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Sex date with girl ends in handcuffs

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 17:33:40 -0500

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. -- Deputies say he drove to St. Johns County to have sex with a girl. Instead, Brandon Scott Stapler, 24, walked into a motel room where deputies were waiting for him with handcuffs.

Stapler, of Orange Park, has been charged with using a computer service to solicit a parent or guardian for sexual activity with a child and travel to meet a minor with the intent to engage in sexual activity.

Investigators say he made contact with a man whom he believed to be the father of a 12-year-old girl. The man happened to be an undercover Cyber Crimes detective.

The two exchanged text messages and agreed to meet a motel off State Road 16 and I-95.

Deputies say Staples showed up at the motel around noon today when deputies arrested him.

He is being held without bond. He'll make his first appearance in court tomorrow morning.

Big Weather Changes on the Way!

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 17:33:29 -0500

JACKSONVILLE, Fla -- A strong cold front will bring big changes to metro Jacksonville, Northeast Florida and Southeast Georgia through the weekend. Clouds will increase Friday with a few showers. Temperatures will still be mild with highs near or a little above 70. Showers will increase Friday night but their fast movement will keep amounts to a quarter of an inch or less. The cold front will sweep the rain out of the area early Saturday followed by a blustery weekend with the coldest air in weeks. Highs will still reach the 60s Saturday but temperatures will crash to near and a little below freezing by early Sunday with wind chills in the teen and 20s. Highs Sunday will be only in the 50s with a widespread inland freeze Sunday night-early Monday.

Police: Local mom kidnapped by sex offender

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 15:48:25 -0500

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Police in Georgia arrested a registered sex offender accused of kidnapping a Jacksonville woman and her three children.

Rasheim Dolton, 44, is being held without bond in Peach County, Georgia. He faces one count of kidnapping-hold for ransom or reward or as a shield or hostage; a second count of kidnapping-inflict bodily harm or terrorize victim or other person; and false imprisonment.

The investigation began Wednesday night on Steel Court in Jacksonville. The victim's sister called police to say the woman and her children had been kidnapped against her will and needed help. Two officers went to the victim's apartment and that's when police believe Dolton took off with the woman and children.

The woman managed to call her sister that night to say she was on her way to Tampa to hand out music fliers. But investigators learned she was actually going to Georgia. Authorities issued an alert for Dolton's car.

The Georgia State Patrol, along with the Byron Police Department stopped Dolton's car in Peach County and arrested him. Authorities say Dolton gave the GSP a false name of Luther Bernard Ogletree.

Investigators say Dolton and the woman met online about a month ago on the website, Model Mayhem. Police say Dolton, armed with a gun, came to the woman's apartment three weeks ago and threatened to kill her and her children if she told police. Somehow she managed to get a message to a friend that she was being held against her will. The friend contacted the victim's sister who then called police.

Dolton has four prior charges of kidnapping out of Tennessee, and a kidnapping charge out of Atlanta. His criminal past also includes arrests for false imprisonment, carrying a concealed firearm, and drugs.

Lineup for Jax Jazz Fest announced

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:19:29 -0500

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The lineup for the Jacksonville Jazz Festival has been announced by the Mayor's Office.

Some of this year's confirmed performers include Sonny Rollins, Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke and Lenny White Trio, Patti Austin with the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, Poncho Sanchez and his Latin Jazz Band featuring Terence Blanchard, and Karrin Allyson.

"The Jacksonville Jazz Festival helps to promote a greater quality of life by drawing thousands of people to our Downtown," said Mayor Brown. "This is the perfect opportunity for families and groups of friends to gather, take in performances, enjoy a stroll along our treasured St. Johns River and feel the heartbeat of our city's urban center."

This year, the annual tradition will be held on Thursday, May 24 - Sunday, May 27.

The Jacksonville Jazz Festival is free and open to the public unless otherwise listed. VIP packages that include exclusive access and preferred seating start at $240.

Teacher of the Year Finalists Announced

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:43:00 -0500

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- It's the biggest award ceremony for educators in Duval County. The five finalists for the 2012 Florida Blue Teacher of the Year have been announced.

The pool of five finalists was selected from more than 8,500 Duval County teachers and represent the whole spectrum of skills that make a teacher great.

The finalists range from a two-year teacher to a veteran with more than 30 years of experience in the classroom. Each of them received a surprise visit from Superintendent Ed Pratt-Dannals in their classrooms today.

"It is a great recognition for five out of 8,500 who have been recognized," said Pratt-Dannals. "And again, they're just representative of the great teaching we have going on in Duval County Public Schools."

This year's finalists are:

Christy Constande: 4th Grade at Chets Creek Elementary
Cindy Fitch: Alternative Education at Oak Hill Elementary
Kate Houston: Language Arts at First Coast High School
Lauren Martin: 4th Grade at Pinedale Elementary
Scott Sowell: Science at Darnell-Cookman Middle/Senior High School

The 2012 Florida Blue Duval County Teacher of the Year will be named at the EDDY Awards on March 8th at the Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts.

The event is sponsored by Action News and will be hosted by Mike Barz, Tera Barz and Dawn Lopez.

You can get your tickets to this great event today. Just click this link to the EDDY Awards.

Florida, Georgia get No Child Left Behind waiver

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 06:57:03 -0500

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Associated Press has learned that President Barack Obama will free 10 states from the strict requirements of the Bush-era No Child Left Behind law. The move gives long-sought leeway to states that promise to improve how they prepare and evaluate students.

A White House official says the states are Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oklahoma and Tennessee. The official says the only state that applied for but was denied the flexibility is New Mexico, which is working to get approval. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the states had not been announced.

The law requires all students to be proficient in reading and math by 2014. Obama's action strips away that requirement in exchange for a viable substitute plan.

UPDATE: Florida fugitive sibling pleads guilty

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 11:30:16 -0500

WALSENBURG, Colo. (AP) - One of three siblings accused in a multi-state crime spree has pleaded guilty in a deal with prosecutors.

Lee Grace Dougherty (DAHK'-ur-tee) pleaded guilty in Walsenburg, Colo. on Thursday to one count of attempted first-degree assault and two counts of felony menacing. The charges stem from the capture of the siblings in southern Colorado in August.

The 29-year-old faces between nine and 28 years in prison when she's sentenced in April. The judge said she could serve her Colorado sentence concurrently with any other sentence she could get elsewhere.

(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Haleigh Cummings search reaches 3-year mark

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 04:01:13 -0500

JACKSONVILLE, Fla - Three years ago Thursday, a Putnam County girl disappeared without a trace. And three years later, Haleigh Cummings' family continues holding out hope she's alive.

There have been countless searches and countless dead ends since the day she disappeared in 2009. Police have not given up their search efforts, but after years, the leads have dwindled.

The five-year-old girl went missing, supposedly, from her bed in the middle of the night. Police and volunteers combed the woods, the river and miles around her house. The investigation even took crews to Tennessee. Police questioned Joe Overstreet, but he was eventually released.

But the aim always comes back to one woman, Misty Cummings. She was Haleigh's father's future wife and the last known person to see the little girl alive. Investigators have said they believe she is the key to crack the case, but now, as she sits in prison on other charges, she's not speaking.

Several months ago, new investigators were assigned to the case. That's given the family a renewed sense of hope. But Thursday, on the three year anniversary of her disappearance, the tears will flow, but the fight will continue.

There is still a reward being offered for anyone who has information in the case. The family is planning a vigil for Friday.

Suspect remains jailed after Walmart abduction try

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 11:40:08 -0500

BREMEN, Ga. (AP) — A suspect remains jailed after police say he tried to abduct a 7-year-old girl who was able to fight him off at a Walmart store in west Georgia on Wednesday.

Court officials in Tallapoosa County say a bond hearing for 25-year-old Thomas A. Woods of Austell is expected to take place as early as Friday. Details of the court appearance for Woods, who faces an attempted kidnapping charge, were still being finalized.

A state official said Thursday that Woods was on probation after serving time in prison in a DeKalb County voluntary manslaughter case. Officials in Bremen had previously said he was on parole.

State Board of Pardons and Paroles spokesman Steve Hayes says Woods was being supervised by the Georgia Department of Corrections' probation office in DeKalb County.

Florida A&M announces anti-hazing committee

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 11:43:42 -0500

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - Florida A&M University has gathered a panel of outside experts to investigate and recommend ways to end hazing on campus.

FAMU president James Ammons announced the school's new anti-hazing committee on Thursday at a board of trustees meeting.

The seven-member committee includes a former federal judge, a clinical psychologist, two hazing researchers, a former Los Angeles schools superintendent, another university's band leader and a director of a minority-oriented nonprofit.

The historically black public university has been dealing with the recent hazing-related death of drum major Robert Champion and the arrests of FAMU students on charges of hazing other students in the school's famous Marching 100 band.