Page 4 February 8, 2017
The Newscaster/Nature Coast News
Assault Charge - Continued from page 1
Sheriff releases January drug statistics
for Citrus County reported the results of
away, but Lira caught up to him, pushed him to the ground and kicked him on his head, nu-
merous times. Then as the victim attempted to get up, according to the witness, Lira grabbed
the metal baseball bat and struck him across his back.
On Friday, Feb. 3, Citrus County Sheriff Mike Prendergast
Lira then grabbed the victim by his feet and dragged him onto Lira s property, the
January s crime-reduction initiatives for drug crimes. The agency made 45 drug-related ar-
witness recounted, forcefully stomped on the victim s head, kicked him on the head, spat on
rests, 36 males and 9 females. Five arrests were made in Crystal River, 6 in Inverness, 18
his face, then walked to his home to await the arrival of deputies. According to the report,
from the east side of the county and 14 from the west side.
the witness stated that Lira kicked the victim with great force, "like kicking a soccer ball."
Charges included *possession of a controlled substance, *possession of cannabis
Evidence indicated that much of the incident occured on land outside Lira s prop-
less than 20 grams, *possession of drug paraphernalia; *sell, manufacture, deliver or possess
erty and that Lira had dragged the victim onto his property in an apparent attempt to stage
with intent to sell, manufacture or deliver a controlled substance; *sell, manufacture, deliver
the crime scene and impede the investigation, the report stated. Deputies found evidence
or possess, with intent, within 1000 feet of a place of worship; *theft of a controlled sub-
to support the witness s account of the incident, such as drag marks and blood spattered
stance as defined in 893.02; *deliver, possess or manufacture drug paraphernalia knowing
vegetation. Deputies also found a gray hoodie, soiled with a small area of blood, a blood
it will be used to inject, ingest or inhale a controlled substance; *trafficking in methamphet-
spattered bat and a knife.
amine, *possession of schedule I, II, or III drugs with intent to sell, manufacture or deliver
Lira was charged with aggravated battery, using a deadly weapon, with his bond set
and *introduction of contraband (drugs or narcotics) into a detention facility.
S
at $10,000, and also with resisting an officer without violence, with his bond set at $500.
Six search warrants were executed by the Tactical Impact Unit, resulting in the sei-
ink Hole
zure of cannabis, cocaine, crack cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, psilocybin mushrooms
- Continued from page 1
and various pharmaceutical tablets, along with a Ruger AR-15 rifle, a Rossi 357 Magnum
Blvd. and S. Pittsburgh Avenue are closed in both directions; northbound U.S. Hwy. 19 is with a defaced serial number and $10,786.00 in U.S. currency.
A variety of other pills were seized by patrol deputies throughout the month, in ad-
reduced to one lane traveling north and south through the intersection and Halls River Road
dition to those collected during the execution of search warrants.
is restricted from northbound or southbound turns onto U.S. Hwy. 19.
Also during January, citizens turned in 154.3 pounds of unused or unwanted medi-
CrimeStoppers Citrus: 1-888-ANY-TIPS
cations to the sheriff s office for disposal.
5093 S. Orwell Pt., Homosassa, Floridafighting the drug problem in our community is
"Everyone in the agency knows that 34446
Phone:priority. From our Tactical Impact Unit to our patrol deputies, everyone is focused on a
a top (352) 489-4588 Fax: (727) 362-4788
GR ACI E''S B E E R 30 B B Q
R ACI E S B E E R 30 B B Q
Tom Russell, Publishe,to arrest those who are selling drugs, using drugs and promoting a culture of
strategic attack email: thenewscaster1@gmail.comI
Debbie Russell, Editor, email: debbienewscaster@gmail.comLOWER on Friday. "I wasn t kidding when
illegal drugs in Citrus County," said Sheriff Prendergast UNIT OIL CHANGE
thenewscaster.com · hit this issue hard, and we will not give up. If you re dealing or using,
I said we are going to
newscasterarchives.com
get out of Citrus. If not, we re coming for you."
history.newscasterarchives.com · thehealthcaster.com
Citrus experiences 911 equipment failure
G
On Sunday, January 29, the Citrus County Sheriff s Office 911 Communications
Center experienced an equipment failure that impacted the 911 call center. Due to this prob-
lem, the 911 call center followed protocol and opened up a backup 911 center until the prob-
lem was resolved. After the incident was investigated, it was determined that during routine
maintenance by an outside vendor, a cooling fan was inserted improperly. When equipment
began to overheat, the fan did not kick on as it should have. This led to calls, both emergency
and non-emergency, being interrupted. All calls were dispatched properly and 911 operators
called each caller back to ensure they received the proper service.
"It s not something that we ever want to happen," said Capt. David DeCarlo, "but
our backup procedures worked flawlessly, and everyone was taken care of. We ve fixed the
problem so that this should not happen again."
··
Visit our website: http://aquapowermarinefl.com
Carl Roof, Inc.
League of Women
Voters of Citrus County
Land Clearing - Fill - Septic Installation
l Roof, Owner
Car
You can make a difference
19371 SE Butler Rd.
Join Today
InglsFL
i , 34449
For infor please visit our website:
Since 1973
352-447-2733
www.lwvcitrus.org
352-257-8250 cell
email: lwvcc2013@gmail.com