HOBE SOUND — A son of prominent attorney Willie Gary of Stuart and a Hobe Sound man were arrested Tuesday after the Martin County Sheriff’s Office raided a Hobe Sound home used as a marijuana grow house, the Sheriff’s Office said.

Kobie Gary, 30, of Jensen Beach, and Stephen Shepherd, 33, a tenant at the $125,030 home in the 7200 block of Mulberry Drive, were each charged with cultivation of cannabis and possession of marijuana over 20 grams.

Both Gary and Shepherd posted $10,000 bond and were released about 10 p.m. Tuesday, officials said.
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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…)

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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PORT ST. LUCIE — A man found naked in the room of a 12-year-old girl with whom he communicated on MySpace and discussed having sex faces two felony charges, according to recently released arrest and court records.

The victim told police she spent most of a day in late June communicating with a man identified as Barrington Benjimen Smith Jr., 18, of the 500 block of Northwest Avon Avenue in Port St. Lucie.

They arranged to meet, she told police. The victim opened her bedroom window and let Smith in about 12:30 a.m. June 25, records state.
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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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FORT PIERCE — A 14-year-old boy who police say fled from officers, brandished a gun and barricaded himself inside a home Monday afternoon surrendered after a few hours, officials said.

Patrick Casimir of 1105 North 29th Street was arrested just before 5 p.m. after he walked out of the house in the 3000 block of Avenue L with his hands raised, according to Sgt. Dennis McWilliams. No one was injured, and no shots were fired.

Casimir was charged with aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, armed burglary and two counts of resisting arrest without violence, officials said.
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MARTIN COUNTY — When Martin Memorial Medical Center hired a jet in 2003 to repatriate a brain-damaged patient to his native Guatemala, hospital officials “never took the law into their own hands,” according to documents filed ahead of a June 23 trial.

“They never stuffed Mr. (Luis Alberto) Jimenez in the back of a van under the cover of darkness and drove him out of town,” Martin Memorial attorney Scott Michaud stated in papers detailing Jimenez’s predawn flight to Guatemala City on July 10, 2003.

“When Martin Memorial discharged Jimenez to the facility in Guatemala,” Michaud noted, “Martin Memorial did so with the honest belief based on the evidence it uncovered, that the hospital in Guatemala was properly equipped to care for him.”
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FORT PIERCE — A mother and son were arrested Tuesday after the mother signed for a package of 8 pounds of marijuana addressed to her son, according to arrest affidavits released Wednesday.

The mother, 51-year-old Maria Andrade, said the pot was for “personal use,” rather than sale, an affidavit states.

The package was “flagged” by postal officials as possibly containing marijuana, and additional investigation confirmed the presence of drugs.

It was addressed to Mauricio G. Andrade, 20, of the 2600 block of South 27th Street. He is Maria Andrade’s son. Maria Andrade signed for the package and said her son was expecting a delivery.

The younger Andrade arrived minutes later, and both were taken into custody after police executed a search warrant.

They each face felony marijuana-related charges.

By Will Greenlee, TCPalm.com

MARTIN COUNTY — New York Mets baseball player Angel Pagan has been arrested for traffic violations, according to Florida Highway Patrol arrest report.

On Thursday troopers stopped Pagan, 27, for speeding on Interstate 95 when during a license check deputies learned he was driving on a suspended license and had several warrants, the report states.

The report did not say how fast Pagan was traveling.

Pagan had a valid Arizona’s license but also has a suspended Florida license for not paying a traffic fine on June 15, 2005 in St. Lucie County, the report states. Pagan was on the disabled list following surgery to have a bone spur removed from right elbow. He is recovering from elbow surgery at the Mets facility in Port St. Lucie.

Also, he had a failure to appear traffic summons on Oct. 22 in Martin County and a Martin County warrant for failure to appear for driving while license is suspended, the report states.

By Keona Gardner, TCPalm.com