WOKC Local News – March 12, 2026, 7:40 AM
Transcript
WOKC News. School supports prosecution with WOKC News. I’m Charles Murphy. The Okeechobee School supporting prosecution of a student who allegedly vandalized the historic mural at the freshman campus gymnasium late last year. They were able to quickly clean the mural though so it was not permanently damaged. Superintendent Dylan Tedders decried this incident. And that student, you know, is gonna pay that price. Because again, that’s a historical mural. So the fact that it’s historical, that could enhance in the legal field. So yeah, we’re not gonna tolerate it and the legal system is not gonna tolerate it either. 20 years in prison for an Okeechobee man on child pornography charges. 50 felony charges dropped against Robert Lee Middleton. He played no contest to 17 different felonies. He faced a maximum of 255 years in prison and scored close to 29 years in prison. Authorities say they got their hands on 438 images of child pornography. Law enforcement is taking illegal gaming in the state very seriously. Attorney General James Uthmeyer closed down 39 illegal gaming operations. Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey says this is a crime and it is hurting people. Their parents, their grandparents are going into these places and losing all their money, their life savings and everything else because they’re being led to believe that there’s a bright hope at the end of this. A bill under consideration this year, 1580 would make it a felony to operate these facilities. An Okeechobee couple argued over financial problems. The man wanted to take out a loan. The woman refused. The man then threatened to sell the woman’s bull and they got into it. The Sheriff’s office says the man was charged with domestic violence battery. An Okeechobee man in jail in Highlands County charged with shoplifting from a store owned by the mayor of Lake Placid. Police say 37-year-old Joshua Varnes had a LifeGear headlamp under his sweater concealed valued at just under $16. Problem got worse though when he resisted the officer’s efforts to bring him into custody and argued with him. He also allegedly had a small amount of fentanyl, a couple pills. Two Martin County commissioners have lost decorum insulting each other at recent meetings. Eileen Vargas, who is trying to reduce spending and protects tax dollars, has been often insulting her colleagues. She says none of them do any work. She claims Ed Campy may be mentally ill and need help. You don’t have the criteria or the experience or the know-how to be asserting your opinion and talking on and on and on. I’ve heard complaints about that the disrespect you have shown me is abhorrent, abhorrent. Campy brought up the fact that Vargas is spending a lot of money on travel and seminars. Seminole police had to tase Daniel Nunez during a domestic dispute involving battery claims. I’m Charles Murphy, WOKC News.
Recorded from the WOKC daily newscast (Glades Media).