Highlands County Sheriff Susan Benton compared past issues with evidence handling to "a tidal wave that drowned us." ...more

October 22, 2008

On Oct. 30, 2007, 10 Highlands County Sheriff's detectives knocked on the door of Nelson Rodriguez. Inside, the squad seized 120 marijuana plants weighing 258 pounds, which were taken from Lake Placid to non-air conditioned storage units in Sebring. ...more

October 17, 2008

Sheriff Susan Benton's office has completed an inventory of about 8,000 evidence items, said the office's attorney, Mike Durham. ...more

October 8, 2008

After hearing arguments for more than an hour Wednesday, Judge Peter Estrada said he would decide by Nov. 12 whether to toss out evidence in two grow house cases. ...more

September 27, 2008

After hearing arguments for more than an hour today, Judge Peter Estrada said he would decide on Nov. 12 whether to toss out evidence in two grow-house cases. ...more

September 24, 2008

On Oct. 30, 2007, Highlands County Sheriff's deputies knocked on the door of Nelson Rodriguez, 549 Washington Place, in the middle-class Leisure Lakes subdivision west of Lake June In Winter. ...more

September 17, 2008

Some time after his wife was killed but before turning a gun on himself, Humberto Cruz sought out his children to tell them he loved them, his daughter said. ...more

December 7, 2007