Author: Broward County Public Schools

The judge kept her composure. The defendant? Not so much. A routine first-appearance court hearing Thursday turned into something else when a Deerfield Beach man angrily toppled the podium in front of him — apparently unhappy about the bonds that were set by Broward Judge Jackie Powell. On courtroom video, Bradley Quimbley, 32, his handcuffed wrists resting on the wooden podium in front of him, could be seen reacting to the judge’s decisions by grimacing and speaking. His words... Read More

Two lifeguard towers stand side by side on Hollywood beach, one old and one new. The battered wooden shack with faded yellow paint has weathered the elements for a quarter of a century. Just a few steps to the north sits the new arrival, a sign of things to come. By the end of the year, 21 stylish new towers will dot the beach. The new lifeguard stand at Liberty Street arrived two weeks ago. Its twin sits several blocks to the south at Azalea Terrace. Soon they’ll be painted a spiffy blue... Read More

A dispute between two drivers on Interstate 95 raged from Boca Raton to Pompano Beach on Thursday morning — and ended with three bullets fired into the tailgate and bumper of a pickup truck, the Florida Highway Patrol said. The truck’s driver was not hurt when the bullets hit his 1997 Dodge pickup at the Atlantic Boulevard exit at about 7:14 a.m., said Lt. Al Feola, FHP spokesman. The suspected shooter, driving a 2004 four-door Toyota, was arrested about noon, after Broward sheriff’s... Read More

An Oklahoma man returned to a jail cell in Fort Lauderdale on Thursday evening after waiting for a jury to decide whether he is guilty of a murder that took place just over 10 years ago. James Gentry, 40, told the jury this week that he had nothing to do with the murder of Ralph Apuzzo, 64. The culprit, Gentry said, was his own brother, Tim Gentry, who’s now serving a 10-year sentence for second-degree murder after pleading no contest in the same case. The jury heard from both brothers,... Read More

Alleged sex videos of New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft won’t be released — at least not yet. Kraft, 77, a billionaire who lives in Massachusetts and has a home in Palm Beach, was recently ensnared in a prostitution investigation at the Orchids of Asia massage parlor. It’s where Jupiter police say they used hidden cameras to record dozens of men taking off their clothes and receiving sexual services. Kraft, who this week pleaded not guilty to soliciting prostitution, is accused... Read More

Fort Lauderdale has much to fix, but also much to brag about, Mayor Dean Trantalis said Thursday in his first State of the City Address. The city has taken on a host of big-city issues in the past year, he said: broken sewer pipes, the “raiding” of money from the sewer fund to prop up the budget, homelessness, lack of affordable housing, traffic congestion and high tide flooding because of climate change. (“We do say those words here in Fort Lauderdale,” he said.) The city can’t... Read More

Bass Bros. Supermarket sits on a corner in Fort Lauderdale’s black community described as the “Main Street and First” of the area by a lawyer-lobbyist representing developer Eyal Peretz. Peretz plans to close down that market to build a multi-retail office space and parking garage, potentially leaving residents without a source of fresh groceries in an area already labeled a “food desert,” which the U.S. Department of Agriculture defines as a low-income urban or suburban area in... Read More

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft has pleaded not guilty to soliciting prostitution, just days after Jupiter police identified him as one of two dozen men caught on camera engaging in sex acts at an illicit massage parlor. Kraft, 77, a billionaire who lives in Massachusetts and has a home in Palm Beach, is requesting a non-jury trial to address two misdemeanor counts, according to recently released court documents. The paperwork was filed Tuesday by Kraft’s attorney, Jack... Read More