WOKC Local News – September 11, 2026, 7:40 AM
Transcript
WOKC News. Reduce the poaching. With WOKC News, I’m Charles Murphy. Florida Attorney General James Oothmire backing a proposal to toughen penalties for poaching and create a new felony offense for illegally taking wildlife if you fire a gun near people, homes, or critical infrastructure. The proposed measure would allow second-degree felony charges to be filed in those cases and will require offenders to permanently lose hunting privileges and forfeit weapons used in the crime. Alberta Raza says they are going to stop poaching in Florida. FWC takes poaching serious. Increased penalties would create significant consequences for poachers who will willfully endanger families while stealing wildlife from Floridians and would be a meaningful deterrent to those who would even consider these irresponsible and dangerous actions. A Fort Pierce police officer is facing four felony charges. Police Chief Mark Smith says that Joseph Crutchfield may have been using law enforcement databases to track an ex-girlfriend. I’m not going to speculate what he was doing, but I think you can infer that he was tracking an ex-girlfriend, right? So the information we have is that it’s a single tag tied back to somebody that he once dated. An inmate at the county jail is charged with punching and kicking another inmate, injuring them in a cell over a $10 debt. Vincent Perozzi facing one felony charge for the recent attack, part of it caught on camera. A fight in a motel room lands an Okeechobee man in the county jail. Robert Huffstutler is facing aggravated battery and battery charges. He’s alleged to have thrown a lamp that struck the victim. They’re arguing over a debt. Okeechobee County Sheriff’s deputies say alcohol may have played a factor in that incident. In the courts, Am Vuleta will be ordered to pay another $30,300 in restitution. Two more victims awarded restitution after a hearing this summer. Vuleta entered a plea earlier this year and was ordered to repay $23,000 and sentenced to four years probation. He was ordered to repay restitution but was not convicted of any crime. Vuleta had faced two criminal cases related to contractor fraud and grand theft charges. The court did not award any restitution to his former business partner. Michael Slayton claimed he was owed $300,000 by Vuleta. He could seek damages in a civil lawsuit if he so chooses. Glades County deputies urged to increase patrols in Buckhead Ridge. Commission chairman, Tim Stanley in Glades County says there’s been a recent crime wave there. You got some thieving going on up there in Buckhead. There’s batteries missing and gas being stolen. Tell the sheriff to start watching around bicycles. It’s gotta be probably a kid but they’re hitting quite a few houses. The city of Pahokee was disappointed when the governor vetoed some funding approved by the legislature for demucking in the city limits. They’ll try again in the next session in 2027. I’m Charles Murphy, WOKC News.
Recorded from the WOKC daily newscast (Glades Media).