Around the Region - Nov. 14

POLICE BEAT

Police: Man charged for pulling machete in fight

A man accused of pulling out a machete during a Wednesday night bar fight in Alachua was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

Bradley Floyd Burmeister, 32, of Fort White was arrested by Alachua Police Officer Charlie Nahrwold outside the Spindrifter bar on U.S. 441 at about 11:15 p.m. Wednesday.

In the arrest report, Nahrwold wrote that a fight between Burmeister and Phillip W. Chance Jr. of Alachua apparently started inside the bar and moved to the parking lot.

Witnesses told police that Burmeister went to his truck and took out a machete and that Chance headed back inside when he saw the weapon. Nahrwold wrote that when officers arrived at the bar, Burmeister was "in the middle of the parking lot with his hands in the air in an aggressive stance, acting as though he was attempting to continue further confrontation."

Nahrwold also noted that Burmeister appeared to be drunk. He was booked into the Alachua County jail.

— Karen Voyles

Police: Man arrested for hitting child with stick

A man caring for two small children while their parents were in jail was charged with child abuse for allegedly hitting one of the children on the head with a stick.

An Alachua County Sheriff's deputy found a lump on the 6-year-old boy's head.

Gerardo Cordero, 62, of 7010 SW 46th Ave., was arrested at about 4:30 p.m. Wednesday after witnesses told deputies that Cordero hit the boy on the head with a stick described as between 6 and 12 inches long.

In the arrest report, Deputy Arthur Tyre wrote that Cordero said he hit the boy because the child would not listen to him.

Cordero, who told deputies he had a stroke last year and cannot move quickly, also reportedly said that the boy had not had a lot of discipline while growing up.

The incident allegedly happened while Cordero's adult daughter, Bijan Cordero, was at work. She also lives at the home and was helping to care for the children while their parents are incarcerated, deputies said.

Bijan Cordero told deputies she would be off work for the next few days and would be able to watch the boy and his sister.

Tyre said he reported the incident to the Department of Children and Families.

— Karen Voyles

COMMUNITY

Homeless Service Fair takes place today

The Alachua County Coalition for the Homeless and Hungry and the City of Gainesville/Alachua County Office on Homelessness will host their annual Homeless Service Fair on the Downtown Community Plaza from noon to 5 p.m. today.

Nearly two dozen organizations offering services including blood pressure testing, housing and shelter information, mental health and substance abuse screening, employment services, and bicycle repairs, among others, will be present.

The Department of Motor Vehicles will bring its mobile photo ID unit to the event and provide replacement IDs to those who need them. The lack of a photo ID is a significant barrier to accessing services, housing, employment and emergency cold night shelter.

The coalition, in partnership with Fire of God Ministries, will provide a meal to all attendees and expects to serve nearly 300 people.

Organizers are requesting donations of new, or clean and gently used, blankets for distribution at the event. Donations can be brought directly to the Downtown Plaza beginning at noon. Volunteers will have a table set up near the former bus pull-in lane along University Avenue to accept donations. Tax-deductible receipts can be provided upon request.

About 1,400 men, women and children are considered homeless in Alachua County. Copies of the Gainesville/Alachua County Office on Homelessness' 2008 report on Homeless Conditions in Gainesville will be available at the event.

— Sun staff report

STATE

Hearing starts for sailor accused in Iraqi abuse

JACKSONVILLE — The Navy is holding a hearing to determine whether to take a chief petty officer to trial for mistreating Iraqi detainees in May.

He is charged with conspiracy, cruelty and making false statements.

Navy spokesman Cmdr. Dan Bates says the hearing began Wednesday and could continue into the weekend. The Article 32 hearing is the military equivalent of a grand jury.

Four junior sailors are also facing a special court-martial; the chief petty officer is the highest ranking officer involved. They are charged with conspiracy, maltreatment, lying and assault.

The Navy says detainees were locked in a cell that had been filled with pepper spray after they spit and threw urine and feces at the sailors.

A defense attorney says the sailors had no training in running a detention facility.

— The Associated Press

Justices lift Tompkins' stay of execution

TALLAHASSEE — The Florida Supreme Court has lifted a stay of execution for a man who killed his girlfriend's teenage daughter 25 years ago in Tampa.

The stay had been set to expire Nov. 18, but the justices dissolved it Thursday, six days after they denied three separate appeals by Wayne Tompkins.

A spokesman for Gov. Charlie Crist says a new execution date has not been set. Tompkins also is pursing appeals in the federal courts.

Fifty-seven-year-old Tompkins was convicted of strangling 15-year-old Lisa DeCarr with her bathrobe sash at her mother's home. Tompkins told authorities she had run away from home. Her remains were found buried under the house 15 months later.

— The Associated Press

Coroner: Body found at Vilano Beach a homicide

ST. AUGUSTINE — The St. Johns County medical examiner says a 36-year-old woman whose body was found at Vilano Beach did not drown, but died of trauma to the head, face and neck before she went into the water.

Authorities are now investigating the death of Melissa Lightsey as a homicide.

Dr. Terrence Steiner says her death was not due to drowning. His report also says she had some lacerations from being hit by a boat, but those occurred after her death.

Lightsey's body was pulled from the water Sunday, about 15 hours after her husband says she went swimming in the ocean.

St. Johns County authorities are asking anyone who saw anything on Saturday night or Sunday morning to notify them.

— The Associated Press

Man crushed between semi-truck, trailor

PALATKA — Authorities say a Palatka man has been crushed after he got caught between a semi-truck and a trailer.

The St. Johns County Sheriff's Office is investigating after 54-year-old Gerald Jones was killed. Authorities say he was helping a co-worker hook up and move trailers Wednesday. Jones was directing a semi as it backed up when he got caught between the vehicle and a tractor.

— The Associated Press

Vigil held for victim of school shooting

FORT LAUDERDALE — Dozens of Dillard High School students gathered before classes to hold an impromptu memorial service for a girl who was gunned down in a school hallway.

Teah Wimberly, 15, was charged with first-degree murder and discharging a weapon on school property in the death of Amanda Collette, also 15. The shooting happened Wednesday.

During Thursday's service, some of the teens wore black, others brought flowers and teddy bears, as they held hands around a concrete circle outside the school.

No other students were believed to have been involved with the incident, and the motive is still being investigated, police said.

Dillard has about 1,700 students. They don't pass through metal detectors, but officers are stationed on campus and security cameras are placed throughout.

— The Associated Press

Fla. man has record for largest rubber band ball

LAUDERHILL — It started with just a few rubber bands.

But four years, $10,000 and more than 700,000 rubber bands later South Florida resident Joel Waul has clinched the Guinness World Record for the largest rubber band ball.

The ball, which sits under a tarp in Waul's driveway, is 9,032 pounds, and more than 6 feet tall. The 27-year-old says the ball has been sponsored by two companies so he will add another 4,000 pounds to it.

Waul's ball beats out the current 4,594 pound record.

— The Associated Press