Monthly Archives: February 2014
McCall Ranch not sold at auction
By DREW WINCHESTER STAFF WRITER NORTH PORT — The 5,771-acre McCall Ranch failed to sell Thursday at an auction that drew bidders from as far away as New York and California, falling short by $100,000 of the $14 million minimum price for the property. According to William Bone, from the Gadsden, Ala.-based National Auction Group, […]
St. Pete man tied to liqour theft crime spree
By DREW WINCHESTER STAFF WRITER SARASOTA COUNTY — A St. Petersburg man was taken into custody by Sarasota County authorities on Monday in connection with a Walmart “crime spree” that spread between North Port and Port Charlotte, according to the North Port Police Department. Thomas Wayne Taylor, 47, was charged with two felony counts of […]
Attorney alleges misconduct in Brucia murder trial
By DREW WINCHESTER STAFF WRITER Attorneys for convicted killer Joseph P. Smith, the Sarasota man who brutally raped and murdered 11-year-old Carlie Brucia in 2004, asked the Florida Supreme Court recently to consider the possibility of juror misconduct and to appeal the conviction. Smith’s Tampa-based attorney Robert Strain levied an odd argument for the court, […]
Murder target pleads guilty in fraud case
BY DREW WINCHESTER STAFF WRITER SARASOTA COUNTY — One-time murder target Matthew Reilly Smith , half of a husband-and-wife duo who rented foreclosed and vacant homes to dozens of families throughout North Port, won’t see any jail time for his crimes after accepting a plea deal from the state this week. According to the written […]
SCSO hopes new ‘Jane Doe’ images spur leads
By DREW WINCHESTER STAFF WRITER SARASOTA COUNTY — It was seven years ago Thursday that the remains of a white female were found in a shallow grave near an industrial area in Sarasota, and she is still the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office’s only unidentified body, or “Jane Doe.” Investigators hope new technology and computer-related images […]
Lamarque teachers fall ill
By DREW WINCHESTER STAFF WRITER NORTH PORT — Sarasota County School District officials confirmed that five teachers at Lamarque Elementary School called 911 Wednesday to report they had fallen ill, with two of the teachers transported by ambulance to the North Port ER, and one driven in a car to an area facility for treatment. […]
Drew Winchester 