Merab-Michal Favorite

Englewood Sun (FL) – Friday, May 31, 2013 PORT CHARLOTTE — In the eyes of a 7-year-old, a neighborhood is only as good as the playground equipment at the community park and the teachers in the local school. Dannielle Crowley used to live in Englewood, but she said she prefers her new community of Parkside…

Charlotte Sun (Port Charlotte, FL) – Thursday, May 30, 2013 PORT CHARLOTTE — Brandon Staack, 24, uses his smartphone for everything. When he’s not texting, his GPS helps him find his way around town, and he often sorts through his extensive iTunes music selection at the same time. ‘I’m usually just trying to decide what…

Charlotte Sun (Port Charlotte, FL) – Tuesday, May 28, 2013 PUNTA GORDA — Every person in attendance had a story; it didn’t matter how young or old they were. Caleb Waller, 5, of Bradenton, came to Laishley Park on Monday with his mother, Kristen Waller, and grandmother, Vikki Carpenter, of Punta Gorda, for the Memorial…

Charlotte Sun (Port Charlotte, FL) – Thursday, May 23, 2013 PORT CHARLOTTE — A man is accused of hitting his pregnant wife in the back of the head after she doused him with rubbing alcohol, according to a Charlotte County Sheriff’s report. Warren Carter, 30, of the 21200 block of Meehan Avenue, Port Charlotte, was…

Englewood Sun (FL) – Tuesday, May 21, 2013 Author: MERAB-MICHAL FAVORITE and DREW WINCHESTER ; Staff Writers Folks in the Englewood area can sleep a little better tonight. A recent survey shows the overall Charlotte County crime rate dropped more than 13.4 percent from 2011 to 2012. Sarasota County’s rate fell 17.7 percent. The overall…

Prison guard who videotaped woman gets probation PUNTA GORDA — A former corrections officer charged with videotaping a sexual encounter with a woman and uploading it to the Internet without her permission was sentenced to 12 months of probation at the Charlotte County Justice Center on Tuesday. Nicholas Robert Fornaro, 26, of Edgewater, Md., pleaded…

Charlotte Sun (Port Charlotte, FL) – Wednesday, May 22, 2013 PUNTA GORDA — The father of a 2-year-old boy who shot and killed himself with an unsecured firearm in November will not go to jail, authorities said Tuesday. Christopher Davis, 24, of Port Charlotte, was charged in January with culpable negligence, a third-degree felony, after…

Charlotte Sun (Port Charlotte, FL) – Wednesday, May 22, 2013 PUNTA GORDA — A school employee was charged with DUI Tuesday after she allegedly showed up to work so intoxicated she could barely get out of her car, according to the Punta Gorda Police Department. Noreen Patricia Freeman, 57, 1300 block of Saxony Circle, Punta…

Charlotte Sun (Port Charlotte, FL) – Tuesday, May 21, 2013 PORT CHARLOTTE — A North Port woman accused of scamming church members by falsely claiming her sons were killed fighting overseas has been sentenced to three years’ probation. Shirley Ann Duncan, 50, of the 2200 block of Ryecroft Street, North Port, pleaded no contest to…

Charlotte Sun (Port Charlotte, FL) – Tuesday, May 21, 2013 PORT CHARLOTTE — A 20-year-old waitress was arrested Saturday after she became paranoid that someone was following her after she allegedly smoked pot. So, she called the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office, telling authorities she had just smoked marijuana and was not feeling well, according to…