Wildcat Athletes Firefighters Educate Are Flying High Local Young Readers See Page B6 See Page B1 WAUCHULA BOWLING GREEN ZOLFO SPRINGS ONA FORT MEADE 93¢ Plus 7¢ Sales Tax Herald-THE Advocate SERVING THE PEACE RIVER VALLEY 121st Year • No. 22 • 2 Sections www.TheHeraldAdvocate.com Thursday, April 22, 2021 Eddie Grant Murder Trial PHOTOS BY TOM STAIK Gabriel Arenas Ceja (right) stands with defense attor- ney Cory Chastang as Circuit Court Judge Michael Raiden reads the verdict of the jury: not guilty on all counts. Gerardo DeSantiago Tragic Accident Kills BG Boy By MICHAEL KELLY Of The Herald-Advocate A fun day of fishing turned tragic for a Bowling Green family after a 3-year old boy was killed in St. Petersburg over the weekend. Family members confirmed to The Herald-Advocate Tues- day the boy was 3-year old Gerardo DeSantiago. According to a press release from the Florida Highway Pa- trol, the accident occurred at the South Sunshine Skyway Fishing Pier on Saturday just before 5 p.m. The boy was walking west NOT GUILTY By TOM STAIK on the pier behind a parked ve- That particular charge was not tried hicle and attempted to cross Of The Herald-Advocate during last week’s trial. the northbound travel lane on Garbriel Arenas Ceja is not guilty of the A pre-trial conference is set for April 27 the pier, according to the re- murder of Eddie Grant. at 1:30 p.m. before Judge Raiden for that port. A Hardee County jury of six took two charge. A Chevrolet S-10 pickup, hours of deliberation on Friday (April 16) The trial of Ceja set a quick pace. driven by a 19-year old from to determine Ceja’s fate in connection to A jury was empaneled in the case April Lutz, was traveling north along the 2018 shooting death of Grant. 12 at the Hardee County Agri-Civic Cen- the pier and hit the child as he Ceja was facing charges of second de- ter. was attempting to cross the gree murder with a firearm, aggravated Assistant State Attorney Hannah Potter road, the report states. assault with a deadly weapon, and tam- and defense attorneys Robert Norgard and The child was pronounced pering with a witness. Cory Chastang presented opening argu- dead at the scene and the crash Circuit Court Judge Michael Raiden ments Tuesday, April 13. investigation is ongoing. read a note from the one-man, five- Potter presented two and a half days be- The FHP did not release the woman jury at 1:19 p.m. informing the fore resting the state’s case last Thursday name of the driver or the child. court that: “A verdict has been reached.” (April 22) morning after introducing more A GoFundMe account has Ceja walked out of Hardee County Jail than a dozen witnesses, law enforcement been established to help the a little over two hours later at 3:39 p.m. officers, and experts to the court. family with funeral costs and The 28-year-old still has one more hur- The defense team introduced only one the loss of work from both par- dle to face in the case. witness: Ceja. ents following the accident. Circuit Court Judge Michael Raiden (right) administers an A charge of possession of a weapon by Ceja testified that on the night of oath to Gabriel Arenas Ceja (left) prior to Ceja’s taking the Anyone wishing to donate a convicted felon remains unresolved. can do so at https://www.go- See NOT GUILTY A2 stand in his own defense in the Eddie Grant murder trial. fundme.com/f/help-the-de- santiago-family. WPD Purchases 13 Body WEATHER Cameras In Move To DATE HIGH LOW RAIN 04/13 90 52 0.00 Increase Accountability 04/14 87 59 0.00 04/15 85 62 0.00 By TOM STAIK need to get these on the street. 04/16 84 61 0.00 Of The Herald-Advocate The department has ordered 04/17 86 64 0.00 The Wauchula Police De- 13 body cameras. 04/18 87 67 0.00 partment will soon be the first Nine of the devices will be 04/19 83 70 2.79 law enforcement agency in assigned to the WPD’s road pa- Rainfall to 04/19/2021 - 8.93 Same period last year - 3.37 Hardee County to permanently trol officers. Ten Year Average - 48.94 outfit its ranks with body cam- The remaining four cameras Source: Univ. of Fla. Ona Research Center eras. will be available as-needed by “This is one more tool in our detectives and administration. tool belt to increase trust, trans- The Hardee County Sheriff’s INDEX COURTESY PHOTO parency, and accountability,” Office recently conducted a Five people were on board a Hardee County school bus Monday morning when said Chief of Police John Classifieds . .A8 limited field-test of body cam- it overturned on Heard Bridge Road during a torrential rain storm. Eason. eras. According to Col. Chip Courthouse Report . .B8 Components associated with Roberts, the department is con- Crime Blotter . .B3 the body cameras – that will tinuing the review process and work in connection to the de- will soon be conducting an- Fort Meade Times . .B4 1 Seriously Injured In partment’s in-car video sys- other test with a different Hardee Living . .A6 tems – are expected to begin vender. arriving within the week. Information Roundup . .A5 Wauchula’s investment in The $67,171.65 investment the technology is with Watch- Obituaries . .A5 School Bus Rollover by the Wauchula City Commis- Guard. Puzzles . .B9 By TOM STAIK morning’s thunderstorm activity. sion has been many years com- The tech provider provided Of The Herald-Advocate According to a statement from the Florida ing. the department’s in-car camera One person was seriously injured in a Highway Patrol, the accident reportedly oc- “This has been something system. rollover wreck Monday morning involving a curred as the 2016 school bus was traveling we have been trying to move “We currently have Watch- Hardee County school bus. north on Heard Bridge Road near East Rea toward for the past five years; Guard systems for our in-car The single-vehicle accident occurred at 6:41 Road. due to climate and trans- camera systems,” Eason said. a.m. on April 19 during the height of Monday See BUS A4 parency and accountability we See CAMERAS A2 A2 The Herald-Advocate, April 22, 2021 Herald-THE Advocate Longtime Hardee County SERVING THE PEACE RIVER VALLEY MICHAEL R. KELLY Co-Publisher and Editor Attorney Stepping Down JAMES R. KELLY Co-Publisher By MICHAEL KELLY time to move on,” he said. “I feel I have board. NOEY DeSANTIAGO Of The Herald-Advocate reached that point after 20 years.” Commission chairman Russell Me- Production Manager TOM STAIK After nearly 20 years of offering He said he was looking into to other lendy said the announcement “was not Managing Editor legal advice to commissioners, long- avenues professionally and stated he good news.” DARLENE WILLIAMS time county attorney Ken Evers in- has put feelers out in surrounding “I am thankful for the amount of ef- Assistant formed the board Thursday morning counties but did not elaborate what fort and time you have put into this and Production Manager they should begin looking for his re- those potential plans entail. the amount of money we have saved by 115 S. Seventh Ave. P.O. Box 338 placement. Evers said developing a request for having you on staff,” he said. “We are Wauchula, FL 33873 Evers said he is considering moving proposal and hiring another attorney losing a lot of institutional knowledge.” Phone: (863) 773-3255 Fax: (863) 773-0657 in a new direction with his practice and should take 60-90 days. Evers said he would always be will- said he will stay in his current role until “I don’t want to leave the county ing to answer questions as they arise or [email protected] the county can hire a new attorney. without representation while I consider provide the new attorney with any his- [email protected] “There comes a time in life when it’s other things professionally,” he told the torical knowledge. [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] NOT GUILTY [email protected] Continued From A1 Published weekly on Thursday at Wauchula, Florida, by the Grant’s death, the victim be- of the Bowling Green Police – and spent the next three days eyewitness testimony of the Herald- Advocate Publishing Co. Inc. Periodical Postage paid at came agitated after Ceja re- Department at the time of hiding in a nearby citrus grove. state’s witnesses. U.S. Post Office, Wauchula, FL 33873 and additional entry office fused to loan him more money. Ceja’s apprehension in Geor- "I was scared, I was con- “Even one fact that is in (USPS 578-780). “Postmaster,” send address changes to: “He was aggressive,” Ceja gia. fused, I was panicked,” he said. doubt can be reasonable The Herald-Advocate, P.O. Box 338, Wauchula, FL 33873. said, explaining that he In that statement, played in Ceja said he snuck out of the doubt,” Norgard said. “wanted to get out of there.” court on April 14, Ceja is heard grove once to visit his mother The case faced several de- DEADLINES: Ceja said that a fist to the claiming that the gun fell from and secure a cell phone before lays leading into last week’s Hardee Living — Thursday 5 p.m.