It’s Friday, February 11th - and NBC 6 has the top stories for the day.
No. 1 - A man was taken into custody after Lauderhill firefighters prevented him from carjacking a fire rescue truck, the department said.
The incident happened Tuesday night at the Lauderhill Fire Station. Firefighters from Rescue 30 were returning from a previous emergency call when they saw a man run towards the fire station and scale the gate to the parking lot, Lauderhill Fire Rescue said in a news release Thursday. As the firefighters confronted the man, he got aggressive and attempted to enter the driver's side of a rescue truck, and he ultimately gained access through the window. Investigators identified the man as 31-year-old Freddie Joseph Ross, who was taken into custody and has been in the hospital since Tuesday night.
No. 2 - Neighbors of a Wilton Manors man who'd recently died were shocked to find a massive cache of weapons in his apartment when they went to check on his dog.
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The incident unfolded Wednesday at the building in the area of Northeast 29th Drive and 6th Avenue and required a response from Fort Lauderdale Police's Bomb Squad and military explosives specialists. Neighbors said the man, who they knew as Mike and was in his 70s, died unexpectedly Tuesday as he was moving out and placing items in storage. On Wednesday, his next-door neighbor Gabrielle, who didn't want to give her last name, went to the man's apartment to check on his dog and was stunned by what she found. Click here for more in a report from NBC 6’s Marissa Bagg.
No. 3 - A girl who was arrested back in November after she was accused of making threats against students and staff at a charter school in Pembroke Pines was framed by an ex-classmate who is now charged in the incident, police said Thursday.
Pembroke Pines Police had arrested the 13-year-old girl back on Nov. 19 after threats were made on Instagram against students and staff at Renaissance Charter School, where the teen had been a student. The threats led to the school being placed on a code yellow. Police said the teen's family initially didn't cooperate with investigators, and the decision to arrest her was made in consultation with the Broward State Attorney's Office. In January, detectives obtained new evidence that showed that a 12-year-old girl who also attended Renaissance Charter School used the 13-year-old's information to create an email address and open multiple Instagram accounts, police said.
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No. 4 - A South Florida man who was left paralyzed after a police officer shot him in the back called for prosecutors to investigate and potentially file criminal charges in connection with the shooting last summer.
Michael Ortiz was having a panic attack at his Hollywood home on July 3, 2021, and called 911 for help. Hollywood Police responded, and instead of aiding him after he was already lying on the floor and handcuffed, an officer shot him in the back — paralyzing him from the waist down. Hollywood Police admitted the mistake in a statement Tuesday, saying in part, “As he continued to resist, an officer discharged his firearm, striking Mr. Ortiz once … and initial review suggest the officer intended to deploy his taser, but instead discharged his firearm."
No. 5 - Nearly a month after the sudden death of one of America’s favorite TV dads, we now know the cause of death of actor and comedian Bob Saget.
“I was surprised,” said Dr. Javier Talamo, an emergency room doctor at HCA Florida University Hospital. “I think there was a lot of speculation to what it could have been. I don’t think head trauma was at the top of anyone’s list.” Saget’s family announced Wednesday that the “Full House” star died of head trauma, accidentally hitting the back of his head on something and then going to sleep. Talamo says patients come in with head trauma all the time but says it usually isn’t serious. Click here for more on how to know the warning signs in a report from NBC 6’s Kim Wynne.
No. 6 - Homeowner Betty Chenet says after handing over thousands of dollars to a contractor, she was left with an eyesore in her backyard.
“No other companies want to take this job, nobody wants to do it,” Chenet said. She says she contracted with Villa Pavers and Pools in 2019 to build a pool in her backyard. She is one of the nearly 100 homeowners who gave money to this company, according to state investigators. The company’s owner Ricardo Villarroel and others are accused of operating a $1 million statewide pool fraud scheme. Despite the arrests, Chenet is still $28,000 in the hole and the pool is a sitting eyesore in her backyard. Click here for more on why it could be harder for people like her to get a refund in a report from NBC 6 consumer investigator Sasha Jones.
