Your Florida Daily: Machete-wielding intruder crawls into sleeping man’s bedroom, deputies say

ORLANDO, Fla. – It’s Friday, August 19, and here’s the latest edition of Your Florida Daily.

Man With Machete Shot By Deputies

A man who broke into a homeowner’s apartment was shot by law enforcement after slicing a deputies’ hand with a machete, the Sarasota Sheriff’s Office says.

The Fruitland-area homeowner told 911 dispatchers he woke up to the suspect using a baseball bat to sharpen a large machete. According to the sheriff’s office, the suspect advanced at responding deputies and sliced the hand of one deputy with the machete.

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The unidentified suspect was shot and died at the scene.

The deputy suffered critical injuries to his hand and was sent to the hospital to have emergency surgery.

I Messed Up ‘Real Bad’

A lawyer’s group text message leads to a mistrial in a South Florida murder case.

According to a report by the South Florida SunSentinel, the prosecutor complained about the judge refusing to allow a 911 call into evidence against Corey Gorden, who is accused of killing his girlfriend’s 3-year-old son in 2015.

Assistant State Attorney Katya Palmiotto sent the text to a group chat containing current and former prosecutors — including the judge.

Defense lawyer Michael Gottlieb filed for mistrial on Wednesday, saying in a summary that the 15-year veteran prosecutor had been overheard saying she messed up “real bad.”

The judge was furious and declared a mistrial.

The Calm Before The Storm?

We’re heading into the peak of the Atlantic Hurricane Season, but so far the tropics have been eerily quiet.

In 2022 we’ve had only three named storms and no hurricanes. Even with active seasons in recent history researchers say they’ve actually seen a decline in storms since 1900.

A study published this summer by leading climate scientists found the warming Earth is actually causing fewer tropical systems.

Although climate change may be spawning fewer storms, researchers say the storms that do form have a better chance of becoming destructive major hurricanes.

A Completely Random Florida Fact

Here’s a Florida connection to one of the greatest unsolved mysteries of the 20th century.

Amelia Earhart left for her second attempt at an around-the-world flight from Miami’s municipal airport in 1937. This was the last time she was seen on American soil.

An elementary school in Hialeah is named in her honor.

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