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Police briefs 11/16/17

Clay County Sheriff's Office
Posted 11/15/17

Pedestrian struck on U.S. 17 FLEMING ISLAND – The Florida Highway Patrol reports that a 56-year-old man was struck by a vehicle as he attempted to cross U.S. Highway 17 on Fleming Island on …

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Police briefs 11/16/17


Posted

Pedestrian struck on U.S. 17
FLEMING ISLAND – The Florida Highway Patrol reports that a 56-year-old man was struck by a vehicle as he attempted to cross U.S. Highway 17 on Fleming Island on Nov. 13.
Joseph Thomas, 56, of Fleming Island, was transported to Orange Park Medical Center and treated for critical injuries after being struck by a 2010 Dodge Charger driven by Chrystiam Montesinos, 20, of Green Cove Springs.
Police said Montesinos was no injured in the crash that occurred at 6:37 p.m. near the intersection of County Road 15A.
The road was closed for approximately two hours to allow police to investigate the crash.
Charges are pending, according to FHP.

Mom arrested for striking child with belt buckle
MIDDLEBURG – A Middleburg woman faces one count of child abuse without great harm after an investigation by the Clay County Sheriff’s Office.
Police arrested Brittany Leanne Burgess, 23, on Nov. 12 at 11:28 p.m. after going to the woman’s home and talking to the victim.
According to the police report, Burgess became upset when the child – a girl – began folding the laundry and putting it away incorrectly.
“The defendant then grabbed a belt and hit the victim in the back of her head with the belt,” states the CCSO report.
Police said Burgess also grabbed the victim and struck her multiple times on the buttocks and lower back with the belt. Police saw scratches on the child’s arm they said were consistent with the story the child told police.
Burgess was booked in the Clay County Jail on the charge, but has since been released on bond.

Man falls from truck, dies
ORANGE PARK – The Florida Highway Patrol reports that a Jacksonville man died after falling out of the bed of a pickup truck last Friday near Orange Park.
Police said Avery L. Queely, 36, of Jacksonville, lost his balance, fell out of the 1998 Ford Ranger pickup and landed on the roadway on Lombard Street near the intersection of Crabapple Court on Nov. 10 at 10:11 a.m.
Police said Queely was riding on the tailgate of the truck that was driven by Warren J. Miller, 56, of Jacksonville.
Emergency rescue transported Queely to Orange Park Medical Center where he was later pronounced dead.
A second passenger in the truck, Chris Morales Garcia, 20, of Jacksonville, was not injured in the accident.

Couple injured in motorcycle crash
GREEN COVE SPRINGS – A Baker County couple was transported to the Orange Park Medical Center after a tire blowout led to a crash on U.S. Highway 17 South at Air Park Road on Nov. 10
The Florida Highway Patrol reports that Brian Ray Poole, 56, of Macclenny, was driving a Harley-Davidson southbound when the tire blew out and caused him to lose control.
Police said Brian Poole received serious injuries when he was thrown from the bike and separated from his wife and passenger. Vicki Roaldsen Poole received critical injuries.
Both were wearing helmets and FHP said alcohol was not a factor in the accident.

Man charged with contractor fraud
GREEN COVE SPRINGS – A Lake City man faces charges he defrauded an elderly woman in a home repair scam.
The Clay County Sheriff’s Office said Samuel John Burbach, 32, who also has a Mooresville, North Carolina address, turned himself over to authorities on Nov.8 at CCSO headquarters.
According to the warrant, the investigation began in August when Burbach went to the victim’s home in the 500 block of Southeast Lakeview Drive in Keystone Heights.
On the warrant, the investigating officer stated that Burbach “completed a contract to replace 4 windows, and to install a Pella French Door.” The service that the victim requested is one that requires the work be completed by someone who holds a valid general building or residential contractor’s license.
According to the warrant, on May 10, Burbach provided an estimate for $9,559.30 and required the victim to pay 50 percent down, or $4,779.65 with the balance due upon completion. Police said Burbach signed the contract as president of Superior Windows and Doors using what looked like an official company letterhead.
After three months of not showing up to perform the work, the victim asked that her deposit be returned, however, police said, Burbach stopped returning her phone calls and communicating via email. CCSO obtained their warrant on Nov. 8.
Burbach was booked into the Clay County Jail on one count each of grand theft and unregulated use of a contractor license number, but has since been released on $22,506 bond.

58-year-old dies in auto crash
KEYSTONE HEIGHTS – A Melrose man was killed in a two-vehicle crash last week on State Road 21 near the intersection of County Road 351 north of Keystone Heights.
The Florida Highway Patrol reports that Timothy Curtis Meek, 58, of Melrose, was driving northbound in a 1996 Ford F-150 truck when he veered in to the southbound lane and struck a 2007 Pontiac G6 head-on.
FHP said both vehicles collided head-on around 10:20 p.m. on Nov. 9 and came to rest near the area of impact. Meek was not wearing a seatbelt and have yet to determine whether alcohol was involved in the crash. The driver of the Pontiac, James Craig Osborne, 41, of Middleburg, was wearing a seatbelt and was not injured.
Meek was pronounced dead at the scene, FHP reported.

Fentanyl arrest in Middleburg
MIDDLEBURG – A Middleburg man who has multiple convictions for drug possession and trafficking is being held on $125,006 bond since his Nov. 8 arrest.
The Clay County Sheriff’s Office arrested Desmond Bennett Turner, 54, on Nov. 8 at 8:21 p.m. at his home in the 2000 block of Seminole Village Drive.
According to the police report, CCSO officers arrested Turner on an outstanding warrant. He faces charges of sale and delivery of fentanyl within 1,000 feet of a church and sale and delivery of crack cocaine within 1,000 feet of a church.
Turner has previous convictions, all dealing with cocaine. In August 2014, Turner was sentenced to 32 months in prison for cocaine trafficking, renting a structure for use in the drug traded and possession of a controlled substance with intent to sale. In May 2012, Turner was sentenced to two years in prison for cocaine possession and in August 2007, Turner was sentenced to three years in prison for cocaine possession.