ST. JOHNS COUNTY

Two teenagers got a bull shark from a stranger who caught it in Mayport last week and then they gutted it and stored the dead fish with ice overnight at a friend’s house before hoisting it from the rafters at Ponte Vedra High School as a senior prank, according to an incident report from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission obtained Wednesday by News4JAX.

The iconic St. Augustine Lighthouse tower is undergoing a big facelift.

A dead shark was hung from the rafters of a Florida high school in what appears to be a senior prank. The shark was hung...

A dead shark was found hanging from the rafters above a staircase at a Florida high school, according to district officials.

It’s been nearly a year since the brutal killing of 13-year-old Tristyn Bailey in St. Johns County.

Toward the end of a news conference in Ponte Vedra Beach on Thursday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis commented on the possibility that state lawmakers could move to repeal the 1967 Reedy Creek Improvement Act over Disney’s stated and financial opposition to the recently signed “Parental Rights in Education” bill.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday will hold a news conference at the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office.

A $10 scratch-off game turned into a $2 million payday for an Osceola County man.

In case you missed it, here are the top five stories from the past week at staugustine.com.

The body of a missing 16-year-old boy was located after the teen disappeared when a canoe overturned, authorities said.

An extensive search is underway for a 16-year-old who went missing after their canoe flipped in the St. Johns River.

A challenge to a controversial state law that bans transgender females from participating in girls’ and women’s sports teams has been put on hold while another Florida case plays out in a federal appeals court.

A challenge to a controversial state law that bans transgender females from participating in women's sports is on hold.

Aiden Fucci, the St. Johns County teenager charged with the brutal stabbing death of his schoolmate appeared in court Wednesday.

ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — A multi-county pursuit of a man accused of holding a woman in a car against her will ended on Interstate 95 in southern St. Johns County on Friday afternoon. ‘Nothing more than drug dealers:’ Jacksonville pharmacist accused of illegally filling prescriptionsDeputies tried to stop the car, but the driver took off and eventually entered Flagler County, FHP said. FHP said the suspect lost control of the car on I-95 just north of State Road 207 in St. Johns County and crashed into the grass shoulder. Troopers learned that the woman was asking to get out of the car and the man refused to let her out. The man, a 30-year-old from Jacksonville, was arrested on “numerous charges,” FHP said, and taken to the St. Johns County Jail.

A man led law enforcement on a chase across four counties after he refused to let his girlfriend out of the vehicle, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

A full federal appeals court will hear arguments in February in a battle about whether a transgender male student should have been allowed to use...

Two people died in a plane crash Tuesday at the Northeast Florida Regional Airport, authorities said.

The mother of 14-year-old Aiden Fucci, who is accused of murdering 13-year-old Tristyn Bailey, has been arrested and charged with tampering with evidence, according to an arrest warrant.

A 14-year-old pleads not guilty to murder in the stabbing death of a 13-year-old classmate.

Aiden Fucci, 14, appeared before a judge Friday morning in a virtual first appearance on upgraded charges in the “horrific” murder of 13-year-old Tristyn Bailey.

Aiden Fucci, 14, will face a first-degree murder charge as an adult in the killing of Tristyn Bailey, a 13-year-old Florida girl.

Prosecutors said they have charged 14-year-old Aiden Fucci as an adult on first-degree murder charges in the homicide of his 13-year-old schoolmate, Tristyn Bailey.

The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office says deputies busted six members of an organized theft ring run out of a liquor store in South Daytona.

The St. Johns County School District superintendent says the district plans to make changes to its yearbook editorial process.

You’ve heard of so-called influencers editing their photos with filters, Photoshop and other social media tools. But one Florida high school took images to a new level.

A high school in Florida is sparked outrage this week after news broke that they had edited high school girls' yearbook photos to cover their...

Dozens of female students at the school were surprised to see that their yearbook photos had been digitally edited without their consent to add more clothing.

The beautiful life and tragic death of 13-year-old Tristyn Bailey continues to have an impact on many people, especially in St. Johns County.

The goal of the altered photos appeared to be to make the students’ clothing more modest, with changes that covered up the shoulders and chest areas of female students.

Aiden Fucci, the 14-year-old charged with second-degree murder in the death of 13-year-old schoolmate Tristyn Bailey, will now be represented by the Public Defender’s Office.

Thousands of people gathered on Tuesday to celebrate the life of 13-year-old Tristyn Bailey.

The attorney for Aiden Fucci, the teenager charged with second-degree murder in the death of Tristyn Bailey, has filed a motion to withdraw as counsel.

As the investigation into 13-year-old Tristyn Bailey’s murder continues, social media trolls continue to taunt her family and friends.

Prosecutors are still weighing whether to charge 14-year-old Aiden Fucci as an adult in the death of 13-year-old Tristyn Bailey. Fucci is facing a second-degree murder charge.

News 6 partner WJXT-TV has received hundreds of messages on social media from people reporting posts from users claiming to have been part of the death of Tristyn Bailey.

Investigators said several people on social media are using the case to gain fame and followers.

St. Johns County Sheriff Rob Hardwick describes the killing of 13-year-old Tristyn Bailey as “not an accident” and called her death a “cold-blooded murder.”

A 13-year-old girl was stabbed to death, according to a medical examiner, and her 14-year-old classmate has been charged in her murder.

Aiden Fucci is in custody with the Department of Juvenile Justice.

St. Johns County detectives are reviewing social media posts as part of the investigation into the death of 13-year-old Tristyn Bailey, including a widely-shared photograph showing a teenager in the back seat of a deputy’s cruiser.

ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — A 14-year-old Florida boy is facing a second-degree murder charge after a missing 13-year-old girl was found dead in St. Johns County, according to deputies. Fucci is accused of killing 13-year-old Tristyn Bailey. Bailey’s body was found Sunday night in a wooded area, according to officials. READ: Lightning strike causes chunk of road to fly through windshield, injuring 2So far, her cause of death has not been released. UPDATE REGARDING THE TRISTYN BAILEY INVESTIGATION: Posted by St. Johns County Sheriff's Office on Monday, May 10, 2021

St. Johns County Sheriff Robert Hardwick announces that the body found in the woods near Durbin Crossing is that of Tristyn Baily.

A Florida missing child alert has been issued for 13-year-old Tristyn Bailey of St. Johns, according to the St Johns County Sheriff’s Office.

A tractor-trailer carrying a load of beer cans and bottles was badly damaged Thursday morning in a crash on I-95 near mile marker 305 in St. Johns County. The St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office confirmed no one was injured in the crash on I-95 south, but a lot of beer was spilled. 🚨TRAFFIC ALERT🚨Two southbound lanes on I95 are closed due to a crash at Mile Marker 305 (near the Marineland Exit). FHP is on scene & handling the crash. There is dense fog this morning so please drive w/ caution as first responders/utility workers work to clear the scene.

VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – Deputies in Volusia County said they have received multiple fake “swatting” calls in the last week. Swatting might be similar to the prank calls you might have made as a child but the difference is this prank call can put people’s life at risk, according to authorities. According to the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office, a fake swatting call was made around 10 p.m. Wednesday night. One man was even killed by police in his Kansas home after becoming the victim of a swatting prank in December 2017. Swatting found its way into the public eye after celebrities like Ashton Kutcher, Justin Bieber and Kim Kardashian fell victim to similar swatting attacks.

Vilano Beach, Fla – The Clearwater Marine Aquarium said Tuesday that the first right whale calves of the season have been spotted off the coasts of Florida and Georgia. She knew in that moment it was a North Atlantic right whale calf. The second live right whale calf of the season was spotted (swimming with a pod of bottlenose dolphins) off Vilano Beach, FL by FWC December 6. (Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute)The right whale is a federally protected endangered species under the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Researchers estimate there are less than 400 North Atlantic right whales left in the population, with fewer than 100 breeding females left.

The Florida Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld the first-degree murder convictions and death sentences of a St. Johns County man accused in 2015 of fatally shooting his estranged wife and one of her friends. Justices unanimously rejected an appeal by James Terry Colley, Jr., who was convicted of killing his estranged wife, Amanda Cloaninger Colley, as she tried to hide from him in a bathroom of her home. He also was convicted of murdering Lindy Dobbins, who was hiding behind a chest in a closet when she was shot, according to the Supreme Court opinion. Colley, now 40, was also convicted of attempted-murder charges related to two other people who escaped from the home. But the Supreme Court rejected that argument.

The state–and counties–in other words, artificially keep the unemployment rate lower than it is. The federal government’s U-6, or alternative, unemployment rate, accounts for some of that discrepancy, and is therefore a more accurate picture of the true unemployment rate. The caveat: The state’s labor department on Friday reported Florida’s third-quarter jobless average at 8.6 percent. The 12-week limit is in effect as long as the unemployment rate is below 5 percent. The unemployment rate also stalled in Volusia County, holding at 5.9 percent in October, and in St. Johns County, where it dropped by a decimal point.

All rights reserved)TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida’s unemployment rate dropped 0.7 percentage point to 6.5% in October, according to statistics released by the state on Friday. The jobless rate was 3.6 percentage points higher than October 2019. [TRENDING: Gov: Vaccine coming to Florida ‘relatively soon’ | CDC: Avoid Thanksgiving travel | Georgia presidential race recount results]The state's unemployment rate was slightly lower than the national rate of 6.9%. Wakulla County had the state's lowest unemployment at 3.5%, followed by St. Johns County at 3.7% and Santa Rosa and Okaloosa counties at 3.8%. Osceola County had the highest unemployment rate at 10.4%, followed by Miami-Dade County at 8.8% and Orange County at 8.5%.

Thousands of beachgoers flocked to the shores of St. Johns and Flagler counties during Memorial Day weekend. FLAGLER BEACH Thousands of beachgoers flocked to the shores of St. Johns and Flagler counties during Memorial Day weekend. Memorial Day is already a big holiday weekend anyway, Flagler Beach Police Chief Matt Doughney said. Its definitely busier than a normal weekend, but then again we had bigger than regular weekend crowds, he said. More deputies were on the roads in St. Johns County as well looking for drunk drivers.

Mullins asked Sheriff Rick Staly to fix a ticket for hima speeding ticket Mullins got in St. Johns County. He didnt ask for one for this stop, Staly said in an interview this afternoon, referring to the May 11 stop. At the time of Mullinss speeding ticket in St. Johns County, Staly had been elected just weeks earlier. Mullins, Staly recalled, asked him if he knew St. Johns County Sheriff David Shoar. The sheriff had taken note of Mullins invoking both hisMullinssname immediately after the traffic stop interaction began, then Stalys name.

TAVARES The Lake County Board of County Commissioners is being sued for a Sunshine Law violation by residents organized against bringing a confederate statue to Lake County. The Lake County Voices of Reason, formed in direct opposition to a local effort to bring the statue of Confederate Gen. Edmund Kirby-Smith to the Lake County Historical Museum, filed the lawsuit last week alleging that commissioners discussed the matter outside of meetings. The County Commission used a flawed process to approve the installation of the General Kirby-Smith statue, Voices of Reason President Cassandra Brown said in a release sent to media. The plaintiff alleges the defendants discussed the confederate statue outside public meetings before voting on July 30, 2019, thereby violating the purpose of the Sunshine Law, the statement from the Voices of Reason said. Only Commissioners Sean Parks and Wendy Breeden opposed the statue, citing issues with the process of bringing the statue to Lake and with the costs of doing so.

Two Kissimmee teens led authorities on a high-speed chase down Interstate 95 in a stolen vehicle Thursday afternoon. The chase, which reached speeds as high as 120 mph, started in St. Johns County and spilled south into Flagler and Volusia, according to a news release from the Flagler County Sheriffs Office. He remained held at the Volusia County Branch Jail without bond Friday afternoon on detainers for both St. Johns and Flagler counties. Volusia County deputies intercepted the car when it entered their county. Volusia deputies found a handgun in the wooded area where the men men were hiding.

Government officials in Volusia, Flagler and St. Johns counties began announcing preparations for COVID-19 around March 1. Six days later, St. Johns County encountered its initial case. Unlike Volusia and St. Johns, Flagler County has not released any inmates to mitigate the spread of coronavirus inside the jail. St. JohnsWhile grappling with the effects of coronavirus, St. Johns County deputies have also had to deal with three violent incidents over the past six weeks. A Pennsylvania man in a stolen pickup fired a shotgun at a St. Johns County deputy.

In the past 24 hours in Florida, cases are up 5 percent and deaths are up 8 percent. Florida reported 24,119 total positive cases on Friday, and the number of deaths increased to 699, up 53 from Thursday morning's numbers. On Twitter, the city also clarified : "When Duval County beaches & parks open today from 5pm to 8pm it is for exercise only - No chairs, coolers, sunbathing, or towels/blankets laid out to sit on. "Activities now permitted on St. Johns County Beaches include walking, running, exercise, surfing, biking, fishing, swimming, surfing, and other uses that require physical activity," said the city in a statement . Ron DeSantis.Only time will tell if the Sunshine State's beaches become the best new places to catch a little 'rona with your rays.

And away from the bars, the only arrests made of people violating the safer-at-home or social distancing rules are those of people accused in other crimes, officials said. One place thats allowed is the beaches, as long as social distancing guidelines are adhered-to. DeSantis "safer-at-home" order specifically exempts church services, and Mascara said that raises "a lot of questions about what we can and cant do" when it comes to funerals. Flagler County coronavirus cases have remained low and a trend shows its plateaued, said Staly, crediting the county's residents compliance with the safer-at-home and social distancing rules. Deputies also passed out fliers explaining the rules of quarantine and social distancing, Staly said.

Flagler was one of 15 Florida counties that made the top-100 fastest growing counties in the nation. There are 3,142 counties and county equivalents in the United States, according to the Census Bureaus so-called Vintage 2019 figures. But the starker trend is the demographic make-up behind those numbers: Flagler County has gotten sharply older in the past decade, with implications for local health care, social services, schools, even politics. Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly and the countys fire services have been pointing out that calls for service, medical service among them, have been increasing rapidly. Flagler County is also getting somewhat more white and more Hispanic, with blacks diminishing.

The latest numbers from the Florida Department of Health show a new case of coronavirus in Volusia County and 830 total in the state. Another new coronavirus case has been confirmed in Volusia County and the states total has reached 830, the Florida Department of Health reported Sunday morning. Of Volusias 12 confirmed cases, nine are women and three are men. In Volusia County, there have been 84 total tests. In St. Johns County, there have been 216 total tests, with 27 still pending and 177 negative results.

The number of coronavirus cases across Florida has nearly doubled since Monday, bringing the total to 314, according to the State Department of Health. On Monday night, Florida reported 160 confirmed cases statewide, and by Tuesday night, the state reported 216 confirmed cases. No other information about the two St. Johns County cases was available at 11 a.m. Wednesday. Meanwhile, Broward County cases rose from 43 to 73; Miami-Dade County cases more than doubled from 32 to 76; and Palm Beach County cases more than doubled from 9 to 19. If you develop symptoms, immediately self-isolate and contact your county health department or health care provider.

The number of coronavirus cases across Florida has nearly doubled since Monday, bringing the total to 314, according to the State Department of Health. On Monday night, Florida reported 160 confirmed cases statewide, and by Tuesday night, the state reported 216 confirmed cases. No other information about the two St. Johns County cases was available at 11 a.m. Wednesday. Meanwhile, Broward County cases rose from 43 to 73; Miami-Dade County cases more than doubled from 32 to 76; and Palm Beach County cases more than doubled from 9 to 19. If you develop symptoms, immediately self-isolate and contact your county health department or health care provider.

Bryan made a little history this evening as well, becoming the first black resident to win election to the Flagler Beach panel, in a city that is nearly 97 percent white. Marshall Shupe, who had first been elected in 2011 and had won re-election twice since, lost his Flagler Beach commission seat, pulling in the fewest number of votes out of four candidates. The Flagler Beach commission will have two new members, as Commissioner Kim Carney opted not to defend her seat but run for a county commission seat instead. I think the two people who won, Ill be able to work with both of them well, Flagler Beach Commissioner Jane Mealy, the longest-serving on the panel, said this evening. Unquestionably, his prominent role in the leadership of a group called Preserve Flagler Beach and Bulow Creek, established specifically to counter the planned Gardens development along John Anderson Highway, was a propelling force.

The St. Johns County Sheriffs Office has identified the man shot and killed by deputies Wednesday afternoon. Noles led deputies on a daring high-speed chase Wednesday afternoon that began in Flagler Beach before spilling into St. Johns County. Flagler County Sheriffs Office dispatch records indicate he ran a motorcycle off the road at one point as he evaded Flagler authorities. Flagler deputies notified St. Johns County Sheriffs Office that the pickup was just involved in a hit-and-run, aggressively fled officers and was heading into their territory. St. Johns County deputies spotted the vehicle crossing the State Road 206 bridge.

The Flagler County School Board this afternoon chose Cathy Mittelstadt, the assistant school superintendent in St. Johns County, to be the districts next superintendent, starting July 1 in place of Jim Tager, who will end a three-year tenure. And Trevor Tucker provided the third vote, though hed have been happy with either Orndorff or Mittelstadt, he said later. School Board Chairman Janet McDonald dissented. (The board also voted 4-0 to authorize the board attorney to enter into negotiations with Mittelstadt.) (I was not involved in that decision to bring them all in, Kristy Gavin, the school board attorney, said.)

In St. Johns County, where President Donald Trump won in 2016 with 64% of the vote, Republicans have been dominant, bucking the statewide pattern. St. Johns County Republicans picked up 217 more registered, active voters than Democrats since the 2018 election. Republicans in St. Johns have nearly 54% of the registered voters. As of Friday, there were 103,325 registered Republicans, 49,317 registered Democrats and 43,761 registered with no party affiliation. And there is another concern for Democrats: voters not registered with a political party, listed on voter rolls as no party affiliation.

The Flagler County School Board on March 5 interviewed four superintendent candidates in its search for a replacement for Jim Tager. You may send your comments to school board members in the email box provided in the body of the article. She works with seven principals there, aware of each schools school improvement plan, the schools student engagement level, and so on. She complimented the Flagler district for its relatively new teaching academy, set up as one of the districts flagship programs. Mittelstadts comments had special interest for the Flagler board, which has been wrestling with the same issues.

The land preservation effort is aimed at helping protect the Wakulla Springs basin south of Tallahassee. The land preservation effort is aimed at helping protect the Wakulla Springs basin south of Tallahassee. The property connects Apalachicola National Forest with the Edward Ball Wakulla Springs State Park. This is a big win for Florida and Wakulla Springs, Conservation Florida Executive Director Traci Deen said in a prepared statement. The land, within the Northeast Florida Blueway Florida Forever project, is one of the last remaining undeveloped waterfront properties in St. Augustine.

St. Johns County solar facility just part of FPLs transition to renewable energyFlorida Power & Lights plans for the expansion of its solar program are clearly ambitious. The Record recently took a tour of the FPL solar farm in Putnam County, which will look and operate almost identically to the one in St. Johns County. FPL already operates 18 major solar energy plants and more than 200 smaller installations across Florida. On top of that foundation sit brackets that form a racking system on which the actual solar panels will be hung. An emerging marketWhile solar power has been around for decades, its still an emerging market, particularly in the public sector.

St. Johns County solar facility just part of FPLs transition to renewable energyFlorida Power & Lights plans for the expansion of its solar program are clearly ambitious. The Record recently took a tour of the FPL solar farm in Putnam County, which will look and operate almost identically to the one in St. Johns County. FPL already operates 18 major solar energy plants and more than 200 smaller installations across Florida. On top of that foundation sit brackets that form a racking system on which the actual solar panels will be hung. An emerging marketWhile solar power has been around for decades, its still an emerging market, particularly in the public sector.

St. Johns County solar facility just part of FPLs transition to renewable energyFlorida Power & Lights plans for the expansion of its solar program are clearly ambitious. The Record recently took a tour of the FPL solar farm in Putnam County, which will look and operate almost identically to the one in St. Johns County. FPL already operates 18 major solar energy plants and more than 200 smaller installations across Florida. On top of that foundation sit brackets that form a racking system on which the actual solar panels will be hung. An emerging marketWhile solar power has been around for decades, its still an emerging market, particularly in the public sector.

St. Johns County solar facility just part of FPLs transition to renewable energyFlorida Power & Lights plans for the expansion of its solar program are clearly ambitious. The Record recently took a tour of the FPL solar farm in Putnam County, which will look and operate almost identically to the one in St. Johns County. FPL already operates 18 major solar energy plants and more than 200 smaller installations across Florida. On top of that foundation sit brackets that form a racking system on which the actual solar panels will be hung. An emerging marketWhile solar power has been around for decades, its still an emerging market, particularly in the public sector.

Joy McClure had been extremely distraught, according to investigators, since she lost her son Cory McClure, 25, to suicide last January in Palm Coast. Around noon today, what investigators believe to be Joy McClure was found dead of an apparent suicide in the woods around the K-Section, after going missing more than a week. The Flagler County Sheriffs Office publicly reported McClure missing on Saturday. But the whole regions handlers of such dogs were getting training in Georgia, so the sheriffs office had to seek one from Brevard. The remains are consistent with those of Joy McClure, a sheriffs spokesperson said in an email, echoing the text of an update to the sheriffs Facebook page.

For the first time in two years, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will be dredging a portion of the Intracoastal Waterway near the Matanzas Inlet. For the first time in two years, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will be dredging a portion of the Intracoastal Waterway near the Matanzas Inlet. Its a significant project, Brawley said. Once started, the Corps anticipates dredging operations will continue 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Work consists of maintenance dredging to the authorized project depth of 12-feet plus 2-feet of allowable overdepth, according to the Corps.

Parrish Farms would include 3,700 homes; calls for new I-95 interchange south of St. Augustine. What events have shown, and what Chris Shee believes will continue, is the continued residential growth of St. Johns County is inevitable. Thats why when it comes to thousands of acres near the Interstate 95-State Road 207 interchange, Shee felt he ought to be the one who will shape the future growth. I really wanted to bring a quality development to the south end of the county, Shee said. Also, the preliminary plan allows for Watson Road to extend all the way to County Road 305, which will eventually be part of the north-south corridor County Road 2209.