SEBRING — Highlands County Det. Sgt. Sharon Glisson resigned Oct. 12 for medical reasons, during an internal investigation into how a florescent camping lantern vanished from a growhouse and one just like it ended up in her garage. The investigation by Sheriff's Lt. Gaspar "Gus" Garcia, which sustained allegations of theft and misconduct by Det. Lawrence Daniel Schneider, of the Avon Park Police Department, who is on loan to the sheriff's drug task force, cast a dark cloud on the last months of Glisson's nearly 20-year career. On Aug. 28, the Sheriff's Special Investigations Unit searched a growhouse at 3010 Cedora Terrace, in Sebring. Glisson was supervisor on the case. As the growhouse raid was winding down, Schneider claimed he saw Glisson come out of the house holding something, which he said she put outside by the front door. He shined his light on the object and saw it was a lantern. ...more

November 17, 2007

AVON PARK — Apparently, a lot of cops want to live here. In the six weeks since the police chief's job has been advertised, 58 officers have applied, and they are qualified. "I have applications from three who claim they have law degrees," said City Manager C.B. Shirey. "Two have Ph.D.s. I have a lot who have been in the education side or the administrative side of law enforcement, or who have had special duties." One, a United Nations police officer, is an expert knife fighter, Shirey said. "Some are retired already, and some are overqualified," Shirey said. "It makes you wonder why they want to come to Avon Park. Some may just have the moving-to-Florida syndrome." Advertisements were placed in local newspapers, on the city's Web site, with the Florida League of Cities and the International Police Chief's Association. ...more

November 17, 2007

AVON PARK — Brad Cain said he teaches some of his friends their skateboarding tricks, but neither he nor his friends bother with the skateboard park near the middle school. Instead, Cain and his posse go out on the parking lots, grinding along the curbs by the First Baptist Church, moving down the sidewalks on Main Street and, until one of his friends got arrested for it, taking the covered lot of Audio Options. Why not the park? "It's crap. We need a different one," he said. "It's better for bicycles." As he and his friends hit the parking lot, the skateboard park lies in near-abandon. The concrete half-pipes, the rail and the ramps are cracked and covered in graffiti. Near one of the ramps, a loose set of concrete blocks form a makeshift set of steps. Scattered, shattered concrete littered the half-pipe Thursday afternoon. This park, Avon Park Police Department Comdr. Michael Rowan said, is the one his officers tell the skateboarders to go to when they're caught trespassing on the downtown parking lots. Public Works Coordinator Ted Long could not be reached Thursday for comment. ...more

November 12, 2007

PINELLAS PARK - A 41-year-old man who babysat for a couple of families is accused of sexually molesting or raping three boys in his care, including a 5-year-old, police said. James C. Humphreys, who works for Goodyear Rubber Products, was arrested Wednesday and charged with capital sexual battery, lewd and lascivious molestation and lewd and lascivious battery. He is being held without bail at Pinellas County Jail. ...more

October 18, 2007

A 12-year-old boy, his body battered and burned, was kept in an empty bedroom with no furniture and only a bucket to relieve himself. ...more

September 29, 2007

PINELLAS PARK - The substance found in the urine of Tampa Bay Buccaneer David Boston was GHB, a drug sometimes used by body builders to try to build muscle and one that is also known to cause its users to fall asleep, authorities said Monday. ...more

September 10, 2007