WAFC Local News – December 23, 2025, 8:32 AM
Transcript
I’m Charles Murphy reporting. A lawsuit filed by Moorhaven’s former high school football coach Emanuel Hendricks against the school board. The lawsuit stems from an incident where Hendricks daughter was allegedly assaulted by another parent at school. He is suing the school board for negligent security alleging the district failed to protect his child. The child’s head was allegedly pounded against the pavement and resulted in a concussion and headaches. There’s no trial date The Glades County Sheriff’s Office announced their annual awards. Sheriff David Harden named Julio Perez as law enforcement officer of the year. He’s a school resource officer at Moorhaven Elementary. Dispatcher of the year was dispatch supervisor Isabel Rodriguez. Corrections officer of the year was Sergeant Audrey Baxter. Administrative personnel of the year was Jessica Perez and Pam Strielman won the Sheriff’s Choice Award for her work helping with the Florida Sheriff’s Association accreditation. A corrections guard who lives in South Bay will not face charges in Okeechobee for allegedly having an affair on campus with an inmate at their level 10 juvenile facility in 2024. The state attorney filed a no information in the case of Nickas Tibbs for alleged sexual misconduct. Sheriff investigators say they were looking at a smuggled cell phone brought into the facility and found evidence Tibbs had a sexual and romantic relationship with an 18 year old man a client at the facility last year. They found certain text messages and photos from the phone. She was terminated by the Everglades Youth Academy after the arrest. An apartment fire in Belle Glade luckily nobody was home. Palm Beach deputies did their best to look for people at the fire on Southwest 6th Street in apartment 11. It’s believed that somebody left some cooking on the stove and it did damage the apartment with fire and smoke damage. The Red Cross did come to the aid of the family. A 25 year old Clewiston man is facing charges after an alleged domestic battery. 25 year old Deontay Butts is also facing felony kidnapping and misdemeanor criminal mischief. In the incident that happened in July he was recently arrested on a warrant. He had gone to a friend’s house and then struck a female violently in the face several times. He also bit her on the right cheek allegedly. A neighbor provided a ring camera video to deputies that caught much of the altercation. The female was treated at the scene by Henry County EMS. Butts allegedly used an item to crack her vehicle’s windshield before he fled the area on foot. An Okeechobee man was reportedly intoxicated and firing rounds from a handgun at Raycell Ranch in Loxahatchee Saturday night resulting in his arrest. Palm Beach County Sheriff deputies arrested 39 year old Mark Dalton with multiple charges of aggravated assault on law enforcement, discharging a firearm in public and with drug possession. Deputies say Dalton was doing donuts in his vehicle and drove towards them in a reckless manner trying to hit four deputies. He then drove off and fired four to six more rounds. Deputies say Dalton pulled over after leaving the property. Deputies say they believe he was under the influence of alcohol. They found one pill of OxyContin. He also spouted racist and anti-Semitic slurs. They also seized a handgun. I’m Charles Murphy, WAFC News.
Recorded from the WAFC daily newscast (Glades Media).