A man here on an expired visa is accused of attacking a former girlfriend and battering her.
Jesus Santiago Cortes Merida allegedly grabbed the woman outside her residence at the Kings Mobile Home Park at 1659 highway 70 west on Sunday night.
The sheriff said he covered her mouth and forcibly dragged her to an abandoned trailer.
The sheriff also reported the suspect locked the door to the trailer, restrained her and threatened her life repeatedly over several hours. Eventually he allowed the victim to leave the trailer.
The suspect was located on Monday and was placed under arrest to face charges of kidnapping, false imprisonment, aggravated assault and domestic battery.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security-Immigrations and Customs Enforcement issued an immigration detainer for his removal from the country after completion of the criminal investigation.
Okeechobee County Commissioners admitted they were put off by a no-show by a county consultant.
The commission questioned the price of a $400,000 impact fee study with Kimley Horne since the company didn’t show up at the meeting to explain their findings.
Under contract, the firm was not required to appear, staff noted.
“We are spending a lot of money that some of us may feel we are not getting the value out of, from our perspective,” Commissioner Terry Burroughs said.
Frank DeCarlo said it was a lot of money when they didn’t send a representative to the meeting.
State rep. Meg Weinberger (D) was unable to get any appropriations this year for the city of Pahokee, one of the poorest communities in the state.
She said every city had a hard time getting revenue this year.
“Legislators were definitely being fiscally responsible this year so we really had to fight for every appropriation that we received.”
Lobbyist Latoya Shields said they tried very hard to get something out of the state.
“IT was a different session this year, they were just tight, very tight on everything.”
She said they continue to seek grants from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection for the marina. Another grant is possible to address workforce development needs.
The city plans to reapply for an appropriation to harden the Eddie Lee Rhodes gymnasium downtown. They want to use it as a hurricane shelter.
McDonalds restaurant in Okeechobee faces a negligence lawsuit over hot coffee.
Samuel Bravo Ortiz filed a lawsuit that seeks over $50,000 in Okeechobee Circuit Court in September.
The litigation alleges he was burned while purchasing a coffee in the drive thru lane of the restaurant at 401 NE Park Street on December 30, 2024.
The pleading said Bravo sustained serious bodily injury. It noted he was handed a cup carrier with at least two large cups of coffee in it. When the plaintiff grabbed the carrier, one of the large cups was not properly set in the carried and toppled over spilling extremely hot coffee onto his arms.
The suit claims the restaurant failed to train employees and allowed an unsafe and dangerous condition to exist.