CRIME & SAFETY
After 35 Years in Prison, Leo Schofield Will Be Paroled on April 30
After 35 years in prison for the 1987 stabbing death of his teenage wife in Lakeland, Leo Schofield Jr. will see freedom in 13 days. For years, Schofield’s release date had been set for June, 24, 2023, but during a parole hearing last May, the state’s three-member Commission on Offender Review agreed that he should spend a year in a transitional program before his parole would be considered. Schofield has successfully completed that program at the Everglades Re-Entry Center in Miami, according to comments during Wednesday’s hearing in Tallahassee, and the commission’s investigators have recommended that he be released.
21-year-old motorcyclist dies after pickup pulls in front of him on Lake Hatchineha Road
A 21-year-old motorcyclist from Poinciana was killed early Tuesday when a pickup truck pulled out in front of him on Lake Hatchineha Road. The Polk County Sheriff's Office said the crash happened about 6:30 a.m. just west of V-8 Ranch Road. According to a PCSO news release, Erik Manuel Torres, 21, of Poinciana was driving a 2018 Kawasaki motorcycle east on Lake Hatchineha Road when a a gray 2002 Ford F150 pickup truck began pulling out of a private driveway to turn west onto the same road.
Mistrial: Jo Lobato first-degree murder trial halted during defendant's testimony
The judge in the Jo Samuel Lobato first-degree murder trial declared a mistrial Monday over an evidentiary issue while the defendant was on the witness stand. When reached for comment, defense attorney Cory Chastang declined to get into specifics of what happened in the courtroom. He did say it was over an "evidentiary" matter before he suggested a call to the State Attorney's Office.
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