Category: CNN Regional

By Ari Hait

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    WEST PALM BEACH, Florida (WPBF) — David Aprea, a paramedic and neighbor, quickly responded to a home invasion on 50th Street in West Palm Beach Thursday morning, helping his injured neighbor and chasing down the suspect.

“It’s just the nature of me. I saw somebody in need, and I helped them,” Aprea said.

The incident occurred around 11 a.m. when a 73-year-old resident returned home to find an intruder inside.

The resident, who only speaks Spanish and requested anonymity, described the terrifying encounter.

“He grabbed me, picked me up, and slammed me to the floor,” the resident said.

The suspect then ran from the house.

Aprea owns a nearby property.

“All of a sudden, the gentleman across the street started screaming, yelling, come running out that he was getting robbed. And he was covered in blood,” Aprea said.

Without hesitation, Aprea and another man took off after the suspect.

“The robber just took off down the block, and we chased after him, chased him down a driveway, and he went to hop a fence, and he dropped the bag and (we) just recovered the bag,” Aprea said.

After retrieving the stolen items, Aprea, a paramedic with 38 years of experience in New York, returned to render medical assistance to the victim.

“He was just in pain. He was bleeding from the head. So, I had a medical kit in my truck and took care of him,” Aprea said.

West Palm Beach police arrested the suspect, Zieare Peavy, a short time later, a few blocks away. Peavy faces charges of home invasion and aggravated battery.

Reflecting on the day’s events, Aprea said he never considered his own safety. “Just a basic day,” he said with a laugh.

Despite his heroic actions, Aprea said his wife was not pleased with the risk he took.

Aprea admitted, “I got in trouble.”

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Madilyn Destefano

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    ORMOND-BY-THE-SEA, Florida (WESH) — A man is accused of breaking into an SUV in a Publix parking lot in Ormond-by-the-Sea Friday, according to the Volusia Sheriff’s Office.

Justin Allen, 37, was arrested after he broke into an “innocent” Publix employee’s vehicle with a hammer, the VSO said.

“She’s still a little shook up that her world got rocked like that,” said Zachary Yeoman, Daytona Nissan Infiniti owner. “But there’s a big smile on her face. She was definitely upset that someone would do that to her vehicle.”

Car dealership owner Yeoman found out about what happened. So, he stopped by the Publix to try to track down the employee. He talked to her and is now helping with her car repairs, even setting her up with a free rental car so she and her family can get around. Yeoman is just happy to lend a hand.

“I talked to the manager where she works, and he said she’s one of the hardest workers there,” he added. “She still came to work, no excuses.”

According to the VSO, Allen said he was “taking revenge” on an ex’s car.

However, deputies say the vehicle actually belonged to someone else, who was not his ex.

When deputies arrived at the Publix, they found Allen in the passenger seat of the vehicle with a hammer in his hand, according to the arrest affidavit.

Allen began “striking the in-car radio while seated inside the vehicle,” the report said.

After being taken into custody, Allen said the car belonged to him and he was causing damage to his own property. He quickly, spontaneously uttered that it was his girlfriend’s car, the report said.

However, deputies met with the woman Allen claimed was his girlfriend, and she told the VSO that their relationship had ended and there was no communication between them.

Allen is charged with burglary, possession of burglary tools, criminal mischief of over $1,000 and possession of drugs.

Allen posted a $10,500 bond and has since been released.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Summer Knowles

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    OCALA, Florida (WESH) — Larry Johnson is working to ensure the legacy of his father, the late Rev. Leroy Johnson, is recognized in Ocala, where his story began.

Leroy Johnson was a father, husband, minister, civil rights advocate, philanthropist, and businessman during a time when society imposed strict limitations on Black men.

A childhood trip to Harlem, New York, in the late 1940s and early 1950s exposed Leroy Johnson to Black entrepreneurs and prosperity, which inspired his ambitions back home in Ocala. Larry said this ambition made his father a target.

“This one here is the KKK across the street from my parents’ house,” Larry Johnson said, describing a photograph from his family’s archive.”They were yelling obscenities at my father, telling him to shut the gas station down. ‘We’re going to kill you. We’re going to burn your house down.'”

Larry said the threats were due to his father’s efforts to uplift the Black community.

“Because of what my father was doing and what he was accomplishing,” he said. “He was trying to help out the Black people to come up, and that’s what they didn’t want.”

Before becoming a business owner, Leroy Johnson served in law enforcement and became one of the first Black Marion County sheriff’s deputies in the early 1960s.

“This is Sheriff Doug Willis giving my father his sheriff’s deputy badge,” Larry said. “When my father became one of the very first Marion County Black sheriff’s deputies.”

Despite serving for three to four years, racism persisted. “When he showed up to the station, either one of his tires would be flat, or the windows would be broken,” Larry said. “They wouldn’t let him drive the car home.”

Leroy Johnson eventually left law enforcement and focused on entrepreneurship, using business knowledge gained in Harlem.

He opened a diner in downtown Ocala and later transitioned into the fuel industry.

In 1974, Larry Johnson said, the Ku Klux Klan attempted to firebomb his father’s Gates Gas Station.

“The Klan came with cocktail bottles to set the gas station on fire,” he said. “That was the truck he shot at with his sheriff revolver that he had from the sheriff’s department.”

When police arrived, they initially believed Leroy Johnson was robbing his own station.

“They said it was a big Black man with a gun robbing the gas station, which he owned,” Larry said. “So how can you rob yourself?”

Gates Gas Station became a vital resource for the Black community, providing fuel and kerosene to families in need.

“If people didn’t have money for gas, my dad let them get free gas,” Larry said. “If they couldn’t afford kerosene in the winter, he gave that, too.”

Leroy Johnson’s ability to secure bank loans allowed him to support other Black entrepreneurs.

Today, a seafood restaurant stands where Gates Gas Station once operated, but Larry believes his father’s legacy extends beyond that site.

Last year, he proposed renaming a portion of Southwest 12th Avenue as Leroy Johnson Boulevard, but it did not receive enough votes.

He plans to bring the proposal back to the City Council next month.

“I don’t really have anything in Ocala with my father’s name on it,” he said. “But my father is deserving of a street.”

Johnson also hopes to write a book and eventually see his father’s story adapted into a film.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Edward Franco

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    NAPLES, Florida (WBBH) — Overflowing portable restrooms by the Naples Beach pier are causing frustration among visitors, leading city leaders to request more frequent servicing and plan for a new restroom trailer.

With the Naples Pier still in construction and the permanent bathrooms closed, the seven temporary porta-potties near the beach access points on Broad Avenue South and 13th Avenue South are the only available facilities.

Residents and visitors have reported to Gulf Coast News that they “looked like they haven’t been changed for over a week” with paper products overflowing, trash on the floors, and unpleasant odors.

Maureen King said, “It is disappointing for sure.”

Service tags indicate the toilets were last serviced on Feb. 16, but they were already full the next day.

The City of Naples stated that the restrooms are serviced by a vendor three times a week. A representative from the vendor, John To Go, explained that each service includes pumping out and cleaning the units. However, neighbors believe this is insufficient.

“One solution is to have them emptied every day,” a neighbor suggested.

City leaders have requested more frequent servicing due to higher-than-expected usage. Maureen King commented on the situation, saying, “For such a prestigious area as Naples, Florida, you would expect better.”

The city plans to introduce a “temperature-controlled, fully functioning restroom trailer” to accommodate the heavy use.

King, visiting from New York, sees this as a positive development. “I’m glad to hear that they’re on the road to fixing the situation,” she said.

The Naples City Council will discuss the timeline for the new restroom trailer near the pier parking lot during the Wednesday, Feb. 18, meeting at Naples City Hall.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Jacquelyn Quinones

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    MONTEREY COUNTY, Calif. (KSBW) — Crews have been working around the clock to clear debris from Highway 1 in Big Sur following recent storms, causing inconvenience for drivers but garnering understanding from many who acknowledge the unpredictability of Mother Nature.

Known for its scenic vistas, Highway 1 attracts tourists from around the world.

On Tuesday, drivers were turned away from parts of the Big Sur coast as Caltrans worked to remove mud and rocks from the road.

“It’s a little bit disappointing because I want to show my parents the famous 1 highway. It’s called the most beautiful highway, right? So now we’re just going to turn around and back to the 101,” one traveler, Yu Han, said.

Messages and directional signs have been placed to alert travelers in advance of the closure. In addition to Caltrans, some drivers took it upon themselves to remove debris from the road.

“That’s the first priority, to be safe,” Han said. “I guess maybe come on another day where there’s more sunshine and more drier weather.”

Other visitors expressed their disappointment at the disruption to their plans.

“We were really excited for it to open back up, and I made sure to have a chance to come back down, and it ran into the closure right when we’re here, right?” one visitor, Jason Summern, said.

“We were planning on driving Highway 1, but with all the rain, I was already worried that they might close, and it did,” another tourist, Caterina Band, said.

Caltrans said the slope above the roadway at Regent’s Slide is stable, but debris is coming from the base of the slope.

Crews will begin clearing debris during upcoming breaks in the rain, with the cleanup effort dependent on weather and site conditions. There is currently no estimated time for when the road will reopen.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Jenyne Donaldson

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    BALTIMORE (WBAL) — A historic lunch counter from Read’s Drugstore that’s on display at the Morgan State University Student Center demonstrates what would help spark the Civil Rights Movement across Baltimore.

Morgan State’s rich legacy has always been shaped by bold action and purpose, especially by its students. That includes a group of students who risked their own safety for desegregation.

“For whatever reason, popular history has the sit-in protest movement beginning in Greensboro, North Carolina, to Woolworth’s Feb. 1, 1960,” said Edwin Johnson, a proud Morgan State alum who serves as the special assistant to the provost and the university’s historian.

But that’s wrong.

While lunch counter sit-ins took place across the country, a group of Morgan State students was the first to take bold action against segregation in 1955.

“I’ve been corrected several times by Morgan alumni in that area, and they said, ‘We didn’t sit in, baby. We sat down.’ So, they were occupying segregated businesses and they sat down in order to agitate and advocate to integrate,” Johnson told WBAL-TV 11 News.

The students did so at great personal risk. While Maryland is not considered a part of the Deep South, it is a Southern state in which Black people who stood up against Jim Crow laws faced danger.

“I’ve met Morgan alumni from that 1947 to that 1963 history that inhaled tear gas, were clubbed by Maryland state troopers the whole nine,” Johnson told WBAL-TV 11 News.

Just a few days after the sit-in, Read’s announced all of its Baltimore-area stores would desegregate.

Johnson said there’s an important thread beginning at Read’s integrating because Arundel Ice Cream followed, as did, after a long fight, the Northwood Theatre, Gwynn Oak Park and even the Northwood Shopping Center next to Morgan’s campus.

“Fifty years ago, Morgan students were just fighting for entry, and here today, in (a) full circle moment, we own the space. There are students that are actually taking classes and studying and spaces that were legally off-limits,” Johnson told WBAL-TV 11 News.

Students who protested and fought were jailed in a fight for freedom.

“This is so important that we never forget those battles because freedom is not something that is freely given, it has to be fought for. And, those Morgan students of this generation have to understand that the torch is being passed to them,” Johnson told WBAL-TV 11 News.

Morgan’s involvement in the Civil Rights Movement spans from 1947 through 1963, and some would contend it never ended.

“It is also important to America’s story. We’re celebrating the 100th year of Black History Month and the same year the 250th anniversary of America, so make that math work for me,” Johnson said.

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By Greg Ng

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    ELKTON, Maryland (WBAL) — A routine traffic stop quickly turned into a lifesaving moment Saturday morning in Cecil County.

Maryland State Police said Trooper Nicholas Warren helped to save the life of a choking infant while conducting a traffic stop on Walnut Drive in Elkton.

As the trooper walked to his marked patrol vehicle, another vehicle pulled up and the driver called out, “We need help. My baby is choking.”

Warren immediately called for emergency medical services and performed lifesaving First Aid on the infant.

“I grew up in the fire department. I was a volunteer before I came to the state police, so I’ve had plenty of training, and then, they gave us a ton of training in the academy, and I’ve been able to use it quite often on my job,” Warren told WBAL-TV 11 News. “That was the first time that I’ve used that kind of training on an infant. You don’t get too many calls on babies, so it was definitely a first for me.”

The trooper administered back blows for a few moments and removed the blockage and the baby began breathing again.

“It happened so fast that your brain just clicks. So, I was very thankful for that training,” Warren told WBAL-TV 11 News. “That’s why you sign up to do this job. And, it’s the most rewarding thing you can have, having a good outcome and something like that. That happened so fast and seconds count, so it was very, very rewarding.”

Emergency medical services personnel arrived shortly thereafter to evaluate the infant.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Gino Recchia

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    WAUKESHA COUNTY, Wisconsin (WISN) — A 58-year-old man escaped unharmed Saturday night after his SUV fell through the ice on Pewaukee Lake near the Maple Road boat launch, police said.

Dispatch audio captured the initial call for help.

“We got a call for a Bronco that was about 15 to 20 feet out that fell through the ice,” the dispatcher said.

Authorities said the vehicle was unoccupied when first responders arrived. The driver managed to climb out through the back window to safety.

Tow crews from Ken Weber Towing and Recovery were called to remove the SUV from the lake.

Jai Grunewald, operations manager for the company, said the situation escalated quickly.

“We seen that the vehicle is fully submerged and sinking by the minute,” Grunewald said.

Recovering the vehicle required heavy equipment, including a 50-ton rotator truck, flatbeds loaded with chainsaws and ramps, and even a diver to secure the SUV beneath the surface.

“There was broken sheets of ice underneath the vehicle that we’re also working with,” Grunewald explained, describing the challenges crews faced.

Grunewald said the Maple Road launch is a common trouble spot.

“That’s one where we do multiple a year that go in. This was the second or third that we’ve done this year,” he said.

Even when ice measures more than a foot thick in some areas, warmer air temperatures can rapidly weaken conditions, especially near shorelines.

“Yeah, they’re all telling me it’s 18 to 20 inches thick out there, but it’s also 55, 60 degrees out there as well. So it’s going to start melting at some point,” Grunewald said.

With no snow cover acting as insulation and temperatures fluctuating above freezing, ice can deteriorate faster than many people expect.

For those still considering driving out, Grunewald offered a blunt warning.

“I’ll see you next week,” he said.

Meteorologists say no ice is ever guaranteed 100% safe, especially during periods of fluctuating temperatures.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources advises drivers not to take vehicles onto the ice during warm-ups or rain events.

The agency says vehicle owners have 30 days to remove a sunken vehicle from a lake. After that, they may face a $400 citation for each additional day it remains in the water.

Agency officials also warn that submerged vehicles can pose environmental risks if fluids leak into the lake and create navigation hazards for others.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.