Top Miami Area Local News Stories
Source: Top Stories
<p> An 84-year-old man was injured in an explosion on a boat docked in Fort Lauderdale on Wednesday, Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue said. </p><p> Officials said the explosion occurred at about 2:45 p.m. at 517 Coconut Isle. </p><p> The man was repairing a boat when an explosion involving a battery occurred, Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue said. </p><p> The man was burned in the explosion, but he was conscious. He was taken to Broward General Hospital.</p>
Published: Wed, 15 Feb 2012 20:42:02 GMT
<p> Two men were taken into custody Wednesday after police chase, Miami-Dade police said. </p><p> Miami-Dade police said officers tried to stop a silver 2012 Nissan Maxima because it matched the description of a car sought in connection with a robbery that took place Wednesday morning in Doral. </p><p> When the officer tried to pull over the vehicle, it fled, police said. </p><p> Officers caught up with the vehicle in Miami Gardens and took its two occupants into custody. </p><p> Police said one of the men had a bench warrant and the other is a habitual traffic offender. </p><p> The two men were taken to the police station for questioning. </p><p> Police said it is unclear whether the men were involved in the robbery.</p>
Published: Wed, 15 Feb 2012 19:37:41 GMT
<p> Customs officers often make drug busts, but what about hairdryer busts?</p><p> Customs and Border Protection announced on its website Wednesday that it seized thousands of hairdryers recently, including 3,614 at Port Miami.</p><p> Customs officials said the hairdryers were determined to constitute a “substantial product hazard” under U.S. law.</p><p> Officials said the hairdryers seized at Port Miami lacked proper shock protection for consumers. Lack of proper shock protection could lead to an electrocution if contact is made with a water source.</p><p> In all, 13,382 hairdryers were seized, worth $2,506,517 in stores.</p><p> “Ensuring the safety of imported merchandise is a top priority for CBP,” said Allen Gina, CBP’s assistant commissioner for international trade. “The concerted targeting efforts of CTAC and the vigilance of CBP officers at our ports of entry will help ensure that products like hair dryers are safe for consumers and that substandard product from overseas does not reach store shelves.”</p>
Published: Wed, 15 Feb 2012 20:51:15 GMT
<p> A caretaker is accused of stealing thousands of dollars from a 75-year-old North Miami Beach woman.</p><p> North Miami Beach police said Olga Hidalgo-Gato, 46, of Hollywood, was hired to help a 75-year-old woman who lives on monthly Social Security payments with daily activities, such as grocery shopping, paying bills and filling prescriptions. </p><p> According to police, between October 2010 and July 2011, Hidalgo-Gato wrote herself checks from the woman's account and withdrew up to $500 per day from the woman's accounts. She stole a total of $35,000, police said. </p><p> The woman asked her son for help when some of her checks bounced and she began to suspect Hidalgo-Gato was stealing from her, North Miami Beach police said. The woman's son noticed on his mother's bank records that some of the withdrawals were taken at casinos, which his mother did not visit, investigators said.</p><p> The son called police. When a detective confronted Hidalgo-Gato, she denied taking any money and said any withdrawals she took were for legitimate reasons, North Miami Beach police said.</p><p> Police said Hidalgo-Gato was seen on surveillance video at various locations, withdrawing the woman's money without the woman present. </p><p> The stolen money came from the woman's life savings, her monthly Social Security payments and funds from a reverse mortgage, investigators said. The woman could now lose her home.</p><p> Hidalgo-Gato was arrested Thursday on charges of grand theft on a victim over age 65 and exploitation of the elderly, both second-degree felonies.</p>
Published: Wed, 15 Feb 2012 20:49:20 GMT
<p> The Broward Sheriff’s Office is searching for two men who sexually assaulted a woman at gunpoint and then robbed her Thursday morning in Lauderdale Lakes. </p><p> Investigators said a 48-year-old woman walked to the One United Bank at 2412 N. State Road 7 at about 5:30 a.m. to meet a co-worker who was giving her a ride to work. When she arrived at the bank, police said, a man on a bicycle and a man who was walking approached her. </p><p> BSO said one of the men pointed a gun on her and forced her behind some bushes near the bank’s drive-through teller area, while the other man hit and choked her, pushing her to the ground. </p><p> The men sexually battered the woman, stole her purse and phone and left, BSO said. </p><p> The woman was taken to the Sexual Assault Treatment Center. </p><p> Investigators have been handing out fliers in the neighborhood in the hope of finding someone with information about the attackers.</p><p> The search for the men, both of whom wore all black clothing, continues. BSO said one of the attackers was tall, and the other was short. </p><p> Anyone with information is asked to call Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS (8477).</p>
Published: Wed, 15 Feb 2012 19:40:12 GMT
<p> Two suspects in the burning of a 15-year-old boy in 2009 learned their sentences Wednesday.</p><p> Jesus Mendez pleaded no contest to a charge of second-degree attempted murder in the October 2009 attack on Michael Brewer.</p><p> VIDEO: Brewer family reacts</p><p> Mendez, then 16 years old, Denver Jarvis and Matthew Bent, both of whom were 15, were arrested and charged as adults with second-degree attempted murder after police said they doused Brewer, then 15, with rubbing alcohol at a Deerfield Beach apartment complex and lit him on fire.</p><p> Brewer spent months in a hospital recovering after the attack.</p><p> A judge sentenced Mendez to 11 years in prison followed by one year of community control and 18 years of probation. </p><p> Jarvis also pleaded no contest Wednesday. He was sentenced to eight years in prison, one year of community control and 21 years of probation. </p><p> “I think they should get longer, but it’s all right. I know they’re going to mess up anyway,” Brewer said.</p><p> “It is a very long journey, and it’s nice to be able to see the light at the end of our tunnel, and our family’s really going to start to be able to heal,” Brewer’s mother said. “Having to come back time and time again, you have to reopen all these wounds, and the nightmares come back and the feelings come back, and it’s really difficult. We’re looking forward to closure so we can finally heal as a family.”</p><p> Bent's trial is scheduled to begin on March 12, 2012.</p>
Published: Wed, 15 Feb 2012 18:01:45 GMT
<p> Police are looking for the driver who hit two cyclists on the Rickenbacker Causeway early Wednesday morning. </p><p> Police said two men were riding their bikes east over the bridge at about 6 a.m. when a car hit both men. The driver fled the scene and left the men injured on the road, police said. </p><p> Cyclist Enda Welsh fractured his ankle in the accident, but his friend, Aaron Cohen, had more serious injuries. </p><p> Cohen is in critical condition at Jackson Memorial Hospital with severe head trauma. Cohen's wife said he underwent surgery Wednesday morning.</p><p> "This guy, he's out there and he knows what he did,” Welsh said. “He didn’t even stop to see. He didn't care." </p><p> Police believe the suspect was driving a 2009-2011 silver Honda Civic. It is missing is right rearview mirror. Investigators also believe the car may have some hood damage. </p><p> If you see this car or if you have any information about this crash, you are asked to contact Miami police immediately.</p>
Published: Wed, 15 Feb 2012 17:58:28 GMT
See this week's beautiful furry friends waiting at the Humane Society of Broward County to find a caring home.pet, dog, cat, Humane Society, Broward County, local 10, WPLG
Published: Tue, 14 Feb 2012 23:31:50 GMT
After seeing some of these fine citizens showcase their "skills," let's hope the South never rises again.
Published: Tue, 15 Mar 2011 19:38:32 GMT
Hundreds are dead following a massive prison fire in Honduras. Here are the 12 deadliest fires and explosions in U.S. history.
Published: Wed, 15 Feb 2012 17:18:48 GMT
Click to see the latest mugshots from Miami-Dade and Broward Counties.
Published: Wed, 15 Feb 2012 20:38:28 GMT
PompanoBeachHighlandsFlorida.com
HOTELS • REAL ESTATE • JOBS