Police Track GPS Monitor To Make Arrest (Altamonte Springs, FL) -- A man who police say was pretty adamant about not getting caught is now behind bars in Seminole County. Altamonte Springs Police say they tried to arrest Donald Morse at a gas station on SR 436 recently, but he drove off, hit two cars, including a police car, and escaped. Four days later, though, by tracking Morse's GPS monitor from a prior arrest, police found Morse in the same car and took him into custody.
Nineteen Arrested In Prostitution Sting (Daytona Beach, FL) -- Dozens of people are on the Daytona Beach Police Department's naughty list after a sting. Operation Blue Christmas led to at least 50 arrests for prostitution and other offenses Friday and Saturday. The sting also led to the seizure of two guns and some drugs. Those arrested range in age from 18 to 74.
Deadly Crash Christmas Morning (West Melbourne, FL) -- A woman is dead after a Christmas Day crash. It happened early yesterday morning in West Melbourne on I-95 at mile marker 179. FHP says Merritt Island 26-year-old Alexandrea Valente went off the road, hit a couple trees and went down an embankment. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Rep. Hill Files Bill To Protect Confederate Monuments (Tallahassee, FL) -- There's a new effort to protect Confederate monuments, and some may be surprised at who's behind it. District One Republican Mike Hill is the first black state rep in the Panhandle in over a century, and, two weeks ago, he filed a bill that would make it illegal to remove any monument on public land built after 1822. Hill, last week, told the Miami New Times tearing down a Confederate statue won't change anyone's life, and it would only prevent them from learning about history. The next legislative session begins in March.
UPS Driver Arrested For Stealing Packages (Houston, TX) -- A Texas UPS driver is spending his holiday season in trouble with the law after bragging about stealing packages he was supposed to be delivering. Deputies in the Houston area say Gilbert Good was busted after a UPS security manager overheard him telling someone on the phone what he was up to. Good was allegedly ripping off packages while on the job by hiding them in his back seat. The manager says she heard him say he was planning to take more items but an arrest warrant was issued and that put a stop to the crimes. Deputies say he was already a wanted man for aggravated robbery and arrested him at his home.
TODAY IN HISTORY:
2004, the death toll soared to more than 14 thousand in the wake of the most powerful earthquake to strike the planet in four decades. The magnitude 9.0 quake triggered deadly tsunamis across parts of India and Southeast Asia.
2003, a six-point-three magnitude earthquake rocked Southeastern Iran leaving at least 30 thousand people dead and thousands of others homeless.
1996, six-year-old JonBenet Ramsey was found beaten and strangled in the basement of her family's Boulder, Colorado, home.
1982, a computer was honored as "Time" magazine's "Man of the Year."