One of five teenage girls charged in the beating of another teen was sentenced today to three years of probation after pleading guilty to misdemeanor battery. Circuit Judge Keith Spoto also sentenced Mercades Nichols to 100 hours of community service and ordered that she pay restitution to victim Victoria Lindsay. ...more

March 6, 2009

A teenager accused of brutally raping two Zephyrhills women in 2007 rejected a plea deal Wednesday that would have sent him to prison for 30 years. ...more

March 5, 2009

A teenager accused of brutally raping two Zephyrhills women in 2007 rejected a plea deal today that would have sent him to prison for 30 years. ...more

March 4, 2009

A World War II hero learned today he won't have to go to prison for what likely would be the rest of his life. ...more

March 3, 2009

U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson toured the Sam M. Gibbons Federal Courthouse today and the experience literally left him aghast. The senator was responding to complaints from federal judges and employees who work in the 12-year-old building that shoddy construction has left them with leaking windows and roofs and that mold has taken hold. ...more

February 16, 2009

A well-spoken and assertive Diana O'Neill spent nearly four hours arguing her innocence Friday before a jury found her not guilty of four child abuse charges. ...more

February 14, 2009

One of the most iconic images of American life, that of circus elephants joined trunk-to-tail as they lumber along to delight "children of all ages," as the old saying goes, is about to be debated in a courtroom. ...more

February 4, 2009

A federal judge said today she doesn't have the authority to change slumlord Steven Green's 33-month prison sentence to probation. ...more

January 23, 2009

Jury selection began Monday for the three trials on tap for this week. ...more

January 13, 2009

Ryan O'Neal has pleaded guilty to a felony drug charge. ...more

January 9, 2009