Latest news with #AlexusCleavenger
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
3 arrested at Jacksonville City Council meeting, 1 had knife, Jacksonville police say
New video shared with Action News Jax shows several people being walked out of Tuesday night's Jacksonville City Council meeting in handcuffs. Newly elected City Council President Kevin Carrico told us that three people were arrested for assault on a law enforcement officer. It happened just as public comment was ending. Just before 10 p.m., the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office released a statement that said two people were being charged with misdemeanors and one person was discovered with a knife in his possession and being charged with a felony. Action News Jax's Alexus Cleavenger was at the meeting and watched Jacksonville Sheriff's Officers put those arrested into a patrol car. Video shows the moment the commotion happened at the back of Council chambers. Someone could be heard saying 'back up now.' Then it appears an officer tries to grab a man to move him back. It looks like that man then went on to remove the officer's hand from holding him. And that's when it appears an officer pulled that man by the neck over a row of chairs. [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] The commotion rattled City Council members, who cleared the room until the situation was under control. Monica Gold with the Jacksonville Community Action Committee was there when all this happened. She believes this started when a community member showed some sort of support during the public comment portion of the meeting, which is against the rules of public comment. [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] 'I feel horrified, I feel sick to my stomach that police feel so comfortable using that level of force on anybody and people that were literally just sitting, and another person just standing,' Gold said. Council member Rory Diamond posted the following on X after the arrests: 'Battery on a Law Enforcement Officer is a felony in Florida if Jax Council protestors were wondering. Fully expect all charges to be pressed. #BackTheBLUE" Carrico released the following statement: 'I'd like to thank JSO for once again keeping us safe during an unfortunate event that took place in council chambers. It was unclear what happened but I'm hearing officers were assaulted after people were asked to leave for violating council rules of decorum. On a side note it was an honor to be Voted President, I'm looking forward to leading this body and this city during my tenure as the 57th President of the Jacksonville City Council.' JSO released the following statement: 'Tonight, Jacksonville Sheriff's Office (JSO) officers arrested three individuals following a disturbance at the Jacksonville City Council meeting. Council leadership requested that JSO officers remove a group of individuals who were disrupting the proceedings. At that time, a few people disobeyed the lawful orders to leave the chambers. The three individuals who were arrested refused to leave and resisted, becoming combative with officers. Officers discovered a knife on one of the individuals who was arrested. He is charged with a felony while the other two are facing misdemeanor charges. 'City leaders stopped the meeting as officers cleared the chamber to ensure public safety. JSO respects the right to freedom of speech and the right to protest; however, the actions of the three individuals in custody constituted a clear violation of the law. They are currently being booked into the Duval County Jail.' The City Council meeting was still going on as of just before 10 p.m., but we are working to speak with Council members about what they saw for FOX30 and CBS47 Action News Jax at 11. Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Jacksonville's Morning News Friday, April 18: Sorrow at FSU
Jacksonville's Morning News has continuing coverage of Thursday's shooting at the Florida State University campus, which terrified students, faculty, and parents. By early Friday, memorials of candles and flowers dotted the campus and a school-wide vigil had been scheduled as students and faculty tried to start healing from the shooting that investigators said killed two men and wounded at least six others. LISTEN: Alexus Cleavenger reports from the FSU campus, where a memorial is growing. Three Big Things to Know: Investigators say the son of a sheriff's deputy opened fire with his mother's former service weapon. Officers who arrived almost immediately shot and wounded the shooter who is believed to be a Florida State student. Hope Florida is making changes to restore confidence in the agency. That's what Hope Florida Foundation President Joshua Hay said yesterday after what he called an eventful week. Lawmakers have criticized the organization for its lack of transparency. Hay says lessons were learned, and it's time we turned things around at the foundation. A federal appeals court says it is 'shocking' that The Trump administration claims it can't do anything to free Kilmar Abrego Garcia from an El Salvador prison and return him to the U.S. A three-judge panel from the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday unanimously refused to suspend a judge's decision to order sworn testimony by Trump administration officials to determine if they complied with her instruction to facilitate Abrego Garcia's return. SEMINOLE STRONG: Campus community rallies following deadly shooting. Posted by Rich Jones on Friday, April 18, 2025 Former Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry's son is a sophomore at FSU, and was on campus at the time of the shooting. Curry says Boyd is safe, and planning to come home to Jacksonville for Easter weekend. LISTEN: Former Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry First Coast Crime Stoppers is hosting a digital news conference on Saturday, May 3, to draw attention to a cold case. Julia Vegas was killed in Springfield in 1999, and her daughters, who now live in Chicago, are seeking closure. Crime Stoppers has a reward of up to $3,000 for information that leads to an arrest. LISTEN: Chase Robinson, First Coast Crime Stoppers Executive Director
Yahoo
15-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
City provides updates on downtown projects with ‘I Dig Jax' campaign
The City of Jacksonville has provided multiple updates regarding developments throughout downtown Jacksonville earlier on Monday, Feb. 10 at Riverfront Plaza. >>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<< [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] Action News Jax Alexus Cleavenger was at the groundbreaking for the provided updates, which you can find out more by clicking HERE. 'I Dig Jax' is the campaign that the city will be implementing to highlight any future updates and progress throughout downtown's future development. 'I Dig Jax tells that story, the story of both dirt turning on a range of projects, and people getting excited about their city as we continue to grow,' said Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan at the update, who was accompanied by other city leaders. 'I'm very glad to be able to share these updates and to proudly proclaim that I Dig Jax!' Phase 1 of Riverfront Plaza is now under construction and is expected to be completed late this year. Click HERE to learn more about upcoming properties. Phase 2 of Riverfront Plaza is expected to begin construction in 2026 with completion the year after. 'I well remember the design competition in 2021 that resulted in the selection of Perkins and Will as the design firm for Riverfront Plaza,' said Lori Boyer, CEO of Downtown Investment Authority. 'Their design is now taking shape before our eyes.' Other City of Jacksonville projects moving forward include the Hogan Street Cycle Track, a segment of the Emerald Trail, the restoration of two-way streets downtown along Adams and Forsyth Streets, a Park Street Road Diet, the McCoys Creek Outfall, a Music Heritage Garden at the Jacksonville Performing Arts Center, and the new St. Johns River Park alongside the reopened Friendship Fountain. Private projects underway in the city's Urban Core include the construction of the relocated Museum of Science and History on the Northbank, the new Pearl Square District, the RiversEdge community on the Southbank, a University of Florida graduate campus planned for LaVilla, plus the NFL Jaguars Stadium of the Future and the adjacent Four Seasons hotel. Click HERE to learn more about the 'I Dig Jax' campaign [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
Yahoo
12-02-2025
- Yahoo
Sexual abuse case against former Fleming Island HS coach dropped after statute of limitations passes
Action News Jax obtained legal documents explaining how the case against a former high school wrestling coach facing allegations of sexual abuse was dropped. The documents provided by state prosecutors show how that one-time coach at Fleming Island High School, Paul James Cobbert, was not criminally charged because the statute of limitations expired on the case. >>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<< But Action News Jax Alexus Cleavenger learned Cobbert was suspended from his coaching position. The Clay County School District confirmed that after the sheriff's office made it aware of the allegations, Cobbert was suspended from his coaching position in 2024, and then he resigned early this year. Prosecutors declined to bring charges against the former wrestling coach at Fleming Island High School after he was initially accused of sexually abusing a former student. According to legal documents Action News Jax reviewed, the first alleged incident was sometime in March of 2018 and the sexual contact between the victim and Cobbert allegedly happened while the victim was between 16 and17 years old. According to the disposition statement filed by the state attorney's office, Cobbert asked the victim to stay for 'extra lifts' after training sessions at the gym, which Cobbert owns. The documents say he asked the alleged victim to touch him inappropriately seven or eight times. Then there was another alleged incident in June of 2018 in Orlando. [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] According to the documents, Cobbert caught the victim and another boy outside smoking marijuana and made the victim come into his room and lay in bed with him. Then, the victim said he woke up completely naked, face down, and Cobbert was 'on top of him completely naked.' Cobbert said that he had known the victim since his freshmen year of high school but denied having any sexual contact with him until after he was 18 years old. That's according to the documents. He also denied any sexual contact in Orlando. Action News Jax Alexus Cleavenger asked Cobbert about the allegations and the case being dropped. 'I know there is a statute of limitations or something like that but there was also no evidence so...,' Cobbert told her. The applicable charge in Cobbert's case would have been unlawful sexual activity, but it was discarded due to the statute of limitations running out on the case. Meanwhile, some parents say they are frustrated Fleming Island High School administrators did not adequately inform them about the investigation into Cobbert. [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] Cleavenger spoke with one parent, Lorrie Dwyer, who has two children attending Fleming Island High. She said the school did not come out with a statement to parents on the case. However, the district told Action News Jax that a parent meeting was held before the wrestling season started this year to inform parents that there was an investigation involving Cobbert and that he would no longer be coaching this season. But Dwyer said however the district notified the parents, it wasn't enough. 'I mean it's outrageous,' Dwyer said. 'It's outrageous that the community did not know about it.' Cobbert maintained in his interview with Cleavenger that there was no evidence against him 'I think that at the end of the day we have an allegation,' Cobbert said. 'I'm not in handcuffs; I'm not arrested, and there is a reason for it.' State records Action News Jax found online from the Department of Education show that Cobbert is still certified as a public school athletic coach until 2027. Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
