An altercation between a husband and wife turned into an attempted murder and suicide this evening, St. Lucie County authorities said.

William Beck, 54, of Fort Pierce, shot his wife Jacqueline Beck, 54, twice and then turn his .32-caliber automatic pistol on himself. William Beck, who shot in himself in the head, was pronounced dead at the scene, while his wife was critically injured, St. Lucie County Sheriff Ken J. Mascara said in a statement. She was transported to Lawnwood Regional Medical Center in Fort Pierce, where she was being treated tonight.

The incident occurred shortly after 5 p.m. in the 3400 block of Fort Walton Avenue, Mascara said. William Beck and Jacqueline Beck were married but not living together.
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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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PORT ST. LUCIE — The incident of a girl who may have been abducted Wednesday morning is now said to be a hoax, police announced about noon.

A police spokesman said there was no little girl.

There was “a lot of wasted resources today,” said Officer Tom Nichols, police spokesman, of all the law enforcement agencies that assisted with this search.

An Amber Alert was issued shortly before 11 a.m. Wednesday for a girl police thought was abducted as she walked along Midtown Road near Port St. Lucie Boulevard earlier in the morning.

Two boys described the girl as being between 7 and 8 years old, white with dark hair. She was last seen wearing a blue skirt and a pink or purple shirt.

“After interviewing the boys for quite a few hours, they have recanted their story and said it was made up — it was a hoax,” Nichols said. “The only validity to it was there was an actual white van on Midtown (Road) here, everything after it about the girl bring abducted is in fact a hoax.”

Nichols said detectives are trying to find out why they made up such a story.

It’s not clear what school the boys attend.

Nichols suspects investigators will be speaking with the parents of the boys “to find out why they made up this story.” Nichols said it’s possible the kids could face criminal charges.

The Amber Alert had said the child might be in the company of two Hispanic males, approximately 20 to 30 years old with dark hair, both wearing blue or black T-shirts. It said they were thought to have been involved in the abduction and might be traveling in a white, possibly newer model panel van with t-style brushed aluminum rims.

Two 8- to 9-year-old boys walking to their bus stop at Southeast Pinero Road originally reported to police seeing a “suspicious van” driving south on Midtown Road about 7:25 a.m. when the van changed directions and went north. They said the van passed them and the occupants are thought to have taken the girl, according to police.

“They witnessed the van allegedly abduct this child,” Nichols said earlier during the search, adding the boys said the girl was kicking and screaming when they grabbed her and took off.

Police checked the public schools to make sure all the children are in school and no one was missing.

White vans were being stopped in hopes of finding the girl and police checked all sex offenders and/or predators in the area.

A flurry of law enforcement officers and vehicles descended on the area. A helicopter hovered over the area, at one point broadcasting information about the abduction and asking anyone with information to call 911.

Several law enforcement K-9 teams from throughout the state that were training in Martin County arrived at the scene to assist.

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. Read the rest of this entry »

FORT PIERCE — A man suspected of being the “Red Striped Bandit” was arrested following a Monday armed robbery and is thought to be involved in a series of similar crimes stretching back to 2007, according to an affidavit released Tuesday by police.

Cedrick T. Beckwith, 26, of the 800 block of Georgia Avenue, faces a robbery with firearm charge in connection with the Monday evening incident at the Ramallah Food Market in the 3000 block of Orange Avenue. Read the rest of this entry »

PORT ST. LUCIE — A 44-year-old man who threw darts at patrons of Mickey Finns bar and returned to the establishment after being kicked out was arrested, according to a recently released affidavit.

The bartender “cut off” serving drinks to Scott D. Leonard, of the 100 block of Southeast Todd Avenue, late Sunday or early Monday “due to Mr. Leonard’s behavior as he was throwing darts at other patrons.” Read the rest of this entry »

SAVANNAH, Ga. — A Fort Pierce man died Tuesday afternoon after the motorcycle he was riding crashed on a Georgia highway, according to Savannah-Chatham police.

At 3:25 p.m., first responders were called to the westbound lanes of Georgia 204 near Interstate 95 on a report of two people injured in a motorcycle crash, the Savannah Morning News reported. Read the rest of this entry »

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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PORT ST. LUCIE — The City Council came close Monday afternoon to naming Assistant City Manager Jerry Bentrott to replace Don Cooper as the next city manager.

But Councilwoman Michelle Berger put the brakes on the move.

Mayor Patricia Christensen suggested the city enter into contract negotiations with Bentrott, 61, to replace Cooper, who’s resigning Jan. 8 after 20 years with the city.

At least two other council members, Vice Mayor Jack Kelly and Christopher Cooper, were ready to move forward with Christensen’s recommendation and begin negotiations, but Berger was not.

“I’m still in support of looking at a national search if for no other reason than to benchmark the talent that we currently have,” Berger said. “We have two great individuals that can step into the role. I have no doubt. But certainly part of what we should be looking at is making sure that they are the right person.”

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