SEARLE GIVEN LIFE SENTENCE IN BURGLARY CASE
(Marion County, FL) On October 24, 2025, 37-year-old Mitchel Andrew Searle was found guilty of Burglary with Battery, two counts of Burglary of a Dwelling, Burglary of a Structure, and three counts of Criminal Mischief. Judge Peter Brigham sentenced Searle to life in prison, followed by two concurrent fifteen-year sentences and a five-year concurrent sentence. […]
MARION MAN SENTENCED TO 11 LIFE SENTENCES FOR CAPITAL SEX BATTERY
(Marion County, FL) In the courtroom of the Honorable Judge Timothy McCourt, jurors found 44-year-old Howard Lee Whiteted III guilty on all counts: Following Whiteted’s conviction, Judge McCourt sentenced him to 11 consecutive life sentences. Whiteted was arrested in December of 2022 following a Marion County Sheriff’s Office investigation after a 14-year-old victim told a […]
MCGEE FOUND GUILTY IN MURDER OF LAKE COUNTY MAN
(Lake County, FL) On Friday, October 17, 2025, a jury rendered its verdict, finding 32-year-old Darion Dontae McGee, of Leesburg, guilty of First-Degree Murder for the death of 38-year-old Mustafa Hasan Connelly. McGee faces a mandatory life sentence on his conviction. On December 17, 2021, deputies with the Lake County Sheriff’s Office responded to a […]
INVERNESS WOMAN ENTERS PLEA IN MURDER OF ROOMMATE CASE
(Citrus County, FL) Earlier this morning, 63-year-old Tracey Lee Stanley entered an open plea to the court before Judge Joel D. Fritton, pleading no contest, in the case against her. Stanley is charged with Second-Degree Murder for the death of her roommate, 72-year-old Andrea Kathleen Day. After a brief discussion with her attorney, Stanley entered […]
HERNANDO COUNTY FUGITIVE SENTENCED IN CHILD SEX CASE
(Hernando County, FL) Yesterday, Judge Daniel B. Merritt sentenced 43-year-old Christian Fischer to 15 years in the Florida Department of Corrections and designated him as a Sexual Offender. Fischer was found guilty in absentia during his jury trial back in February of this year. He was convicted of Traveling to Meet a Minor and Soliciting […]
GUILTY VERDICT FOR CITRUS COUNTY MAN IN CHILD MOLESTATION CASE
(Citrus County, FL) Jurors took exactly 13 minutes to deliberate yesterday before rendering a guilty verdict in the case against 45-year-old Christopher James Cassidy. Cassidy was found guilty as charged on two counts of Lewd and Lascivious Molestation of a Child less than 12 years of age and two counts of Lewd and Lascivious Molestation […]
BAUTISTA SENTENCED IN PETITION FRAUD SCHEME
(Marion County, FL) Earlier today, 26-year-old Maria Guadalupe Bautista was sentenced to four and a half years in prison after a jury found her guilty back in July on 13 counts of Fraudulent Use of Personal Information. Bautista was originally arrested in 2023 after investigators uncovered a petition fraud scheme in which she unlawfully […]
BOILEAU FOUND GUILTY OF FATALLY SHOOTING GIRLFRIEND
(Marion County, FL) Yesterday, 33-year-old Leslie Boileau Jr. was found guilty in the case involving the death of his girlfriend, 25-year-old Polina Wright. After a multi-day trial, jurors found Boileau guilty of Manslaughter by Use of a Firearm. With his conviction, Boileau faces up to 30 years in prison. His sentencing hearing will take place […]
BRANDLEY FOUND GUILTY OF SEXUAL BATTERY AND IMPRISONMENT
(Citrus County, FL) Last week, in the courtroom of Judge Joel D. Fritton, jurors found 25-year-old Jason Michael Brandley, of Inverness, guilty of Sexual Battery and False Imprisonment. Brandley was taken into custody to await his sentencing hearing at a later date. Brandley was arrested in December of 2024 following a Citrus County Sheriff’s Office […]
STATE ATTORNEY FILES CHARGES IN RICO CASE INVOLVING $24 MILLION GAMBLING OPERATION
(Sumter County, FL) Today, Fifth Judicial Circuit State Attorney Bill Gladson, alongside Florida Gaming Control Commission Director Carl Herold, announced the shutdown of a major illegal gambling operation that exploited seniors and laundered millions of dollars through fraudulent business activity. The investigation brought forth formal charges against three key defendants. The investigation began in February […]