WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (CBS12) — Here are the top stories with the most viewed photos from this week.
Florida woman calls 911 over traffic ticket, deputies find 28 bags of fentanyl
A Florida woman arrested after calling 911 to complain about a traffic ticket was later found with 28 bags of fentanyl hidden inside her body. (Getty Images, Polk County Jail)
POLK COUNTY, Fla. (CBS12) — A Florida woman arrested after calling 911 to complain about a traffic ticket was later found with 28 bags of fentanyl hidden inside her body.
The incident began when deputies blocked a roadway to assist utility crews working on power lines, per the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd (PCSO)
According to Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, 48-year-old Gina Redding of Lake Wales bypassed the roadblock, driving around a deputy stationed to redirect traffic. She was stopped at the other end of the closed road by a second deputy and issued a citation.
Displeased with the ticket, Redding reportedly began following the deputy’s patrol vehicle and called emergency services.
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Winn-Dixie employee accused of stealing over $32,000 in lottery tickets, police say
According to a Palm Beach Gardens Police Department, Essie Latrell Davis, 45, faces charges of grand theft over $20,000 and organized fraud after an investigation that began after store management reported discrepancies in lottery ticket inventory. (PBC Jail, Getty)
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. (CBS12) — An ex-Winn-Dixie employee is accused of stealing more than $32,000 in lottery tickets and redeeming thousands in winnings.
According to a Palm Beach Gardens Police Department, Essie Latrell Davis, 45, faces charges of grand theft over $20,000 and organized fraud after an investigation that began after store management reported discrepancies in lottery ticket inventory.
According to a Palm Beach Gardens Police Department, Essie Latrell Davis, 45, faces charges of grand theft over $20,000 and organized fraud after an investigation that began after store management reported discrepancies in lottery ticket inventory. (PBC Jail, Getty)
Police say the investigation dates back to July 2025, when the store’s regional asset protection manager noticed a shortage of scratch-off tickets. Surveillance footage allegedly showed Davis, who had access to both a lottery ticket dispenser and a secured safe, removing individual tickets as well as entire booklets.
According to the affidavit, footage captured Davis activating tickets at a store computer and scanning them using a Florida Lottery mobile app. Investigators say the videos show her discarding losing tickets and hiding winning ones in her clothing.
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Boynton Beach priest under investigation by Diocese of Palm Beach, law enforcement
The Diocese of Palm Beach says it has hired an independent firm and notified law enforcement and state officials to investigate what it calls serious allegations against Rev. Alex Vargas. Parishioners say they are waiting for answers as the investigation continues. (WPEC)
BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. (CBS12) — Questions remain surrounding allegations against a Boynton Beach Catholic priest after the Diocese of Palm Beach announced it has hired an independent investigative firm to review the claims.
Father Alex Vargas of St. Thomas More Parish was placed on administrative leave last Thursday over what the Diocese described as “serious allegations.” Church officials have not disclosed the nature of the allegations.
The Diocese of Palm Beach says it has hired an independent firm and notified law enforcement and state officials to investigate what it calls serious allegations against Rev. Alex Vargas. Parishioners say they are waiting for answers as the investigation continues. (WPEC)
The Diocese said it has retained Renaissance Associates, a private investigative firm, to conduct an independent review.
While the Diocese has not specified the allegations against Vargas, its public statement encouraged anyone who may have suffered abuse by a church representative to report it to the Diocese or the Florida Department of Children and Families.
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FL Walmart cashier accused of pocketing elderly customer’s $2,700 winning lottery ticket
Tameka Lashon Hall, 40, was arrested June 15 and charged with grand theft, according to an arrest affidavit from the Volusia Sheriff’s Office. (Florida Lottery, VSO)
A Walmart employee in DeLand is facing a felony charge after deputies say she kept a customer’s winning lottery ticket worth $2,700, only returning it the next day when confronted by investigators.
Tameka Lashon Hall, 40, was arrested June 15 and charged with grand theft, according to an arrest affidavit from the Volusia Sheriff’s Office.
HOLLYWOOD, FLORIDA – NOVEMBER 20: A Walmart sign hangs on the exterior of the store on November 20, 2025 in Hollywood, Florida. The retailer reported earnings per share of 62 cents and revenues of $179.5 billion through its latest quarter, sending the stock up more than 5.6% to above $106 shortly after trading opened. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Investigators say the situation started the afternoon of June 14 at the Walmart Neighborhood Market on South Woodland Boulevard. An elderly customer had gone to the store to check several lottery tickets — something he told deputies he does regularly, using the same numbers.
One of those tickets turned out to be a winner, worth about $2,700. But because of the amount, the store couldn’t pay him on the spot. Instead, he was given a receipt with instructions on where to claim the money, according to the affidavit.
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Not a crocodile or alligator, this predator is invading South Florida
It’s the spectacled caiman, and a University of Florida study is now shedding new light on its growing presence in the Everglades. In the canals, wetlands and marshes of the Florida Everglades, the spectacled caiman has quietly expanded its foothold, threatening an already vulnerable ecosystem. (University of Florida)
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (CBS12) — It looks familiar at a glance, gliding just beneath the water’s surface in canals and wetlands across South Florida. But scientists say this reptile is neither an alligator nor a crocodile.
It’s the spectacled caiman, and a University of Florida study is now shedding new light on its growing presence in the Everglades.
It’s the spectacled caiman, and a University of Florida study is now shedding new light on its growing presence in the Everglades. In the canals, wetlands and marshes of the Florida Everglades, the spectacled caiman has quietly expanded its foothold, threatening an already vulnerable ecosystem. (University of Florida)
In the canals, wetlands and marshes of the Florida Everglades, the spectacled caiman has quietly expanded its foothold, threatening an already vulnerable ecosystem. The spectacled caiman gets its name from a key physical feature: a bony ridge between its eyes that looks like a pair of glasses. Scientists say this is the easiest way to tell it apart from Florida’s native crocodilians.
Caimans are generally smaller than alligators and crocodiles, typically reaching about 6 to 8 feet. They also have a shorter, broader snout than crocodiles and a heavily armored body lined with bony plates. Their olive-brown coloring and banded tails can make them easy to confuse with young alligators at a distance.
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