Regarding " 'Hyde Park Rapist' Released" (Metro, Jan. 18): I find this quite disturbing. The two psychiatrists and the parole board involved in his release should be ashamed of themselves. A person like this who has committed so many vicious rapes and attempted rapes will never be rehabilitated. There is something in his mind that will never change. He may move to another community, but that community is going to be at major risk. ...more

January 30, 2008

WAUCHULA — Two 15-year-old Hardee Junior High School students face multiple charges, including felony criminal mischief, in connection with the vandalism of their school. ...more

January 24, 2008

SEBRING — Joseph Paul Graham reportedly admitted to shooting Samuel Tiller, 82, at his Falcon Avenue home on Nov. 24, according to arrest reports provided by the Highlands County Sheriff's Office. Graham, 18, of 3806 Leeway Court, Sebring, was arrested on Tuesday, along with Gerald Sanders, 18, of 243 Mandy Circle, Sebring, and Nick Mezie, 17, formerly of Sebring, in connection to Tiller's death. All three suspects were charged with first-degree murder. A representative at Sebring High School confirmed Friday that Graham and Sanders are enrolled as students at the school. Arrest reports indicate that the trio broke into Tiller's residence around 4 a.m. by breaking a window on the north side of the home. Reports state that one of the suspects used the window opening to gain access to the home, then opened the front door of the residence for the other two suspects. ...more

January 19, 2008

Sheriff's detectives are investigating an unattended death in which a woman's body was found inside a partially-burned home Saturday morning. Relatives of a 42-year-old woman called the Pasco Sheriff's Office asking for a welfare check after they were unable to reach her, spokesman Doug Tobin said. ...more

January 12, 2008

Copper-wire thefts from Lakeland electrical substations peaked over the holidays, prompting police to ask the public for help in preventing the crimes. ...more

January 5, 2008

Convicted sex offenders who used the Internet to help them commit their crimes will be banned from using the Internet under a measure signed into law Thursday. ...more

December 28, 2007

Michael Devlin received one final sentence Friday - 170 years - for making pornography of a boy he kidnapped and sexually assaulted over four years. ...more

December 22, 2007

It seems to be human nature that many people enjoy seeing the high and mighty fall. That's why so many people feel good about Michael Vick being sentenced to almost two years in prison for a dog-fighting ring he bankrolled. For the rest of us, only sadness is left. That's because so many dogs were tortured and killed, and a young man with great promise has crashed and burned. Michael Vick was sentenced in a federal court Monday for his part in a dog fighting ring, and his participation in executing dogs that under-performed. He helped hang them, beat them and drown them. It's too sickening to go into detail of what actually happened. Suffice it to say it was animal cruelty at its worst. Dog fighting alone fits that description, but what they did trumped even that. ...more

December 12, 2007