R News is Your News
R News is Your News
Sorted by date Results 626 - 650 of 655
WEEKI WACHEE – Florida Forest Service wildland firefighters are currently conducting a burn out operations (setting fire inside a control line to consume fuel between the edge of the fire and the control line). The fire is 150 acres and 50% contained. No homes are threatened at this time. Hernando County Fire & Emergency Services and Hernando County Sheriff's Office are on scene. There may be smoke in the area, please drive with caution....
WEEKI WACHEE – Two people are in custody after Hernando County Sheriff's Deputies discovered Methamphetamine, fentanyl, a firearm, and other items during a traffic stop on Wednesday. According to officials, deputies observed a vehicle traveling northbound on Commercial Way that was registered to a known wanted subject, 25-year-old Kristina Urig. Deputies were also aware that Urig's boyfriend, 36-year-old William Hudson was in the vehicle and that he is a suspect in a Pasco C...
BROOKSVILLE – The Hernando County Sheriff's Office is investigating the death of a man who was booked into the Hernando County Jail and died days later. According to the Hernando County Jail website, 49-year-old Timothy Peters was booked on April 13th at 9:12 p.m. and charged with several counts of battery on an EMT/Officer, Resisting Arrest, and Trespassing. Today, officials with the Hernando County Sheriff's Office released the following statement: Sheriff Reports I...
TAMPA, Fla. – There is nothing more disturbing than predators who will do anything to victimize young children, and you could be standing next to one right now and not even know it. Although the majority of incidents involving sexual abuse against children is committed by a family member or someone the victim knows, social media has become an easy place for predators to manipulate victims into meeting for sex. Florida Predator Prevention (FPP) is an organization that is w...
BROOKSVILLE – The Florida Highway Patrol reports the arrest of a Honduras national, after a traffic stop on I-75 led to the discovery of 20 illegal immigrants in the back of his Ford E350. Officials say 25-year-old Jean Yanes Blanco was stopped for having dark tint, cracked windshield, and an overloaded vehicle. Yanes Blanco only possessed a Honduras passport and told Troopers he was headed from Houston to the Orlando Area. Inside the back of the van, Troopers discovered 20 i...
SPRING HILL – On February 16, 2022, R News received several tips regarding a major case crime scene established at AbraKIDabra Pediatrics on Mariner Blvd. That morning, sources began reporting that a plumber was on scene to unclog a toilet that had been slow to drain for two weeks. We were told a substance that appeared to be a 12-week-old fetus had been located and that a nurse confirmed the appearance to be just that. As a result, they decided to call the Sheriff's O...
BROOKSVILLE – The Florida Highway Patrol is reporting the arrest of two Mexican Nationals, after Troopers discovered a large quantity of Heroin inside their vehicle. According to officials, Troopers conducted a traffic stop on a 2015 Grand Jeep Cherokee along I-75 in Brooksville. Troopers say the vehicle had a fraudulent Arizona license plate and neither driver had a valid driver's license. Troopers called for a K-9 unit to respond to the scene and discovered 5.5 lbs. of H...
TAMPA Fla. – If you're tired of wearing a mask when flying onboard commercial airlines, then you'll applaud today's decision by a Federal Judge to block the Centers for Disease Control extension of mandatory masks on public transportation. Middle District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle ruled that the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) order to extend the mandate until May 3rd violates the Administrative Procedure Act by making decisions outside the scope of their authority. J...
PASCO – The westbound lanes of SR-54 were closed for several hours last night, while the Florida Highway Patrol investigated a crash that claimed the life of one person and severely injured another. According to officials, a 25-year-old New Port Richey man was driving eastbound on SR-54, approaching Country Place Blvd in the inside lane, when for reasons unknown, the driver lost control and struck the center concrete median. The vehicle overturned, ejecting the driver, a 2...
SPRING HILL, Fla. - Today, Governor Ron DeSantis signed Senate Bill (SB) 524, Election Administration, to ensure that Florida continues to have secure and accurate elections. This legislation will strengthen election security measures by requiring voter rolls to be annually reviewed and updated, strengthening ID requirements, establishing the Office of Election Crimes and Security to investigate election law violations, and increasing penalties for violations of election laws....
LECANTO, Fla. – A gruesome discovery Wednesday, after residents in the area of W. Horace Allen Street found a plastic garbage bag with a deceased dog inside. According to the Citrus County Sheriff's Office, neighbors new something was wrong when they noticed a strong odor and unknown liquid seeping from the bag. Upon further investigation, Deputies discovered an adult male dog, mostly black with reddish-brown hair, weighing about 25 lbs., short stubby tail (2"-3" long), and s...
PASCO COUNTY – A Chicago Bears wide receiver found himself behind bars Saturday night, after officials say he was driving reckless on SR-56. According to the Florida Highway Patrol, Troopers witnessed 28-year-old Byron Pringle doing "donuts" in his 2016 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and initiated a traffic stop. Troopers say Pringle created a cloud of smoke that "reduced visibility to nearly zero," due to his spinning his tires. Officials say a juvenile was in the backseat o...
HERNANDO – He says the community needs new blood and that he's the right choice to represent the younger generation of voters in District 4 for County Commission. Born on an Airforce Base in South Dakota, 35-year-old Anthony Arenz lived in New Jersey before settling in Spring Hill, where he has resided for the last 24-years. Arenz admits he got a late start entering the race and that he's far behind his opponent Jerry Campbell in campaign contributions, but he says, "not to w...
TAMPA Fla. – It's been over a week since we joined Florida Predator Prevention (FPP) on their quest to expose a suspected child sexual predator and we still have no answers from the security agency he works for. On April 13th, R News met with a representative of FPP at a Walmart in Tampa, Florida, where we hoped to confront a subject who was having a sexually explicit conversation with, who he thought was a 15-year-old girl. The 28-year-old subject, "Chance," did show up a...
DADE CITY – The Florida Highway Patrol has new information regarding a vehicle involved in a fatal hit and run crash that occurred early Easter morning. The crash occurred around 3:30 am, Sunday on US-301, south of Desrosier Road. That's where officials say the driver of a silver Dodge sedan or low front end type van was traveling northbound, when it struck a 49-year-old Dade City woman who was walking on the grass. The force of the impact severed the woman in two, leaving t...
SPRING HILL – A violent crash on Mariner Blvd claimed the life of a 57-year-old Spring Hill man, early this morning. According to the Florida Highway Patrol, the driver of a late model Kia sedan was traveling at a high rate of speed on Mariner Blvd, when the driver lost control at the intersection of Elgin Blvd and crashed into a light pole and pedestrian signal. Impact with the pole caused the vehicle to split in half, killing the driver. The cause of the crash is still u...
BROOKSVILLE – A pair of alleged motorcycle thieves thought hiding behind a church would help them evade arrest, but not today, thanks to a vigilant neighbor, determined victim, and quick response of Sheriff's Deputies. According to sources, the victim met with a one of the suspects in the area of Centralia Road in Weeki Wachee, expecting to sell his motorcycle, but when the suspect took the bike for a test drive, he never returned. The victim immediately began searching and ev...
BROOKSVILLE – Two suspects are in custody after an attempted bank robbery at the Synovus Bank on Broad Street. R News responded to the area of S. Broad Street, near Powell Road, after reports that two bank robbery suspects were spotted traveling southbound in a black Hyundai. While en route, R News learned that deputies had spotted the vehicle and were preparing to make a felony traffic stop. The driver did not flee, and two black male suspects were taken into custody w...
PASCO – A child protective investigator is facing felony charges after officials say she lied about conducting case interviews. According to Pasco Sheriff Chris Nocco, 29-year-old Jennifer Lewis was arrested Friday and charged with two-counts of Altering Department of Children and Families documents. Nocco says a trainee working under Lewis noticed several discrepancies in Lewis's reports. According to the trainee, Lewis would leave her business card where scheduled i...
SPRING HILL – The Hernando County Sheriff's Office and State Fire Marshall are investigating an explosion and residential fire that occurred this morning at the 11000 block of Collingswood Street. Fire officials say they responded to the residence at 9:34 a.m. after neighbors reported that the "garage blew up." Witnesses also reported seeing the home's occupant leave the scene, prior to the arrival of Fire Rescue. Officials say the garage was fully engulfed upon arrival and t...
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – As part of a $10.5 million dollar Expansion of Registered Apprenticeship and Preapprenticeship (ERAP) Grant, the Hernando County School District and Pasco Hernando State College will receive $1,173,900 and $956,346, respectively. According to a statement from Gov. Ron DeSantis's Office today, registered apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship training programs are a key component of Florida's workforce education. They provide excellent opportunities for e...
SPRING HILL – There aren't many details at this time, but according to sources, a man walked into State Senator Wilton Simpson's office, located at 4076 Commercial Way in Spring Hill today and threatened to kill him. The Senator was not in the Spring Hill office at the time the threat was made. The Hernando County Sheriff's Office is on scene at this time investigating the incident. The suspect is described as an older white male who fled the scene before deputies arrived. W...
PINELLAS COUNTY – A Spring Hill family is grieving the loss of a 6-year-old girl, after she was struck and killed in St. Petersburg Saturday evening. According to the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office, 40-year-old Yanitza Ortega, her 10-year-old and 6-year-old daughters attempted to cross the street at W. St. Petersburg Drive and Bayview Blvd, when they were struck by a 2010 Nissan Altima. All three victims were transported to a nearby hospital for treatment, but the 6...
NEW PORT RICHEY – Police have made two arrests in the January 6th death of a 4-month-old child. According to officials, New Port Richey Police responded to the home of 24-year-old John Randall Valliquette and 26-year-old Andrea Lynn Smarr, after reports that their son was deceased. Detectives discovered the child in his crib with no signs of obvious trauma but with white mucous coming from the child's mouth and nose. Detectives collected several items at the scene, i...
BROOKSVILLE – Firefighters are on the scene of a fast-moving brush fire in the area of Barclay Ave and Cortez Blvd. There are reports of emergency evacuations underway in the Carriage Crossing Apartment complex and several nearby private residences. There are no reports of injuries at this time....
