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Tag: Pompano Beach

  • Police: Girl, 14, was with 4 teenage boys, man during carjacking, chase, fatal crash in Broward

    Police: Girl, 14, was with 4 teenage boys, man during carjacking, chase, fatal crash in Broward

    FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Detectives believe a troubled 14-year-old girl lured a 25-year-old man to a carjacking that devolved into a deadly crime spree in Broward County.

    Juvenile transcripts identified the girl as Serenity Anivin, who is also known as “Sasha” and turns 15 in July. The Margate Police Department had reported her “missing” in 2022. And after she returned months later, she vanished from Margate again in 2023.

    The juvenile transcripts also listed Serenity’s five co-defendants in the new Broward County case against her as 16-year-old Justin Edmond; three 17-1-old boys; and Cody Clark, who turned 20 in December.

    “All collaborated and worked together as a group,” Hallandale Beach Officer Jonathan Rodriguez wrote about Serenity and her five co-defendants, according to juvenile transcripts in the case.

    Justin and the three other teens, Jamari Peacock, Jermaine Walker, and Cameran Wright, appeared in bond court on Friday. Records show they are facing charges as adults for their alleged crime spree in May.

    This Margate Police Department photograph shows Serenity Anivin when she vanished in 2022. She was also the subject of a missing child alert in 2023 and this year is a co-defendant in a felony case. Prosecutors are charging teens as adults after a man was injured and a woman died during a crime spree. (MPD, BSO, HBPD records)

    Records show the group’s first victim, Rider Prospère, told police officers that he was in his gray 2016 Dodge Charger when he met with Serenity — who was “referred by a friend” — at 10:15 p.m., on May 11, at 320 NW 4 St., in Hallandale Beach.

    “The victim met the co-defendant approximately a week ago,” Rodriguez wrote.

    Records show Prospère reported Serenity was already in the passenger seat of the 2016 Dodge Charger when the violent armed group interrupted abruptly and forcefully pulled him out of the driver’s seat.

    “He was kicked and struck with the butt of multiple firearms in his face,” Rodriguez wrote.

    The five allegedly forced Prospère to take off his clothes and snatched his chain — before fleeing with Serenity in his Dodge Charger. According to Rodriguez, Prospère told police officers he was “in fear for his life.”

    Hallandale Beach police officers reported ordering the driver of the stolen Dodge Charger to stop at Ansin Boulevard. The driver sped away on Hallandale Beach Boulevard and got on Interstate 95 northbound.

    “The vehicle reached felony speeds until it exited on I-95 at Copans Road,” Rodriguez wrote.

    Broward Sheriff’s Office deputies also followed. According to Claudinne Caro, a BSO spokeswoman, the chase ended with a crash. The crime spree’s second victim was Patricia Ann Schmelz, who was driving a 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe.

    “After running the red light, the Dodge Charger proceeded into the path of the Hyundai, causing the Hyundai to collide with the driver’s side of the Dodge Charger in a T-bone style collision,” Caro wrote in a statement.

    Pompano Beach Fire Rescue personnel responded and took the injured to the hospital where Schmelz, of Margate, was pronounced dead. She was 68. Deputies found five firearms in the Dodge Charger after the crash.

    “The defendant and codefendants were placed into custody,” Rodriguez wrote adding, “five firearms were located in the [Dodge].”

    BSO inmate records show Hallandale Beach police officers arrested Clark, Serenity’s only adult co-defendant, on May 11 and he remained at the Broward County main jail on Friday in Fort Lauderdale.

    Inmate records also show BSO deputies arrested Serenity’s other four co-defendants — Justin, Jamari, Jermaine, and Cameran — on Thursday, and they were at the Paul Rein Detention Facility on Friday in Pompano Beach.

    Jamari, Jermaine, and Cameran are each facing charges of carjacking with a firearm, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, and under 18 years old unlawfully possessing a firearm. A judge set their bond at $210,000 and ordered them to surrender their passports.

    Records show Justin is facing 28 charges: Carjacking with a firearm, 12 counts of aggravated fleeing or eluding with serious bodily injury or death, aggravated battery, vehicular homicide, four counts of causing death or serious injury while driving without a valid driver’s license, three counts of reckless driving causing serious bodily injury, four counts of reckless driving causing damage to a person or property, under 18 years old unlawfully possessing a firearm, and possession of marijuana.

    Records show BSO correctional deputies held Justin without bond after a judge denied him bail on the charges of carjacking with a firearm, aggravated battery, and vehicular homicide. The same judge set his bond for the other 25 charges at $530,000.

    Serenity was not in the BSO inmate database on Friday night.

    Copyright 2024 by WPLG Local10.com – All rights reserved.

    Andrea Torres

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  • Broward felon associated with school accused of vandalizing ex-girlfriend’s house

    Broward felon associated with school accused of vandalizing ex-girlfriend’s house

    POMPANO BEACH, Fla. – After Valentine’s Day this year, a 26-year-old Pompano Beach felon’s record got longer.

    Deshaun “Versace” Robinson — who was associated with a private school — was allegedly in a vicious romantic conflict that resulted in vandalism.

    According to Broward Sheriff’s Office records, surveillance video shows Robinson used his left hand to break a house’s window on Feb. 21, and fixing it cost his ex-girlfriend about $1,700.

    “He willfully and maliciously damaged personal property,” BSO Deputy Timothy S. Butts wrote in his April 16 arrest report, which listed Robinson’s place of employment as the Premier Academy, a faith-based virtual school based in Coconut Creek that filed for dissolution on March 27, 2023.

    Broward prosecutors filed the new felony case against Robinson on May 3. Broward County Circuit Judge George Odom Jr. signed an arrest warrant. Deputies served it on Thursday and he appeared in court Friday.

    According to the Florida Department of Corrections, Robinson has four convictions. He was in prison from March 29, 2018, to Oct. 1, 2018, and from July 26, 2021 to Sept. 10, 2023.

    There were four arrests in Broward County when he was 18.

    There was a traffic case on May 13, 2016. He was accused of grand theft on May 22, 2016; robbery, burglary, and grand theft on Oct. 31, 2016; and burglary and grand theft on Nov. 28, 2016.

    At 22, deputies arrested him for battery on Oct. 12, 2020, and Oct. 13, 2020. Prosecutors filed the related court cases on Oct. 15, 2020, and Nov. 17, 2020.

    Both Broward cases were dropped when he was 23.

    In 2021, records show Robinson was convicted and sentenced for four 2016 offenses: Grand theft of a motor vehicle, robbery, burglary, and grand theft. About eight months after his corrections’ release, he was facing the new charge of criminal mischief with damage of over $1,000, a third-degree felony.

    Robinson’s employment status or reported association with the former Premier Academy was unclear Friday. While many felony offenses can disqualify a person from working in Florida public schools, the state’s requirements for private schools are not as strict. There are higher requirements for private school owners than for employees or volunteers.

    Related record section

    Broward County court (.)

    Local 10 News Assignment Desk Editor Kelly Davis contributed to this report.

    Copyright 2024 by WPLG Local10.com – All rights reserved.

    Andrea Torres

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  • Reports of fatal crash shuts down Florida Turnpike’s northbound lanes in Broward

    Reports of fatal crash shuts down Florida Turnpike’s northbound lanes in Broward

    POMPANO BEACH, Fla. – Reports of a fatal crash involving a pedestrian shut down northbound lanes of the Florida Turnpike in Pompano Beach Wednesday morning.

    Authorities responded to reports of a car crashing into a pedestrian in the area, killing them.

    A Local 10 News crew was at the scene of the Turnpike’s Coconut Creek Parkway exit in Pompano Beach where a yellow tarp was placed over the victim’s body as authorities continued to investigate.

    Coconut Creek Parkway’s ramp toward the turnpike was also closed.

    Police officers in the area were focusing on a white truck that was pulled over on the side of the road.

    Authorities have not released any information on the victim involved in the crash and it is unclear if any arrests have been made at this time.

    Drivers are being urged to avoid the area or use Interstate 95 at this time if they are looking to head northbound.

    The cause of the crash is under investigation.

    This is a developing story. Viewers are encouraged to watch Local 10 News at 9 a.m. or refresh the page for the latest updates.

    Copyright 2024 by WPLG Local10.com – All rights reserved.

    Joseph Ojo

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  • South Florida Experts Weigh In With 2023 Regional Real Estate Forecasts

    South Florida Experts Weigh In With 2023 Regional Real Estate Forecasts

    Office building owners have it tough nationwide, but in South Florida the migration of companies to the Sunshine State coupled with limited trophy office supply should send rents higher. Limited land for new beachfront projects in Miami-Dade County will propel developers north to Fort Lauderdale and vicinity. And the countries of origin acquiring South Florida real estate will continue diversifying beyond South America.

    These are among many prognostications served up by South Florida-based real estate experts this month as they consider the impact of the pandemic-era boom in the South Florida real estate market and what it may signal for the post-pandemic years.

    Trophy office

    Vacancy rates on trophy office properties in South Florida will drop beneath 5%, predicts Tere Blanca, founder, chairman and CEO of Blanca Commercial Real Estate, Inc. That should trigger local rent growth to continue outpacing national rent growth.

    “The demand from companies migrating to South Florida coupled with limited trophy office supply in the near future will push trophy office rents to levels seen only in select buildings across the United States,” Blanca asserts. But she adds the positive news must be leavened by the realization South Florida needs many units of affordable and workforce housing to establish a base for future growth across the region.

    Population engine

    Craig Studnicky, CEO of ISG World, says South Florida’s single-family home market in 2023 will look much like it has in 2022.

    “The engine currently driving everything is population growth; Florida is one of the fastest-growing states in the U.S.,” Studnicky says, noting while newcomers want to buy now, pre-construction-phase condos are years away from being delivered. Hurricane Ian’s drain on labor will likely delay them even further.

    “Despite rising mortgage rates, there is no way for [home] prices to come down; This is due to the population continuing to grow at a large, quick rate,” Studnicky says, noting it’s as simple as too many people vying for a limited supply of homes. However, a bit of relief may come to the tight rental market. There, the people who moved to Florida and rented for a while have now identified where they want to live and are exiting rentals.

    Unused land

    The Miami-Dade County supply of vacant parcels for new beachfront developments is severely constrained, says Bob Vail, president of Kolter Urban. That will force developers northward toward Fort Lauderdale and beyond in 2023. Developers in the Magic City and thereabouts must raze existing buildings to make way for new projects. But their counterparts farther north in places like Pompano Beach can start building on unused land, enabling them to deliver new properties sooner.

    “Waterfront property will always be in demand in South Florida, and I expect buyers to gravitate north to take advantage of the construction timelines,” Vail prophesized.

    In a similar vein, Michael Taylor, CEO and president of Current Builders, says he has noticed a substantial uptick in new developments throughout Lake Worth Beach, a waterfront hamlet nestled between West Palm Beach and Boca Raton. The city boasts a moderately lower cost of living vis-à-vis its neighbors to the north and south. But it is nonetheless centrally located, accounting for proliferation of projects, he says.

    International arrivals

    The global buyer market for South Florida real estate will very likely grow even more diverse in the year ahead. So says Christian Tupper, vice president of sales for PMG Residential. Miami has historically been viewed as a magnet for buyers from Central and South America. But, Tupper says, “The spread of residential buyers has expanded significantly over the past year to include smaller European markets such as Turkey. And [it even includes] an uptick in interest from Saudi Arabia and Dubai due to direct flights into Miami [that] commenced in 2021.

    “We expect this trend to continue, further solidifying Miami’s position on the global stage as a highly desirable city for residents and businesses.”

    Jeffrey Steele, Contributor

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