19-year-old shot in face outside Deltona smoke shop is also arrested
Deputies say Joseph Williams, 19, was shot in the face in the parking lot of High Sense Smoke Shop in Deltona on June 5 when he walked up to a group with a gun in his hand.
Deputies say a 17-year-old in that group shot him in the face. Another 17year-old hid Williams' gun in the nearby woods before deputies arrived, the sheriff's office said.
The alleged shooter was charged with possession of a firearm by a minor and carrying a concealed firearm. The teen who allegedly hid the gun was charged with possession of a firearm by a minor, tampering with evidence and violation of probation.
Williams was hospitalized in critical condition. Now that he is out of the hospital, he faces charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, carrying a concealed firearm and possession of a firearm by a delinquent.
Williams booked into the Volusia County Branch Jail on $35,000 bail.
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Shelby's 'hotel death' gets a stay of execution by court order
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In the temporary restraining order, it detailed how police have been called to the property for reports of rape, armed robbery, violent assaults, drug use, shootings, overdoses, prostitution and other crimes. Shelby Police called it the "worst hotel in Shelby," and it had earned the nickname "hotel death" by emergency room staff, according to affidavits. The motel is owned and operated by Raju and Anil Patel, according to court documents. The Alcohol Law Enforcement Division was involved in a joint investigation with Shelby Police, and the business was closed for over a month. Once the temporary restraining order expired, on Jan. 17, Kirby-Turner issued an injunction that temporarily allowed the motel to continue to operate at 30% capacity if it completed a list of specific safety-related steps, which included: Get inspections by the Cleveland County Health Department Provide on-site security Install cameras Not rent to locals in a 30-mile radius Prohibit stays of more than a week Give names of occupants to the police department. Background checks, Narcan training and private security In the final injunction and order of abatement, it listed the finding of facts. It said Annpurna, a North Carolina company owned and operated by Girish K. Patel and Balu A. Patel, sold the motel to Gurulaxmi LLC, which is owned and operated by Raju Patel and Anil Patel. On April 4, the case was back in court after Gurulaxmi filed a motion to dismiss and modify the preliminary injunction. The motion to dismiss was partially denied. The claims against the individuals listed in the lawsuit were dismissed, but not those against Gurulaxmi and Annpurna. The court granted the motion to modify the preliminary injunction with conditions, including armed, private security who would work 25 hours a week in rotating shifts, parking permits, no renting of rooms facing the nearby Bojangles restaurant or those facing Maranatha Baptist Church, security cameras, no renting to people with prior felony convictions and more. Anyone staying longer than 48 hours would be subjected to a criminal background the conclusions of law, it said that the court could order forfeiture of the property if a nuisance is found to exist, which included the sale of controlled substances. Going forward, all managerial staff were ordered to undergo training for risk avoidance, signs of impairment, drugawareness, emergency services, CPR and the administration of Narcan. Guests are prohibited from having firearms on the property. 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At the meeting, the Florida Board of Education questioned whether they could overrule the decision and suspend former Brevard teacher Melissa Calhoun, an educator with more than 12 years of experience who was ousted after using a then-17-year-old student's name without parental permission — an act in violation of a 2023 Florida Board of Education rule. "I fully support that superintendent's decision not to rehire this teacher," Kamoutsas said. "Florida remains firmly committed to protecting parental rights. We will not tolerate situations where critical information is withheld from parents in violation of the law." The decision to not rehire Calhoun in Brevard, made by Brevard Superintendent Mark Rendell, was made public on Aug. 5, a day after Kamoutsas visited Brevard County. The decision was not influenced by his visit, according to the district. "Dr. Rendell made the decision not to renew Ms. Calhoun's contract last spring and recently reaffirmed that decision when she reapplied," said Janet Murnaghan, a spokesperson for the district, told FLORIDA TODAY. "We appreciate Commissioner Kamoutsas's support and leadership, however, the district's decision was made independently." During the Aug. 20 meeting, board members and the commissioner repeatedly emphasized that Calhoun's actions were "intentional" despite her repeated denial that she did not purposefully withhold information from the student's parent. In a statement to FLORIDA TODAY, Calhoun questioned the intentions of both Brevard Public Schools leadership and the Florida Department of Education. "Dr. Rendell, (former Commissioner Manny) Diaz, and Commissioner Kamoutsas all seem obsessed with levying punishment much harsher than the recommendations given to them, while misrepresenting me as someone with intentions of purposefully subverting parental rights in public," Calhoun said. "To me, this calls into question their judgement and their intentions. Are they serving students or their politics?" Could Education Practices Commission be overruled? The journey to the Aug. 20 meeting has dragged on for more than five months, and it's not clear when it will conclude. On July 30, the Education Practices Commission — a third-party committee for the state that reviews discipline cases involving educators — upheld a settlement between Calhoun and the Florida Department of Education, agreed upon by former Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. prior to Kamoutsas' appointment. The stipulations of the settlement ordered Calhoun, a former AP English Literature teacher from Satellite High, to pay $750 to the department and take a college-level ethics class. She was also issued a formal letter of reprimand and placed on a one-year probation, which will begin as soon as she is employed as an educator again. The 2023 Florida Board of Education rule that says teachers can't call students anything but their legal names without first obtaining written parental consent does not lay out a specific punishment for teachers who violate it. Calhoun's actions were, she said, a mistake made with "no political intent." But during the Aug. 20 meeting, Kamoutsas made it clear that he didn't feel a probation was a harsh enough punishment, saying he had advocated for a complete suspension of Calhoun's license. He commended Rendell for not rehiring Calhoun when she applied for a position at Satellite High following the Education Practices Commission meeting. 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"Commissioner Kamoutsas also recognizes the process and is, unfortunately displeased with the decision of his predecessor, Mr. (Manny) Diaz," she said. "It's shocking though that those in power so blatantly and proudly refuse the advice of those they put in place to recommend judgement and punishment for individuals like myself." 'If it's a mistake, we show grace' Calhoun's case took up a small portion near the start of the Aug. 20 meeting, which lasted more than four and a half hours, with the board debating what could — or couldn't — be done about the situation. Board member Esther Byrd questioned if the EPC's decision could be overruled. "It bothers me," she said. "This board is put in charge of education in Florida. I mean, that's a big responsibility. It's a big job, and I feel like in that situation, I would like for us to have had some recourse when that decision was made." 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Andrew Spar, president of the Florida Education Association, lambasted the board for their comments, saying they were "construing information in such a way to systematically blame teachers and go after teachers." He added that Kamoutsas was acting not according to right and wrong, but with a goal making "an example" of teachers. "He wants to make an example, because that's what the governor has told him to do," Spar said. "He's going to make an example out of every teacher. Why? To instill fear ... and to chase people out of the profession." Finch Walker is the education reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Walker at fwalker@ X: @_finchwalker. Instagram: @finchwalker_. This article originally appeared on Florida Today: State education commissioner: Ousted Brevard teacher deserves suspension Solve the daily Crossword
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Ohio Utility Watch: ‘Power corrupts' and regulatory cases continue
The Ohio Statehouse. (Photo by David DeWitt, Ohio Capital Journal.) This story was originally published by Canary Media. It's over. Well, partly. As of last week, customers of regulated utilities in Ohio will no longer pay subsidies for two old coal plants — but the saga of the coal and nuclear bailout law at the heart of Ohio's largest public-corruption scandal continues. Six years ago, FirstEnergy and others used dark money — funds given to groups whose ultimate source for political spending can't be publicly traced — to route roughly $60 million in bribes to public officials and alleged coconspirators in exchange for their help passing and protecting House Bill 6. That legislation mandated the coal plant subsidies plus more than $1 billion in ratepayer charges for two nuclear power plants. Ohio lawmakers repealed the nuclear subsidies back in 2021. Here are new developments from the last two months: Ohio's HB 6 conspiracy takes center stage in a new book, 'Power Corrupts: Cleaning Up America's Biggest Industry.' While the FirstEnergy case involves massive amounts of money, utility corruption isn't unique to Ohio, said author Richard Munson, former director of Midwest clean energy for the Environmental Defense Fund. Besides undermining democracy and raising electric bills, corruption interferes with competitive markets, he told Canary Media. Basically, bailouts for fossil fuels and nuclear power impose a disadvantage on cheaper, clean sources like wind and solar. 'If the outmoded is being subsidized, that innovation will not be able to advance,' Munson said. For now, it's unclear whether Ohio's Public Utilities Commission, or PUCO, will impose meaningful consequences on FirstEnergy's utilities for alleged regulatory violations. Also in doubt is what will happen with the commission's reviews of charges already paid by customers for the coal plants, which managers often ran even when doing so increased the facilities' financial losses. 'Ohio PUCO unfortunately appears to be an example of what were supposed to be guard dogs becoming lap dogs,' Munson said. Read more: Lots of demand, too little grid: The state of the US power sector (Canary Media) House Bill 15, passed in May, ends HB 6's ratepayer subsidies to two 1950s-era coal plants as of today, Aug. 14. Customers of AEP Ohio, Duke Energy Ohio, AES Ohio, and FirstEnergy's three Ohio utilities have already paid more than half a billion dollars since HB 6's subsidies began in January 2020, according to the Office of the Ohio Consumers' Counsel. Regulatory cases and an Ohio Supreme Court case continue. Among the issues is whether the PUCO improperly pressured an independent auditor to tone down conclusions about the plants' decision to run even when it was clear they would lose money. Read more: Ohio finally ends subsidies for two scandal-linked coal plants (Canary Media) Another half billion dollars or more in potential penalties is at stake in three of the PUCO's four HB 6 cases, in which briefing wrapped up Aug. 4. FirstEnergy's utilities claim they should pay far less. One case asks whether the utilities violated an Ohio law requiring the separation of regulated utilities and their unregulated affiliates that produce electricity. The other two deal with alleged improper spending of money collected for two bill riders, which are extra charges that can only be used for specified purposes. Read more: HB 6 regulatory cases weigh what FirstEnergy's Ohio utilities should pay (Canary Media) Briefing also wrapped up this month in the rate case for FirstEnergy's three Ohio utilities — their first full rate case since 2007. FirstEnergy wants the PUCO to approve roughly $183 million more per year in rate charges for Ohio Edison, Toledo Edison, and the Cleveland Electric Illuminating Co. (CEI). In contrast, the Office of the Ohio Consumers' Counsel and other challengers argue FirstEnergy's customers, as a group, should pay $132 million less per year. Much of the difference hinges on the rate of return on equity. FirstEnergy wants regulators to set that rate at 10.8%. The utility commission's staff says the rate should range from 9.13% to 10.13%. Opponents argue the return on equity should be even lower, with The Ohio Manufacturers' Association Energy Group, the Office of the Ohio Consumers' Counsel, and others calling for a cut of half a percentage point to reflect the poor management that enabled the HB 6 scandal. The consumers' counsel also noted the company's prior efforts to delay the rate case because executives expected rates would be dropped, creating an 'Ohio hole.' If regulators grant FirstEnergy's request, roughly 70% of the increase will be borne by CEI's approximately 745,000 customers, who make up only 35% of the three utilities' 2.1 million customers. FirstEnergy spokesperson Hannah Catlett said the cost for that area is higher because, compared to the other utilities' areas, 'the Illuminating Co. service territory generally sees bigger storm impacts.' The commission is expected to rule on the issues in the coming months. Read more: Ohio's energy companies want rate hikes as testimony accuses PUCO of hiding information (Ohio Capital Journal) Here's what you need to know about FirstEnergy's request for a rate increase (Signal Akron) Ohio grid disparities leave some areas with older, outage-prone equipment (Canary Media) The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals on July 25 refused to reconsider its unanimous decision this spring upholding the criminal convictions of former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and lobbyist Matt Borges. Juries found both guilty in March 2023 of violating the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, known as RICO. Former FirstEnergy executives Chuck Jones and Michael Dowling continue to face criminal charges in both federal and state court. Judge Susan Baker Ross has set the state court trial for Jan. 26, 2026. Pretrial fact-finding, called discovery, continues in the federal case. Read more: Appeals court rejects ex-Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder's request for a second look (Columbus Dispatch) Federal court rejects appeal of former House Speaker Householder in bribery scandal (WOSU) Court rejects appeal for former Ohio officials Larry Householder, Matt Borges (Fox 28) FirstEnergy bribery case set for trial after judge rejects dismissal motions (Signal Akron) Theft charges dropped against ex-FirstEnergy executives in HB6 bribery scandal ( SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Solve the daily Crossword
