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. (more…)

ST. LUCIE COUNTY — After weeks of police officer training in a classroom, Indian River State College students move on to a small platform that provides a high-tech simulation of how they react in a real-life situation.

They’re given a weapon that only emits lasers and equipped with a belt that zaps them if they put themselves in danger.

“It teaches consequences if they make bad decisions,” Stephen Huntsberger, associate dean of Public Service Education for IRSC, said of the VirTra Systems simulator at the complex.

The simulator is one of the planned demonstrations at Friday’s public open house at the new Indian River State College Public Safety Complex.
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FORT PIERCE — About 6 p.m. Tuesday, the U.S. Marshall Fugitive Task Force arrested David Jerome Brown, 48, of the 500 block of North 27th Street in connection with a Monday night attack on a woman and shooting of her son.

Brown was apprehended at the corner of North 27th Street and Avenue G without incident, said Fort Pierce Detective Ben Thayer.

The male victim was shot in the genitals and his mother pistol whipped Monday night in a suspected domestic-related incident before the attacker fled in a pickup truck, according to a police report released Tuesday and a sergeant.
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Note to teens facing a potential prison term: don’t use your MySpace page to post photos of police officers and wish “AIDS and genocide to all law enforcement.”

That’s what Stuart resident Jesse Alan Walker, 19, did while awaiting a June trial in which a jury convicted him of robbery with a firearm related to a 2008 home invasion armed robbery. At trial, he was accused of planning the robbery with two then-20-year-old co-defendants, who once played football for Jensen Beach High School.

“I hate the (expletive) police,” Walker posted on MySpace last December, along with photos of Stuart Police officers and derogatory comments.
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STUART — After one hour of deliberation Thursday afternoon, a Martin County jury found Eric Lashawn Wiley guilty of second-degree murder in the Jan. 11, 2008, shooting death of 19-year-old Levi Dwight Starks in Stuart.

Wiley and his sister’s boyfriend were struggling over a gun after an alleged domestic dispute when the gun discharged and the .40-caliber bullet struck Starks in the chest.

In addition to second-degree murder, Wiley, 39, also was found guilty on aggravated assault and aggravated battery charges, and could face up to life in prison. (more…)

FORT PIERCE — Raybin J. Williams said he had to do what he had to do for gas money to make it back home.

That, police said, apparently included robbing a Waffle House with another man Monday and taking a couple of shots at someone who fired at him.

In the end, Williams, 24, and 22-year-old Corey Cooper, were arrested following the 3:10 a.m. stick-up of the Okeechobee Road eatery, according to records and a police spokeswoman.
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Donald Gayle

The 46-year-old woman told police she and Donald W. Gayle, 56, were in their bedroom in the 2100 block of Idaho Lane late Monday night when Gayle asked her if she had a boyfriend.

The woman said no, then Gayle attacked her with a knife, she said.

Gayle held down her neck with his left hand and made stabbing motions with the knife with his right, the woman reported to police.

Gayle kept telling her he was going to kill her, the woman said.

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Tammy Wilson still has handguns for sale. But lately she’s had trouble keeping them in stock.

“Handguns are crazy right now,” said Wilson, manager of Express Huntin’ N Fishin’, a sportsman’s supply store in Sebastian. “A lot of them are on back order.”

The owners of many Treasure Coast gun and pawn shops say they’ve also seen a jump in gun sales, fueled by fears the new presidential administration will impose new regulations on gun ownership.

The economy is also a factor, as homeowners arm themselves against a perceived spike in home break-ins tied to the rising unemployment rate.

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SEBASTIAN — A 29-year-old Sebastian man learned tricking law enforcement officers into thinking you’re one of them will give you the treat of a felony.

The Indian River County Sheriff’s Office arrested William Andrew McCann IV, of the 400 block of Hazel Street, Friday and charged him with impersonating a law enforcement officer, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession of a firearm on school property and misdemeanor unlawful use of a police badge, according to an arrest affidavit released Saturday. (more…)