Police and Fire

At the beginning of this weeks’ CERT (Citizen Emergency Response Team) session we were greeted and thanked by MIFD Chief Mike Murphy. The chief voiced his full support for Marco Islands’ citizen corps, and reinforced to us just how important our various support roles are, and how we will take part of the burden away from the fire and police departments as well as helping our fellow Marco neighbors. Full story »

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An East Naples man swimming off Tigertail Beach on Marco Island had his foot sliced by a boat’s propeller Sunday afternoon. Full story »

At the culmination of the spring session of CERT training, Marco Island will have over 100 trained volunteers prepared to augment our local, county, state and federal disaster responders. Full story »

A former Marco Island firefighter-EMT was arrested on a warrant during the weekend after authorities said he lied about passing a state test and then passed himself off as a paramedic. Brian Matthew Franklin, 24, of Cape Coral, was charged with practicing as an EMT paramedic ambulance driver without a certificate, which is a misdemeanor. Full story »

Roger Reinke leaves big shoes to fill as he moves from his job as Marco Island police chief to become assistant city manager in Naples on May 5. So a size 14 gift was fitting. The Marco Island chief of police was roasted at a farewell celebration hosted by the Marco Island Police Foundation on Friday night at Orion Bank. Reinke’s going-away gifts for his seven years of service as Marco chief included a size 14 running shoe. Full story »

People from across Southwest Florida emptied their wallets last year, purchasing $5 raffle tickets as part of a benefit to raise money for Jennifer Molter, the 16-year-old sole survivor of a January 2007 boat crash on Big Marco Pass that killed her mother, brother, sister and her sister’s fiance. The money was put into a trust for the sole purpose of paying for Jennifer’s college expenses. But an investigation by the Naples police department revealed not all the money was used for its intended purpose. Full story »

If a thief or burglar really wants to get into your home or condo, he’ll do so, but placing deterrents in his path will likely steer him along the path of least resistance. Translation: He’ll go rip off some other place. Full story »

The 500-acre fire that burned Monday in the Picayune Strand State Forest was a proscribed burn that was aborted when the humidity unexpectedly dropped, said Gerry LaCavera, wildfire mitigation specialist with the Florida Division of Forestry Full story »

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Judith Diamond often came to work with bruises, cuts, black eyes — even a cast and crutches, witnesses told investigators. The Marco Island woman told friends and relatives that her husband of 17 years, David, had a temper and often beat her. She said he’d threatened to kill her as she swam in the pool of their rented home, dunking her head and telling her it would be so easy to kill her as she swam, witnesses said. Full story »

It could easily have been an April Fools’ prank. The thing is, nobody was fooling. An eight-foot Burmese python was rescued from the rafters of a Marco Island Executive Airport hangar Thursday, a couple of days after first being spotted on April Fools’ Day. The rescue was a collaborative effort between the Civil Air Patrol, the Marco Island and Isles of Capri fire departments and an animal rescue team from the nonprofit Everglades Outpost. Full story »

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