Local News Now

Deputy returned fire in defensive mode, but gunman wasn't struck and instead died from self-inflicted shotgun blast

Headline Surfer locator / After keeping deputies and a SWAT team at bay for several hours in the 2700 block of Ranch Road near Lake Helen, a man who had been fighting with his girlfriend while drinking, turned a shotgun on himself and fired one round. The man, whose name has not yet been released, was pronounced dead at 3:08 a.m. at Florida Hospital Fish Memorial in Orange City after being rushed into the ER a little more than an hour earlier. He had been drinking and got into a fight with his girlfriend who suffered minor injuries.

LAKE HELEN -- An armed man who threatened his girlfriend Monday night and then kept responding Volusia County Sheriff's deputies at bay for more than four hours has died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, an agency spokesman said.

Defense counsel: 'This is a sad case,' adding the accused is 'no murderer'

SANFORD -- The Zimmerman trial got underway this morning at 9:01 with a pleasant "good morning" from the judge.

The pleasantries ended there in one of the most anticipated high profile trials since O.J. Simpson, with the prosecutor using the accused murder George Zimmerman's profanity-laced statement in a 9-1-1 call before pulling the trigger:  (Expletive punks) -- these (expletives) always get away."

No details released on circumstances of crash or the vehicle involved

Headline Surfer locator / Steven Pindar was airlifted to Halifax Hospital in Daytona Beach after smashing up his vehicle Sunday night. Circumstances of the crash were not released by police.

Editor's Note: Ignore Facebook message. Video posted on our YouTube channel.
OAK HILL -- The students, faculty and staff at Burns Science and Technology Charter School had quite the year -- from students talking to a NASA astronaut via ham radio to the cheerleading squad winning competitions to a student winning a national poster contest. 

Besides $8,050 in missing or stolen cash, more than 900 other items unaccounted for include guns, ammo, drugs, electronics, jewelry & automobiles

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- While City Manager Pam Brangaccio was fully aware that more than 900 items were missing from the police department's evidence room well before an after-hours press release last month, Headline Surfer has learned she entered into a secret agreement back in October with then-Police Chief Ron Pagano that had him retire at year's end, only to continue to pocket more than $67,000 he didn't even earn.

ORLANDO -- The Orlando Magic will open the 2013 preseason at Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville on Oct. 9 against New Orleans.

The Tip-off is 7 p.m. for the Wednesday game.  This marks the third time that the Orlando Magic have played a preseason game in Jacksonville, with their last trip coming in 2008.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Does the high price of movies have you down? Watch some of the year’s most popular films at the New Smyrna Beach Regional Library. It won’t cost you a dime.

Headline Surfer graphics / The crash of a van into a neighbor's home early Wednesday was the freshest news in the Google News Directories for Orlando as shown in the snapshot graphics at left and below.

ORLANDO -- Headline Surfer demonstrated once again why it truly is the 24/7 internet newspaper, picking up a bizarre motor vehicle crash early this morning under cover while the much bigger media outlets were asleep.

The brief story, headlined, "Florida Highway Patrol: Orlando man falls asleep at wheel of new Dodge Caravan; crashes into neighbor's garage," was filed just after 5 a.m. and picked by by the Google News Directories within 5 minutes where it was trending online as the freshest offering.