Florida
85-year-old Florida woman killed by alligator was 'forced' to walk dog near 'dangerous' pond, attorneys say
Woman walking dog near water when alligator attacked
Trappers in a St. Lucie County neighborhood pinned down an nearly 11-foot alligator, taped its mouth shut and hauled it away. The reptile is believed to be responsible for the death of an 85-year-old woman.
FORT PIERCE, Fla. – The family of the 85-year-old woman who was killed by a more-than-10-foot alligator while walking her dog is suing the retirement community, claiming they knew about the “dangerous” gators in the pond but didn’t do anything about it, according to a lawsuit.
Gloria Serge was walking her dog named Trooper along the retention pond behind her home in Spanish Lakes Fairways, a retirement community in Fort Pierce, on Feb. 20, 2023, according to the Serge family’s lawyers and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). An alligator, measuring over 10 feet long, grabbed onto her leg and dragged her into the water, drowning her.
According to the lawsuit, Serge shouldn’t have been walking her dog near this retention pond. Lawyers allege that Spanish Lakes Fairways sent Serge a letter limiting her dog-walking to two areas – a dog park about a mile from her home or her backyard, which was on the border of a community-run pond. Because the dog park was so far and not practical for her to visit several times a day, she was walking in the area behind her home the day she was killed by a gator, the lawsuit said.
“(Spanish Lakes Fairways) encouraged, if not forced, (Serge) to walk her dog near a retention pond that it knew, or should have known, contained large, dangerous alligators,” the lawsuit said.
This retention pond, along with others around the community, are “actively managed and regulated” by Spanish Lakes Fairways, the lawsuit said.
“(Spanish Lakes Fairways) knew, or should have known, that the retention pond located directly behind Ms. Serge’s residence contained multiple large, dangerous alligators that meet the definition of a nuisance under Florida law,” the lawsuit said. Additionally, the community allegedly “failed to take reasonable steps to remove this dangerous condition and instead actually made the condition more dangerous by permitting residents and employees to have regular contact with the alligators.”
According to the FWC, an alligator is deemed a nuisance if it’s over 4 feet long and the person who reports it believes it poses a threat to people, pets or property. The FWC’s Statewide Nuisance Alligator Program is in place to remove these nuisance alligators when someone is concerned.
Spanish Lakes Fairways failed to “make an arrangement for the trapping and removal of alligators from this retention pond despite the fact that they met the definition of a nuisance, and were therefore eligible for removal” under the FWC’s program, the lawsuit continued.
Instead of removing the alligator, Spanish Lakes Fairways maintenance workers “routinely fed this alligator chicken scraps and even named the dangerous reptile ‘Henry,’” attorneys from Lesser, Lesser, Landy & Smith said in a press release, adding that they have evidence to support this claim in court.
ALLIGATORS: Hungry alligator wolfs down python in thrilling video captured at Florida park: ‘Score one for the home team!’
“There were no signs posted around the lake warning residents of the presence of an alligator, and the property managers encouraged people to sit near the lake by placing a bench along the shoreline,” managing partner Gary S. Lesser said in a news release. “This flies in the face of common sense and warnings from wildlife experts.”
The lawsuit said that Serge’s survivors – her five children, 15 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren, have suffered and continue to suffer “lost companionship and protection as well as mental pain and suffering from the date of the loss.”
MORE ALLIGATORS: Freakishly long 12-foot, 600-pound gator found casually hanging outside, near a Florida mall
Photo: Lesser, Lesser, Landy & Smith, PLLC
“Property owners in Florida, and particularly those managing residential communities catering to elderly residents, have a legal and non-delegable duty to identify dangerous conditions on the property, warn those in the vicinity of the danger and take immediate steps to remove the threat,” firm partner Joshua D. Ferraro said in a press release. “Unfortunately, the managers at Spanish Lakes Fairways failed to live up to their obligations, and as a direct result, Gloria died a horrible and terrifying death.”
Serge’s family is seeking damages and a trial by jury.
Spanish Lakes Fairways did not reply to FOX 35’s request for comment at the time of publication.
Florida
FBI says suspects tried to rob Offset outside a Florida casino when he was shot in the leg
The rapper Offset was ambushed by a “large group” of people who tried to rob him outside a Florida casino last week when he was shot in the leg, the FBI said Tuesday.
Federal investigators said that they are still searching for the suspects who assaulted Offset last Monday night outside of Seminole Hard Rock in Hollywood, just north of Miami. Throughout the assault, a single shot was fired into Offset’s leg before an unsuccessful attempt to remove the rapper’s watch, the statement said. Offset, who rose to fame as part of the influential hip-hop trio Migos, was hospitalized for a couple of days, but swiftly returned to the stage at a performance at a music festival at the University of Arkansas on Saturday.
The suspects fled the scene in two Chevrolet SUVs that went in separate directions: A black Suburban that fled towards Hollywood, Florida, and a Tahoe that fled southbound towards Miami.
Following the shooting, officers detained two people, but law enforcement hasn’t shared evidence to directly tying either one to the shooting.
One of the people detained was rapper Lil Tjay, born Tione Jayden Merritt. He was arrested in connection with an altercation that occurred before the shooting, the Seminole Police Department in Florida said. He was charged with disorderly conduct and operating a vehicle without a valid license. His lawyer, Dawn M. Florio, told The Associated Press last week that Lil Tjay did not have a gun and was not charged with any weapons or gun-related crimes. He was swiftly released after posting bond.
Offset, born Kiari Kendrell Cephus, launched his career with Migos, one of the most popular hip-hop groups of all time. The Atlanta trio is celebrated for their rapid-fire triplet flow, an often-imitated delivery that changed the trajectory of trap.
The group had several multiplatinum selling singles, including “Bad and Boujee,” which went No. 1 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 chart, “Stir Fry,” and “Narcos.” Migos released four full-length albums across their career.
More than three years ago, Offset’s cousin Takeoff, another member of Migos, was shot and killed at a Houston bowling alley.
Florida
Florida teenager charged with sexually assaulting and killing stepsister Anna Kepner on cruise ship
A 16-year-old boy has been charged with murder and aggravated sexual abuse in Florida in the 6 November death of his 18-year-old stepsister on a Carnival cruise ship, the US justice department said Monday.
Timothy Hudson was initially charged in February and subsequently indicted on 10 March. But the breadth of the case was not known until a seal was lifted Friday, weeks after US district judge Beth Bloom in Miami said he would be prosecuted as an adult at the request of the government.
Anna Kepner, Hudson’s stepsister, had been traveling on the Carnival Horizon ship with her family. Before the ship was scheduled to return to Florida, her body was found concealed under a bed in a room she was sharing with two other teens, including the younger stepbrother.
The cause of Kepner’s death was determined to be mechanical asphyxia, which is when an object or physical force stops someone from breathing.
Email and voicemail messages seeking comment from Hudson’s attorneys about the charges were not immediately returned Monday. Hudson, whose name was disclosed through his signature on documents filed in federal court, has remained free in the care of an uncle since his arrest in February.
Kepner’s father, Christopher Kepner, released a statement, saying the family was placing “trust in the justice system to pursue the truth with care and integrity”.
“At the same time, we are deeply troubled that, despite the seriousness of the charges, he has not been taken into custody,” Kepner said. “The situation is deeply painful and complex for the entire family.”
In a written statement, US attorney Jason Reding Quiñones said, “Our hearts go out to the victim’s family during this unimaginable loss. A federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging serious offenses that allegedly occurred aboard a vessel in international waters.”
Kepner was a high school cheerleader at Temple Christian school in Titusville, Florida, about 40 miles (65 kilometres) east of Orlando. At her memorial service in November, family members encouraged people to wear bright colors instead of the traditional black “in honor of Anna’s bright and beautiful soul”.
Teens are rarely prosecuted in federal court. Hudson pleaded not guilty when he was initially charged in February, though the proceedings were not public because of his age – and neither were court documents. He was seen at the courthouse wearing a ball cap and a hoodie pulled tightly around his face.
A judge on 6 February said Hudson must wear an electronic tether while living with an uncle. The order was changed to allow him to join his father for a few days recently at a landscaping business, newly unsealed court records show.
Prosecutors objected to Hudson’s release, citing dangerousness, and asked a judge Monday to revisit that order now that he has been charged as an adult. Defense lawyers were given a week to respond.
“He committed these crimes against a victim with whom he had no apparent relational strife, and whom he was being raised to view as a sibling,” assistant US attorney Alejandra López said in a court filing.
Florida
16-year-old from Florida charged with sexually assaulting, killing stepsister on Carnival Cruise ship
MIAMI – A 16-year-old boy has been charged with murder and aggravated sexual abuse in Florida in the death of his 18-year-old stepsister on a Carnival Cruise ship, the U.S. Justice Department said Monday.
The teen, identified by the government as T.H., was initially charged as a juvenile on Feb. 2, but the case was sealed until U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom ordered that he would be prosecuted as an adult, the department said.
An email and voicemail seeking comment from T.H.’s lawyer about the indictment were not immediately returned.
Anna Kepner had been traveling on the Carnival Horizon ship in November with her family. Before the ship was scheduled to return to Florida, her body was found concealed under a bed in a room she was sharing with two other teens, including the younger stepbrother.
The cause of Kepner’s Nov. 6 death was determined to be mechanical asphyxia, which is when an object or physical force stops someone from breathing.
Kepner was a high school cheerleader at Temple Christian School in Titusville, Florida, some 40 miles (65 kilometers) east of Orlando. At her memorial service in November, family members encouraged people to wear bright colors instead of the traditional black “in honor of Anna’s bright and beautiful soul.”
Teens prosecuted in federal court are extremely rare. T.H. was seen at the Miami courthouse on Feb. 6, wearing a ball cap and a hoodie pulled tightly around his face. But his status at that time was not fully known because his age barred public disclosures by his lawyer, the government or the court.
Experts believe the case is in federal court, and not a state court where teens are commonly prosecuted, because Kepner died in international waters.
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