A former track coach at St. Petersburg High School was arrested Monday, accused of having a consensual sexual relationship with a 16-year-old female student, St. Petersburg police said. Lee Edward Fictum, 32, of Pinellas Park, was charged with unlawful sexual activity with a minor, jail records say. He was being held at the Pinellas County Jail on $250,000 bail. Fictum developed a personal relationship with the girl that turned sexual in the summer of 2007, St. Petersburg police spokesman Bill Proffitt said. The girl's father became aware of the relationship and then made a report to St. Petersburg police, Proffitt said. ...more

October 7, 2008

Police arrested a man on a manslaughter charge early this morning in connection with the death of a 17-year-old girl Saturday night. ...more

October 5, 2008

The Highlands County Commissioners took a big step Tuesday toward building the new law enforcement building for the sheriff's office, estimated at $11.1 million. ...more

September 24, 2008

SARASOTA - Police found a 2-year-old boy wandering alone this morning along U.S. 41 and are investigating how the child escaped from his home. ...more

September 11, 2008

As a sergeant with the Pinellas Park Police Department, Russell Barnes was suspended two days without pay for accidentally firing a gun inside the police station. ...more

August 20, 2008

A U.S.-educated Pakistani woman suspected of links to al-Qaida appeared in federal court Tuesday in New York on charges of attempting to kill American military officers and FBI agents in Afghanistan last month. ...more

August 6, 2008

A man carjacked a woman's Lexus at gunpoint just after midnight Sunday, forcing her to drive the vehicle, and she later bailed out of the car while it was still moving, St. Petersburg police say. ...more

July 28, 2008

Just three weeks before Zimbabwe's presidential runoff, Robert Mugabe is giving the opposition little room to campaign - detaining its candidate, banning rallies and attacking diplomats who try to investigate political violence. ...more

June 7, 2008

The leader of Zimbabwe's opposition was detained by police about nine hours Wednesday amid ominous signs the government is tightening its grip on the country less than four weeks before a presidential runoff election. ...more

June 5, 2008

A man suspected of beating and raping a woman after he invited her into his home Monday was found dead Tuesday morning behind his family's Land O' Lakes business. Authorities are calling it a suicide. ...more

June 4, 2008