Teen charged with fondling minor girl

KEYSTONE HEIGHTS – A Keystone Heights 19-year-old faces one count of lewd and lascivious molestation for allegedly touching a minor while she was fully clothed.

The Clay County Sheriff’s Office arrested Daniel Thomas Bronson Jr. on April 25 after obtaining an arrest warrant.

According to the police report, Bronson was an invited guest at the victim’s home when the allegation took place on April 21. Police said, he followed the girl and his brother into the girl’s bedroom “despite not being allowed in her bedroom,” states the report.

Police said the victim told Bronson to stop and pushed his hand away from her buttocks, however, he immediately placed his hand back on her in an unwelcomed manner.

Bronson is officially charged with lewd and lascivious molestation on a victim younger than age 12 by a person older than age 18.

He was booked into the Clay County Jail where his bond was set at $50,003.

Teen charged with stealing car

DOCTORS INLET – A late night joy ride recently ended in an arrest for a Doctors Inlet teen.

The Clay County Sheriff’s Office arrested Cameron Lee Carson, 16, on April 25 at 6:25 a.m. and charged him with one count of grand theft auto.

According to the police report, the victim noticed her car was missing around 1:30 a.m. when she went to look for her car keys.

Police said the victim reported the theft about an hour and a half after Carson returned with the car. Police did not provide clear information on how the victim and Carson know each other, but the police report lists their addresses on the same street.

When police contacted the victim, she said she still wanted to press charges and told police she did not give Carson permission to use her vehicle.

Carson was booked on the charge at the CCSO Middleburg sub-station and then transported to a youth detention center in Jacksonville.

Middleburg man facing child pornography charges

MIDDLEBURG – The Clay County Sheriff’s Office has charged a Middleburg man with five counts of possession of child pornography and one count of lewd and lascivious behavior by a person over age 18 involving a victim under age 16.

Police arrested Jeffrey Lawrence Jimmerson, 33, on April 21 after obtaining arrest warrants in the case.

CCSO detectives from the Special Victims Unit launched their investigation on April 13 after learning about the allegations that are believed to have occurred on or around April 6, according to the police report.

The victim’s mother helped detectives locate Jimmerson’s cell phone that he kept in a tool box but kept the phone’s battery in a separate drawer. When detectives put the cell phone back together, they found several images of the woman’s children asleep in bed. Police said one image on the phone appeared to show Jimmerson masturbating in close proximity to two children.

As the investigation continued, police found additional images of child pornography including adults having sex with minor children.

When detectives attempted to contact Jimmerson, he fled the area and did not show up for his job at a local electrical services company. Officers were told that Jimmerson told his employer that he had to move.

Jimmerson was booked into the Clay County Jail on the charges and at press time, he remained in jail with his bond set at $135,018.

Fight ends in arrest

MIDDLEBURG – What began as a night of three adults drinking heavily ended in a fight and one arrest last weekend.

The Clay County Sheriff’s Office arrested Joshua Wayne Gaither, 32, of Middleburg, on charges of assault and battery during burglary, two counts of simple battery and one count of possession of a harmful new legend drug.

According to the police report, the fight began as a verbal spat around 11:30 p.m. on April 23 between Gaither and his girlfriend while the two were socializing at the home of a friend in the 4900 block of Joan Avenue in Middleburg.

When Gaither became unruly, the homeowner went next door and enlisted the help of a neighbor to help remove Gaither from the home. At 5 a.m. on April 24, the homeowner “was laying naked in bed and was awakened when he was struck in the face,” states the police report.

The two men came to blows and struggled fighting all the way down a hallway with the two of them covered in blood, police said.

Police said Gaither struck his girlfriend in the face until she fell unconscious on the floor. About three hours after the fight, police found Gaither walking down Juniper Avenue after he fled the scene when police were called. A search unveiled Gaither in possession of four of the muscle relaxers, Methocarbamol, for which he did not have a prescription.

Gaither was booked into the Clay County Jail where, he remained at press time. His bond is set at $118,511.

Lake Asbury man charged with animal torture

LAKE ASBURY – A recent incident involving a severely injured cat has ended in an animal torture charge for a Lake Asbury man.

The Clay County Sheriff’s Office arrested Tyler Michael Conley, 21, on April 23 at 3:38 p.m.

According to the police report, the case began April 14 when Brian Morton told police he came home to find pillows and blankets in his garage that appeared to be covered in blood and cat feces. Conley had been living with the Morton family for about a month when the incident occurred.

Morton told police that he and his son then took his pet cat “Aurora” to a veterinary clinic where doctors treated the cat for blunt force trauma to the eye. Doctors said the cat’s right eye socket was “heavily bruised and swollen” and had to remove the cat’s eye due to the severity of the damage.

During a police interview on April 23, Conley admitted he was angry that the cat had defecated on his bedding and admitted that he picked up the cat “and threw her through his bedroom door in a fit of anger,” states the report.

Conley was charged with torturing an animal with intent to inflict intense pain. He was since been released from the Clay County Jail on $5,003 bond.

Orange Park man sentenced in federal court for concealing relationship with a foreign national

JACKSONVILLE – United States District Judge Timothy J. Corrigan has sentenced a former immigration officer from Orange Park to six months in federal prison and two years of supervised release for concealing a material fact during an interview with a government agent.

Paul Reynolds Friel Jr., 48, of Orange Park, failed to disclose the fact that he was living with Marisol Rodriguez Chavarria, a foreign national, and that he had contact with her during the preceding seven years while being interviewed in December 2011. He was sentenced on April 21.

The interview was required as part of a background investigation for an expected job promotion within the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services where Friel was employed as an immigration officer.

According to court documents, Rodriguez entered the U.S. from Nicaragua on December 10, 2010 on an immigrant visa issued by the U.S. State Department. She was a citizen of Nicaragua and entered the U.S. as the spouse of Luis Aguilar. In or around March 2011, Rodriguez moved into an apartment with Friel and divorced Aguilar. Thereafter, Friel and Rodriguez lived together in a romantic relationship, were married in March 2012 and later had a child together.

According to court records, Friel had known Rodriguez from previous trips to Nicaragua and paid for her airfare to fly to the U.S. from Nicaragua. Rodriguez previously pleaded guilty to possession of an immigrant visa issued by means of a false statement. Aguilar previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit visa fraud.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Office of Inspector General and the Jacksonville office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, investigated the case, which was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dale R. Campion.

Tri-county Lowe’s bandit collared after lengthy investigation

GREEN COVE SPRINGS – A Jacksonville man suspected of stealing items from at least three different Lowe’s home improvement stores in three counties was arrested on April 20 and brought to Clay County.

The Clay County Sheriff’s Office extradited Donald Eugene Ashcraft, 54, of Jacksonville, to the Clay County Jail in Green Cove Springs from the Alachua County Jail. He is charged with one count of grand theft valued between $300 and $4,999 and one count of organized scheme to defraud.

According to the warrant issued September 29, 2015, Ashcraft went into the Lowe’s store at 1700 Blanding Blvd. on February 2, 2015 “carrying a day planner and no other items. A short time later, [Ashcraft] pushed a vanity to the customer service area and used a receipt to obtain a $329.00 cash refund for the vanity,” states the warrant.

A second similar incident took place on February 17, 2015 except this time it involved him dragging 10 boxes of laminate flooring to customer service where he obtained a fraudulent $214 cash refund.

As CCSO officers dug further into the case, they found Ashcraft has been wanted by the Gainesville Police Department for two years for carrying out similar fraudulent refund cases and that there was an outstanding warrant on file for his arrest there. He was later arrested in mid-February 2015 after a Florida Highway Patrol trooper contacted Ashcraft in Jacksonville.

Before his Gainesville charges, police said, Ashcraft went to a home improvement store in Putnam County without any items, but minutes later, made his way to the customer service counter with “four rolls of flooring underlayment” and obtained a fraudulent $199 cash refund.

At press time, Ashcraft remained in the Clay County Jail where his bond has been set at $10,006. However, he will remain held here for Alachua County authorities who have charged him with schemes to defraud as well.

Wandering toddler leads to child neglect charge

MIDDLEBURG – Authorities have charged a Middleburg mother with child neglect following an investigation that began in February.

Police arrested Tabitha Lynn Hogg, 29, on April 20 using a warrant issued by a local judge. She is charged with one count of child neglect.

The case was launched on Feb. 21 when a witness told CCSO officers they saw Hogg’s toddler walking through a parking lot near a park that is located between two large retention ponds.

Hogg is charged for neglecting to provide adequate support for the child, whose age was not disclosed.

Hogg was booked into the Clay County Jail where, on April 21, she was released on $2,503 bond.

Keystone Heights teen charged with

KEYSTONE HEIGHTS – The Clay County Sheriff’s Office has charged a 19-year-old from Keystone Heights with having sex with a minor.

Officers arrested Arnold Dean Mosley Jr. on April 20 at 11:34 a.m. after conducting an investigation.

According to the police report, the unidentified victim is younger than 16, and Mosley knew her age when they had sex on at least two different occasions, once this past February and again on March 15.

“The victim stated both incidents occurred in the outside yard area of her residence, which is located within Clay County,” states the redacted police report.

Officers interviewed Mosley on April 19 and then questioned him further on April 19 at the CCSO Orange Park sub-station before pressing charges.

Mosley was booked into the Clay County Jail on two counts of lewd and lascivious behavior by a person over age 19 involving a victim under age 16. At press time, he remained in jail where his bond is set at $10,006.