Mickey Bearden wasn't sure whether or not he had struck something while driving along St. Joe Road on Thursday evening, so he didn't bother to stop, a Florida Highway Patrol report says. Unfortunately for pedestrian Michael Weiss, 41, of Dade City, Bearden, 24, had indeed hit something. Records said Weiss suffered serious injuries and taken to Tampa General Hospital after being hit by Bearden's 2009 two-door Toyota near 23rd Street. After leaving the scene, Bearden was arrested at a gas station near 21st Street, records said. He was charged with leaving the scene of a crash with injuries, but more charges are possible after toxicology tests are completed, the highway patrol said. ...more

October 3, 2008

A Brooksville man accused of crashing a stolen truck into a deputy's patrol car in March was indicted Wednesday on charges of drug and gun trafficking, the U.S. attorney's office said. ...more

October 1, 2008

Polk County detectives found a methamphetamine lab in a Lake Wales hotel room Thursday night, deputies say. ...more

September 26, 2008

Statistics show that cases of reported child abuse were up for the first eight months of 2008 compared to the same time period last year, according to Sheriff's Lt. John Chess, with the sheriff's Special Victims Unit. ...more

September 26, 2008

MANATEE COUNTY - A 74-year-old Manatee County man was sentenced Friday to nearly 20 years in federal prison for his role in a drug trafficking organization. ...more

September 20, 2008

A federal judge sentenced a 74-year-old man to nearly 20 years in prison today for his long involvement in a drug-trafficking organization. ...more

September 19, 2008

Ryan O'Neal and his son were arrested Wednesday morning after drugs were found at the actor's Malibu home during a routine probation check, authorities said. ...more

September 18, 2008

A group of suspected drug users arrested in Denver this weekend with methamphetamine, guns and bulletproof vests made racist threats against Barack Obama but posed no true danger to the presidential candidate as he accepts the Democratic nomination here this week, federal authorities said Tuesday. ...more

August 27, 2008

An Avon Couple remained in the Highlands County Jail on Friday after a sheriff's office raid at their 407 Alton Road home reportedly yielded a 4.5 gram stash of methamphetamine. ...more

August 24, 2008

A man died this morning after the stolen truck he was in crashed into a tree at Old Bartow Road in Winter Haven, the Polk County Sheriff's Office said. ...more

August 11, 2008