10

AVON PARK -- An Avon Park man who was found asleep in a car on the side of the road on Friday woke up in a heap of trouble. Deputies were called to check on a “scruffy looking” man sitting in a silver Toyota SUV off Falcon Road around 8:30 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 7. When Sgt. Amanda Dettman arrived, she found 36-year-old Jimmy Ray Jackson asleep inside the vehicle, which was running and in drive. He was wearing gloves and there was a flashlight and a screwdriver on the seat next to him, and the

September

2018

07

SEBRING -- Sheriff Paul Blackman today announced the arrest of a major methamphetamine dealer in Highlands County, the culmination of a months-long investigation that involved multiple agencies. The investigation led to the arrest of 28-year-old Jackson Payne Sloan Jr. of Sebring, a 10-time convicted felon who has been in state prison twice for selling marijuana as well as burglary and grand theft. He is now facing the following charges: 1 count of trafficking in more than 200 grams of

September

2018

31

SEBRING -- Lace Melitta Heflin, 39, was sentenced to life in prison on Thursday, Aug. 30 for the 2016 murder and robbery of 95-year-old Dominick Demundo. Demundo’s body was discovered on Sept. 19, 2016 after a friend went to the home on Wellington Drive in Sebring and could not get Demundo to answer the door. He had been brutally attacked with a knife and his wallet was lying next to him on the floor of the kitchen. Highlands County Sheriff’s Office detectives soon discovered several financial

August

2018

23

SEBRING -- Highlands County Sheriff’s Office detectives got more than they bargained for when investigating a stabbing that occurred early Wednesday, Aug. 22. In addition to arresting one of the stabbing suspects, they also took five more people to jail. Deputies responded to Sunrise Mini Storage at 6414 U.S. 27 South in Sebring just after 4 a.m. after a report of a stabbing. The victim had suffered multiple wounds to his head that were not life-threatening. Both the victim and a witness said

August

2018

01

The Highlands County Sheriff’s Office began promoting the 9 p.m. Routine in August of 2017. One year later, it seems to be working. A comparison of vehicle burglaries from Aug. 15, 2016 to July 31, 2017 (the year before the 9 p.m. Routine began locally) with the same time frame in 2017-18 shows a decrease in vehicle burglaries from 517 to 318 -- a 38.5 percent drop after the 9 p.m. Routine posts began. “The 9 p.m. Routine has been successful, but it is just part of what has led to the decrease

August

2018