Florida
Tyler Perry Studios president dies when plane he was piloting crashes in Florida
The president of Atlanta-based Tyler Perry Studios died Friday night when the small plane he was piloting crashed on Florida’s Gulf Coast.
The studio confirmed on Saturday that Steve Mensch, its 62-year-old president and general manager, had died.
“We are incredibly saddened by the passing of our dear friend Steve Mensch,” the studio said in a statement. “Steve was a cherished member of our team for more than eight years and well-beloved in the community of Atlanta. It’s hard to imagine not seeing him smiling throughout the halls. We will miss him dearly. Our heart goes out to his family as we all send them our prayers.”
The crash happened in Homosassa, about 60 miles north of Tampa. Photos from the scene show the plane having come to rest upside down on a road. The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating.
The single-engine Vans RV-12IS was registered to Mensch at his home address in the Atlanta suburb of Fayetteville, according to FAA records.
Mensch helped advocate for and maintain Georgia’s film tax credit of more than $1 billion a year. Those lavish subsidies have made Georgia one of the most active places in the United States for film and television production.
Mensch got into the movie business when he started working for Feature Systems, which provides equipment for the movie industry. He was hired by Atlanta-based Turner Broadcasting to run its studio operations, later becoming director of strategic production partnerships. It was there that he began to lobby state government for more aid to movie and television production.
Ric Reitz, an actor who also helped create the tax credits, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Mensch helped market the state before the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta and helped launch the Georgia Production Partnership, an entertainment industry lobbying group.
“He was trying to formulate the vision for the marketplace before the Olympics and wanted a think tank of people in the community to make Georgia competitive,” Reitz said. “He was an important figure in the our growth to become a strong film and TV market.”
After a year helping plan and build a giant studio in China and brief stint helping to open Third Rail Studios in suburban Atlanta. Perry hired Mensch to help create and run his namesake studio in 2016. The studio sprawls across 330 acres of a former Army base in southern Atlanta that Perry acquired in 2015.
Mensch died on the same day that Perry released “The Six Triple Eight,” a war drama about a mostly Black and all-female World War II battalion. The film was shot at the Atlanta studio.
Mensch is survived by his wife, Danila, and three children.
Florida
‘The naughty list:’ Wrong tag leads to arrest of wanted Central Florida man
VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – A wanted Central Florida man was caught after deputies noticed that his car had a wrong tag, according to the Volusia Sheriff’s Office.
In a release on Wednesday, deputies said they initially spotted a car with a tag that didn’t belong on it.
“A little research showed (the driver) had an open warrant for occupied burglary,” the release reads. “He tried to accelerate and ram his way out of trouble, but that only led to more charges.”
Body-camera footage shows deputies confront and ultimately catch the driver, identified as 33-year-old Dillon Cottrell.
According to the sheriff’s office, deputies also recovered a trafficking amount of fentanyl and other drugs.
Now, Cottrell faces charges of burglary, criminal mischief, fleeing law enforcement, trafficking in fentanyl, possession of a controlled substance without a prescription, aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer, resisting arrest, and obstructing law enforcement.
He is held without bond. His passenger, Kelli Jo Hands, was also arrested, deputies added.
“Both are still in jail and most likely spending Christmas there,” the release concludes.
Copyright 2025 by WKMG ClickOrlando – All rights reserved.
Florida
Grand Rapids police chief is candidate for Florida job: Eric Winstrom faced early trial
GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Just weeks into his new job, Grand Rapids Police Chief Eric Winstrom – sharing a small apartment with his wife and two children – was told that an officer was just involved in a shooting.
A former commander for Chicago Police Department, Winstrom had dealt with many shootings involving police.
Officer Christopher Schurr shot and killed Black motorist Patrick Lyoya after a Feb. 4, 2022, traffic stop. Schurr, a white officer, shot Lyoya in the back of the head.
Winstrom, who was named this week one of three finalists for police chief in Pensacola, Florida, recalled the tragedy in Grand Rapids in an MLive video 13 months after the killing.
He became chief in Grand Rapids on March 7, 2022.
He described the shooting as “just like a slap across the face and a wake-up call because I had been involved in so many of these difficult situations in Chicago. So I was like, ‘Oh, OK, I guess we’re doing this here so quick’ and it was I would say a progression of sadness.”
He met with Lyoya’s family in his office, “crying literally with them.” He knew that Schurr, who was ultimately acquitted by a Kent County jury of second-degree murder, and his family were devastated, too.
Winstrom fired Schurr after charges were filed.
He knew that his officers had strong feelings, with many supporting Schurr, who said he acted in self-defense when Lyoya gained control of his Taser.
Winstrom, who often responds to serious crime scenes, said: “I’ll say that this department – I’m sure everybody’s got their opinions – but from what I’ve seen they’ve handled it professionally … have not let it impact job performance at all which was something that I was really afraid of.”
That has happened in other U.S. cities after controversial police shootings. Lyoya’s supporters held many protests, particularly when the officer was on trial.
Windstrom said that calls to defund police can lead to a ‘mass exodus’ of officers, which data shows results in increasing violence in minority neighborhoods.
He said that “officers in Grand Rapids, whether they agree with my decision to fire Christopher or not, come to work every day. They just do a phenomenal, professional job. I’m really proud of them.”
Winstrom is a finalist for the Pensacola job with Brian Dugan, a former Tampa police chief, and Erik Goss, the acting deputy chief in Pensacola, the Pensacola News Journal reported.
The selection process will occur Jan. 12 to 14.
Winstrom declined an MLive request for comment on Wednesday, Dec. 24, but issued a statement the previous day.
He asked for patience while he considered what is best for him and his family. He said he will be “engaged here as ever” during the process and “I remain fully committed to ensuring the City of Grand Rapids is a community where people feel safe and are safe at all times.“
City Manager Mark Washington appointed Winstrom nearly four years ago knowing “that he was a highly qualified, top-tier professional in the field of public safety. While he hadn’t served as a Chief of Police, his potential was evident.”
Washington added: “Given the significant progress he has led within the Grand Rapids Police Department – specifically in advancing constitutional policing, enhancing transparency, and centering the department’s commitment to serve all residents – it is certainly not surprising that other communities would seek out his leadership and expertise.”
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