It’s Thursday, March 25th - and NBC 6 has the top stories for the day.
No. 1 - New video appears to show the moments Miami Beach police officers arrest one of the suspects accused of drugging and raping a woman who was later found dead in a hotel.
The video, obtained by NBC 6 on Wednesday, shows officers handcuffing 21-year-old Evoire Collier on March 20. Collier and Dorian Taylor, 24, have been charged with sexual battery as well as burglary with battery, theft and credit card fraud. Twenty-four-year-old Christine Englehardt, of Pennsylvania, was found dead last Thursday after officers responded to “reports of an unconscious female” at a South Beach hotel, according to a police report. The men are accused of stealing the dead woman's credit cards to help fund their South Beach vacation, the report says. Online jail records did not indicate whether the two had an attorney who could speak for them.
No. 2 - A Fort Lauderdale police officer was arrested Wednesday and accused of having sexual conversations online with who he believed was a minor, officials said.
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Louis Walsh, 29, faces two counts of transmission of material harmful to a minor, the Broward Sheriff's Office said in a news release. Investigators in Minnesota said Walsh engaged in sexual conversations with an undercover detective who he believed was a female minor and sent a photo of himself exposing his private area. The Minnesota Human Trafficking Investigators Taskforce notified BSO of the crimes on Tuesday and detectives verified Walsh's identity. Walsh was arrested Wednesday afternoon at the Fort Lauderdale Police Department and was booked into Broward County jail.
No. 3 - Crews in one Palm Beach County city were able to rescue a naked woman from a storm drain after what she said was a “significant time” trapped inside.
The incident occurred Tuesday in Delray Beach, when a passerby heard the woman, later identified as 43-year-old Lyndsey Kennedy, inside the drain and called 911. Fire rescue crews arrived at the scene along Southwest 11th Avenue just south of Atlantic Avenue. Spokesperson Dani Moschella told the station that crew members used a ladder and harness to get the woman out of the eight foot deep drain. Kennedy later told police she went for a swim a canal near her boyfriend's home on March 3rd and noticed a tunnel that led to another tunnel. Kennedy said she realized she was lost and found a location where she could see people walking above her and stayed there for three weeks.
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No. 4 - The federal ban on evictions meant to help struggling renters during the pandemic is set to expire on March 31.
But South Florida housing advocates want the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s moratorium to be extended. Last week, 2,272 organizations sent a letter to President Joe Biden urging him to extend the CDC’s moratorium. In order for a renter to be protected under the CDC moratorium, they must complete a declaration stating they meet certain qualifications and provide a copy to their landlord. But NBC 6 Responds found it’s a step many South Florida renters have not taken so far. Click here to find out why in a story from NBC 6 consumer investigator Sasha Jones.
No. 5 - Fire crews in Fort Lauderdale attempted to rescue a curious kitty who got stuck atop a light on the edge of a causeway bridge about 50 feet above water.
NBC 6 chopper footage showed the cat perched on a lamp jutting out of the 17th Street causeway, with a firetruck nearby and several firefighters working their way over. The cat eventually hopped away from its rescuers, running back onto the bridge and across one of the lanes. Deputies said that since the cat is believed to be part of a feral kitty community that lives in the area, they decided to leave it be to prevent it from running off the bridge or into traffic.
No. 6 - Weatherwise, muggy and warm are two words that describe what South Florida will be feeling like Thursday with no rain to help provide relief. Keep your NBC 6 app handy for push alerts on any severe weather as well as First Alert Doppler 6000.
