Southeast
Florida Uber driver sold drugs to detectives in town for narcotics investigation convention: authorities
An Uber driver in Florida faces charges after allegedly trying to sell mushrooms and acid to his passengers, who ultimately ended up being investigators in town for the Florida Narcotics Officers’ Association Annual Conference, according to authorities.
The months-long investigation started in August 2023 when the conference was taking place in Miramar Beach.
The Walton County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO) said investigators with the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office ordered an Uber to drive them to dinner.
The driver, 54-year-old John Alcott of Crestview, arrived to pick up his ride, and when the investigators entered the vehicle, they reportedly smelled marijuana.
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John Alcott of Crestview, Florida, was arrested after allegedly trying to sell drugs to detectives. (Walton County Sheriffs Office)
Alcott allegedly told his passengers he had psilocybin mushrooms for sale, before opening his glovebox and exposing a “large bag” of mushrooms.
The detectives declined and later contacted WCSO investigators, who were also at the conference. The two agencies developed an undercover plan to purchase drugs from Alcott the next day, and when they executed the plan, the rideshare driver allegedly sold investigators 134 grams of psilocybin mushrooms, 10 psilocybin mushroom capsules and 12 doses of LSD for $1,000.
Alcott also allegedly told his new customers he could mail them a supply of hallucinogens as well.
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John Alcott of Crestview, Florida was arrested after allegedly trying to sell drugs to detectives. (Walton County Sheriff’s Office)
Citrus County detectives remained in contact with Alcott over the next few months, and an investigation found his Uber rides took him between Destin and Panama City Beach.
The undercover investigators told Alcott they would be taking a vacation in Miramar Beach in February, and while there, they would want to purchase mushrooms and LSD.
Then, on February 21, WCSO investigators, along with an undercover Citrus County detective worked together to organize a deal to purchase more than a quarter pound of mushrooms and 200 doses of LSD for $5,000.
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John Alcott of Florida was arrested after allegedly trying to sell mushrooms and LSD to an undercover detective in town for a narcotics investigations convention. (Walton County Sheriff’s Office)
Investigators set up surveillance near Alcott’s residence until he left to meet with the undercover detective.
On his way, police said, a WCSO deputy conducted a traffic stop and placed Alcott under arrest for warrants connected with the undercover purchase months prior.
A K-9 searched Alcott’s vehicle and located the mushrooms and LSD allegedly intended for the deal with the undercover detective.
“While these types of cases aren’t the primary focus of our VICE/Narcotics investigations, this one kind of came to us,” WCSO Sheriff Michael Adkinson said. “He obviously makes it a habit to sell while driving an Uber and that’s pretty alarming considering how teenagers and young adults frequently use driving services in the area.”
Uber did not immediately respond to inquiries from Fox News Digital on the matter.
Alcott has been charged with two counts of selling a hallucinogen, trafficking LSD, possessing a hallucinogen with distribution intent, possessing drug paraphernalia and two counts of using a two-way communication device to commit a felony. He was released the next day after posting $15,000 bond.
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Southeast
GOP Rep Nancy Mace introduces ‘Death Penalty for Child Rapists Act’
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Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., has introduced a bill to authorize the death penalty as a potential punishment for the sexual abuse of children.
“We have zero mercy for child rapists. Those who prey on our most vulnerable deserve the harshest consequence we can deliver,” Mace said in a statement.
The proposal is aptly called the “Death Penalty for Child Rapists Act.”
Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., announces she will run for South Carolina governor during a press conference at the Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina, on Aug. 4, 2025. (Tracy Glantz/The State/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
“No predator should be allowed to walk away from the most unthinkable crimes against children,” Mace noted.
“This bill is simple. Rape a child and you don’t get a second chance, you get the death penalty. We will never apologize for protecting America’s children,” Mace added.
The bill would put capital punishment on the table as an option to punish those who sexually abuse children.
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Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., attends the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
“INTRODUCING: The Death Penalty for Child Rapists Act to amend Title 18 to authorize the death penalty for aggravated sexual abuse, sexual abuse of a minor and abusive sexual contact offenses against children. It will also amend the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) to authorize the death penalty for the rape of a child,” she said in a post on X.
“We’ve spent months fighting to expose Jeffrey Epstein’s network of powerful predators. We’ve demanded accountability and pushed for transparency. Now we’re making sure anyone who rapes a child faces the ultimate consequence,” she noted.
Mace has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since early 2021.
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She is one of the candidates currently running in the South Carolina Republican gubernatorial primary.
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Southeast
Virginia Democrats talk affordability — and vote to nearly triple their own pay
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The Virginia State Senate and its Democratic majority may have voted to nearly triple their pay if a provision inserted into their final budget survives the House reconciliation process and reaches Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s desk.
The development comes as Spanberger has centered her campaign on “affordability,” with Richmond Democrats echoing that they are working to improve their constituents’ personal finances.
Virginia’s legislature itself was founded as a part-time, gentleman’s chamber, where lawmakers would return to their day jobs when Richmond wasn’t holding session.
Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger signs executive orders. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Proponents of raising the current 1988-established salary of $18,000 for senators and $17,640 for delegates say the structure restricts who can afford to serve as a lawmaker today. Lawmakers also qualify for a $237 per diem, mileage reimbursements, and coverage of office, meeting and other expenses.
Senators’ new salary would be $50,000.
Republicans were quick to criticize the final budget, with the Virginia Senate Minority Caucus saying in a statement that “teachers got a 3% raise, but Democrats give themselves 300%.” The actual increase would be closer to 178%, though one could say the new salary would be 300% of the original.
“The affordability hoax just gets worse and worse,” the caucus said, adding that the chamber’s majority killed a repeal of the car tax — something GOP gubernatorial nominee Winsome Sears ran on — while increasing the state budget by $1 billion overall.
Sen. Mark Obenshain, R-Rockingham, told WVTF it is the “wrong time” to address lawmaker pay.
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“It’s supposed to be affordability for working families across Virginia, not members of the General Assembly,” he said.
Virginia’s legislature — the oldest continuous legislative body in the New World — has been making laws since its inception as the House of Burgesses in Colonial Williamsburg, where Spanberger gave the Democratic Party’s State of the Union response.
In her speech, she claimed President Donald Trump is the one “enriching himself, his family and his friends” and said Republicans are the ones “making your life more expensive.”
“I traveled to every corner of Virginia, and I heard the same pressing concern everywhere: costs are too high. In housing, healthcare, energy, and childcare,” she said.
“Americans deserve to know that their leaders are focused on addressing the problems that keep them up at night.”
“Democrats across the country are laser-focused on affordability — in our nation’s capital and in state capitals and communities across America,” Spanberger said Tuesday.
The pay raise could be moot if the Democrat-controlled House of Delegates does not amend its own budget proposal to include the provision.
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The House’s budget includes $137 million for expanded childcare access, a minimum wage increase to $13.75 in 2027 and $15 in 2029, and a $20 million appropriation for state employees’ and home health care workers’ collective bargaining, according to Washington’s ABC affiliate.
Fox News Digital reached out to the governor, as well as the House and Senate minority leaders, for further comment.
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Southeast
Virginia murder suspect in bus stop stabbing had lengthy criminal history, multiple dropped charges
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A Virginia murder suspect accused of fatally stabbing a woman at a bus stop earlier this week has a lengthy criminal history filled with multiple arrests, but was let back onto the streets nearly every time.
Abdul Jalloh, 32, is charged with the Monday night killing of Stephanie Minter, 41, of Fredericksburg, at a bus stop shelter, the Fairfax County Police Department said.
Minter was found by officers with stab wounds to her upper body and pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
Abdul Jalloh, 32, is accused of killing Stephanie Minter, 41, at a Virginia bus stop. (Fairfax County Police Department; provided)
Jalloh, 32, who was seen on surveillance cameras exiting the bus with Minter at Richmond Highway and Arlington Drive, was arrested the next day.
He was arrested at a liquor store after an employee called 911. At the time, officers arrested him for allegedly shoplifting. Investigators linked him to the murder a day later.
Authorities were still trying to determine a motive for the killing and what led to the deadly stabbing.
A search of online court records revealed Jalloh has more than a dozen arrests in northern Virginia, including on charges of petty larceny and malicious wounding.
In most of the cases, prosecutors dropped the charges, FOX D.C. reported.
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Abdul Jalloh seen on a bus in Virginia. (Fairfax County Police Department)
Laura Birnbaum, the chief of staff for Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano, said Jalloh was known to the district attorney’s office and was “acutely aware of the risk he posed to the community.”
“That is why we convicted the defendant of a 2023 malicious wounding charge, and have since made every effort to hold him accountable each subsequent time that he has come in contact with the criminal justice system, including asking him to be held in custody whenever possible,” Birnbaum said.
“Unfortunately, the defendant in this case also had a history of selecting victims with no fixed address – some of the most vulnerable members of our community,” she added. “In multiple cases, we were unable to move forward with prosecution because victims could not be located or contacted.”
Stephanie Minter, 41, was killed on Monday after getting off of a bus in Virginia. (Provided)
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An obituary for Minter described her as a “happy, jolly” person.
“A beam of light in dark places,” the obituary states.
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