VOLUME 5 ISSUE 8
Southeastern Youth Fair Pg B1
FEBRUARY 23 - FEBRUARY 29, 2024
Sheriff’s K-9 dies in line of duty
Marion County Sheriff’s Office K-9 Leo [Photo courtesy of MCSO]
By Caroline Brauchler caroline@ocalagazette.com
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Marion County Sheriff ’s Office K-9 has died after being shot in the line of duty. Leo, the K-9 partner to Cpl. Justin Tortora, died Tuesday morning after spending several days being treated for his injuries at the UF
College of Veterinary Medicine hospital in Gainesville. “Over the last few days, Leo maintained that fighting spirit. However, Leo’s injuries were too severe to overcome this morning, and his passing will be felt by all of us here in my office and in our community,” said Sheriff Billy Woods in an update on Tuesday. The K-9 was shot while deputies
responded to a call at Northeast 144th Court in Silver Springs on Saturday, where a suspect was accused of battery by strangulation. The suspect, 44-year-old Jeremy Beshere, is said to have opened fire on the deputies, striking Leo, and the deputies returned fire on Beschere. After Beschere was taken down, he was apprehended and transported to the hospital, where he was pronounced deceased, according to MCSO. In the state of Florida, killing a police K-9 can warrant a sentence of up to 15 years in prison. “Leo did exactly what he was trained to do, and that is to fearlessly defend and protect those deputies—to charge directly at danger,” Woods said. In an effort to save Leo’s life, Marion County Fire Rescue transported the K-9 in an ambulance from the local UF emergency veterinary clinic to the Gainesville hospital, arriving at 11:57 p.m. on Saturday. This rescue was one of the first of its kind, after Gov. Ron DeSantis signed Senate Bill 338 in 2021 which allows EMTs to provide emergency care to K-9s injured in the line of duty, in addition to allowing the use of ambulances for emergency transport of K-9s. The analysis that accompanied the bill indicated that 48 K-9s had been killed in the line of duty in 2020. MCFR EMT Mike Josey, Capt. Bethany Smith and Paramedic Caitlin Mays transported Leo. All three said this was the first K-9 rescue of their careers. Smith and Mays have received training in the past year for events involving K-9 rescues. While Leo was receiving treatment in the veterinary hospital on Saturday, a hospital spokesperson told the “Gazette” they could not provide any updates on the K-9’s condition without the consent of his owner. The “Gazette” then requested Leo’s medical records and asked for a status update on the K-9’s condition from MCSO but received no information prior to the announcement of Leo’s death on Tuesday morning.
Jumbolair application withdrawn The developer shelved the application for land-use changes and zoning in the face of organized residents, three major farm and equine-focused nonprofits—and actor John Travolta. By Belea T. Keeney belea@magnoliamediaco.com
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n a surprise, last-minute move, the Jumbolair development team pulled its application for a landuse change and re-zoning less than two hours before the Feb. 20 public hearing at the Marion County Board of County Commissioners that drew hundreds of people. Over 150 people crowded into the auditorium, and dozens more listened to the proceedings from the lobby and courtyard area. The line to enter snaked around the commission building, with hundreds of those in opposition to the project wearing red shirts and clothing. Attorneys representing Horse Farms Forever (HFF), Ocala Horse Alliance (OHA) and Save Our Rural Area (SORA) as well as attorneys for celebrity resident John Travolta were present. The project’s land use amendment would have paved the way for over 220 See Jumbolair, page A6
Hundreds of people fill the Marion County Commission auditorium to oppose the Jumbolair expansion during the Marion County Commission meeting in Ocala on Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2204. The Jumbolair expansion proposal was withdrawn before the meeting started. 200 people signed up to speak against the expansion. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2024.
Property of the week Mini-farm living in Meadow Wood Farms – Fenced and gated on 5.5 acres, this farm features gentle roll and mature oaks. Offering over 2,100 sqft of space, the 3-bedroom, 2-bath home is light and bright with an open split-bedroom floor plan, vaulted ceilings, and a variety of upgrades throughout. Well-suited for multiple disciplines, the farm includes a 3-stall shedrow barn with tack room, hot and cold water, and 2 additional runins. Meadow Wood Farms is conveniently close to both HITS and WEC, as well as multiple tack and feed retailers, equine service providers, and world-class veterinary clinics. Sam Dailey | 352.615.3060 | Sam@ShowcaseOcala.com | ShowcaseOcala.com Valerie Dailey | 352.816.1080 | Valerie@ShowcaseOcala.com | ShowcaseOcala.com
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Update on Marion County’s outstanding arrest warrants
By Jennifer Hunt Murty jennifer@ocalagazette.com
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n the wake of the Dec. 23 fatal shooting at the Paddock Mall, one of the many unanswered questions concerning suspect Albert Shell Jr. was both obvious and compelling: Why was someone who had an active warrant for his arrest able to move freely around the community for several months leading up to the tragic event? Marion County Judge Thomas “Tommy” Thompson had signed a warrant for Shell’s arrest in October when he failed to appear in court to face charges for violent offenses. Shell, however, remained at large until he was apprehended Jan. 8 on charges related to the mall shootings. After Shell’s arrest, the “Gazette” accessed the warrant search feature on the Marion County Sheriff ’s Office website and plugged in the names of several people considered suspects in local crimes based on the newspaper’s reporting. Those searches yielded zero results. Since the “Gazette’s” Jan. 8 article concerning Shell and the warrant concerns, the MCSO’s website has been changed. Those using the warrant search function are now redirected to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s website and the agency’s active warrants search feature. The FDLE web page is titled Florida Crime Information Center, commonly known as the FCIC. Using that website yielded similarly dismal results. For example, on Jan. 17, at least four days after the MCSO announced an arrest warrant had been issued for Melvin Arias for the Jan. 12 fatal shooting of Marion Oaks hair stylist Milagros Guzman Lopez, a search in the database found no active warrant for Arias. When asked about this, MCSO spokesperson Paul Bloom said, “This is (the FDLE’s) public-facing page. Unfortunately, they have not updated it. The 2008 warrant that pops up is not for our suspect. However, in the searchable database for law enforcement (FCIC/NCIC), (the new warrant) is there.” Dana Kelly, the communications coordinator for the FDLE, said the agency updates the database every day. Arias eventually appeared on the website. He remains at large. See Outstanding, page A2
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