Bronson man dies
in Gilchrist County crash
By Jeff M. Hardison © April 24, 2025 at 9 p.m.
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     GILCHRIST COUNTY – A 57-year-old man with a Bronson residential address died in a crash late this afternoon (Thursday, April 24), according to information in a Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) press release.
     The next of kin were notified before the press release was sent, the FHP said.

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     The press release was based on information from crash investigator FHP Trooper R. Davis and homicide investigator FHP Cpl. M. Phelan.
     At 3:29 p.m. on April 24, a pickup truck driven by a 57-year-old Bronson man was westbound on State Road 26 (SR 26), the FHP said.
     The driver failed to keep the vehicle within its proper lane, allowing it to cross the center line and onto the southern shoulder of East Wade Street (SR 26) at Southeast Seventh Court (which is the eastern city limit of Trenton), the FHP said.
     While the pickup truck was on the southern shoulder of the road, it struck a utility pole with its front end, the FHP said. After the collision, the vehicle rotated counterclockwise before coming to final rest blocking the eastbound lane, facing southeast, the FHP said.
     The driver was pronounced dead on scene by Gilchrist County Fire Rescue, the FHP said.
     As of May of 2020, the Florida Highway Patrol stopped providing names of people and some other information from crashes as part of its press releases.
     Prior to May of 2020, the FHP formerly provided that information via those public records in its press releases.
     The FHP and some other law enforcement agencies in Florida are abiding by a version of something known as “Marcy’s Law” of California, which is allegedly used to protect victims of crimes. The Florida version of “Marcy’s Law” was adopted after Florida voters chose to change the Florida Constitution to exempt more public records from view.
     Although not every vehicle crash involves crime victims, which may have been the legislative intent of the Florida version of “Marcy’s Law” approved by voters, the FHP adopted its current blanket exclusion of some information as part of its process in sending press releases.
     Although the FHP adopted this new practice, not every law enforcement agency has done so.
     For instance, the Chiefland Police Department, the St. Petersburg Police Department and the Ocala Police Department all have provided crash information in press releases or traffic crash reports, except when there is an actual victim of a crime, as demonstrated in the reports provided to the press since the onset of the FHP’s revision in its press release practices in May of 2020.
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MCSO and LCSO detectives
track and capture fugitive from justice
Two days of running
may add years to prison sentence

Photo By LCSO-Graphic By HardisonInk.com

By Jeff M. Hardison © April 24, 2025 at 8:15 p.m.
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     BRONSON – Brandon Alexander Partain, 26, formerly of Chiefland, Morriston, as well as Marion County and Flagler County, took up residence at a new location as of today (Thursday, April 24), – in the Marion County Jail, according to information in a Levy County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) press release and the Marion County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) website.
     Partain came close to being a short-term resident at the Levy County Jail on Tuesday, except that he escaped from LCSO deputies – even though he was wearing handcuffs, the LCSO said. He has been in the Levy County Jail before as a suspected criminal, according to records.
     The man suspected of grand theft and violation of probation, according to Flagler County arrest warrants, was initially taken into custody Tuesday near Levy County Road 337 and Levy County Road 326 on those arrest warrants from Flagler County, the LCSO press release and Flagler County records showed.
     The LCSO said Partain seemed to be cooperative at first, but once in handcuffs, he is alleged to have hit a deputy with his shoulder and elbow, then ran into a nearby forest.
     That is a crime known as battery upon a law enforcement officer. Resisting arrest is a crime. Escape is another crime. Stealing handcuffs is a crime. 
     MCSO detectives asked LCSO detectives for assistance in a property crimes investigation earlier Thursday morning (April 24), the LCSO said.
     The two sets of detectives met and identified a location in Bronson where stolen property may be hidden, the LCSO said. MCSO also had a home in Marion Oaks under surveillance and knew these two locations were connected.
     Marion Oaks is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Marion County,
     LCSO detectives knew a location in Levy County that was frequented by Partain and conveyed that information to the MCSO, the LCSO said. It was possible Partain could be at either location.
     MCSO and LCSO detectives responded to two homes in separate counties. Partain was found inside the suspect home in Marion County. Partain lied to MCSO detectives – using his own brother’s name as identification in a final ditch effort to elude capture, the LCSO said.
     Warrants for Partain for escape, battery on law enforcement, resisting arrest and theft were secured yesterday (Wednesday, April 23), with a bond of $900,000.
     This is in addition to warrants from Flagler County and the Williston Police Department that were already in existence before Monday’s escape. Partain is in the Marion County Jail now.
     Levy County Sheriff Bobby McCallum and Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods are proud of the cooperation and collaboration between the two offices and the detectives involved that led to this successful apprehension, the LCSO said. 
 

Police Chief represents City of Williston

Police Chief Mike Rolls speaks to some of the Levy County Commission before the meeting starts.

By Jeff M. Hardison © April 23, 2025 at 8:30 p.m.
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     BRONSON – Levy County Commission Chair Desiree Mills recognized elected officials at the April 22 regular commission meeting early on the agenda as she has changed the former practice of hearing from elected official later in the meeting.

Williston Police Chief Mike Rolls and Levy County Manager Mary-Ellen Harper provide a photo op before the start of the meeting.

     In fact, the current method on the agenda shows elected officials speaking before the first chance for public comments. In Levy County, there are two chances for people to speak although there are time limits and some level of decorum is now noted for participants in the public comments sections of the agenda.
     Mills recognized various county and municipal elected officials at the meeting. No one had any announcements. Williston Police Chief Mike Rolls who was appointed as police chief of that city after former Chief Dennis Strow retired, replied when Mills asked if he had anything to say.
     Three of Levy County’s eight municipalities have police forces. They are Cedar Key, Chiefland and Williston. Four of the other five municipalities – Bronson, Fanning Springs, Otter Creek, Inglis and Yankeetown – receive the same police protection as the unincorporated parts of Levy County from the Levy County Sheriff’s Office.
     The City of Inglis enjoys some added LCSO service because it pays the Sheriff’s Office to provide that level of service. The City of Inglis used to have a police department, but that has not existed for some years now.
     Speaking from his seat rather than at the lectern, Williston Police Chief Rolls said he was at the meeting representing the City of Williston.
     He said he came to the meeting to see what was happening in the county government outside the city limits.
     He said Levy County is the most sought-after county, as well as being the best county in the entire United States of America in other regards as well. 
     He intimated that the United States is the best country in the world, and he is thankful for the people who served in the military to keep this nation free.
     On Wednesday (Sept. 23), Chief Rolls was among the people who paid respect to the Levy County and Williston law enforcement officers who died while serving their fellow Americans in this part of Florida as they are part of the thin blue line between democracy and anarchy.

Suspected ‘chop shop’ operator
bails out of Levy County Jail

Photos By LCSO-Graphic By HardisonInk.com

By Jeff M. Hardison © April 23, 2025 at 9 a.m.
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     TRENTON – A man who lives in unincorporated Levy County was arrested for six felonies with one charge being levied on Feb. 26 and the other five charges on April 16, according to records in the Eighth Judicial Circuit Court.     Shawn Scott Wright, 54, of “Morriston” was charged in late February for larceny-grand theft of property valued more than $5,000 but less than $10,000, according to court records.
     He was arrested for all six felonies in April and was placed in the Levy County Jail (aka Levy County Detention Facility), from whence he was released after posting bail, according to court records.
     Morriston is a census-designated place in Levy County. The population was 165 individuals as of the 2020 census, up from 164 at the 2010 census. The area known as “Morriston” is 272 acres, according to records.
     Court records show the next five felonies law enforcement officers with the Levy County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) charged Wright with violating on April 12, subsequent to the larceny-grand theft of property valued more than $5,000 but less than $10,000 charged in February, are:
     ● Florida Statute 812.014.2b1 -- grand theft in the first degree (between $20,000 and $100,000), punishable as a felony of the first degree. 
     ● Florida Statute 812.16.2 -- operating a “chop shop.” This statute defines “chop shop” means any area, building, storage lot, field, or other premises or place where one or more persons are engaged or have engaged in altering, dismantling, reassembling, or in any way concealing or disguising the identity of a stolen motor vehicle or of any major component part of a stolen motor vehicle; where there are two or more stolen motor vehicles present; or where there are major component parts from two or more stolen motor vehicles present.
     ● Florida Statute 784.011 -- assault. Here, an “assault” is an intentional, unlawful threat by word or act to do violence to the person of another, coupled with an apparent ability to do so, and doing some act which creates a well-founded fear in such other person that such violence is imminent.
     ● Florida Statute 784.03.1a1 -- Battery; felony battery. --
The offense of battery occurs when a person actually and intentionally touches or strikes another person against the will of the other.
     ● Florida Statute 784.045.2 (bond $15,000) A person commits aggravated battery who, in committing battery, in this instance “uses a deadly weapon.”
     This suspected criminal will face an attorney with the Office of Eighth Judicial Circuit State Attorney Brian Kramer, although the records as of April 23 did not clearly delineate which assistant state attorney is the lead prosecutor in these cases.
     Eighth Judicial Circuit Assistant Public Defender Shelby Lee Benny was assigned to represent Wright on April 21, the same day he bailed out of the Levy County Jail (aka Levy County Detention Facility), according to records.
     Combined bonds for the six felonies equaled $55,000, according to records.
     The honorable Eight Judicial Circuit Court Judge William E. Davis is listed as the presiding judge in these cases.
     As for what happened to put Wright in jail until he posted bail for the six felonies for which he was arrested, the LCSO put a post on Facebook.
     On March 5, the LCSO responded to a home in Bronson to a report of a dump trailer theft where that trailer had an estimated value of $9,000, the LCSO said.
     The owner provided deputies information that could be used to positively identify the trailer when it was located, the LCSO said.
     On April 16, LCSO detectives determined the stolen trailer was at a home located in the unincorporated part of the county that is colloquially known as “Morriston,” the LCSO said.
     Detectives arrived at the gate of the home and saw a trailer matching the description of the stolen trailer, the LCSO said. The trailer was attached to a GMC truck. Detectives positively identified the trailer and the owner of the truck the trailer was attached to.
     Detectives found Wright, owner of the truck to which the stolen trailer was attached, to be on the property, the LCSO said.
     Wright initially cooperated with detectives, the LCSO said, however Wright’s “stories began to unravel when a $40,000 stolen camper trailer was also found on the property.”
      Adding to the suspected commission of these felonies, Wright’s domestic partner had injuries consistent with domestic abuse, the LCSO said. The investigation determined that Wright battered his partner several days earlier, the LCSO said.
     This investigation led to the arrest and temporary incarceration of the suspected felon until he posted bail. Wright, like other suspected criminals in Florida, is presumed innocent unless the state can prove beyond and to the exclusion of reasonable doubt via due process of law that he is guilty of the crimes of which he is accused.
     Publisher’s Note: On Wednesday morning (April 23), the Levy County Detention Bureau’s software for showing past and present inmates was not working. Also, the “Shawn C. Wright” noted under the most recently published listings of people booked into the Levy County Jail should actually be listed as “Shawn S. Wright” but it was sent as “Shawn C. Wright” and will remain with that listing until the next set of suspected criminals booked into that jail for a one-week period is sent and that one disappears into computer heaven.

FDLE and GCSO arrest
suspected child porn possessor
Gilchrist County suspect is second of two

Mug Shot By GCSO-Graphic By HardisonInk.com

By Jeff M. Hardison © April 21, 2025 at 9 p.m.
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     GILCHRIST COUNTY – Branford is a town in Suwannee County; however, some people with “Branford” as their residential address live in the unincorporated part of Gilchrist County, some of those folks live in the unincorporated part of Suwannee County and some residents actually live in the Town of Branford.
     Two men suspected of several counts of heinous sex crimes involving children do not live in the Town of Branford, but they live, instead, in the separate two parts Gilchrist and Suwannee counties – relatively close in proximity, according to records.
     A 33-year-old Branford man was booked into the Gilchrist County Jail on April 15 on 24 counts of possession of obscene material depicting child sex conduct and two counts of use of an electronic device in the commission of a felony.
     Chad Marcel Ducas, 33, was apprehended by three deputies with the Gilchrist County Sheriff’s Office (GCSO) as they assisted two special agents with the Florida Department Law Enforcement (FDLE) in serving an arrest warrant on April 15, according to records.
     Combined bonds for Ducas’ 24 counts of sex crimes and two counts of using an electronic device while committing a felony were set at $1.2 million, according to records. 
     Ducas is in the Gilchrist County Jail.
     Ducas’ arrest was the second of two arrests of connected suspects, the FDLE said.
     In two separate criminal investigations, the FDLE arrested the two “Branford men” on felony possession of child sexual abuse material charges. The arrests are the result of FDLE’s statewide initiative to locate and arrest criminals targeting children and sharing files depicting the sexual abuse of children, the FDLE noted.
     Dakota James Allen, 20, was the first of the two men to go to jail for these crimes, the FDLE said.
     Allen is charged with 19 counts of possession of child sexual abuse material, one count of transmitting child sexual abuse material and one count of unlawful use of a two-way communication device.
     Allen’s combined bond is set at $3.85 million, according to records. He is in the Suwannee County Jail.
     FDLE began its investigations in 2024 after receiving cybertips from the National Center for Missing and Endangered Children (NCMEC) about two different online accounts uploading multiple files depicting the sexual abuse of children. Through investigative and legal processes, Allen and Ducas were identified as the account holders that were reported in the cybertips.
     The FDLE arrested Allen at his residence on April 9, and he was booked into the Suwannee County Jail. The Office of the State Attorney for the Third Judicial Circuit is prosecuting Allen’s case.
      As noted with assistance by the GCSO, the FDLE arrested Ducas at his residence on April 15, and he was booked into the Gilchrist County Jail.
     Although Ducas lives in the Eighth Judicial Circuit, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier’s Office of Statewide Prosecution is prosecuting Ducas’ case, according to records.
     The FDLE’s Live Oak Field Office is investigating Allen’s case with the Gainesville Police Department’s assistance.
     The FDLE Office in Jacksonville is investigating Ducas’ case with GCSO’s assistance.
     Both investigations remain active as of April 15, according to an FDLE statement then.
     Information about the GCSO participation was listed on an FIBRS incident report.
     FIBRS stands for Florida Incident Based Reporting System. It's a system used by Florida law enforcement agencies to report crime data to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
     This system replaces the older Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Summary system, which relied on aggregated crime data. FIBRS focuses on collecting detailed information about individual incidents, including offenses, victims, offenders and property involved in crimes.

Suspects Jailed April 14, 2025 through April 20, 2025
Published April 21, 2025 at 1:40 p.m.

Suspects Jailed April 14, 2025 through April 20, 2025
Published April 21, 2025 at 1:40 p.m.

Suspects Jailed April 14, 2025 through April 20, 2025
Published April 21, 2025 at 1:40 p.m.

Wellborn woman injured in crash
By Jeff M. Hardison © April 14, 2025 at 3 p.m.
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     DIXIE COUNTY – Early Sunday morning (April 13), a Jeep Compass was southbound on U.S. Highway 19 near Northwest 610th Street in Dixie County when it crashed, according to information in am April 14 press release from the Florida Highway Patrol.     An 18-year-old woman with a Wellborn residential address suffered serious injuries, the FHP said.
     Wellborn is an unincorporated community in Suwannee County.
     The Jeep’s driver lost control of the vehicle and it went across the southbound lanes of U.S. 19 in the area of NW 610th St. the FHP said.
     The vehicle entered the median and hit a concrete barrier, the FHP said. After the initial impact, the Jeep became airborne and overturned coming to final rest on its tires in a creek bottom, the FHP said. The driver was transported to a hospital with serious injuries, the FHP said.
     As of May of 2020, the Florida Highway Patrol stopped providing names of people and some other information from crashes as part of its press releases.
     Prior to May of 2020, the FHP formerly provided that information via those public records in its press releases.
     The FHP and some other law enforcement agencies in Florida are abiding by a version of something known as “Marcy’s Law” of California, which is allegedly used to protect victims of crimes. The Florida version of “Marcy’s Law” was adopted after Florida voters chose to change the Florida Constitution to exempt more public records from view.
     Although not every vehicle crash involves crime victims, which may have been the legislative intent of the Florida version of “Marcy’s Law” approved by voters, the FHP adopted its current blanket exclusion of some information as part of its process in sending press releases.
     Although the FHP adopted this new practice, not every law enforcement agency has done so.
     For instance, the Chiefland Police Department, the St. Petersburg Police Department and the Ocala Police Department all have provided crash information in press releases or traffic crash reports, except when there is an actual victim of a crime, as demonstrated in the reports provided to the press since the onset of the FHP’s revision in its press release practices in May of 2020.
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DEP fine to be paid
By Jeff M. Hardison © April 9, 2025 at 5 p.m.
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     BRONSON – During the April 8 Levy County Commission meeting, Levy County Engineer Andrew Carswell requested the Levy County Board of County Commissioners to approval entering into a consent order with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for the continued operation of the Levy County Solid Waste Management Facility disposal areas and the waste tire collection center until new permits are issued.
     County Engineer Carswell also requested the County Commission to authorize the payment of a $4,500 fine and to allow Chair Desiree Mills to sign the consent order.
     There was a unanimous vote to grant Carswell’s requests.
     Commissioner Charlie Kennedy asked Carswell how the county became subject to a consent order from DEP and what would be done to prevent a recurrence.
     There was a conversation at the meeting, which included Levy County Manager Mary-Ellen Harper, as well as Chair Mills, and several others saying everyone asks Carswell to help them with engineering.
     Essentially, while the county engineer may think he is going to accomplish certain tasks on a day-to-day basis, every day there are sudden demands placed upon him to revise his plan. For instance, Mills said, she urged him to complete engineering required to open the No. 4 Bridge Boat Ramp in Cedar Key.
     Levy County Parks and Recreation Director Matt Weldon told commissioners that he sort of sprang a request on Carswell to have a FEMA project for buoy replacement.
     Carswell told the commissioners that he has improved his calendar to remind him about deadlines for permits with various state and federal agencies. This one for the Solid Waste transfer sites slipped by him.
     Commissioner Johnny Hiers suggested Carswell see about outsourcing projects to independent contracting engineers. Carswell told the commissioner that he does not feel it would be sound from a fiscal perspective to pay an engineer when he can do it.
     The county manager and commissioners must have heard there is a need to consider what one engineer, even the most efficient and capable one, can get done within “X” amount of time. 
     

Florida executes third man in 2025

Florida Department of Corrections Deputy Director Ted Veerman tells the press about the method of execution.

Story and Photos By John Koch, Independent News Service
Edited by Jeff M. Hardison
Published April 9, 2025 at 7:45 a.m. - All Rights Reserved
     STARKE -- A man convicted of killing a woman who was carjacked on her lunch break from her job at the Miami Herald in 2000 was executed Tuesday evening (April 8).
     Convicted killer, Michael Tanzi, 48, was lawfully put to death at the Florida State Prison in Starke. He was declared dead at 6:12 p.m. on April 8, 2025, according to records.
     Tanzi received a lethal injection at Florida State Prison in Starke for the April 25, 2000 abduction and strangling death of Janet Acosta, a Miami Herald production worker who had worked at that newspaper for 25 years.
     The victim was carjacked, beaten, robbed, driven to the Florida Keys, and then strangled and her body was left on an island (key).
     A 12-member jury convicted the man of first-degree murder, carjacking, kidnapping and armed robbery. Those jurors recommended the death sentence in a 12-0 vote.
     Tanzi became the third person executed in Florida this year, with another lethal injection scheduled for May 1 under death warrants signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis.
     Florida Department of Corrections (FDOC) Deputy Director Ted Veerman, a corrections department spokesperson, said Tanzi awoke at 4.45 a.m. on Tuesday and had one visitor, a spiritual adviser. He had a last meal that included a pork chop, bacon, corn, ice cream and a candy bar.
     In summing up Tanzi’s last words, the convicted murderer asked that the victim’s family forgive him, and that God forgive those who put him to death. As with previous executions, the method to end Tanzi’s life was without incident.
     Veerman, speaking on behalf of the FDOC, explained how the execution was conducted.
     “The first injection is an anesthetic,” Veerman said, “followed by a sedative, and then followed by a lethal agent.”


Two of the victim’s family speak with reporters after Michael Tanzi’s execution. Seen here, are sister Julie Andrew (left) and niece Jennifer VanderWier.

     The victim’s niece Jennifer VanderWier spoke with members of the press about her aunt noting that Acosta was “… an exceptional daughter, sister, aunt, co-worker, and just overall human being.
     “She was the person next door,” VanderWier continued, “that comes over and brings you a pie when you’re sick – when you have a broken leg. She’s the one who feeds the cats when you’re gone. She’s the one that cares. She is the one who was always there for her friends and family – sometimes, before they even know they needed her. She would just be there. That’s Janet. That is Janet. That’s how her memory is.”
     Julie Andrew, Acosta’s sister, also spoke to members of the press after the execution.
     “It’s over. It’s done,” Andrew told reporters. “My heart just felt lighter, and I could breathe again.”
     Court records show the victim was in her van on a break from her job at the newspaper, when Tanzi approached her to ask for a cigarette and then attacked her. He then drove to Homestead, where he stopped at a gas station and bound and gagged Acosta.
     Tanzi took $53 in cash from her, along with her bank card. He then headed to the Florida Keys town of Tavernier, where Tanzi stole money from Acosta’s account with her bank card, according to the records.
     Records showed Tanzi stopped at a hardware store where he bought duct tape and razor blades. According to a summary by the state commission on capital cases, Tanzi then drove to an isolated area in Cudjoe Key and strangled Acosta to death.
     Acosta’s friends and co-workers reported her missing when she didn’t return from her break. That led police to her van, which Tanzi had driven to Key West. Police said Tanzi confessed to the crime and showed investigators where he had left Acosta’s body on Cudjoe Key, more than 140 miles southwest of Miami.
     As noted, this was the third execution in Florida so far in 2025.
     Two executions were conducted earlier this year in Florida. Edward James, 63, was put to death on March 20 for killing an 8-year-old girl and her grandmother. James Dennis Ford, 64, was executed on Feb. 13 for killing a husband and wife at a remote Florida farm.
     Eight other people have been executed across the United States of America so far in 2025.
     As of April 1, there are 27 states with the death penalty available as punishment. They are Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Wyoming.

Newberry man dies in crash
By Jeff M. Hardison © April 9, 2025 at 7:30 a.m.
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     ALACHUA COUNTY – A 23-year-old man died in a single-vehicle crash Tuesday night (April 8), according to information in a Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) press release.
     The FHP said the next of kin had been notified before it sent the press release.
     The man was driving a 2013 Ford F150 pickup westbound on State Road 26 (Newberry Road) when for an unknown reason it veered right near Northwest 170th Street (East of Dudley Farm Historical Park), causing it to cross onto the northern shoulder of the road, the FHP said. 
      The truck hit curb and a power pole guide wire, the FHP said. 
     The vehicle continued to the northwest, the FHP said. It rotated clockwise where it hit a wooden fence, the FHP said. It overturned, ejecting the driver who was not wearing a seatbelt, the FHP said. The Ford pickup truck came to rest on its wheels facing northeast on top of another wire fence, the FHP said.
     The driver transported to UF Health Hospital, the FHP said, where he was pronounced dead.
     As of May of 2020, the Florida Highway Patrol stopped providing names of people and some other information from crashes as part of its press releases.
     Prior to May of 2020, the FHP formerly provided that information via those public records in its press releases.
     The FHP and some other law enforcement agencies in Florida are abiding by a version of something known as “Marcy’s Law” of California, which is allegedly used to protect victims of crimes. The Florida version of “Marcy’s Law” was adopted after Florida voters chose to change the Florida Constitution to exempt more public records from view.
     Although not every vehicle crash involves crime victims, which may have been the legislative intent of the Florida version of “Marcy’s Law” approved by voters, the FHP adopted its current blanket exclusion of some information as part of its process in sending press releases.
     Although the FHP adopted this new practice, not every law enforcement agency has done so.
     For instance, the Chiefland Police Department, the St. Petersburg Police Department and the Ocala Police Department all have provided crash information in press releases or traffic crash reports, except when there is an actual victim of a crime, as demonstrated in the reports provided to the press since the onset of the FHP’s revision in its press release practices in May of 2020.
Crash Report Purchasing
https://services.flhsmv.gov/CrashReportPurchasing/
Florida Crash Data
https://www.flhsmv.gov/traffic-crash-reports/crash-dashboard/
Victims’ Rights Information
https://www.flhsmv.gov/victimsrights/ 

Suspected undocumented alien indicted
Suspect nabbed in Levy County

Mugshot By LCSO-Graphic By HardisonInk.com

By Jeff M. Hardison © April 3, 2025 at 5:15 p.m.
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     BRONSON – People working for federal law enforcement agencies are meeting the demand for securing undocumented aliens, and one of those suspected to be among that group of undocumented visitors to America has been in the Levy County Detention Facility (Levy County Jail) since he was first arrested for allegedly violating Florida laws, according to records.
     After becoming a suspected violator of Florida laws and being incarcerated, a man is being added to the list of suspected undocumented aliens that face federal prosecution too.
     Oscar Cruz-Baldo, 39, with a Williston residential address, was first booked into the jail on Feb. 12, according to records, on charges of cruelty to animals, battery-touch or strike and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without the intent to kill.
     He has been held in the Levy County Jail no bond on the felony assault charge, which makes the $5,000 bond that was imposed for simple battery to be irrelevant.
     The United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives issued a federal arrest warrant on March 26, which has been served, according to records and information in an April 3  press release from the Levy County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO).
     The United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is colloquially known as “ATF” and it is a part of the United States Department of Justice.
     The set of events leading to the federal grand jury indictment against Cruz-Baldo started when the LCSO responded to a report of domestic violence on Feb. 12 at 1 a.m., the LCSO noted in a press release.
     The early morning response was to Northeast 147th Court, the LCSO noted.
     The reporting victim told responding deputies that a dispute with Cruz-Baldo, who appeared to be intoxicated at the time of the argument, occurred earlier that night, which would be Feb. 11, according to the LCSO press release.
     The victim was punched in the face during the argument and had injuries consistent with these statements, the LCSO said. Cruz-Baldo was also accused of repeatedly hitting and kicking a dog, causing injury to the animal as the dog was attempting to defend the victim, the LCSO said.  Cruz-Baldo fled the scene prior to law enforcement officers’ arrival, and he could not be located by deputies on scene during the investigation, the LCSO said.
     Deputies remained in the area searching for Cruz-Baldo for some hours after this initial report, the LCSO said.
     At 4 a.m. on Feb. 12, the victim called 9-1-1 reporting Cruz-Baldo had returned to the property and was armed with a short-barreled shotgun, the LCSO said. Cruz-Baldo was threatening the victim with the gun and demanding the gate be unlocked and that the victim give him a cell phone, the LCSO said. In fear, the gate was unlocked by the victim and Cruz-Baldo left the property, the LCSO said. Deputies once again were unable to locate him initially.
     Shortly after 8 a.m. on Feb. 12, the LCSO received information that Cruz-Baldo was at a nearby farm, the LCSO said. Deputies responded, located Cruz-Baldo and took him into custody, the LCSO said.
     Cruz-Baldo was cooperative with deputies and disclosed the location where he had hidden the short-barrel shotgun, the LCSO said, and that is when he was arrested and booked into the jail.
     The ATF adopted this case due to Cruz-Baldo being an illegal alien in the United States who possessed a firearm while committing a felony, the LCSO said.
     A federal grand jury was presented this case and it issued a “true bill” for the indictment.
     A federal arrest warrant was issued for Cruz-Baldo on March 26. The warrant has since been executed and Cruz-Baldo will be held in custody at the Levy County Detention Facility until trial, the LCSO said.

Motorcyclist dies in crash
By Jeff M. Hardison © April 2, 2025 at 9:30 a.m.
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     ALACHUA COUNTY – A 19-year-old man with an Archer residential address died in a crash on Tuesday night (April 1) in Alachua County, according to information in a Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) press release.     The FHP noted his next of kin had been notified before the press release was sent. Information in the press release was based on reports from a crash investigator and a homicide investigator, the FHP said.
     On April 1 at approximately 8 p.m., a 46-year-old man with a Newberry residential address attempted to make a left turn across State Road 45 (U.S. Highway 441) at the intersection with Southwest 46th Avenue – south of the City of Newberry as he drove a Ford F350 pickup truck, the FHP said.
     At the same time, the 19-year-old man who was driving a motorcycle northbound on U.S. 441 was attempting to lawfully pass vehicles, the FHP said.
     The motorcycle hit the Ford F350, the FHP said. The motorcyclist, who was wearing a helmet, died on the scene, the FHP said.
     The pickup truck driver, who was using a seatbelt, suffered no injuries, the FHP said.
     Residential addresses of Archer and Newberry does not mean the drivers were only from Alachua County, those addresses also apply to people in Levy County and Gilchrist County.
     As of May of 2020, the Florida Highway Patrol stopped providing names of people and some other information from crashes as part of its press releases.
     Prior to May of 2020, the FHP formerly provided that information via those public records in its press releases.
     The FHP and some other law enforcement agencies in Florida are abiding by a version of something known as “Marcy’s Law” of California, which is allegedly used to protect victims of crimes. The Florida version of “Marcy’s Law” was adopted after Florida voters chose to change the Florida Constitution to exempt more public records from view.
     Although not every vehicle crash involves crime victims, which may have been the legislative intent of the Florida version of “Marcy’s Law” approved by voters, the FHP adopted its current blanket exclusion of some information as part of its process in sending press releases.
     Although the FHP adopted this new practice, not every law enforcement agency has done so.
     For instance, the Chiefland Police Department, the St. Petersburg Police Department and the Ocala Police Department all have provided crash information in press releases or traffic crash reports, except when there is an actual victim of a crime, as demonstrated in the reports provided to the press since the onset of the FHP’s revision in its press release practices in May of 2020.
Crash Report Purchasing
https://services.flhsmv.gov/CrashReportPurchasing/
Florida Crash Data
https://www.flhsmv.gov/traffic-crash-reports/crash-dashboard/
Victims’ Rights Information
https://www.flhsmv.gov/victimsrights/