PORT ST. LUCIE — A 19-year-old man accused of having sex with a 15-year-old girl was arrested Thursday morning on a felony charge, an arrest affidavit states.

Joseph John Waller, of the 1000 block of Southwest Coleman Avenue, was arrested just after 2 a.m. on a charge of lewd or lascivious offense committed upon a person under 16.

The victim’s mother found Waller trying to hide under the victim’s bed when she checked on her daughter between 1 a.m. and 1:10 a.m., police said.

The affidavit gives this account: (more…)

Alex Barton with his mother, Melissa Barton

A mother whose autistic son was voted out of kindergarten in St. Lucie County last year is planning a press conference this afternoon to announce the filing of a federal lawsuit against the school district, several school officials and the local teacher’s union.

The complaint submitted in federal court alleges 5-year-old Alex Barton suffered irreparable damage when his teacher Wendy Portillo “orchestrated a ‘Survivor-style’ vote” asking the boy’s classmates whether or not he should be allowed to return to the class after he’d been repeatedly disruptive. The class voted him out 14-2.

Alex has since been diagnosed with a form of autism called Asperger’s syndrome.

Wendy Portillo answers questions during an administrative hearing.

The school board initially suspended Portillo one year and stripped her tenure, but in June they restored her tenue and said she will be allowed to return to the classroom in November.

St. Lucie County Schools spokeswoman Janice Karst this afternoon said the district does not comment on active livitgation.

Barton this morning declined to discuss the specifics of the lawsuit, reserving comment for the press conference scheduled for 3:30 p.m. at her attorney Paul Sopp’s office in West Palm Beach.

She did say that her son now attends a private school in Palm Beach County through a scholarship.

“He’s doing so well,” she said. “His teacher’s a sweetheart.”

Sopp said that that while Barton is seeking monetary damages from the suit, a victory in the case would help other students.

“What we’re trying to do is ensure that no one in the St. Lucie County school district is denied education based upon their disability,” Sopp said.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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FORT PIERCE — A woman was arrested after a tip to sheriff’s investigators that she was “forcing” her unlicensed 17-year-old daughter to drive her to buy drugs, according to a recently released affidavit.

A sheriff’s deputy who got behind the vehicle, a tan Ford van, on Wednesday as it traveled along U.S. 1, said he spied a clear plastic bag being thrown from the passenger window. (more…)

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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MARTIN COUNTY — Almost two weeks after her apartment building caught fire, Karen Diaz’s second-floor apartment still smells of smoke.

The fire that briefly displaced Diaz, 21, and her family from their lodgings at The Crossings at Indian Run never entered the apartment, but the smell still greets her when she wakes and when she walks out the damaged front door.

“It feels like it’s on fire again,” said Diaz, who lives in the apartment with her mother, 4-year-old son, older sister and infant niece.

The fires that struck the building at 3740 Southeast Gatehouse Circle and a condo in Port Salerno on Independence Day weekend are over, but the task of recovering is not. The American Red Cross of Martin County has spent a little less than $1,000 aiding those affected by the fires.

On July 4, fire broke out at one of building’s three columns and spread up its interior to the building’s attic, where it was contained.

The fire department accused two juveniles of starting the fire with fireworks. The juveniles are not being charged, but they are being put into a fire safety program, said Frank Lasaga, community safety coordinator for the Stuart fire department.

Diaz and her family were the only ones relocated after the fire, estimated to have caused $80,000 in damage, and have since returned home.

The Red Cross spent a little less than $200 for the family’s food and alternate lodgings while repairs to the ceiling were made, said Sam Yates, a spokesman for the organization. Diaz said the family stayed at Molly’s House in Stuart from July 6 to July 8.

Earlier on July 4, a fire in a waterside condo on the 4000 block of Manatee Lane ended with one dead and one injured. The next day, firefighters with Martin County Fire Rescue returned when another fire broke out in a different area of the same building. None were injured in the second fire.

Yates said the Red Cross spent more than $300 helping the survivor of the first Manatee Lane fire. It has also spent $550 helping a family displaced in the second Manatee Lane fire and will contribute more to help to help them find a place to stay.

After the fire, dust from the attic covered the apartment floor and furniture, Diaz said. The front door was damaged and cut from when firefighters broke into the apartment. The apartment and outside stairwell still smell, and the storage closet on the balcony smells of mold and smoke.

“I don’t know how I’m going to get in there with that smell,” Diaz said.

Parts of the apartment’s ceiling have been repaired, and the dust has been cleaned from the apartment floor. Diaz is still waiting for the apartment complex to replace the front door and damaged air conditioning equipment. Diaz said the complex told her the door would be repaired next week.
By Alex Tiegen, TCPalm.com

FELLSMERE — The mother of the 1-year-old boy found dead in a vehicle last month was charged by the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office with aggravated manslaughter of a child.

Alejandra Alvarado, 21, of the 100 block of South Oak Street, Fellsmere, posted $2,500 bail at the Indian River County Jail shortly after she was booked Monday afternoon. Her son, Aiden Alvarado, died after spending at least four hours in the back of his mother’s sport utility vehicle during the afternoon of June 13, detectives said.
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A second Beagle, suffering from Parvo, was found staggering in traffic in Lake Park, very close to the location where a mother Beagle and her puppies were found April 17.

Kay-Lynette Roca, executive director of Safe Harbor Animal Sanctuary & Hospital, said Tuesday that the male Beagle brought to Safe Harbor and the female Beagle that was found last week have matching collars and seem to know each other.

“Parker, the male Beagle dog that was found in traffic in Lake Park, looks very similar to the Beagle mom who is now fighting for her life. I’m afraid there may be a backyard breeder in the Lake Park area who is neglecting these dogs and tossing them out.”
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JENSEN BEACH — The downtown Jensen Beach bar scene has been a little quieter than usual lately.

A rule limiting noise at entertainment venues passed last month to give Martin County residents some peace and quiet. But it’s also giving a financial migraine to live music bars, specifically ones with outdoor entertainment such as Crawdaddy’s and JB Pip’s Tiki Bar and Grill in Jensen Beach.

“We just had our 10-year anniversary, and this is by far the biggest blow we’ve had,” Crawdaddy’s owner Mark Kren said. “It’s like a stake in my heart.”
(more…)

PORT ST. LUCIE — A woman got a notice to appear in court after her 8-year-old son found part of her suspected marijuana blunt and her cigarette pack in his backpack and told a bus driver, according to a police report released Monday.

The bus driver on Friday told an officer that the boy indicated he found a pack of Newport cigarettes in his book bag. In the pack, the officer spied an apparent “used marijuana cigarette blunt roach,” the report states. “Blunt” is usually used to describe a cigar or cigarette in which the tobacco is replaced by marijuana. (more…)

Retailers on Thursday reported dismal sales figures for December as even Wal-Mart Stores, one of the bright spots in the industry, finally buckled under the pressures of the deteriorating economy.

As merchants reported sales figures, confirming fears the holiday season was the weakest in four decades, the malaise cut through practically all areas from kitchen gadget stores to teen apparel retailers.

But the biggest surprise came from Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, which posted a smaller sales gain than what Wall Street expected and cut its fourth-quarter earnings outlook. (more…)