R News is Your News
R News is Your News
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DADE CITY – An arrest has been made in a 2022 domestic-related double shooting that left one person dead and another seriously injured. On May 1, 2022, Sheriff's Deputies responded to 3468 Jodi West Drive after a 911 call was received from the victim, 32-year-old Michael Duran Cool who stated, "I got into an argument with my brother, and he shot me." Cool further advised that he was shot in the chest twice and that the shooter was his brother, 30-year-old James Francis N...
SPRING HILL – Jesse Kolberg is a senior at Springstead High School, an exemplary student, an Eagle Scout, and the captain of his soccer team at the Hernando Soccer Club. After high school, Jesse hopes to attend the University of Florida with aspirations of someday practicing law. But what led R News to feature Jesse in our Spotlight Adventure Coast Journal series is what he did to help Hernando County a little bit safer. Jesse wanted to do something "big" to help his c...
SPRING HILL – Last week, R News received numerous tips from concerned citizens who reported seeing what appeared to be a drug raid at a residence on Spring Hill Drive. It wasn't until yesterday that R News obtained the nightmarish details of what was occurring inside the residence that prompted the raid. According to an arrest affidavit, on January 2, 2024, detectives with the Hernando County Sheriff's Office met with a woman who claimed her live-in boyfriend of 10 years h...
UPDATE: January 10, 2023 - According to a spokesperson for Hernando County Fire Rescue, investigators have determined that the fire is not suspicious at this time and that faulty electrical wiring in an adjacent shipping container is what led to the fire. Officials say the main structure did sustain damage as a result of the fire. HERNANDO BEACH – An investigation is underway into a commercial fire that damaged the Drunken Mullet Restaurant (VIDEO) in Hernando Beach on S...
BROOKSVILLE – A Brooksville man is behind bars today after investigators with the Hernando County Sheriff's Office discovered dozens of images containing child pornography. According to officials, detectives received a tip that a male subject may be in possession of child pornography and acquired a search warrant for the suspect's residence. On Monday, detectives made contact with 56-year-old Carl Hatfield at his home located at 5220 Oney Drive and discovered 64 images of c...
SPRING HILL – 2023 was a year of conflict and controversies over inappropriate books, movies, and conduct in Hernando County Schools, and it looks like 2024 might be starting out the same way. Bob Hampton, a parent of a 7th grade Gulf Coast Academy middle school student contacted R News today with a complaint about his daughter's homework. According to Hampton, while looking through his daughter's backpack, he discovered a math worksheet titled "What is a Nudist?" Next to t...
BROOKSVILLE – The Hernando County Sheriff's Office is reporting the arrest of a Pasco County-based juvenile corrections officer after investigators discovered child pornography inside his Weeki Wachee home. According to officials, on December 23, 2023, detectives received a CyberTip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children who advised that a male subject had been viewing child pornography. Through their investigation, detectives identified 34-year-old W...
HERNANDO – The National Weather Service has issued a coastal flood warning for Hernando County until Wednesday, January 10th at 7:00 a.m. Experts say water could rise 2-3 feet above sea level, causing significant flooding along the coast. Winds are expected to gust as high as 40 mph, which will push water into the coast during high tide on Tuesday afternoon. Sandbags are available at Linda Pederson Park on Shoal Line Blvd on Tuesday, January 9th from 8:00 am to 3:00 p...
BROOKSVILLE – A Brooksville man is facing federal charges after officials say he operated an elaborate money laundering scheme to hide millions he earned illegally through digital currency transactions. 53-year-old Maximiliano Franco Pilipis was taken into custody on Thursday, on an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) hold, to face charges related to bank fraud and money laundering. According to a complaint filed last November in U.S. District Court, Southern District of I...
BROOKSVILLE – A Hudson man is behind bars in Hernando County for First Degree Murder after officials say he provided a deadly dose of fentanyl to an acquaintance last year. According to official reports, on June 29, 2023, 38-year-old Aaron Clark was contacted by 40-year-old Robert Scott Fowler who asked Clark to provide him with "Fetty Wap" (Fentanyl). Fowler told Clark that he was bored from being on house arrest and was looking to get high. Later that day, Clark met with F...
BROOKSVILLE – Last month, R News received numerous tips from anonymous sources inside the Hernando County Sheriff's Office (HCSO) who claimed the former deputy and agency "Sex Party Ringleader" Joseph McClellan had been arrested due to a domestic dispute. R News immediately began investigating those claims and discovered that the altercation may have arisen from McClellan discovering his wife was being unfaithful. According to reports, on December 21, 2023, Sheriff's D...
MASARYKTOWN – An investigation is underway into a fire that damaged a duplex at the 16000 block of Wilson Blvd. There are no reports of injuries at this time, however, there are unconfirmed reports that a dog may have been inside the residence at the time of the fire. The State Fire Marshal is on the scene investigating the cause of the fire at this time....
RIDGE MANOR – An early morning hit-and-run crash claimed the life of a Ridge Manor man after he was struck by a vehicle on US-301. The crash occurred around 6:45 a.m., say officials, when the 44-year-old victim was struck from behind while traveling southbound, south of Running Pon Lane. Officials say the victim was dragged over 350 feet before the bicycle became dislodged. The driver then fled the scene and did not render aid or call 911. The vehicle is believed to be an u...
BROOKSVILLE – It's not uncommon for porch pirates to steal packages from the doorsteps of intended recipients, especially during the holidays, but not many would suspect an Amazon driver of taking more than they deliver. That's exactly what one woman says happened last week at her home inside the Amersham Isles gated community at Sterling Hills. Nicole Exline tells R News that an Amazon employee delivered a package to her home on Copper Hill Driver around 9:15 a.m. last F...
BROOKSVILLE – Statistically, calls for service to domestic violence cases are some of the most unpredictable and dangerous calls investigated by law enforcement officers. That was just the case when Hernando County Sheriff's Deputies responded to a Brooksville residence yesterday, after reports that a pregnant woman was battered by her significant other. According to officials, after interviewing the alleged victim and observing injuries consistent with her testimony, d...
Adventure Coast Hero Watch our interview with The Batman of Spring Hill , Jack Asbury, who helps bring a smile to children with serious illnesses. Follow HERE for all our social media platforms...
BROOKSVILLE – A Walt Disney World employee is behind bars today after investigators with the Hernando County Sheriff's Office discovered dozens of images depicting child pornography in his possession. According to officials, on Wednesday detectives responded to the home of 47-year-old Michael David Foster, located at the 300 block of Zoller Ave, where they executed a search warrant. During the investigation, detectives discovered 32 images of child pornography on a flash d...
BROOKSVILLE – Car thieves are zero for two in passing through Hernando County after Troopers with the Florida Highway Patrol stumbled upon a stolen SUV while refueling a Brooksville gas station. According to the FHP, Troopers Kelly and Nottingham were recently part of an investigation involving two stolen cloned Cadillac Escalades. One was recovered during a traffic stop on I-75 in Hernando County and the other was located at a car dealership in Tampa. The former owner of t...
SPRING HILL – Conservative parents have been battling school districts around the country over teachers indoctrinating students on progressive issues like gender fluidity, Critical Race Theory, and the LGBTQ community. Hernando County has seen its fair share of similar controversies, but they aren't as frequent in Florida as they are in "blue" states. In March of this year, a transgender Fox Chapel teacher made threatening statements about his students and was ultimately r...
SPRING HILL – A licensed physical therapist who works in Spring Hill is facing a sexual battery charge after sources say he used his position at a local YMCA to target the victim. The victim's stepfather contacted R News earlier this month to share details of what happened to his stepdaughter while she worked at the YMCA in Spring Hill. The protect the family's privacy, we will refer to the stepfather as "James." According to James, his 17-year-old stepdaughter became a...
SPRING HILL – No injuries were reported but someone has some explaining to do after two electric Amazon delivery vans collided at the offramp at the Suncoast Expressway and Spring Hill Drive. The accident occurred just after 11:00 am this morning, leaving both vehicles with significant damage. The question is, how does an accident like this happen when Amazon vans are equipped with high-tech accident-avoidance features? Amazon's website provides the following statement a...
SPRING HILL – A convicted child sex predator is behind bars again, after serving only 2 years of probation for possession of child pornography and aggravated stalking. According to a Hernando County Sheriff's Office report, Manatee County Sheriff's detectives contacted Hernando County regarding sexual cyber harassment that was occurring in Spring Hill. Investigators determined that 24-year-old William Michael Isoldi "took over" the victim's Snapchat account (posing as the vict...
SPRING HILL – As the second anniversary of 18-year-old Ariana Ptarcinski's murder draws near, the victim's parents Eddie and Judy Ptarcinski are still grieving their beloved daughter's death and are losing hope that Ariana's killer will ever be brought to justice. CLICK HERE FOR FULL STORY Media coverage has been sparse since the 2021 Christmas Eve murder, and the Ptarcinski family is starting to believe that may have been design. At the onset of the investigation, Eddie a...
TALLAHASSEE – Amid growing tensions around the country over the conflict between Israel and the Hamas terror organization, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) is issuing a warning to all Florida residents to be aware of their surroundings over the holidays. According to the FDLE, since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, anti-Semitic incidents have been on the rise, and racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists (RMVE) may target Hanukkah c...
SPRING HILL – Two elderly St. Petersburg men are charged with Grand Theft after allegedly committing a string of liquor store thefts in Hernando County. According to the Hernando County Sheriff's Office, 64-year-old Michael Terrance Brinson and 70-year-old Johnnie Ray Magee stole several large bottles of liquor from the Walmart Liquor Store on Commercial Way and then fled in a white Mercedes. Deputies responding to the area recalled three active theft investigations i...
