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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STUART — Described as a loving father and caring person, Jerome Hutchinson was found early Monday morning face down on the sidewalk leading to his East Stuart residence.

The 24-year-old man had been shot in the chest, the second to die in an exceptionally violent weekend in Stuart. The first was Michael Morrison, 43, found early Saturday morning on his back next to his Jeep at The Crossings at Indian Run Apartments less than four miles away.

Morrison also had been shot in the chest, but police haven’t found a nexus between the two killings, police spokesman Sgt. Marty Jacobson said Monday.
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VERO BEACH — Officials said they’re still investigating the cause of death of a Hialeah man found Saturday in the pool at a resort hotel owned by pop star Gloria Estefan and her husband, Emilio.

Enrique Perez, 69, was vacationing with family at Costa D’Este in the 3200 block of Ocean Drive, police spokesman Officer John Morrison said.

About 2 p.m. Saturday, Kelly Wakeman, 24, of Tallahassee said she was sitting at the side of the pool when she and others noticed Perez submerged, face down and not moving in the 6-feet, 6-inch depth area of the pool.
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FORT PIERCE — After Julia Rolon-Estrada died of a gunshot wound to the artery in her leg on July 26, 2006, she was wrapped in a blue tarp and again in a green blanket before being buried in the yard of her Port St. Lucie home, near a rear sliding glass door.

A dog trained to find cadavers helped authorities locate the newly tilled grave, which was covered with a wooden pallet holding 20 mulch bags stacked on top.

Rolon-Estrada’s jailed husband, 43-year-old Albert Estrada, state prosecutors say, is the man guilty of killing his wife and high-school sweatheart, who had walked out on him the night before she died at age 39.
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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.

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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FORT PIERCE — A man who police have said could be responsible for 20 burglaries or attempted burglaries of occupied homes since March was arrested Tuesday afternoon.

Police, with the help of a U.S. Marshals Service task force, apprehended Derrick L. Hickman, 33, for whom investigators obtained an arrest warrant in connection with a May attempted burglary in the 1600 block of Havana Avenue.

Investigators suspect Hickman could be responsible for 19 other burglaries or attempted burglaries, Fort Pierce police Sgt. Dennis McWilliams has said.
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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 — The nonprofit Surfrider organization isn’t doing much celebrating two weeks after its 25th anniversary Arts and Music Celebration has left about $75,000 in unpaid debts, about half to local vendors.

The Treasure Coast chapter president has resigned under pressure from the local board, which said he exceeded his authority in organizing the event.

And, the Surfrider Foundation’s Florida group of chapters has canceled its state conference to put that money toward paying the bills.
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PORT ST. LUCIE — The drivers of two tractor-trailers were taken to a local hospital with minor injuries following a Monday night crash on Florida’s Turnpike, a St. Lucie County Fire District spokeswoman said Tuesday.

Fire District crews were called about 10:45 p.m. Monday to the incident, which occurred about a mile north of Becker Road on the northbound side, Fire District spokeswoman Catherine Chaney said.
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