Local News Now

Headline Surfer graphic / Keith Jones lost his life when he stepped into Lake Mary Boulevard near Forest Boulevard at 9:25 p.m. Tuesday and was struck by an SUV.

LAKE MARY -- A 50-year-old man was killed Tuesday night when he stepped into the path of an eastbound car on Lake Mary Boulevard, a spokeswoman for the Florida Highway Patrol said.

The victim, Keith Jones, was transported to South Seminole Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Headline Surfer graphic / Blue Spring State Park, winter home of manateees for its warm waters is where a scuba diver lost his life in a diving accident on this Wednesday afternoon.

ORANGE CITY -- A man died this afternoon after an apparent scuba diving accident at Blue Springs State Park, a Volusia County Sheriff's official said.

The Sheriff's Office was called at 2:52 p.m. after the fatality.

"The man was transported to Florida Hospital Fish Memorial in Orange City where he was pronounced dead," Sheriff's spokesman Brandon Haught told Headline Surfer. "Meanwhile, his diving partner was transported to Florida Hospital Orlando for treatment. The Sheriff's Office will be investigating the death as is standard procedure but no foul play is suspected. The name of the victim is being withheld pending notification of next of kin."

Compromise reached in Tallahassee seen as positive first step

Headline Surfer photo / Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin are shown in this screeenshort from an exclusive video interview in Miami weeks after their 17-year-old son, Trayvon Martin, was shot to death in a Sanford neighborhood by George Zimmerman.

SANFORD --  Nearly three months after George Zimmerman walked out of the Seminole County Criminal Justice Center courtroom acquitted of second-degree murder in the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, the slain teen's parents may finally be realizing a dream for change.

That change is in the legislation being discussed in Tallahassee modifying the so-called "Stand Your Ground" defense that Zimmerman used as a defense in firing a fatal shot through the heart of the unarmed teen the night of Feb. 26, 2012.

Former Daytona Beach Mayor Richard Kane loves the music

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Perhaps the last person you'd expect to find in New Smyrna Beach is a retired Daytona Beach mayor who left politics 39 years ago.

And he's the first to admit he rarely ventures down to New Smyrna, with one exception.

"The New Smyrna Beach Jazz Festival," said Kane, Daytona mayor from 1969-'74, who was at the Garlic on the final Sunday of the three-day festival that ended on this Sept. 29 evening.

The festival featured a variety of jazz ensembles at more than a dozen locales throughout the city, from restaurants to bars and the Brannon Center.

The NSB jazz festival is among the more traditional tourism activities offered by the Southeast Volusia Advertising Authority, which is offering 30 events, that began Sept. 27 with the festival and culminates with a Turkey Day 5k beach run, coastal market and wine walk.

DAYTONA BEACH -- The man shot outside Papi's Bottle Club early Saturday has died and the case is now being investigated as a murder, a Volusia County Sheriff's official said.

Headline Surfer graphic / A man is in critical condition in the wake of an early Saturday shooting outside Papi's Bottle Club, located on North Nova Road near Daytona Beach as shown in this locator map.

DAYTONA BEACH -- The Volusia County Sheriff's Office is investigating a shooting early this morning in the parking lot of a bottle club near Daytona Beach that left a man critically injured, an agency spokesman said.

"The shooting occurred at about 4:58 a.m., just as a crowd was gathering outside of Papi's Bottle Club on North Nova Road," Sheriff's spokesman Gary Davidson told Headline Surfer. "Two deputies were close enough to the scene to hear a fight breaking out in the parking lot. As the deputies drove to the scene, they heard a gunshot ring out and then saw the crowd scatter."

Photo for Headline Surfer / If you know this man, whose image was captured by a surveillance  camera, while robbing the Denny's on West Vine Street in Kissimmee, then please call the Kissimmee cops at 407-846-3333 or or CRIMELINE at 1-800-423-TIPS (8477).

KISSIMMEE -- A man who led a cashier to believe he had a gun when he robbed the Denny's restaurant on West Vine Street at 3 a.m. Tuesday, has a unique feature that could make it easier for good samaritans to spot him, say Kissimmee cops: He has a tear drop tattoo under his right eye that is not filled in.

Stacie Miller, a Kissimmee police spokeswoman, said the robber implied he was armed, even though "no gun was displayed," but the tattoo under his right eye is as clear as day. is clear as day.

Mayor Adam Barringer's driver warnings made headlines

Headline Surfer photos by Henry Frederick / Prior to beconing mayor in 2009, Adam Barringer was pulled over three times for various offenses and pleaded guilty. Since becoming mayor he's been pulled over five times and received warnings only like the one shown above.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- The New Smyrna Beach Police Department's 24-hour summary police reports, a staple of Headliner Surfer editorial content for the past five-plus years has been re-formatted, which makes it more difficult for the public to see who has been stopped, ticketed and arrested.