VOLUSIA SHERIFF

The counselor will help route certain 911 calls to mental health care providers instead of law enforcement.

Lake County is working to better protect its waterways, and that could mean moving away from using septic tanks.

Deputies in Volusia County search for a missing 15-year-old girl who disappeared from her home in Deltona.

Volusia Sheriff’s Office deputies are looking for “a violent sexual predator” from DeLand, a statement said Thursday.

Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood was searching for a way to find better recruits and make better cops so he created the first police academy in Central Florida to be entirely run by a local sheriff’s office.

OAK HILL, Fla. — An Oak Hill woman tossed a crate containing a cat into the Intracoastal Waterway on Thursday evening after she and her ex-boyfriend got into an argument about him not moving out of their recreational vehicle fast enough, the Volusia Sheriff’s Office said. Investigators said the ex-boyfriend jumped into the water to rescue the cat, who he estimated was submerged for about 20 seconds. Thistle denied the allegations but was booked into the Volusia County Branch Jail on charges of animal cruelty. See a map of the area below:Stanley the cat An Oak Hill woman tossed a crate containing a cat into the Intracoastal Waterway on Thursday evening after she and her ex-boyfriend got into an argument about him not moving out of their RV fast enough, the Volusia Sheriff’s Office said. (Volusia Sheriff’s Office)©2021 Cox Media Group

Joseph Bruce (suspect) A 33-year-old Holly Hill man who serves as a board member at a remote-control car racing organization was arrested Tuesday evening after molesting a 14-year-old girl at a remote-control-car race track near Daytona Beach, the Volusia Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday. (Volusia Sheriff’s Office)VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — A 33-year-old Holly Hill man who serves as a board member at a remote-control car racing organization was arrested Tuesday evening after molesting a 14-year-old girl at a remote-control car race track near Daytona Beach, the Volusia Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday. Detectives said the victim’s parents on Friday discovered sexually explicit text messages on their daughter’s cellphone from Joseph Bruce, who performs track maintenance and car repairs. Investigators said Bruce began texting the victim about sex earlier this month, and within days, he had sexually abused the girl in a trailer at the track. Anyone who might have been a victim or who has information to provide is asked to call the Sheriff’s Office at 386-323-3574.

ORLANDO, Fla. — A 55-year-old man followed a 34-year-old man home and threatened to kill him and his family while calling them racial slurs late Thursday in Deltona, the Volusia Sheriff’s Office said. Investigators said a 34-year-old man was driving home shortly after 11:15 p.m. when he got into a dispute with another driver, Michael T. Parkinson, over merging. They said he used slurs to describe the victim while describing the confrontation. Read: Deputies: Man charged with hate crime after pointing gun, yelling racial slurs at Black familyInvestigators said they last filed this type of enhanced charge last month in a racially motivated assault on a family driving through DeLand. “We are not going to tolerate this kind of behavior in Volusia County,” Sheriff Mike Chitwood said in a prepared statement.

A man was found shot to death Sunday morning in Deltona, according to the Volusia Sheriff’s Office.

VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – UPDATE: Deputies said Anaya Granger returned home Friday afternoon. Original story below:Deputies in Volusia County are asking for the public’s help as they search for a missing teen. According to the Volusia Sheriff’s Office, 14-year-old girl Anaya Granger left her home in Deltona early Wednesday and has not returned. “Granger later sent a text message to her family indicating she’s fine, but she still hasn’t returned home or let anyone know where she is,” investigators said. Anyone with information about Granger is asked to call the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office at 386-248-1777.

FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. – A man has been arrested on allegations he pointed a laser at the Volusia Sheriff’s Office Air One helicopter. Wednesday’s arrest marked the second time this week a man was arrested for pointing a laser at the helicopter. In Florida, shining a laser beam at a pilot in flight is a felony. Reminder: Pointing a laser at a pilot in flight is a felony, as Ryan Hutton, 29, found out yesterday. pic.twitter.com/c0y9hOvMQN — Volusia Sheriff (@VolusiaSheriff) September 23, 2020[READ MORE: Florida man arrested after shining laser at Volusia County Sheriff’s helicopter]

EDGEWATER, Fla. – An Edgewater man accused of pointing a laser at the Volusia Sheriff’s Office Air One helicopter is now facing a felony charge. The pilot told investigators this blinded him for around three to five minutes, describing the incident like having a flashbulb going off in front of his eye, according to a Volusia County Sheriff’s Office report. [ARREST VIDEO: Edgewater man temporarily blinds Volusia County pilot with laser, deputies say]Once the vessel was docked, officers got three men out of the boat. In the arrest video, Hutton told them he had a green laser pointer and is heard telling authorities he thought the helicopter was a drone. Hutton was taken to the Volusia County Branch Jail, where he posted a $5,000 bond.

VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – Update 1:52 p.m.Marjorie Lawson Byron was found safe in DeBary, officials said. Original StoryThe Volusia Sheriff’s Office is asking for the publics’ help as they try to locate a missing 82-year-old DeBary woman. According to officials, Marjorie Lawson Byron was last seen at her home on Seminole Drive late Saturday night. Deputies said Byron is about 5′2″ with grey/white hair and a thin build. Byron experiences memory loss and may not be able to answer questions,” deputies said.

Operation Deal Breaker was conducted by the Volusia Sheriff's Office and it covered areas of West Volusia. More arrests are expected because the Sheriff's Office is planning more stings, Sheriff Mike Chitwood said. Operation Deal Breaker targeted several areas where the Sheriffs Office has received complaints about an abundance of drug activity, agency spokesman Andrew Gant said. Earlier this week, the Daytona Beach Police Department announced it had identified 41 suspected drug dealers during a five-month operation. The Sheriff's Office's operation resulted in arrest warrants for a long list of suspects identified through a series of undercover drug purchases in West Volusia, Gant said.