Florida Sheriff's Chopper Locates Missing Boaters

Sept. 6, 2012
The Charlotte County Sheriff's Office assisted in the rescue of two boaters who had been missing since Sunday night.

CHARLOTTE HARBOR -- The Charlotte County Sheriff's Office assisted in the rescue of two boaters who had been missing since Sunday night.

According to a CCSO report, four women and two men were on a 23-foot boat Sunday evening when the two men jumped into the water. The remaining passengers, as a joke, pretended to leave the men but then could not find them when they returned, the report states.

The CCSO aviation unit that responded used heat-seeking equipment to locate the men, who were found about 12:30 a.m. Monday. The men were found about 1.5 miles north of Cape Haze Point, about a quarter-mile offshore, the report states. Both men were in good health.

None of the individuals on the boat was named in the report, but Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officials now are investigating the incident, as it occurred in its jurisdiction.

Man faces additional charge

NORTH PORT -- A man charged with sexually assaulting a 2-year-old in July has been charged with another count relating to the incident.

According to a North Port police report, officers responded to a home on Zuyder Terrace in late July after the child's mother overheard another child tell the victim, whose gender was not disclosed, to lie down, and began to imitate a sexual act on the toddler. When the mother asked the child where he had learned that, he said her fiance's son, Zachary Williams, 18, of the 4800 block of Cornsilk Terrace, the report states.

Williams' father confronted his son, who admitted to both his father and the victim's mother that he committed the act in July, the report shows.

At the time of the crime, Williams was a juvenile. He was arrested in August on a charge of lewd or lascivious molestation on a victim under 12 by someone under 18; on Friday, he was additionally charged with sexual assault by a person under the age of 18 on a victim under the age of 12. He remained at the Sarasota County Jail Tuesday on $50,000 bond.

Venice motorcyclist hurt in crash

SARASOTA COUNTY -- A Venice man is in critical condition following a motorcycle accident Monday night in Sarasota County.

According to a Florida Highway Patrol report, Jonathan D. Shidler, 25, was riding a 2002 Yamaha Star north on State Road 776 (also known as Englewood Road), south of Roosevelt Drive, around 8:15 p.m. Monday.

As he came approached a curve to the right, he failed to negotiate it and the motorcycle struck the concrete curb of the median. Shidler was thrown from the bike and landed in the median. He was transported to Venice Regional Medical Center in critical condition.

Shidler was wearing a helmet, the FHP report shows.

The Charlotte County Sheriff's Office reported the following arrests:

- Robert Kenneth Paquin Jr., 20300 block of Midway Blvd., Port Charlotte. Charge: violation of an injunction. Bond: none.

- Christopher Dale Monroe, 33, 21300 block of Coulton Ave., Port Charlotte. Charges: disorderly intoxication, resisting arrest, possession of a controlled substance and smuggling contraband into a prison. Bond: $4,500.

- Jorge Arreola, 25, 2500 block of Elkcam Blvd., Port Charlotte. Charges: possession of cocaine and possession of narcotic equipment. Bond: $3,500.

- Matthew Timo Jones, 28, 2300 block of Conway Blvd., Port Charlotte. Charge: battery. Bond: none.

- Paul Stephen Elligson Jr., 47, 2000 block of Willow Ave., Englewood. Charge: battery -- second offense. Bond: none.

- Madelaine Faye Nelson, 21, Old Trail Road, Englewood. Charge: DUI. Bond: $750.

The North Port Police Department reported the following arrests:

- Scott Russell Rossman, 55, 22400 block of La Guardia Ave., Port Charlotte. Charge: DUI. Bond: $500.

- Mak Becker, 60, 300 block of Lionel Lane, Port Charlotte. Charges: DUI-second offense and refusal to submit to a DUI test after license is suspended. Bond: $750.

- Lashawn Akeem James, 23, 23200 block of Hartley Ave., Port Charlotte. Charge: DUI with blood-alcohol content of .15 or higher or while having a passenger under the age of 18. Bond: $1,500.

- Christopher Ryan Schwarz, 27, 200 block of Fountain St., Port Charlotte. Charges: robbery by sudden snatching, petty theft and reckless driving. Bond: $1,740.

The Sarasota County Sheriff's Office reported the following arrests:

- Calin Patrick Walsh, 29, 14300 block of Morristown Ave., Port Charlotte. Charge: contempt (original charge: failure to appear for resisting an officer). Bond: $50,000.

- Patrick Vincent Brill, 51, 600 block of Harvey St., Englewood. Charge: driving while license is suspended. Bond: $120.

- Michael Allen Battista, 51, 50 block of Virginia Court, Englewood. Charge: battery. Bond: none.

- Jonathon K. Lalande, 22, 1200 block of Crestwood Road, Englewood. Charge: resisting an officer. Bond: $750.

- Pamela Josephine Seidel, 43, 700 block of S. Broadway, Englewood. Charge: $1,000.

-- Compiled by Anne Klockenkemper, Lorraine Schneeberger and Drew Winchester

Copyright 2012 Englewood SunDistributed by Newsbank, Inc. All Rights Reserved

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