Latest news with #DepartmentofJuvenileJustice
Yahoo
6 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
3 teens arrested after deadly shooting in Panama City Beach
PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. (WMBB) – The Panama City Beach Police Department has arrested three teenagers in connection with a fatal shooting that occurred Tuesday night. According to a news release, authorities working in the area of the Waffle House located at 10327 Front Beach Road, heard gunfire coming from the parking lot shortly after 10 p.m. Authorities responded quickly and found 19-year-old Ja'Dion Love Hughes suffering from a gunshot wound. Hughes was taken to Ascension Sacred Heart, where he later died from the injuries. The course of the investigation revealed that a physical altercation happened in the Waffle House parking lot over the purchase of an illegal firearm. Authorities said that during the altercation, 18-year-old Ja'Zai Mitchell allegedly shot and killed Hughes. After the shooting, 18-year-old Kiydre McCullough attempted to dispose of the weapon by hiding it in bushes nearby before he fled the scene with Mitchell in a red Chevrolet Camaro. The authorities said that as the suspects were fleeing, Mitchell disposed of another firearm by throwing it from the vehicle into the shoulder of the road. Soon after, authorities located and stopped the vehicle, taking Mitchell and McCullough into custody. Mitchell is being charged with Second Degree Murder, Attempted Murder, Tampering with Evidence and Grand Theft of a Firearm. McCullough is being charged with Accessory After the Fact to Second-Degree Murder, Accessory After the Fact to Attempted Murder and Tampering with Evidence. The third suspect, a 16-year-old, is being charged with Violation of Probation and has been transported to the Department of Juvenile Justice for processing. Mitchell and McCullough have been transported to the Bay County Jail to await their first appearance. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Monroe K-9 follows suspected teen car thieves for a mile
Monroe Police arrested two teen car thieves early Sunday morning with the help of a K-9 named Narco, officials said. Monroe police said an officer spotted a stolen Toyota Tacoma around 3:30 a.m. on Sunset Drive. After following the stolen truck to the dead end of Keswick Place, two teenagers jumped out of the truck and ran into the woods. Narco then followed their scent trail for a mile before finding them. One suspect was 17 years old and the other was 14. One of the thieves was treated after being bitten by the dog before being released to a parent, according to Monroe Police. The suspects weren't identified. The teens are facing charges of larceny of a motor vehicle and resist, delay and obstruct through the Department of Juvenile Justice. VIDEO: Meet Mac, the dog who can sniff out hidden cameras
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Conservative control of Florida colleges continues
The big story: The ongoing effort to turn Florida's higher education system in a new conservative direction took another step forward Tuesday at one of the state's 28 state colleges. Eric Hall, secretary of the Department of Juvenile Justice, was named interim president at Pasco-Hernando State College — with the possibility open for him to get the permanent position at the college's next trustees meeting. Hall joins several Republican leaders with ties to Gov. Ron DeSantis in assuming leadership over higher education institutions across Florida. Other recent additions include former Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez at Florida International and former State Board of Education chairperson Marva Johnson at Florida A&M. Some PHSC students, staff and supporters have questioned the path that led to Hall's appointment. Read more here. There's talk of boycotts at Florida A&M over Johnson's appointment, WFSU reports. Algebra lessons: Pasco County schools will change their math course progression in an effort to get more children ready for algebra by the eighth grade. Book challenges: The Hillsborough County school district removed more than 600 titles from its shelves amid accusations that students had access to pornographic material. Charter schools: Plans to bring a new charter high school to Pasco County fizzled as the applicant walked away from the deal following more than a year of negotiations. Hurricane aftermath: St. John Vianney Catholic School held its final promotion ceremony before closing its doors for good, unable to reopen because of 2024 hurricane damage, WTSP reports. Immigration enforcement: Pinellas County school district officials knew more about plans to have the district police department support federal immigration enforcement in schools than they initially let on when the issue arose in the community, The 74 reports. New schools: The Orange County school district is putting off new school construction for four years as it confronts an enrollment slowdown, the Orlando Sentinel reports. District officials tied the action to a rise in voucher participation, WESH reports. Preferred names: Brevard County students again urged the school board to reinstate a Satellite High teacher who was dismissed for using a student's preferred name without parental permission. One board member proposed bringing back teacher Melissa Calhoun, but no action was taken, Florida Today reports. School closures: A Broward County elementary school that closed because of low enrollment will reopen as an early learning center, WLRN reports. District officials said more similar moves are expected at other schools. Spelling bee: Pinellas Academy of Math and Science sixth grader Vlada Kozhevnikova is headed to the Scripps national spelling bee as one of 12 Florida contestants, WTSP reports. Superintendents: The Manatee County school board narrowly voted to fire superintendent Jason Wysong, citing concerns with his communication on issues, WFTS reports. Wysong negotiated an exit deal over the weekend after learning board sentiment had turned against him, WUSF reports. • The St. Johns County school board chose deputy superintendent Brennan Asplen, formerly head of Sarasota County schools, to lead the district, WJXT reports. Teacher pay: Lee County teachers are worried about the possibility of losing supplemental income as part of their contract negotiations, WINK reports. From the police blotter ... A Miami-Dade County high school teacher was arrested on allegations of child abuse and unlawful sexual activity with a minor student, WTVJ reports. Don't miss a story. Here's a link to yesterday's roundup. Before you go ... Are you ready for the next installment of Jurassic Park?
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Through woodworking, incarcerated SC youth learn skills for jobs and life
Jordan Thompson, 16, holds a wood-carved duck at the Department of Juvenile Justice's Broad River Road Complex on Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (Photo by Skylar Laird/SC Daily Gazette) COLUMBIA — The geese that fly across the Department of Juvenile Justice's long-term correctional campus inspired Jordan Thompson to start carving ducks out of wood. Thompson, a 16-year-old from Anderson, was one of three boys at the department's Broad River Road Complex on Wednesday showing off what he made in a woodworking class meant to prepare teenagers for jobs once they leave. Like many of the program's participants, he signed up because he needed an activity to fill his days after earning his GED diploma and found the work calming, he said. When he's feeling homesick, he turns to his woodwork to soothe him. Along with the ducks, Thompson carves crosses as a reminder to keep faith in God, he said. 'I put my emotions into it,' Thompson said. Thompson's ducks, alongside other student-made pieces of art and furniture, are put up for sale at the department's Store of HOPE, an acronym for Helping Others Prepare for Employment. The store also runs a booth at Columbia's outdoor farmers market, Soda City, about once a month. All proceeds go back into the program, said Tonya Romriell, who has run the woodworking program for the past three years. Often, people walking through the booth at the market don't realize the art is student-made until someone tells them, she said. 'Every time, it's, 'Wow, kids made this?'' Romriell said. The program began in 2007, when some youth at the facility used wood leftover from a project with Habitat for Humanity to build Adirondack chairs, said her husband, Neal Romriell, who runs the Store of HOPE. In 2012, the store opened to sell what the teens had created. More than a decade later, Adirondack chairs were still among the common creations sold. Many of the supplies for the projects come from donations, and the state pays the program's participants for their work, between $1 and $14 an hour, depending on their behavior. (They can increase their earnings by improving their behavior.) Their earnings first go toward paying any court-ordered restitution they owe. The youth keep anything else they earn after they leave, according to the department. Before the teens can join the program, they go through an interview process, just like they would to get a job outside the department. Participants must already have their diploma or equivalent certificate, so the work doesn't distract from school. No woodworking or other crafting experience is necessary, said Tonya Romriell, the instructor. 'It's a lot like a summer job, a first job,' Romriell said. The number of teens in the program at any time can vary, from just a few to as high as 20. Romriell doesn't expect the teenagers she works with to become master craftsmen, she said. She does expect them to pick up basic life skills they can use in any job. For instance, she teaches the teenagers in her program how to resolve conflicts with colleagues, how to talk to authority figures with respect and how to shake hands with a potential employer, she said. The youth also get the confidence of knowing they're capable of creating something people want to buy, Romriell said. 'It's the first time for some of them that they made something they can be proud of and brag about,' she said. Creative control is left up to the youth, Romriell said. Those starting out or unsure of what to make can use preset designs, but Romriell is open to anything her students want to make, so long as it's appropriate, she said. Among the offerings Wednesday were wood-carved desk games, outdoor benches, cutting boards and decorative fish. Along with wood, the youth can work with metal, making Palmetto trees and wire words. Or, they can upholster furniture. 'They bring more to the table than I can even fathom,' Romriell said. Like Thompson, 17-year-old Kayden Payton applied for the program will little experience. The Abbeville teen always saw himself as a hands-on type of person, and he had once built a doghouse with his dad, so he was willing to give the program a shot, he said. Payton started with a pre-designed Palmetto tree. He liked that, so he made more in different sizes, then moved onto signs that read 'HOME' and 'LOVE,' the Os replaced with the outline of South Carolina. Address: 3208 Broad River Road, Columbia Hours: 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday The work distracted him from whatever problems he was having that day, he said. 'It eased my mind from what's going on around me,' Payton said. The art is a reminder that people at DJJ's long-term facility are capable of making 'beautiful things,' no matter what they did to get there, Romriell said. 'Too often, we focus on what the boys have done and not what they're capable of,' Romriell said.
Yahoo
29-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
'Above and beyond': Gov. DeSantis hosts 'Florida's Heroes' at Governor's Mansion
For Gov. Ron DeSantis, there are many ways to define a hero. There's Lake County Master Deputy Bradley Link, who was shot in an ambush last August as he responded at the end of his shift to a disturbance in Eustis. Two other deputies were wounded trying to rescue Link, who later died from his wounds. But there's also Dean Inserra, pastor of Tallahassee's City Church, who partnered with DeSantis to oppose last year's failed ballot initiative that would have created a right to abortion in the state constitution. He also has partnered with First Lady Casey DeSantis in her Hope Florida effort, often described as a conservative alternative to traditional welfare. They and dozens of others were honored Friday night in a "Florida's Heroes" event held on the front lawn of the Governor's Mansion in Tallahassee. Link and Patricia Meyerin, a Habitat for Humanity volunteer in Taylor County after Hurricane Helene, were recognized posthumously; she died unexpectedly just days earlier. Two-year-old Griffin Anderson, fighting cancer and recovering from an arm amputation, came to the stage in his father's arms. He was honored for "remarkable resilience, inspiring everyone around him with his strength and courage." The gathering was "to honor people that really have done above and beyond, to do great things on behalf of the community and their fellow man," said DeSantis, standing next to his wife and Department of Juvenile Justice Secretary Eric Hall, who served as master of ceremonies. Another honoree was Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Orlando Morales, who rescued the dog later known as "Trooper" from being tied up to a fence along Interstate 75 in Tampa as category 4 Hurricane Milton barreled toward Florida. Coincidentally on Friday night, U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, a Naples Republican, held the kickoff for his 2026 run for Florida governor in Bonita Springs. Casey DeSantis, who didn't deliver remarks Friday, may be considering her own campaign to succeed her husband, according to multiple reports. When asked about it at a conservative summit in Maryland earlier in March, she said, "We'll see." For a PDF version of Friday's program, which includes a full list of those recognized, go to Jim Rosica is a member of the USA TODAY Network's Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at jrosica@ Follow him on X: @JimRosicaFL. This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: From first responders to volunteers: DeSantis salutes 'Florida heroes'
