Around the region

Levy County man booked after shooting incident

Levy County sheriff’s deputies arrested a Fanning Springs resident for shooting at another man Monday afternoon.

Seth Leon Foster, 20, is accused of two counts of aggravated assault, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

Foster, an employee at a recycling business in Fanning Springs, fired five to six times at the other man’s vehicle after the two argued and then began fighting, sheriff’s authorities said.

The man was in front of his vehicle when Foster fired the shots, officers reported.

Investigator Mark Morgan later contacted Foster, who agreed to surrender to officers, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

— Lise Fisher

30 prank 911 calls lead to teenagers’ arrests

Alachua County sheriff’s deputies arrested three teenagers late Friday after reports of prank 911 calls and vandalism in an area near I-75 and Newberry Road.

Officers located the three, ages 17, 16 and 15, in Cornerstone at 6800 W. University Ave. at about 11:30 p.m., said Sheriff’s Office spokesman Lt. Steve Maynard.

Each was arrested for possession of burglary tools. Additional charges against two of the teens included possession of a concealed weapon and providing a false name to law enforcement.

Dispatchers received more than 30 false 911 calls from the area that night, and officers were sent to check where the calls were coming from, Maynard said.

While in the area, residents told deputies that someone had been seen in the area shooting at homes.

Officers patrolling the location spotted the trio who were dressed all in black, Maynard said. Deputies reported the three had a BB gun, a black ski mask and bandana, a screwdriver and a wrench.

Maynard said the officers could not prove who had made the prank calls, but the calls stopped after deputies arrived in the area and the arrests were made.

— Lise Fisher

Man who struck cyclist charged in hate crime

DAYTONA BEACH — A central Florida man who slammed his car into a bicyclist then shouted racial slurs at her has been charged with committing a hate crime.

According to a Daytona Beach police report, Thomas Cosby, of Port Orange, veered his car off the road to strike Mekeda Cato, then yelled at the 25-year-old. Witnesses told investigators he also hit a tree and a house’s porch.

Cato was taken to a hospital.

Cosby, 56, is charged with aggravated and simple battery and being held on $60,000 bond. It was not immediately clear if he had an attorney.

— The Associated Press

Crist, British officials discuss climate change

LONDON — Florida Gov. Charlie Crist is promising to work with Britain to develop clean energy technology and to prevent climate change.

Crist and British Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister Kim Howells watched as three agreements were signed between British and Florida universities to share equipment and research on energy and climate change research.

Howells said Crist’s push to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Florida has made the state a global leader on the issue.

Tuesday’s event came on the third day of Crist’s 10-day trade mission to Britain, France, Spain and Russia. On Wednesday, Crist will meet with Prince Charles.

— The Associated Press

Foley may be out, but he’s still got cash

WEST PALM BEACH — Former U.S. Rep. Mark Foley, who resigned from Congress amid an Internet sex scandal, may be out of the game, but he’s still got campaign money.

According to papers filed this week with the Federal Election Commission, the Friends of Mark Foley campaign remains intact and has nearly $1.2 million in its account.

Foley has spent several hundred thousand dollars from the account on legal fees.

The FEC has ruled that spending arising from congressional duties are generally legal, but Foley must still return money to donors who request refunds.

Foley resigned from Congress in 2006 after being confronted with sexually explicit Internet communications to male teenage pages on Capitol Hill.

He remains under investigation by the FBI and Florida law enforcement.

— The Associated Press

Foster child finally gets liver transplant

MIAMI — A mentally disabled foster child is recovering from liver transplant surgery in Miami, after being initially rejected for the procedure because he has no permanent home in which to recuperate.

The 15-year-old boy had the 8-hour operation on Sunday at Jackson Memorial Hospital.

Department of Children & Families officials say the teen had been on the transplant list at Shands Hospital in Gainesville but was later removed from it.

A hospital official declined to comment about the case but says doctors consider a patient’s ability to comply with medical therapy in deciding whether to operate.

— The Associated Press