Author: CNN Newsource

By Rachael Perry

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    OKEECHOBEE, Florida (WPBF) — WPBF 25 News is investigating past allegations against an Okeechobee babysitter now accused of poisoning an infant.

According to court records, 59-year-old Anna M. Adamo is charged with attempted first-degree murder, among other charges, after detectives claim she poisoned an infant with antifreeze earlier this year.

WPBF 25 News has obtained records from the Okeechobee County Sheriff’s Office that show Adamo was questioned in a separate 2014 investigation where an infant was hospitalized. Those records allege the infant appeared unwell after his parents reportedly picked him up from Adamo’s home.

However, despite doctors suspecting poisoning, no charges were filed.

According to the incident report, a detective with the OCSO responded to a Department of Children and Families report. The report noted a six-month-old child was taken to the hospital for being lethargic, and it was later determined the child could have been poisoned with a household cleaner or anti-freeze.

Records from the OCSO show the detective interviewed the child’s parents, who claim Adamo was watching the child on February 24, 2014, at her home while they were at work. The mother said the child’s father picked the infant up and noticed he was lethargic and not acting like himself.

According to the incident report, the father brought the child to a local hospital before he was flown to Palms West Hospital in West Palm Beach.

A large portion of the child’s medical status at the time has been redacted from the report; however, detectives reportedly spoke with the child’s doctor, Brian Dewitt, who is quoted as telling them he had a slight concern that the child may have been poisoned. However, he said more tests had to be performed outside the hospital by a lab to determine that.

The incident report includes interviews with both the child’s babysitter, Anna Adamo, and a friend of Adamo’s. Adamo is listed as the suspect in the investigation.

The records show Adamo claimed the child was fine all day and was cooing, smiling, and playing with toys. She told the detective that her good friend came to visit, and the child was smiling at her and cooing. Adamo’s friend reportedly confirmed what Adamo had said.

According to the detective, a few days after the child was hospitalized, Dr. Dewitt received a call from the lab and was advised that the child tested positive for a substance found in Anti-Freeze. The doctor reportedly said after receiving the results, his suspicion was raised even more that the child could have been poisoned.

The OCSO detective noted that Doctor Dewitt filed a report with DCF and Law Enforcement in West Palm Beach while he waited for further lab tests to confirm or disprove his suspicions.

WPBF 25 News has filed a request with the WPBPD for the 2014 report.

The OCSO detective ends the report by writing that he provided Doctor Dewitt with the case number and advised him to contact the Okeechobee County Sheriff’s Office as soon as he receives any lab results, in this case, that would show [the child] was or was not poisoned.

That was the last document included in the case, and no charges were filed.

WPBF 25 News reached out to the OCSO to ask why charges weren’t filed and where the investigation stands now.

According to a spokesperson, investigators did not have enough evidence at the time to press charges.

Despite no charges being filed, under Florida’s Williams Rule, the Okeechobee Police Department is now trying to use the 2014 case to support the new accusations against Adamo.

WPBF 25 News caught up with Dave Aronberg, an attorney and former Palm Beach County State Attorney, who explained how the Williams Rule works.

“Florida, like other states, allows certain evidence of prior bad acts to come into a criminal trial, but you can’t use it to prove propensity, meaning, well, he’s a bad dude, so you know he did it here. The only way you can get it in is to show that this act was so similar to other acts that it’s like their M.O., their personal stamp,” Aronberg said.

For example, Aronberg said if a prosecutor could show someone who is accused of attacking and murdering someone in a specific way had done the same thing in the past, the past incident can be used as Williams Rule evidence.

Aronberg said the Williams Rule can be used even if the person was never charged in the incident being used as evidence.

“You can use prior uncharged acts as long as the evidence is relevant to prove what’s called a material fact and issue, and not merely to prove bad character or propensity to commit the crime,” he added.

To ensure the person’s Sixth Amendment right to a fair trial is not violated, Aronberg said prosecutors have to be extremely careful when using the Williams Rule.

“If someone is being charged with using antifreeze to poison someone, and you can show that they were investigated for doing the same thing a few years ago, that’s relevant. If they were investigated for doing the same thing many years ago, well, then it’s a question for the judge whether it’s too remote in time,” he said.

Aronberg said prosecutors need to prove the past allegations are relevant.

“So essentially, you want to see that this is a pattern. This is the modus operandi of someone. That’s why you can bring it in. But if it crosses the line into showing, yeah, bad guy then, bad guy now, that jeopardizes the defendant’s Sixth Amendment right to a fair trial,” Aronberg said.

The Okeechobee County Sheriff’s Office confirmed they are reviewing old cases, including the 2014 investigation, and are asking parents whose children were under Adamo’s care to come forward.

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By Pamela Comme

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    FLAGLER COUNTY, Florida (WESH) — A Flagler County father is under investigation after deputies say he delayed getting medical help for his 5-year-old daughter, who showed signs of a possible overdose.

Deputies arrested 29-year-old Ka’Juan Harris. Body camera footage captured the moment he was taken into custody.

“I don’t want to talk. I want my lawyer,” Harris told deputies.

According to investigators, Harris waited several hours before seeking help for his daughter. The girl’s mother, who shares custody, told deputies she had asked Harris to take the child to the hospital. Instead, Harris allegedly texted her that the girl would “just sleep it off.”

Eight hours later, when the mother saw her daughter, she immediately noticed something was wrong. According to deputies, she told them her daughter’s head was falling backward, she could not stand, and her eyes appeared to be rolling back.

Dr. Candice Jones, a local pediatrician, said those symptoms are consistent with a drug overdose.

“That child can become unresponsive, have various states of altered mental status, sleep but not respond,” Jones said. “These children could stop breathing, their heart could stop. They could have seizures.”

Deputies also revealed this was not the first time the child had suffered a similar incident. In 2020, when she was just 10 months old, she reportedly ingested an unknown opioid. She survived but was left with a developmental disability and is now non-verbal.

“When a child’s heart stops, when their breathing stops, when their mental status is altered, and these medications act at the level of the brain, there can be damage,” Jones said.

The girl spent two nights unconscious in the hospital following the most recent incident. Authorities say she is now recovering and has returned to her normal self.

The investigation is ongoing. Harris posted his $25,000 bond.

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By Martin Dreyfuss

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    MARION COUNTY, Florida (WBBH) — A 17-year-old Florida boy accused of faking his own abduction is facing charges for making a false report, providing false evidence, and possessing a firearm as a minor.

Authorities in Marion County say the teen told a family member that he had been possibly abducted by four Hispanic men in a van last month.

However, after an investigation by the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, they found the details of his story were false.

He was arrested on Oct. 14.

The teen bought a bicycle, a tent and a sleeping bag from Walmart prior to the fake abduction.

Officials with the sheriff’s office say the teen also shot himself in the leg to continue the ruse prior to his being found safe.

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By Todd Magel

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    KEOKUK COUNTY, Iowa (KCCI) — A former Iowa sheriff’s deputy, David Heady, has been sentenced to up to 10 years in prison for his role in a hay rack ride accident that injured several middle school students in Keokuk County.

During his sentencing on Wednesday, Heady pleaded for forgiveness and leniency, quoting Matthew 5:7, “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.”

Heady and Daniel Brubaker hosted the Halloween party and hay rack ride for middle schoolers in 2023, where investigators say the two men were drinking and speeding. Brubaker was behind the wheel during the incident.

Tracy Pfannebecker, the mother of a girl injured in the crash, was in tears when she spoke in court, expressing her distress over the incident.

“I will never forget that call that night, thinking that I could have lost my daughter, or my daughter could have lost some of her friends. Just because of you, David. For being stupid and supplying alcohol to yourself and Dan,” she said.

Investigators revealed that Heady, who was a Keokuk County sheriff’s deputy at the time, attempted to cover up the events of the crash. Brubaker received a 15-year prison sentence, and prosecutors requested a similar sentence for Heady.

“These children nearly lost their lives. This man had every opportunity and had every duty to do better. But he chose differently,” said prosecutor Frank Severino.

The judge ultimately sentenced Heady to 10 years, with Heady showing little emotion upon hearing the decision. Heady expressed remorse, saying, “I hope that these children and their parents all understand how very sorry I am that they were affected by this incident.”

In addition to the prison sentence, the judge ruled that Heady must not have any contact with the victims and must pay them restitution.

Previous story

A former Keokuk County Sheriff’s Office deputy has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for his role in a 2023 hayrack ride crash.

David Heady was a passenger in October 2023 when a truck pulling a trailer full of about 30 kids crashed. More than a dozen children were injured when the driver, Daniel Brubaker, lost control and entered a ditch.

Heady was found guilty this summer on 13 counts of child endangerment. Prosecutors called the crash “completely preventable” and investigators testified both Heady and Brubaker drank heavily before the crash. Heady had been in charge of organizing the ride, according to prosecutors.

Heady was sentenced Wednesday morning to 10 years in prison for the first two counts, along with 5 years apiece for counts 3-13. The counts will run concurrently.

Prosecutors at Wednesday’s sentencing called for the sentences to run consecutively for the two most serious counts, along with concurrent sentences for the remaining 11 counts.

Brubaker was sentenced in September to 15 years in prison.

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By Carmela Karcher

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    SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY, California (KMAX, KOVR) — A San Joaquin County wine grape grower had to dump his crop after his grapes were rejected due to their low sugar levels.

Brandon Sywassink has been working all year to produce the highest quality of grapes. His only customer is one winery in Lodi.

When he took his grapes to the winery, he heard the worst news a grower could ever hear: his crop was rejected.

“We had a handful of grapes, well, I might say, handful truckloads of grapes that were rejected at the winery for low bricks,” Manna Ranch General Manager Brandon Sywassink said. “Bricks mean sugar content and the contracts on them were for 24 bricks. It’s a pretty high number. It’s a tough number to meet.”

On average, his grapes came in at 23.9 bricks. They barely missed the threshold. Because of this, he was left with no choice but to dump it.

“It hurts a lot just to watch it,” Sywassink shared. “I mean, I literally just dumped it out into a field that used to be a vineyard. I literally took it over to a field that used to be a vineyard and dumped it out in that field.”

Twenty-five tons of grapes worth between $10,000 to $15,000 all left to rot.

“Farmers get a paycheck once a year, and we didn’t get a paycheck that day,” he said. “It hurts. It hurts.”

This summer was moderate, which means grapes didn’t have the ability to produce as much sugar. The recent rain made matters worse for the grapes still on the vine.

This doesn’t just impact growers; it impacts the Lodi community as a whole.

“They’re being held to very difficult standards. Simultaneously, these same wineries are bringing in millions of gallons of wine from overseas instead of purchasing these local grapes,” Lodi Winegrape Commission Executive Director Stuart Spencer said. “They’re just at the total mercy of these large companies that are importing the millions of gallons of wine and treating them, you know, like second-class farmers.”

Spencer said the quality of the grapes this year is beautiful. The only difference is the lower sugar, meaning the wines have lower alcohol.

Both the Winegrape Commission and growers want to benefit them and the wineries and find a solution as quickly as possible.

“We have to have in place some sort of code of conduct that makes it an equal partnership because right now, the growers have no choice,” Spencer said.

“Lodi is such a great, great town,” Sywassink continued. “Lodi has given back to given me so much and I want to be able to give back to Lodi. That’s why I want to tell people how great so many products are here, grown here, that we can all buy and help support each other.”

The Winegrape Commission says over the past 40 years, the average bricks at harvest have only gone up. During summers like the one the San Joaquin Valley just experienced, it creates a major challenge to meet that standard.

In the meantime, the best customers can do to help is check the label and support local wine.

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