R News is Your News
R News is Your News
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SANTA ANA, California – Last week, R News reported the arrest of 21-year-old Xavier Batten during a raid on Boca Raton Street, Spring Hill. Today, the Department of Justice (DOJ) formally charged Batten with one count of conspiracy and one count of malicious destruction of property by fire and explosion. The charges stem from a March 22nd firebombing attack on a Planned Parenthood clinic in Orange County, California. According to the DOJ, Batten and two co-defendants, C...
BROOKSVILLE – Walmart loses approximately $3 billion annually to retail theft, which equates to about 1% of its $300 billion in total revenue. Due to inflation and higher cost of living, shoplifting is on the rise. As a result, Walmart and other retailers have begun cracking down and pursuing criminal charges against a higher number of suspects. But what if you're innocent? Since Walmart implemented self-checkout systems in their stores, shoppers have complained of being h...
BROOKSVILLE – An ice cream shop in downtown Brooksville got a lot of attention today, after Facebook post suggested that a mural painted on the business is too seductive for young children. The illustration painted on Frosty Frank's Ice Cream Shop depicts a woman licking an ice cream cone, but the commenter complained that the image is akin to pornography. R News stopped by Frosty Franks and spoke with the Allie, who said the controversy actually helped bring in more b...
BROOKSVILLE – 30 years after the 12-year-old Jennifer Odom disappeared from her home in Pasco County, Officials say they have finally solved the case - and a suspect is behind bars. On February 19, 1993, young Jennifer Odom was expected home after being dropped off by her school bus near Jim Denney Road, but she would not be seen again until her body was discovered in Hernando County six days later. During a press conference this morning, Sheriff Al Nienhuis joined D...
HUDSON – Officials in Pasco County have now identified the suspect who allegedly left two dogs to die inside a pickup truck at a Walmart on Friday. Officials say 40-year-old Tiffany Critchfield was arrested and charged with Felony Animal Cruelty, after she locked her two Pit Bulls in a pickup truck for about an hour. R News first broke the story on Saturday, after a witness says he tried to perform CPR on the two dogs, but was unsuccessful in reviving them. The witness says h...
SPRING HILL – Video surveillance systems, like Ring Doorbell, give residents some peace of mind that if a crime occurs, it will be easier to solve, but what if the suspect is wearing a disguise? One local resident found out the hard way that video surveillance isn't 100% foolproof, after packages were stolen off their front porch in the area of Elgin Blvd and Freeport Drive. The victim tells R News that around 12:30 p.m. today, their Ring Doorbell camera captured what a...
HUDSON – Sad news to report today, after two dogs died of heat exhaustion when they were locked inside a pickup truck for hours. Pasco Sheriff's Deputies were called to the Walmart in Hudson around 10:45 p.m. last night, after a witness, "Kyle," says he saw two unresponsive Pit Bulls lying next to a pickup truck. Kyle says the dog's owner appeared to be under the influence of narcotics and was acting irrational. Kyle attempted to perform CPR on the dogs, but he was unable t...
SPRING HILL - A federal investigation is underway into a Spring Hill man who sources say has been charged with Conspiracy to Commit Arson. Yesterday, several agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation executed a search warrant at a residence on Boca Raton Street, where they arrested 21-year-old Xavier Joseph Batten on charges of Conspiracy to Commit Arson in a jurisdiction outside of Florida. A spokesperson for the FBI could not discuss the details of the investigation,...
BROOKSVILLE – A child sex abuser who was recently released from prison is back behind bars today, after attempting to remove his GPS monitoring device. According to officials, just before 2:00 a.m. last Saturday, an officer with Probation and Parole was searching the area of the 7-Eleven on Broad Street for absconded sex offender, 29-year-old Albert Lee Gardner. Officials say Gardner, a convicted child sex abuser, removed his GPS device and threw it in a nearby dumpster. Durin...
WEEKI WACHEE – An investigation is underway in the death of a 50-year-old woman who died as the result of a tree falling on her mobile home. The incident occurred around 11:30 a.m. this morning at a residence on Tooke Lake Blvd, where a large oak tree fell across the victim's home. Sources say the victim, who was inside the home at the time of the incident, suffered head trauma and died at the scene....
BROOKSVILLE – In recent weeks, several Correctional Officers at Hernando Correctional Institution (HCI) contacted R News to report serious safety concerns among officers and inmates. Out of fear of retaliation and for their personal safety, the officers we spoke to asked that we not reveal their true identities. Officer "Jennifer Smith" tells R News that the recent extreme temperatures are creating serious health and safety concerns for the inmates and officers. Smith says t...
HILLSBOROUGH – A multi-agency pursuit and shootout left one person injured and the suspect dead, in what is described by officials as something out of a Hollywood action film. The incident occurred just before 2:00 a.m. in Hernando County, where officials say a domestic violence incident occurred between a male suspect and a female victim. According to Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco, the victim drove to her mother's house in Wesley Chapel to pick up a child that the suspect...
BROOKSVILLE – The Florida Department of Law Enforcement has announced the arrest of a Spring Hill woman, who officials say attempted to accuse another person of producing and transmitting child pornography. According to reports, 42-year-old Ronda Hawkins contacted the FDLE to report that she was contacted by a suspect, not identified in their report, who sent her images depicting sexual abuse of children. She also alleged that the suspect had solicited her to arrange for t...
The parents of Ariana Ptarcinski will be silent no more. They demand answers and want the suspect who killed their daughter to be held accountable. Click here to watch video interview: Ariana Ptarcinski Murder...
BROOKSVILLE – A former Powell Middle School teacher is behind bars, after officials say he had inappropriate communication with a student. 33-year-old George Jeffrey Beall was just about to begin teaching Language Arts at Nature Coast Technical High School, when detectives with the Hernando County Sheriff's Office arrested him on charges of providing harmful information to a 14-year-old victim. Officials say, after reviewing thousands of messages, detectives learned that B...
BROOKSVILLE – The Florida Highway Patrol is reporting the arrests of a Honduran National, after officials say he attempted to smuggle several illegal immigrants into Florida. According to reports, Trooper W. Kelly conducted a traffic stop on a white Chevy van that was traveling at a high rate of speed on I-75 near SR-50. Trooper Kelly made contact with the driver, 37-year-old Eldin Ariel Trejo and noticed five passengers inside the van. Trejo did not possess a valid driver's l...
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Today, Governor Ron DeSantis announced the suspension of State Attorney Monique Worrell of the 9th Judicial Circuit for neglecting her duty to faithfully prosecute crime in her jurisdiction. Officials say, Worrell's practices and policies have too often allowed violent criminals to escape the full consequences of their criminal conduct, thereby endangering the innocent civilians of Orange and Osceola counties. The Governor has appointed former judge Andrew...
HERNANDO BEACH – Thanks to the quick response of Hernando County Sheriff's Deputies, a distraught man will live to receive the help he needs. On Saturday, R News learned that a burglary attempt was underway at the First Baptist Church of Hernando Beach. According to sources, a representative of the church observed a man jump a fence and climb on the roof of the church building. Deputies were immediately dispatched and arrived on scene within minutes of the call. Upon a...
BROOKSVILLE – A former employee of the new Crumbl Cookie located in the Coastal Landing shopping plaza is charged with burglarizing the popular cookie company last month. According to officials, 18-year-old Jacob Ortega, a former employee of Crumbl Cookie, was dropped off at the location by a friend who said Ortega was going to make a drug deal. Video surveillance shows Ortega enter the store wearing a black sweatshirt, black pants, and red Crocs. The store owner told i...
FLORIDA – Today, the American Association of State Troopers (AAST) announced the winner of its 2023 America's Best Looking Cruiser Competition is the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP). Florida beat out 46 other states, with California Highway Patrol, Nevada Highway Patrol, Indiana State Police, and Kentucky State Police rounding off the top five. The FHP picture submission was taken by retired FHP Lieutenant Jeff Frost and featured a 2019 Dodge Charger at Gatorland in Orlando a...
SPRING HILL – It's been over a year and half since Ed and Judy Ptarcinski's 18-year-old daughter Adriana Ptarcinski was murdered inside their home in the Sterling Hills Subdivision. Friday would have been Ariana's 20th birthday, so in honor of her memory, the Ptarcinski's held a paper lantern release at the wind chime oak tree near Anderson Snow Park. Friends and family joined Ed and Judy in releasing the lanterns that ascended against sublime Florida sunset. A wind chime f...
SPRING HILL – The former Fox Chapel Middle School teacher who made statements that he would "sh**t" his students and then himself is back in the classroom, but this time in an all-girls school for troubled teens. Earlier this month, R News reported that Ashlee Renczkowski was advised that he would not be reinstated as a teacher in the Hernando County School District. Over the last few days, R News has received numerous messages from parents and teachers who say PACE School for...
SPRING HILL – On Wednesday, R News responded to the infamous Mansfield compound located in Roundup Lane, after reports that investigators had executed a search warrant. Rumors began to swirl that another body had been discovered or that the investigation had to do with the solving of the Jennifer Odom case - but that was not the case. Today, sources say that convicted murderer Billy Mansfield's brother, 63-year-old Terry Mansfield was the focus of the investigation, and t...
BROOKSVILLE – Last year, former Hernando County Sheriff's deputy Matthew Puglia filed a lawsuit against the agency, claiming he was wrongfully terminated for complaining about obscene comments made about his girlfriend. According to court records, while Puglia was still under a probationary status with the agency, recently-separated deputy Joseph McClellan made sexually charged statements about the breast size of Puglia's girlfriend and urged them to join in on "agency" sex p...
BROOKSVILLE – The Hernando County School District had its fair share of controversies during the 2022-2023 school year, and 2024 look like it will be no less provocative. From threatening comments made by a transgender teacher at Fox Chapel Middle School, to the showing of a prohibited "woke" Disney movie by a Winding Waters K-8 teacher, the subsequent hullabaloo kept Hernando County in the national spotlight for several months. The now-former Winding Waters 5th grade t...
