asked to bring food to this party.

On Thursday, Women with Words will provide its annual book review at 5 p.m. at the Sunrise Theatre. The topic of the book review is “I Love Myself When I Am Laughing, Zora Neale Hurston Reader” edited by noted The Color Purple author Alice Walker. There is no fee for this event.

Zora Neale Hurston's grave site in Fort Pierce

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