Latest news with #Worrell
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Arrest made in 19-year-old murder with help from local law enforcement
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — Northwest Missouri law enforcement played a key role in the recent arrest of a man accused of killing his wife nearly two decades ago in Georgia. In a news release, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) announced the arrest of Jon Worrell, a resident of Maryville, Missouri. Worrell was taken into custody at his home without incident. On September 20, 2006, Worrell's former wife, Doris Worrell, was found shot inside the couple's family-owned business in Georgia. The investigation later revealed Jon Worrell had been having an affair with the couple's then-18-year-old nanny, Paola Yarberry. In recent years, Yarberry began cooperating with authorities, significantly contributing to Worrell's arrest. Sheriff Cole with the Coffee County Sheriff's Office and Investigator Julian with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation contacted us, the Nodaway County Sheriff's Office and the Missouri State Highway Patrol, saying they were close to obtaining an arrest warrant for the suspect involved in this cold case," said Nodaway County Sheriff Austin Hann. "They knew him to be in Nodaway County and once the warrant was secured, we all worked together on an operations plan." Worrell's arrest comes just one month after the launch of Governor Kehoe's Operation Relentless Pursuit, a Missouri initiative targeting fugitives with outstanding felony warrants. According to state law enforcement, 148 fugitives have been arrested or assisted in arrest through the operation, 112 directly by ORP officers and 36 in collaboration with other agencies. These arrests cleared 251 outstanding warrants. "This is an excellent opportunity to showcase our ability to work together in Northwest Missouri and the state as a whole," Hann said. "No agency can do everything alone. I give full credit to Coffee County and the Georgia agencies; they did the legwork and we supported them where we could." The arrest of Worrell involved multiple agencies: the GBI, Coffee County Sheriff's Office, Missouri State Highway Patrol, Buchanan County Sheriff's Office, Nodaway County Sheriff's Office, and the Maryville Department of Public Safety. Worrell is charged with malice murder, felony murder, conspiracy to commit murder and aggravated battery in connection with his wife's death. While some murder cases can remain unsolved for years, law enforcement stresses that cold cases are never forgotten. "One thing people should remember is that even the smallest piece of information can be what cracks a case," Hann added. "In this case, it just took one person coming forward to change the direction of the investigation. According to the GBI, the investigation remains active and ongoing. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the GBI Regional Investigative Office in Douglas at (912) 389-4103 or the Coffee County Sheriff's Office at (912) 384-4227.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Florida pays $40K to settle civil rights suit by former top Worrell staffer fired amid 2023 suspension
The Orange-Osceola State Attorney's Office settled a lawsuit last month brought by Keisha Mulfort, State Attorney Monique Worrell's former chief of staff who was fired amid her boss's 2023 suspension. In exchange for Mulfort abandoning the lawsuit, the agency, represented by the Florida Office of the Attorney General, will pay her $40,000. Of that amount, she will get $15,107.40 for compensatory damages and $6,474.60 in back pay. The rest will go toward attorney fees, according to the agreement. Details of the April 21 settlement were first reported by WKMG, which published the full document online. A lawyer for Mulfort did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment. Mulfort was months into her maternity leave after the birth of her daughter when she was fired Aug. 10, 2023, by the State Attorney's Office a day after Andrew Bain was appointed top prosecutor by Gov. Ron DeSantis. DeSantis suspended Worrell Aug. 9, 2023, for what he said was neglect of duty. The settlement ties one of the remaining loose ends of Worrell's previous administration. Her ouster and subsequent return became one of the most-watched dramas in Central Florida politics — in which a progressive prosecutor in a majority-Democratic judicial circuit was pit against DeSantis as he looked to remove anyone he deemed too soft on crime. A spokesperson for Worrell did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Mulfort was notified of her termination by Orange County deputies who came to her home demanding she return agency-issued devices, vehicles and access cards as well as relinquish access to the office's social media accounts. At the time, she was in contact with the office through her attorney, who sought to amicably resolve the matter of turning over access to the online profiles. 'I am on FMLA (Family and Medical Leave Act) and y'all are coming here like I'm a criminal,' Mulfort said at the time as shown on body-worn camera video. 'Regardless of what has happened at that office … regardless of what you have with Monique Worrell, I am on FMLA and y'all should have made arrangements. That would have been a respectful thing to do.' In June she filed a federal lawsuit against Bain — someone she once called a friend who had attended her child's baby shower — claiming he had violated her employment protections under FMLA. At the time, a spokesperson for Bain's office said they rejected the claims, adding they took 'compliance with state and federal employment laws very seriously.' 'I did so much for the community and to have everything just uprooted for political posturing,' Mulfort said when the lawsuit was filed. 'It wasn't just insulting, it was infuriating, and it was a slap in the face to everyone that voted for Monique Worrell.' According to the settlement agreement, the State Attorney's Office denied any wrongdoing. Mulfort, who managed Worrell's successful reelection campaign last year, now works for ACLU of Florida, but the agreement does not preclude her from returning to work for her former boss.
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Worrell fingers predecessor's ‘misuse of funds' for Orange state attorney's budget shortfall
The Orange-Osceola State Attorney's Office is grappling with an $849,000 budget shortfall, and State Attorney Monique Worrell on Monday blamed part of the problem on a 'misuse of funds' by her predecessor. Most of the deficit, Worrell said, comes from the loss of a $500,000 federal grant for victim advocates under the federal Victims of Crimes Act, which had its funding cut by Congress last year. But Worrell also criticized what she called mismanagement by her predecessor Andrew Bain, ranging from hefty exit payouts for top officials to 'irresponsible financial decisions' regarding his own criminal justice initiatives. She said the office will undergo an audit to rectify how it was managed in the past and reveal ways to spend funds more efficiently in the future. 'Rather than functioning the way the office has functioned for the last 40 years, what are some efficiencies that we can use?' Worrell said. 'Are there things that we can do better so that we are using every dollar to its best and highest use? That's what I'm after at this point.' As the region's top prosecutor, Worrell has in recent weeks trumpeted the need to address her office's funding issues, which she says has led to prosecutors being stretched thin amid rising caseloads. But Monday's press conference was her most detailed description of the deficit she says she inherited following her election victory over Bain, forcing her to go without filling key administrative roles, including a chief of staff and a fulltime public information officer. It is also her clearest rebuke of Bain, who spent 17 months in office after Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended Worrell in 2023 and appointed him to replace her. 'The interim administration just compounded that problem and made it worse,' Worrell said. 'But it was it was always a problem and it will continue to be a problem until our circuit is funded at the level that it should be for the number of cases that we're processing on an annual basis.' Central to Worrell's claims was the nearly $93,000 payout of unused annual leave to outgoing officials ahead of her return. Two of Bain's top brass, Chief Assistant State Attorney Ryan Williams and Deputy Chief Assistant State Attorney Jamie McManus, received a combined amount just over $70,000, according to figures released by Worrell's office. Williams and McManus served just 16 months as Bain's No. 2 and No. 3, respectively, but 9th circuit policy required them to work two years in the circuit before they qualified for the payout. As for Bain's supposed reckless spending, Worrell pointed to a $30,000 debt owed to the University of Central Florida for Bain's 'Turning Pages' program, a literacy initiative aimed at youth in the criminal justice system and taught by graduate students. Another $67,000 was said to have been given to The Levitt Group, a consulting firm Worrell said specializes in airport concessions that was paid to offer 'criminal justice advice.' Additionally, Worrell said Bain spent $9,800 on tablet computers from the Figgers Foundation, run by DeSantis donor Freddie Figgers, 'despite the office staff advising the administration' that cheaper tablets of good quality could be purchased on Amazon. It's not clear what the tablets were for. UCF did not respond to a message seeking comment. But Jeremy Levitt, president and CEO for The Levitt Group, called Worrell's criticism 'rubbish,' saying airport concessions is but one part of a company that has 'consulted all over the world.' Levitt said he served as Bain's senior criminal justice advisor at a 'heavily discounted rate,' consulting on topics like police deescalation training and hate crimes. He said he led a charge for the office to receive a $1 million federal grant to create a hate crimes task force, calling it 'a damn good return on your money.' An assistant for Bain, since picked by DeSantis for a judgeship in Orange County, did not immediately respond to Worrell's remarks about his handling of the office. Worrell, however, pledged she is 'not going to use the resources of this office to investigate my predecessor.' 'This office's primary function isn't investigating crime, it's prosecuting it,' she said. The State Attorney's Office's finances have been the subject of controversy in recent weeks, centered around a massive backlog of cases with too few prosecutors and support staff to clear them. Florida's attorney general has sent prosecutors to tackle the 13,000-case backlog since the issue was first acknowledged, but Worrell has said that's a temporary fix and implemented a policy limiting the review of so-called 'non-arrest' cases as a way to address it. As of Friday, the additional prosecutors have processed about 100 nonarrest cases since their arrival, though their work has been interrupted by the departure of their supervisor, Statewide Prosecutor Nick Cox. Cox, who helped forge an assistance pact with Worrell, was recently hired to be chief assistant state attorney in Hillsborough County. 'For this budget year, there's no getting back on track — the damage is already done,' Worrell said. 'What we have done is we've gone to [Justice Administrative Commission] to ask for more authority to spend more money. That's going to help us get out of this hole, but part of the problem is that we were always underfunded.'
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Worrell gathers at site of road rage killing for 1st quarterly update since return to office
Orange-Osceola State Attorney Monique Worrell looked back Thursday on her first three months since returning to office during a news conference at the site of a road rage killing to draw attention to what she called a worrying trend. Reporters gathered at the shopping plaza on East Colonial Drive as Worrell spoke amid public disputes in recent weeks between her and officials in Tallahassee. In 2023, Gov. Ron DeSantis along with local law enforcement leaders spearheaded the effort to remove her from office, only for her to handily win reelection against appointed State Attorney Andrew Bain. 'As I finish the first quarter, I'm proud to report a strong and successful start to my term back in office,' Worrell said. 'Thanks to the dedication of the men and women who work for the Ninth Judicial Circuit State Attorney's Office. 'We made significant progress in advancing our mission to serve justice and protect our community.' The event was just yards away from the site where 30-year-old David Sligh was fatally shot Jan. 22, 2024 by a driver angry at being cut off in traffic. Worrell said his case is part of a trend of road rage shootings in recent years. According to prosecutors, Nicholas Carrasquillo, 27, stepped out his car and fired several times at Sligh. He later told cops he could have avoided the confrontation by driving around him. Carrasquillo awaits sentencing after being convicted March 20 of second-degree murder for the 51-second confrontation. 'This is a great concern to me personally as a mother,' Worrell said. 'I use Colonial Drive every day to take my children to and from school and their different activities. And as a mother … I want my children and I to be safe when we travel on the roadways.' The case, she added, is one of 43 felony trials for which a guilty verdict was secured — part of a reported 70% conviction rate since her reelection. While she also highlighted other cases involving child abuse and human trafficking, she spoke at length about what she called a worrying trend of road rage shootings. Violent crime has trended downward in the years following a surge that peaked during the COVID-19 pandemic, but those shootings remain prevalent. An analysis by Everytown for Gun Safety showed road rage shootings have increased nearly every year between 2018 and 2023, with a slight drop-off in the latter year. Florida per capita ranks 27th among 40 states for which data was available, but the nonprofit found the phenomenon tends to be higher in states with weaker gun laws. Worrell said her office looks to combat the trend with prosecutions along with advocating for tighter firearms restrictions. 'People pull the trigger, but guns are an instrument of death,' said Linda Coffin, co-chair of the League of Women Voters of Orange County's gun violence prevention committee, who stood alongside Worrell. Worrell also updated reporters on the state of a backlog of 13,000 nonarrest cases that prompted her to implement a policy limiting their review. The move sparked a backlash led by Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier that led her allies to fear a new suspension, concerns she has brushed off. 'I'm here for public safety, I'm not here to focus on politics,' she said. 'Anything you that you hear in that vein is focused on politics over public safety. 'The only pressure that I feel is the pressure to ensure that I do everything within my power to ensure the safety of the people in the Ninth Judicial Circuit.' Since the public spat between her and Uthmeier she has welcomed six prosecutors from the Office of Statewide Prosecution, many of whom she said previously worked for her office. The challenge of managing the backlog remains, Worrell said, as the state's help is only a temporary fix while she lobbies for more funding to pay for additional full-time prosecutors. In that event, she previously pledged, she would be open to rescinding the policy.
Axios
23-04-2025
- Business
- Axios
How Carmel plans to stay No. 1
Carmel city leaders say the community's next chapter will be written with an understanding that being "No. 1" isn't good enough. Why it matters: One of Central Indiana's fastest-growing suburbs, Carmel is looking to maintain its reputation as a model city as it faces scrutiny around governance, equity and long-term planning. What they're saying:"I was very familiar with our residents' high expectations, and I embrace it," Carmel Mayor Sue Finkam told Axios. "I'd rather have engagement over apathy any day." Driving the news: The latest example of the city's self-reflection was last week's Affiliate Review Committee meeting when results of a fiscal and legal review were shared. The review found that mismanagement and an overreliance on city backing led to Carmel investing more than $8 million into the award-winning winter attraction Christkindlmarkt since 2017 with no return. Flashback: The Carmel City Council created the committee last fall to examine the city's relationship with Carmel Christkindlmarkt Inc. and other affiliates brought on during the last administration. State of play: Officials said steps taken since the shakeup have resulted in the city being reimbursed $284,000 this year for the first time in the Christkindlmarkt's history. Yes, but: The meeting brought criticism from community members that the process was one-sided and that key Christkindlmarkt leaders, like former board chair Sue McDermott, were never consulted as the probe took place. The latest: Councilor Jeff Worrell, a sponsor of the proposal to establish the review committee, said findings being presented does not mean the search for understanding and improvement is over. "There is a segment of our population that sees these findings … (and says) 'Something happened. Why was that? What were the circumstances?'" Worrell said. "I'm a big believer in there being two sides to every story." The other side: As the city grapples with these difficult discussions, it has added another award to the mantle. The 2025 Niche rankings named Carmel the best place to live in Indiana, and the second best suburb in the U.S. In the statewide rankings, it also took No. 1 for best place to raise a family, best place for young professionals and the best public schools. Between the lines: Finkam sees the affiliate review committee as part of a larger effort to keep Carmel high in the rankings and meet the expectations of residents who moved there in search of the best. What's next: Carmel's recently formed Advisory Commission on Housing will implement the 13 recommendations made last year by the Finkam-formed Carmel Housing Task Force to fix problems related to access and options. Plus: Worrell, who launched a civility campaign at the start of the 2024, said that push for more politeness in Carmel is growing, too.
