Hendry Sheriff Arrest Reports - Drugs & More

Courtney Cypress Flees And Leads High Speed Chase
In the early morning hours of January 29, 2012, Hendry County Deputies arrested 19 year old Courtney Taylor Billie-Cypress after she was attempting to flee law enforcement. While on routine patrol in the area of Olympia Ave and Georgia Avenue K-9 Officer Nathan Kirk had to take evasive action to avoid being struck from behind by another vehicle.

Deputy Kirk attempted to stop the driver of the vehicle, later identified as Cypress. The driver continued at speeds reaching 60 mph in a residential area. Cypress ran stop signs and red lights at different locations throughout the city. At one point Cypress was forced to take evasive action herself to avoid crashing into another vehicle.

Deputies apprehended Cypress when she lost control of her vehicle and crashed into a guardrail.

She was charged with DUI, Fleeing and Eluding Law Enforcement and No Valid Driver’s License. She was later released on $2,000.00 bond.

Hendry County Deputies arrest 10 in 9 Days on Drug Charges


Hendry County Investigators, Deputies and K-9 Interdiction Team have arrested ten individuals since January 24, 2012 on numerous unrelated drug charges.

On January 23, 2012, Hendry County Narcotics Investigators arrested 58 year old Marcellous Charles Mitchell of LaBelle, on charges of Sale of Oxycodone and Possession of a Controlled Substance without a prescription. Mitchell is currently held in the Hendry County Jail on $57,500.00 bond.

January 24, 2012, K-9 Deputy Kirk arrested 39 year old Alton Grimsley, of St. Petersburg, Florida on charges of Possession of Marijuana and Possession of Cocaine. Grimsley was released on $4,500 bond

On January 24, 2012, Hendry County Narcotics Investigators arrested 34 year old William Thomas Smiley, Jr, of LaBelle, on charges of Trafficking Oxycodone, Sale of Oxycodone and Possession of controlled Substance without a prescription. Smiley is currently being held at the Hendry County Jail on $110,000.00 bond.

On January 24, 2012, Hendry County Narcotics Investigators arrested 34 year old Cory Jay White, of Belle Glade, on charges of Sale of cocaine within 1000’ of a Church. White was released on January 28, 2012 on $50,000.00 bond.

On January 24, 2012, Hendry County Narcotics Investigators arrested 19 year old Sonny Cisnero, of LaBelle on charges of Possession of Controlled Substance without a prescription and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Cisnero was released on January 24, 2012 on $7,000.00 bond.

On January 28, 2012, K-9 Deputy Kirk arrested 20 yar old Christopher Miranda, of Clewiston, on Possession of Marijuana charges. Miranda is currently being held on $500.00 bond.

On January 30, 2012, Hendry County Narcotic Investigators arrested 36 year old Juan Marquez, of Labelle, on numerous drug charges of Marijuana and Cocaine Sale. Marquez is currently being held in the Hendry County Jail on $185,000.00 bond.

Hendry County Deputy Brawner arrested 23 year old Antwon Davis, of Belle Glade, on January 30, 2012. Davis was charged with Marijuana possession. Davis is currently being held on $1,500.00 bond.

On January 31, Hendry County Deputy McVey, arrested Herschel Lewis, 37 years of age, of Clewiston, on Cocaine charges with intent to Sell and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Lewis is currently being held in the Hendry County Jail on $5,806.00 bond.

Hendry County Sgt. Woods arrested a 14 year old juvenile on Misdemeanor Marijuana charges. The juvenile was later released to their parent.

Hendry County Sheriff’s Office Dive Team Recovers Stolen Vehicles and Airboat

After investigating a report of submerged vehicles in Pine Lake located in the Montura Estates community, Hendry County Sheriff’s Office Dive Team successfully recovered two vehicles and one airboat.

One of the vehicles was an Isuzu Rodeo registered in Hendry County and reported stolen to Hendry County Sheriff’s Office. The other was a Toyota passenger car reported stolen through the Doral Police Department. The Isuzu was intact while the Toyota had been stripped.

The 20 x 8 Diamondback airboat had been stripped, however, the hull was intact and was in good condition. This boat had been reported stolen through the Glades County Sheriff's Office in October.

Hendry Sheriff Holding Concealed Weapons Class

Hendry County Sheriff Steve Whidden will be will holding classes for individuals interested in obtaining a Concealed Weapons Permit. This will be a 4 hour course which consists of both classroom and firearm range instruction.

Classes will be held at the Hendry County Gun Range and taught by Hendry County Sheriff’s Office State of Florida Certified Firearms Instructors. Students will need to bring their own handguns and at least fifty (50) rounds of ammunition, holster, both eye and ear protection. There is a $25 per person fee payable at the time of classroom instruction. You must be at least 21 years of age to participate. Concealed weapons applications are available at the Hendry County Sheriff’s Office.

All interested citizens should contact Lt. Susan Harrelle at either (863) 674-5604 or by e-mail at sharrelle@hendrysheriff.org. Class participation is based on a first come /first serve basis. Participants will be directly contacted by the Sheriff’s Office to arrange for date and time.

Miami Men Continue Running LaBelle's Front Porch

Country Place LLC Evicted - New Miami Men Now Run Restaurant

LABELLE, FL. -- The restaurant saga continues at the old Flora and Ella's Restaurant location on the west side of LaBelle. A new sign with an unregistered fictitious name advertises a third business operating in the building in the last year.

After Flora and Ella's went out of business after decades of service to the food eating public, "A Country Place Restaurant and Bakery" moved in. In reality there never legally was a "Country Place Restaurant and Bakery" because no such name was licensed by the Florida Secretary of State's office as a fictitious business name.

The restaurant was operated by Norberto Daniel Mazzarello and his new wife Sherry. The Mazzarello's got the keys to the "Country Place Restaurant And Bakery," an unregistered fictitious name, on April 3rd. It opened for business July 9.

The restaurant shut it's doors December 16th after Country Place LLC was sued by the building owner for eviction.

The restaurant was actually owned and licensed as A Country Place LLC, whose officers were Carlos A. LaBeau, Pedro Alvarez, and Antonio Coletta, all of northwest Miami. They incorporated in March 2011.

Mazzarello was sued by Country Place LLC in Hendry's Circuit Court on September 8th over an operating agreement dispute. The case is still pending before Judge John Duryea.

LaBeau and Alvarez had interests in Miami's Capeda Corp. and LaBeau in Brown Cafe LLC, and Cafe Con Leche At Westland, Inc.

After allegedly not paying rent, Fred J. Burson got a default judgment and writ of possession served against the trio's restaurant December 15, 2011.

About the week of January 16th a new sign replaced the Country Place sign now reading "The Front Porch Restaurant."  There is actually no legal company with that name either. The corporation actually running the restaurant is a new one called The Heart Of LaBelle LLC.

A Miami duo, Alfonzo J. Cutillo and Nestor R. Colon started the company December 12, 2011 at about the same time the previous owners were being evicted. Coincidentally both corporations have the same registered agent in northweast Miami, Osvaldo Martinez. Martinez has been involved with 145 Florida corporations over the years.

Cutillo owns Avanti World Rental Car LLC in Miami with the three owners of A Country Place LLC, LaBeau, Alvarez and Colleta. Colon owns Cursor Computer, Inc. in Miami.

Neither the Florida Secretary of State's office or the Florida Department of Regulation's Hotel and Restaurant Division have any record of the name "The Front Porch Restaurant." No application for such a fictitious business name has been received records show.

The Hotel and Restaurant Division says no one has applied for a change of restaurant ownership from the Country Place LLC to The Heart of LaBelle LLC either.

The Hendry tax collector's office says they issued a LaBelle and Hendry county business license to The Heart of LaBelle LLC, after the new owners said they were owners of the Country Place LLC company, which turns out to not be true, at least as far as the official records indicate.

No one at the city or county so far says they have any responsibility to verify if company signs and advertising indicate a real or fake business name or not.

Gas Prices Rising This Week - Watch For Fake Prices

Shell Stations Still Advertising Price Deception

LABELLE, FL. -- Average retail gasoline prices in Florida have risen 7.4 cents per gallon in the past week, averaging $3.54/g yesterday. This compares with the national average that has increased 4.5 cents per gallon in the last week to $3.39/g, according to gasoline price website FloridaStateGasPrices.com.

Still a continuing problem for motorists are gas stations including Shell and Marathon, who show large pricing signs that aren't exactly the true price.

The above photo shows a LaBelle, Florida Shell station today advertising $3.40 for regular. However, the actual price, and only shown on the pump itself, is $3.45.

To get the discounted price you have to go inside and pay cash, or use a Shell credit card.

But today was even more deceiving. After putting a credit card into the slot and being approved, the pump would not pump gas at all. Trying a different pump with a credit card brought an on-screen message to go inside and see the cashier.

It turns out the Shell station was entirely out of regular gas. Not only were they advertising an extremely low price compared to others ($3.55 at the BP down the street) but they couldn't sell it at the advertised price anyway.

Customers were forced to either drive away or pay 25 cents above the posted price for premium gas. Most elected to pay the extra quarter a gallon, although a few frustrated customers drove off after learning there was no regular gas.

Including the change in gas prices in Florida during the past week, prices yesterday were 45.7 cents per gallon higher than the same day one year ago and are 24.4 cents per gallon higher than a month ago. The national average has increased 13.5 cents per gallon during the last month and stands 30.4 cents per gallon higher than this day one year ago.

"Late last week we saw wholesale gasoline prices rise dramatically on some refinery issues, which leads me to believe that retail gasoline prices will rise in response," said GasBuddy.com Senior Petroleum Analyst Patrick DeHaan. "We continue to also watch how Iran responds to EU sanctions- there are some concerns that they may cut oil to the European region before the sanctions are to take effect to cause these countries hardship when they can't find new sources of oil quickly enough. That in itself could draw crude oil prices higher quickly at a moments notice," DeHaan said.

How To Find A Florida Boat Ramp

Florida Database Makes Finding Boat Ramp Locations Easy
Finding a convenient boat ramp has just become easier for Florida visitors and residents. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has a new feature allowing boaters to view and search a database of Florida boat ramps.

Boaters can now locate and get details for more than 1,600 publicly accessible Florida boat ramps and thousands more private launching sites. Ramps can be found by county, street address or GPS coordinates. Maps and details are shown along with photos of some ramps.

The FWC says "The database was created from an inventory conducted for the Statewide Boating Access Inventory and Economic Assessment. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service provided funding through the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration’s Boating Access Program."

Click here to access the database. To help the FWC improve and update this database, the public is asked to email BoatRamps@MyFWC.com to report errors or new information.

Boca Grande - SW Florida Weekend Retreat

Where To Go For A 'Grand' Weekend - Boca Grande

Boca Grande Village on Gasparilla Island in Lee and Charlotte counties, on the Gulf coast has been the home to the wealthy for decades. The village was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009.

It's reachable by boat or via the $5 toll bridge connecting the island to Charlotte county's mainland.

Visitors and residents agree that the charming island is a bit of paradise just miles from Fort Myers and Port Charlotte. The island has no stoplights or franchise food outlets. Structures are limited to two stories in height. There was no road access until 1958 when the bridge was built.

From a small fishing village in 1870 to a booming commercial port in the early 20th century, Boca Grande is now a tourist destination and second home for hundreds of millionaires.

Many structures are now placed on the National Register of Historic Places including the rail station, lighthouse, Gasparilla Inn, and marina.

There are quaint shops, two grocery stores, two banks, a school, and hair salons. There is no gas station or chain stores. A bike path runs most of the length of the island and golf carts are the preferred method of transportation.

Visitors are free to use wire-less internet at the Community Center 24/7 or the Johann Fust Library. The Boca Grande Reference Room at the Center has automated book check out as part of the Lee County Library system.

The Gasparilla Inn & Club has had guests including Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, and the George H. W. Bush family, as well as many other notable celebrities.

At the southern tip is Gasparilla Island State Park, a popular beach location and home to one of six Florida lighthouses open to public.

Visitor Tip: Pick up an excellent free Visitor's Guide published by local newspaper the Boca Beacon for everything one should know about the island.

From the video:

Port Boca Grande Lighthouse and Keeper's House Museum - Built 1890
Amory Memorial Chapel - once the Shiloh Baptist Church for the African-American community
Pilot's House - About 1898, now privately owned residence
Boca Grande School
Boca Grande Community Center - auditorium and community meeting place (author Amy Bennet-Williams giving a talk about the Caloosahatchee River)
Banyan Road
Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church
Hudson's Grocery's Pink Gas Pump
Whidden's Marina - Built 1926, former dance hall now a small museum. Pet goats.

20th Annual Sour Orange Festival In Lakeport

Special Report By Susan Etchey
LAKEPORT, FL. -- The harvest of the rare sour orange is cause for a yearly celebration in a small fishing resort on the north shore of Lake Okeechobee. Sour oranges are prolific in this remote wilderness region, the ancient trees growing wild in cattle pastures and homesteads. The tropical fruit once grew all over the state but due to development was purposely destroyed. Only in pastoral Florida will you find so many of these treasured trees.

If you love sour oranges, this is the place to be. You can taste and purchase sour orange pies, sour orange BBQ sauce Caribbean style, and sour oranges at Lakeport's Sour Orange Festival on Saturday, February 11th from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Prepare yourself for a simple festival in a tree-shaded park. The commercialism and noise of most festivals is absent. It is more akin to an old-fashioned community picnic where half the people in attendance know each other. Long time residents meet up here after not having seen each other for a time; local politicians are out slapping backs; snowbirds living in local RV parks bring their folding chairs to sit in the community park and listen to local bands play from the outdoor stage.

You can wander casually through a few rows of vendors and encounter hard working artisans selling their own special handmade products, or talk to members of civic groups who get a space for free.

In 1992, locals decided to celebrate the origins and unique culinary uses of the sour orange with this one-of-a-kind annual festival as a fundraiser.  The original Sour Orange Cookbook, published by the Lakeport Community Association in 1992, speaks of the traditional uses of sour oranges by the Gladesmen who hunted the wild hogs in the hammocks near Lake Okeechobee.  "There are two traditions that must be observed when roasting wild hog in Lakeport," it states. "First it is considered to be a man's job (and the men definitely hold bragging rights to how well they can cook pork); second, basting of the hog with the juice of the Sour Orange is essential." However, locals have found basting fish and chicken with the juice is very satisfying, too. In fact recipes using lemons can be substituted with sour oranges.

Brought here by the Spanish in their colonial period, sour orange trees have historical roots. Sour oranges were once the original rootstock for the creation of the sweet oranges that created the huge citrus industry in Florida.

Sour oranges are still grown commercially in Spain to make marmalade in Britain, sour orange peels make candies in Puerto Rico and the Mojito of Cuba is a zesty mixture of sour orange juice, garlic and other herbs, according to the cookbook. Liqueurs such as Cointreau, Grand Marnier and Curacao are made with sour oranges.

During the day, fun contests and games for both children and adults take place keeping the restless busy.  The Sour Orange Bake-off and the Sour Orange Pie Eating contest are traditions, as well as a raffle of many intriguing items, including the winning pastries, jellies or specialty foods.

Tourists who happen to see a flyer about the festival or read about it in a local paper, come out of curiosity to taste the sour orange. They also get a taste of the friendly folks of old Florida. Nothing hectic, no crowds, just real laid back and simple entertainment making it a lovely no-headache day.

Lakeport is on the northwest side of Lake Okeechobee on Hwy 78 between Moore Haven and Okeechobee City.  The event is at the community center on Old Lakeport Road. To find the Lakeport Community Association festival follow the signs. There is a parking fee of $1.

Kiwanis Kid's Day At LaBelle's Barron Park

 LABELLE, FL. -- It may have been rather chilly, but that didn’t keep families from enjoying the annual Kiwanis Kid’s Day!

 The bounce houses kept kids active, the food kept everyone’s hunger satisfied, Mary the Clown greeted kids with balloons & candy and the Kiwanis Thrift Store provided enough stuffed animals so that every child had a chance to take one home! Saturday, January 14th, might have been some of the coldest temperatures we have seen in a while, but it was another successful Kiwanis Kid’s Day at Barron Park!

There seemed to be hundreds of kids and families spread throughout the park enjoying the free activities. This year, there was a hula hoop contest, a scavenger hunt and a relay race. To the delight of the children, Smokey the Bear, McGruff the Crime Dog and the Crash Dummies made an appearance in the park!

One of the popular attractions for parents was the Masonic Lodge #379 Free Child ID Program. The Florida Masonic “Child ID Program” provides free identification kits for children. The kit included a digital photo of the child, digital finger prints, and a full description of the child which is all placed on a CD for easy access.

Each year the Kiwanis Club of LaBelle sponsors a fun-filled day for children and their families, but the Kiwanis Club of LaBelle really appreciates the support of the many local businesses, community agencies,
partners and volunteers that came out to help make the event such a success.

Raffle tickets were sold for only 50-cents a ticket for the chance to win a boy’s or girl’s bicycle (donated by
Ace Hardware), a tricycle (donated by Cecil Akin of Akin Davis Funeral Home) and a movie night gift basket donated by RCMA.

LaBelle Homes From $6K To $550K

Home Sales This Week - From Mobile Home To Mansion

LABELLE, FL. -- Home prices are all over the place this week.  The least expensive, a mobile home south of LaBelle at $6,000.  And most expensive, a waterfront home on Fort Denaud Road west of LaBelle.

From 1/17/2012 to 1/24/2012, there were 9 homes sold in the LaBelle area for an average price of $124,889. The homes prices and locations included:

1) $95,000 on 2nd Ave
2) $43,000 on Berwick Cir
3) $35,000 on Caloosa Loop
4) $550,000 on Fort Denaud Rd
5) $60,000 on Fraser Ave
6) $215,000 on River Blossom Ln
7) $49,000 on Schooner Dr
8) $6,000 on State Road 29 S
9) $71,000 on Trader Rd

Traveling Gold Buying Company In LaBelle - Caution Warning

Newly Formed Company Wants Your Gold - "Inadequate" Prices Some Say?

LABELLE, FL. -- A company formed in Florida just last October to buy gold is in LaBelle next week. One of  many outfits renting hotel rooms for a few days around Florida to attract gold sellers, "International Gold, Silver, and Diamond Buyers" registered with Florida as a fictitious business name October 12.

The actual owner is THR & Associates, Inc. of Springfield, Il. which is owned by Jeffrey and Jordan Parsons of Springfield. Jacob Parsons is also associated with the company. The company had a storefront location in Huntsville, AL.

The company travels the country under different names, and does not make appraisals, but offers to buy gold and silver and other valuables. Reportedly, they operate 120 transient shows each week around the country, many times without obtaining permits from the city or county.

The Hendry county tax collector says they have issued no permit for the company, although reportedly the company representative contacted the office and told them it was a one-time event, and the tax office waived their application for a permit.

An Oregon newspaper reports the company has set up their operation 7 times in Eugene, OR in the last 18 months.

Their local ads says they provide "an economic boost to each region it visits" and they "project to pay out $350,000 at each event." But that may well be advertising puffery if not an outright false statement.

On January 11, 2012 the BBB in Southeast Texas challenged that advertising claim made by International Gold, Silver & Diamond Buyers (IGSDB), which was published in the Tyler County Booster on Friday January 5, 2012.

The company sells the items it buys from around the country on eBay or puts them up for auction at Heritage Auction House in Dallas, TX. Obviously, gold and jewelry sellers could put items on eBay themselves and reap the extra dollars if they didn't sell to THR for a fraction of the real value.

A show by THR & Associates was shut down in Brainerd, MN when the company failed to get a peddler/transient/solicitor or a second hand goods license from the city after they failed a background check. The company tried to operate anyway and the police had to intervene to close them down.

The Brainerd Dispatch reports the company received an F rating from the BBB.

The company was sued in 2010 by PBS's Antique Roadshow to prevent the company from using the "Treasure Hunters Roadshow" name and treasure chest logo. The suit said THR is no more than a "scrap metal" dealer and pays customers "pennies on the dollar" for valuables.

They agreed to make a $150,000 charitable contribution to WGBH and to use the word “roadshow” in a strictly limited circumstances and also agreed to pay $25,000 for violations of the agreement after they had violated it.
Jeffrey Parsons was also sued in Federal court for bouncing 140 checks. He admitted that was true at one period in 2010 due he says to a business giving him a check that bounced. Parsons had a failed outdoor vending machine business around 2007.

THR is not accredited by the Better Business Bureau of Central Illinois. That group has given the company a B+ rating and notes they had issues with the company's advertising.  There have been 16 complaints in the last three years and 5 in the last 12 months. 7 were for product and service issues, and 6 for advertising and sales complaints.

The BBB says "Consumers contacting the BBB expressing sellers remorse. Consumers state that after selling their items to the company, they felt the offer they accepted was inadequate."

Other names the company operates under: Treasure Hunters Roadshow, Ohio Valley Gold & Silver Refinery, International Coin Collectors, National Gun Collectors Association, International Vintage Guitar Collectors Association, Cash for Tools, FINE ART COLLECTORS ASSOCIATION, Fuller Roadshow, The Traveling Roadshow, Premiere Estate Buyers, International Gold, Silver and Diamond Buyers, J. Parsons, Mississippi Valley Gold and Silver Refinery

To check customer comments and press reports on the company behind the gold buying check this link: "THR Associates complaints." Search results on the fictitious business name "International Gold Silver Diamond Buyer" hides the true news, bringing up lots of results of small newspapers they buy ads from, overshadowing any news reports and complaints.

Links to some complaints about THR & Associates:
http://brainerddispatch.com/news/2011-02-01/roadshow-runs-bumpy-reception-brainerd#.TyGVG1wgOa8
http://www.taxfreegold.co.uk/treasurehuntersroadshow.html
http://www.thehighroad.org/archive/index.php/t-539656.html
http://www.valleynewslive.com/story/15384546/selling-gold-shop-around?clienttype=printable

Disclosure and Recommendation: One of Southwest Florida Online's advertising sponsors is Gold & Guns, Inc. at 123 Riverbend Dr. in LaBelle. Check with a reputable licensed gold buyer before making a decision. 

We advise knowing the value of your gold and valuables before accepting an offer from a traveling gold buyer, who may not have a local license to do business. Bring a video camera and film the offer, if they allow it and we bet you'll get a better deal! Ask to see their local business license or permit.