PORT ST. LUCIE — A 26-year-old man accused of hitting a woman with the driver’s side mirror of his pick-up truck in a Taco Bell parking lot faces charges, according to a recently released arrest affidavit.

Keith Ransford, of the 2300 block of Southeast Seafury Lane, was arrested on charges including aggravated battery, criminal mischief and resisting arrest without violence following the late Friday night incidents.

The affidavit gave this account:
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PORT ST. LUCIE — A man and a woman went to the hospital after their car struck a tree Monday night, the St. Lucie County Fire District reported Tuesday.

Fire District crews were called about 9:10 p.m. to the incident in the 2200 block of Southeast Midport Road.

The driver, a woman in her early 20s, was taken to a local provisional trauma center in serious but stable condition,
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FORT PIERCE — A man in his late teens was taken to a local provisional trauma center Sunday after his car crashed into a palm tree, a St. Lucie County Fire District spokeswoman said Monday.

Crews responded about 9:45 a.m. Sunday to the incident in the 4100 block of Sunrise Boulevard, Fire District spokeswoman Catherine Chaney said.
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FORT PIERCE — A trauma surgeon and nurse on their way to work at Lawnwood Regional Medical Center & Heart Institute on Saturday became first responders at an accident scene.

Dr. Alex Funicello, who was returning from a Hutchinson Island condo to finish rounds at Lawnwood, found the base of South Bridge blocked with police cars and accident tape.

Raymond Chew, 47, lay in the intersection of Seaway and Indian River drives, his motorcycle nearby and his helmet loose but still on. No emergency medical crews had arrived when Funicello arrived.

So, the trauma surgeon went to work, assessing the patient.
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PORT ST. LUCIE - In a turnabout decision, the City Council Monday night gave an initial 4-1 vote to increase the property tax rate by 11 percent.

The council also unanimously approved a 2009-2010 revised total budget of $430 million.

A final vote on the property tax rate and budget is scheduled for a 7 p.m. Sept. 28 public hearing at City Hall.

Last week, the council made a last-ditch effort to avoid an earlier proposed 26 percent property tax increase and held a special meeting to discuss using half of the city’s general fund reserves to help offset a more than $18 million deficit in the general fund.
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INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — A year after Sheriff’s Office employees got a $1,000 bonus in lieu of raises from retiring Sheriff Roy Raymond, current Sheriff Deryl Loar is expected to give at least some of them a bigger bonus, as much as $1,600 each.

It’s the product of an unusual situation, sheriff’s Comptroller Harry Hall said Monday. He said he expects to have $747,000 unspent at the end of the month.

Some of the savings, he said, came from budgeting $3.48 per gallon last fall for patrol cars’ gasoline and seeing prices drop to $1 less. And there haven’t been as many jail inmates hospitalized, he added.

“It’s like the planets all lined up,” Hall said. “It’s unrealistic to think this can continue (in future years).”
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PORT ST. LUCIE — Offering the unions a “final” opportunity to save eight police officer jobs and avoid other layoffs, the city agreed to guarantee no layoffs next year in exchange for a wage freeze.

But the Coastal Florida Public Employees Association, which represents the city’s civilian employees, voted Monday night to reject the city’s offer, said union acting Executive Director Johnny Bingham. The city’s other two unions, the Florida Police Benevolent Association, which represents lieutenants and sergeants, and the International Union of Police Associations, which represents police officers, have not come to an agreement.

Bingham said the Police Benevolent Association, which he also directs, was sending a letter to the city Wednesday advising officials they are interested in coming back to the table to negotiate.
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VERO BEACH — Jury selection begins Monday in the DUI trial of Indian River County Administrator Joe Baird and prosecutors will get to use key evidence the defense wanted excluded.

County Judge David Morgan refused defense attorney Bobby Guttridge’s request Wednesday to toss out the May 16 arrest, which the attorney said was based on an invalid stop. (more…)

PORT ST. LUCIE — A man who reportedly “escaped” from a hospital told police he went in a house to get a drink of water, later noting he took a cold shower and grabbed some items from the residence, according to an arrest affidavit released Tuesday.

Justino Cruz, 27, went to jail on felony burglary and misdemeanor petit theft charges following the alleged Monday night incident on Southeast Berkshire Boulevard.

While the victims were telling police their home wasn’t as they left it, Cruz, of the 1500 block of Southeast Royal Green Circle, walked out of the backyard, according to a report.
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A young man was found shot to death face down on the sidewalk leading to his Stuart apartment overnight.

Stuart police report they were called at about 12:03 a.m. to 931 Nassau Ave. for reports of shots fired in the area. They found 24-year-old Jerome Hutchinson sprawled on the sidewalk with a gunshot to the chest. He died there, police report.

Witnesses said they heard three gun shots and saw three or four men run from the scene. Those witnesses said they men then jumped into a silver Ford Escort with tinted windows and “some type of black stripe designs down the sides of the car” and sped away, police reported.

Anyone with information is asked to call Det. Mike Gerwan at 772-220-3918 or Treasure Coast Crime Stoppers at 1-800-273-8477.