Two Okeechobee residents were charged with squatting in a house boat.
Theresa Carter, 36, and Robert Leitner, both face charges of burglary and trespass.
Carter was also charged with drug possession.
A report from Okeechobee County Sheriff Deputies said the owner of the boat went on vacation for a week and when he came home and checked the boat he found the two suspects on board.
The report said Leitner threatened to shoot the boat owner if he came near the boat.
Okeechobee deputies took the suspects into custody at gun point.
They later learned over $4,000 in fishing equipment had been taken from the boat.
Carter said she thought the boat had been abandoned.
Carter was held on $5,650 bond.
An Okeechobee man who claimed to be a visitor from Mexico is accused of damaging a hotel room and refusing to leave the premises when ordered to.
Jose Juarez, 42, faces charges of trespass and making threats to law enforcement.
Bond was $11,000.
A report from Okeechobee County Sheriff Deputies showed Juarez, when told to leave the premises, refused, and went to the motel lobby and went to sleep on a couch.
Juarez was visibly intoxicated, deputies said.
He was accused of making a death threat to the deputy allegedly stating, “My family will kill you. You know that they are Indians and Mafia.”
The new Culver’s Restaurant in Okeechobee is still on track and construction should start soon, City Administrator Gary Ritter said.
Ritter said he expected construction on storm water utilities and roads to begin by the end of October.
The developer is also continuing to talk with hotel chains and plans for a car wash are also being pursued.
The city planning board recently approved a one year extension in submittal of permits for the car wash construction.
Okeechobee County Commissioners approved the annual contract with the sheriff to continue to provide animal control services. The budget is $692,000.
The county has applied for grants to provide an airboat ramp at Lock 7, the Clif Betts Junior Recreation Area, $200,000, and to improve lighting at Alderman Park, $200,000.
The county plans to spray for mosquitoes on 492 miles of roadway in the next two weeks.
The Indian River State College Fire Academy is teaming up with Okeechobee County Fire Rescue to conduct a training burn today at the Okee #1 site, Fire Chief Earl Wooten said.
OCFR will provide a tanker and manpower to the college.
The Florida Citrus Commission approved a near $23.5 million budget for the next fiscal year.
They had a historical low citrus crop in 2024-2025 due to hurricane damage and citrus greening disease.
The spending plan includes a box tax on growers. The commission expects to fill over 13 million boxes of oranges, grapefruit and specialty fruits this coming year.