HNS REPORTS---JANUARY 28, 2010
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BIKER GETS 20 YEARS FOR ATTEMPTED MURDER
The former leader of a motorcycle gang was sentenced to 20 years in prison Thursday for attempted murder. Michael Clements listened as Karen Hoffman, who was stabbed numerous times, told County Judge Kurt Hitzemann that she suggested no mercy beause "he showed me none." Defense attorney James Brown argued for a lesser sentence to include mental health treatment at a special corrections facility, but prosecutor Don Barbee disputed mitigating the sentence. The 49-year old Clements attacked Hoffman in her home on Lucas Road in Brooksville in 2007.
KALISZ HAS HERNANDO FIRST APPEARANCE ON WAY TO TAMPA
The man charged with two murders in Hernando County and the killing of a Dixie County sheriff's deputy was moved Thursday from Shands Hospital in Gainesville to the Hillsborough County Jail. John Kalisz made a brief stop on the way in Hernando, where he was served with the local warrants, was given a first appearance by Judge Donald Scaglione in an ambulance, and had a booking photo taken. The Hillsborough arrangements were made with the suspect's continuing medical needs in mind. He was shot in the face in the Dixie County shootout that left Deputy Chad Reed dead. He was fleeing the Hernando scene where he killed his sister and another woman and seriously wounded two others.
Kalisz' arrival at the Hillsborough County Jail was videotaped and is available on YouTube.
SENGE ORDERED HELD WITHOUT BOND AT FIRST APPEARANCE
The man who wanted to buy Rogers Christmas House may have a tough time getting to a scheduled closing Friday. County Judge Donald Scaglione ordered Matthew Senge aka "Matthew Hyde" held without bond Thursday on a charge of violating Hernando County probation on a domestic violence arrest from last year. Senge also waived extradition on a warrant charging fraud in Alabama. He appeared Thursday via closed circuit TV from the Hernando County Jail at a first appearance. He was arrested Wednesday on the Alabama warrant. Senge has been the center of controversy and investigation since Hernando News Source revealed he was telling people that he had bought the Christmas House and that local business people were asking questions about his background. Among the findings were several stints in jail in Florida and elsewhere for fraud charges, though Senge claimed all prior charges had been resolved with restitution and that he had a serious business plan for upgrading the landmark Brooksville attraction.
SPRING HILL MAN CHARGED WITH POINTING GUN AT WIFE AND DAUGHTER
A Spring Hill man was jailed Wednesday on domestic battery and aggravated assault charges after he allegedly pointed a handgun at his wife and daughter, pushed his wife, and tapped his daughter's chin with the gun. 55-year old Mark Nycel of 1297 Alster Avenue was arrested after a brief standoff at the home. He reportedly came out with a knife to his throat, and a deputy used a taser to subdue him and take him into custody.
Earlier, officers said Nycel had yelled at his daughter to turn down some music she was playing in her room. According to an arrest affidavit, the daughter's cat got into the suspect's room and he threatened to kill it. The affidavit says he then got the loaded 9mm handgun andpointed it at his wife when she tried to stop him. He allegedly pushed her and then tapped the daughter on the chin with the gun. The affidavit said he threatened to kill any law enforcement officers who got in the home.
The victims reportedly fled the residence while the suspect barricaded himself inside. He came out after a telephone dialogue with deputies who came to the scene.
EIGHT SEEK SPRING HILL FIRE BOARD APPOINTMENT
Spring Hill Fire Chief Mike Rampino said Thursday that eight people have submitted letters of interest, resumes or applications for the vacant Fire Board seat. They include some familiar names from regulars at Board meetings, some familiar names from other connections, and some new names.
Among the meeting regulars are Sherry Adler, who's already said she plans to run for election to the Fire Board; Harry Chamberlain, Sal Ruggiero and Ben Edwards. Other familiar names are Mark Tobert, a county emergency manager who got his job back from Sheriff Richard Nugent after he claimed County Administrator David Hamilton had fired him unjustly; and Rusty Amore, who runs the courthouse snack bar. Also seeking appointment at the Fire Board meeting next week are Ian Norris and Edmund Cook.
The vacant seat is that of long-time fire commissioner Gene Panozzo, who resigned earlier this month.
MORE GROW HOUSES BUSTED
Ten people were ordered held in jail Thursday on bonds ranging from 25 to 32 thousand dollars following discovery of two more marijuana grow houses. The ten are charged with growing marijuana and possessing a structure for sale or trafficking in illegal drugs. Some are also accused of possession of paraphernalia and tampering with electric service.
A sheriff's office spokesperson says search warrants were served at four different locations Wednesday, and a total of 273 plants ranging from two to four feet tall were found at two of the addresses. The addresses for the arrests were 15426 Mottled Owl Road, 18383 Macassar Road, and 11492 Pine Warbler Avenue. All four locations searched are in Royal Highlands or nearby subdivisions in northwest Hernando County. Five people were arrested at the Mottled Owl address and 122 plants confiscated, three at the Macassar home where no plants were found, and the other two at the Pine Warbler house, which deputies said had 151 plants.
Those arrested on Mottled Owl were Irina Gonzalez, 23; Heyter Landin-Hernandez, 26; Ines Lanndin, 60; Yusleidy Sosa, 28; and Lazaro Landin, 37.
Deputies on Macassar Road arrested Evilene Hernandez-Osorio, 28; Rolando German-Llabona, 34; and Rafael Leon-Gonzalez, 61.
Taken into custody from the Pine Warbler address were John Henry Flores, 35, and Maria Enedina Lopez, 41.
HERNANDO HOUSING AUTHORITY GETS GOOD NEWS FROM FEDS
The Hernando County Housing Authority, which found itself on the wrong side of the federal government in 2008 for paperwork glitches, is on target to get off the government's list of troubled agencies. The Department of Housing and Urban Development had designated the county's authority as a "troubled agency" after investigators said the office wasn't in full compliance with federal requirements. The problems were never as big as the problems at the separate Brooksville Housing Authority, which is still recovering from financial issues that prior managers were prosecuted for. But the federal agency now says that it has made a preliminary decision to remove the county agency's "troubled" status.
Director Donnie Singer says the ruling is dependent on taking some corrective actions and addressing other deficiencies. The decision came after a lengthy review process focusing on paperwork requirements for federal certification.
BROWN-WAITE WEIGHS IN ON RAYFORD DEATH IN LETTER TO MOORE
Congresswoman Ginny Brown-Waite has sided with Sheriff Richard Nugent in a letter to Spring Hill activist and former Socialist Party presidential candidate Brian Moore. Moore went to county commissioners this week to complain about Sheriff's Office tactics in the pursuit of a fleeing fugitive who drowned in Hunters Lake. Moore called Brown-Waite's letter "biting" in defending the sheriff's office and saying she saw "no reason to second-guess" the conclusion of an Internal Affairs report that the Sheriff's Office acted appropriately during the attempted capture of fugitive James Rayford.
Moore called Brown-Waite's tone in the letter "sarcastic" in treating him and others concerned about the tactics "like schoolchildren" by writing that "this is a lesson for all Americans that fugitives should not flee from the law."
"All human beings have a right to life," Moore said, noting that Rayford did not have a weapon in his possession, though law enforcement called him a dangerous fugitive from armed robbery and drug charges.
Brown-Waite, who had run-ins with Moore and a small band of protesters who were turned away from her office parking lot last summer before giving Moore a half-hour appointment to meet with her, also said in her letter to Moore that she was "not surprised you would choose the side of a fleeing criminal over our law enforcement officials who are putting their own lives in danger."
SHERIFF SEEKS PUBLIC HELP TO IDENTIFY THEFT SUSPECT
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BIKER GETS 20 YEARS FOR ATTEMPTED MURDER
The former leader of a motorcycle gang was sentenced to 20 years in prison Thursday for attempted murder. Michael Clements listened as Karen Hoffman, who was stabbed numerous times, told County Judge Kurt Hitzemann that she suggested no mercy beause "he showed me none." Defense attorney James Brown argued for a lesser sentence to include mental health treatment at a special corrections facility, but prosecutor Don Barbee disputed mitigating the sentence. The 49-year old Clements attacked Hoffman in her home on Lucas Road in Brooksville in 2007.
KALISZ HAS HERNANDO FIRST APPEARANCE ON WAY TO TAMPA
Kalisz' arrival at the Hillsborough County Jail was videotaped and is available on YouTube.
SENGE ORDERED HELD WITHOUT BOND AT FIRST APPEARANCE
SPRING HILL MAN CHARGED WITH POINTING GUN AT WIFE AND DAUGHTER
Earlier, officers said Nycel had yelled at his daughter to turn down some music she was playing in her room. According to an arrest affidavit, the daughter's cat got into the suspect's room and he threatened to kill it. The affidavit says he then got the loaded 9mm handgun andpointed it at his wife when she tried to stop him. He allegedly pushed her and then tapped the daughter on the chin with the gun. The affidavit said he threatened to kill any law enforcement officers who got in the home.
The victims reportedly fled the residence while the suspect barricaded himself inside. He came out after a telephone dialogue with deputies who came to the scene.
EIGHT SEEK SPRING HILL FIRE BOARD APPOINTMENT
Among the meeting regulars are Sherry Adler, who's already said she plans to run for election to the Fire Board; Harry Chamberlain, Sal Ruggiero and Ben Edwards. Other familiar names are Mark Tobert, a county emergency manager who got his job back from Sheriff Richard Nugent after he claimed County Administrator David Hamilton had fired him unjustly; and Rusty Amore, who runs the courthouse snack bar. Also seeking appointment at the Fire Board meeting next week are Ian Norris and Edmund Cook.
The vacant seat is that of long-time fire commissioner Gene Panozzo, who resigned earlier this month.
MORE GROW HOUSES BUSTED
Ten people were ordered held in jail Thursday on bonds ranging from 25 to 32 thousand dollars following discovery of two more marijuana grow houses. The ten are charged with growing marijuana and possessing a structure for sale or trafficking in illegal drugs. Some are also accused of possession of paraphernalia and tampering with electric service.
A sheriff's office spokesperson says search warrants were served at four different locations Wednesday, and a total of 273 plants ranging from two to four feet tall were found at two of the addresses. The addresses for the arrests were 15426 Mottled Owl Road, 18383 Macassar Road, and 11492 Pine Warbler Avenue. All four locations searched are in Royal Highlands or nearby subdivisions in northwest Hernando County. Five people were arrested at the Mottled Owl address and 122 plants confiscated, three at the Macassar home where no plants were found, and the other two at the Pine Warbler house, which deputies said had 151 plants.
Those arrested on Mottled Owl were Irina Gonzalez, 23; Heyter Landin-Hernandez, 26; Ines Lanndin, 60; Yusleidy Sosa, 28; and Lazaro Landin, 37.
Deputies on Macassar Road arrested Evilene Hernandez-Osorio, 28; Rolando German-Llabona, 34; and Rafael Leon-Gonzalez, 61.
Taken into custody from the Pine Warbler address were John Henry Flores, 35, and Maria Enedina Lopez, 41.
HERNANDO HOUSING AUTHORITY GETS GOOD NEWS FROM FEDS
The Hernando County Housing Authority, which found itself on the wrong side of the federal government in 2008 for paperwork glitches, is on target to get off the government's list of troubled agencies. The Department of Housing and Urban Development had designated the county's authority as a "troubled agency" after investigators said the office wasn't in full compliance with federal requirements. The problems were never as big as the problems at the separate Brooksville Housing Authority, which is still recovering from financial issues that prior managers were prosecuted for. But the federal agency now says that it has made a preliminary decision to remove the county agency's "troubled" status.
BROWN-WAITE WEIGHS IN ON RAYFORD DEATH IN LETTER TO MOORE
Moore called Brown-Waite's tone in the letter "sarcastic" in treating him and others concerned about the tactics "like schoolchildren" by writing that "this is a lesson for all Americans that fugitives should not flee from the law."
"All human beings have a right to life," Moore said, noting that Rayford did not have a weapon in his possession, though law enforcement called him a dangerous fugitive from armed robbery and drug charges.
Brown-Waite, who had run-ins with Moore and a small band of protesters who were turned away from her office parking lot last summer before giving Moore a half-hour appointment to meet with her, also said in her letter to Moore that she was "not surprised you would choose the side of a fleeing criminal over our law enforcement officials who are putting their own lives in danger."
SHERIFF SEEKS PUBLIC HELP TO IDENTIFY THEFT SUSPECT
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| The subject pictured above is a suspect in a theft that occurred at Walgreens, 7305 Spring Hill Dr., on Wednesday, 12-30-09, at approximately 4:00 p.m. If you recognize this subject, notify District 2 Deputy Crespo. If you wish to remain anonymous or to be eligible for a reward, call the Hernando County Crime Stoppers toll free number 1-866-990-8477 or you may email your tip by clicking below. | |
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