BSO conducting traffic enforcement operation in Deerfield

This Friday, March 19 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., the Broward Sheriff's Office will be conducting a traffic enforcement operation near the 4300 block of Wiles Road, in Deerfield Beach near Lyons Rd. intersection.

The Broward Sheriff’s Office Deerfield Beach District and Regional Traffic Enforcement Unit will conduct a traffic checkpoint operation per the above listed times and location. Vehicles will also be inspected for defective safety equipment and motorists will be asked to show their drivers license, registration, and proof of insurance.

State representative Clarke-Reed to hold info session

Posted March 16 at 1:08 p.m.

            State Representative Gwyn Clarke-Reed is hosting an Empowerment Symposium to be held on Monday, March 29, 2010, at the E. Pat Larkins Community Center, 520 Martin Luther King Boulevard, Pompano Beach, FL. 

            The Aging & Disability Resource Center (SHINE), Legal Aid, Agency for Workforce Innovation, Florida Department of Transportation, and Women in Distress are among the many State Agencies that will be attending the event. This event will be divided into two sessions. 

            Session 1-- 9:00 am to 11:30 am, will focus on Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, Area on Aging, and Health and Senior Issues.  A Certified Nursing Assistant will be attending to provide complimentary blood pressure screenings.

            Session 2-- 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm, will address Housing, Jobs, Small Business Administration, as related to the American Resources & Recovery Act (ARRA) (Stimulus Dollars). The Dept. of Financial Services will have a representative assist anyone who wishes to search for unclaimed funds.

            A light lunch will be served.  Bottled water and juice will also be available.

            An RSVP Is Required for this event.  Please call 954-786-4848 to RSVP or by e-mail at Kathy.Snyder@myfloridahouse.gov.

Noisy West Wellfield work delayed till Wednesday

Posted March 16 at 9:36 a.m.

Unfortunately, the work scheduled for March 9 and 12 on the West Wellfield project ran into problems that prevented completion. The work has been rescheduled for Wednesday March  17, starting at 7 AM, and will run into the evening.  Once the procedure starts it cannot stop.

The Biscayne Aquifer well, or WW 22, is almost complete.  The final reaming of the 29" well hole to 180 feet below land surface has been redone and is now ready. On Wednesday, March 17, the driller will set the stainless steel screen and carrier pipe to a total depth of 177 feet. This will be followed by backfilling the remaining space outside the screen and carrier pipe with a special blend of clean gravel. 

The running equipment, mainly a generator for lights after dark, will be screened to reduce the noise as much as possible.  The actual placing of the gravel into the space around the screen and carrier pipe may also generate some additional noise.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Thank you in advance for your patience as the contractor works to complete this important phase of the project. For questions or concerns about this work, please call 954-480-4390 or 954-520-2549. Visit www.Deerfield-Beach.com and click on Project Updates under Quick Links.

Gun-wielding suspect shot in Pompano during drug raid

Posted March 14 at 12:24 p.m.

A raid on a Pompano Beach drug house left one suspect dead, several others arrested and resulted in the seizure of guns, drugs and cash just after midnight Saturday.

The Broward Sheriff’s Office Pompano Beach Selective Enforcement Team (SET), which targets narcotics and street crimes, received an anonymous tip that there was a drug house operating at 301 SW 18 Court. Through their investigation, the SET team corroborated the information and obtained a search warrant for the property on March 12. The investigation resulted in three narcotics-related arrests early Friday night and culminated with the search warrant served around midnight.

BSO’s SWAT Team assisted the Pompano Beach SET detectives with the warrant. When the residence was entered, detectives were confronted by a gun-wielding suspect, identified as Brenda Van Zwieten, 52, (pictured) and her boyfriend, Gary Nunnemacher, 47. Nunnemacher surrendered without incident but Van Zwieten refused to drop the loaded .357 magnum handgun. She was shot by the SWAT Team and died on the scene.

Recovered inside the house were two shotguns, a rifle and the gun the suspect brandished. The drugs seized included heroin, crack cocaine, marijuana and marijuana plants, alprazolam and over $500 cash. Those arrested face a variety of drug charges.

The deputies involved in the incident, per routine procedure, are placed on paid administrative leave while BSO homicide and internal affairs detectives continue their investigations.

Local restauranteur featured on Fox TV show Thursday

Posted March 10 at 9:35 a.m.

Last year, Le Bistro, a French restaurant in Lighthouse Point was paid a visit by Chef Ramsay, a nationally-known chef who has created shows such as Hell’s Kitchen and Kitchen Nightmare in which he helps local restaurants revamp their menus, service and looks. Last year, Ramsay, and Kitchen Nightmare visited Le Bistro and remade the restaurant in five days. Locals Andy and Elin Trousdale and their restaurant Le Bistro will be featured Thursday night at 9 p.m. on Fox in this week’s edition of Kitchen Nightmare.

“Watch the show to see locals, and a sampling of their new menu,” said Lighthouse Point Chamber president Michele Greene, “and then make it a point to dine one evening at the restaurant to "relive" the famous evening.”

Many locals in Lighthouse Point and Deerfield came out for the restaurant’s debut after Ramsay remade the menu, including the Observer Newspaper’s editor Diane Emeott and senior reporter Andrea Freygang.

Brummer wins seat in landslide; Hillsboro to close to call

Posted at 8:37 on March 9

With over 74 percent of the vote, Vice Mayor George Brummer easily won re-election for another term at the helm of Pompano Beach. In Hillsboro Beach, the race was almost too close too call. Voters came to the polls to vote for two candidates of their choice out of four, with the most votes winning. Incumbents Celinda Sawtelle and Tom Puleri both ran for re-election against active residents Joe Germano and Rhea Weiss in a friendly race that ended up pitting men against the women. Sawtelle was returned for another two years, and Puleri was ousted by Weiss.

Results

Joe Germano: 23.63% with 224 votes

Tom Puleri: 24.16% with 229 votes

Celinda Sawtelle:  26.58% with 252 votes

Rhea Weiss: 25.63% with 243 votes

In Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, a fairly contentious race, Mayor Roseann Minnet also won with a landslide 72 percent. Scot Sasser won with 71 percent against Marjorie Evans for District 1 while Chris Vincent knocked out incumbent Jim Silverstone for District 2.

For more on elections, see Thursday's Observer Newspaper.  

 West Wellfield Project UPDATE

Posted 3:03 p.m. 3/9/10

ON TUESDAY, MARCH 9: Late Work Hours to Finish Biscayne Well 22

The Biscayne Aquifer well, referred to as WW 22, is almost complete.  The final reaming of the 29-inch well hole to 180 feet below land surface has been completed. On Tuesday, March 9, the driller will set the stainless steel screen and casing to a total depth of 177 feet. This will be followed by backfilling the remaining space outside the casing with clean gravel pack.
  

THIS WORK IS SCHEDULED FOR TUESDAY MARCH 9 starting at 7 a.m. and will run into the evening (possibly as late as midnight).  Once the procedure starts, it cannot be stopped.

The running equipment, mainly a generator for lights after dark, will be screened to reduce the noise as much as possible.  Placing of the gravel into the space around the screen and casing may also generate some noise.

Notices regarding this issue were hand-delivered to residents of the impacted areas on Friday, March 5.

For more information, call 954-520-2549 or visit www.Deerfield-Beach.com and click on Project Updates under Quick Links.

Clerk wounds would-be robber in Deerfield

Posted March 7, 10:45 p.m.

A felon’s plan to rob a Deerfield Beach convenience store was foiled after he was shot by a clerk Friday night.

The incident occurred at approximately 9 p.m. March 5, at Snappy Convenience Store at 115 SE 10 Street. There were no customers in the store at the time and clerk Samir Al-Madi, whose father owns the store, told Broward Sheriff’s Office Robbery detectives that he was on the telephone when he looked out the window and saw a man with a handkerchief covering his mouth, the rest of his face, except for his eyes, concealed with the hood of his jacket, and a gun in his hand approaching the store.

Al-Madi said the suspect burst through the door yelling and demanding cash with the gun pointed directly at him. BSO Robbery detectives said at about the same time Al-Madi reached for a nearby gun and fired one shot, striking the gunman in the lower jaw area. When the robber started to get up, Al-Madi fearing for his safety fired several more shots. After hearing the commotion a clerk, who was in the back cooler area at the time of the shooting, came to the front of the store and grabbed the thief’s gun before he had a chance to retrieve it.

The suspect, who was later identified as, 24-year-old Alexander Brown, was rushed to North Broward Medical Center where he underwent surgery. He is expected to survive. Once he’s release from the hospital, Brown will be booked into a BSO jail on charges of armed robbery, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and possession of an altered firearm. Brown was released from a Florida State prison in March 2009 after serving time on burglary charges.

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Rendezvous robber strikes Super 8

Posted March 3, 1:30 p.m.
On Monday, a man on a rendezvous with a woman at the Super 8 motel in Pompano Beach appears to have been scammed. An armed man knocked on the door demanding money. When Jasper Morland Jr. handed it over, the robber, who had long dreadlocks and a handgun, passed it on to the woman. When he realized the two were in “cahoots,” he bolted out the door and a struggle ensued, captured by motel surveillance. Morland was able to break free.
There were a few surprises in store for a Deerfield Beach man who scheduled a morning rendezvous with a woman at a Super 8 motel Monday in Pompano Beach.
Morland later found out that the woman, who he met on a chat line, is really a man. Yasmick Jeune, 21, is facing armed robbery charges. The BSO is hoping someone will recognize the dreadlocked man from the video, posted on www.observernewspaperonline.com.
Anyone with information on the suspect involved in this armed robbery is asked to call BSO Robbery Det. Tony Hierrezuelo at (954) 321-4270 or report it anonymously to Crime Stoppers of Broward County at (954) 493-TIPS or online at www.browardcrimestoppers.org.
 

On Wednesday night a 53 year old man was killed when he was struck by a car. BSO are trying to find relatives to inform them of his death. According to BSO “detectives are withholding his name in the hope that they can notify them (family) in person.” He was crossing NE 33rd Street in Pompano when he was hit by w white 1999 Buick Century.

The man was 6’ 3” and unshaven. His identification card listed an address in Elmhurst, New York, but the address did not appear to detectives to be current. He may be Brazilian and also may work with concrete or marble. He wore a black jacket, black jeans, black work shoes, and wore a silver Citizen “Blue Angels” watch with a blue face. He was also wearing a white baseball cap with the words “Smoker Regional Cigar Friendly Magazines.” The hat has a grey brim.

If you are a friend or relative of the victim please contact Traffic Homicide Detective J.M. Kersey at 954-786-4203. You can also report it anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS or www.browardcrimestoppers.org.