Pompano Beach News

A North Lauderdale teen was sentenced Thursday to four years in prison for attempting to kill his girlfriend's stepfather in a plot also involving the girl's mother.

Undercover agents trying to take down gangs lured ''big goons with AK-47s'' to a West Palm Beach warehouse by telling them they could rob a drug dealer of at least eight kilos of cocaine.

It was just after 10 p.m. Tuesday when two cars pulled up to a darkened warehouse. Three men armed with assault rifles emerged from one car and walked toward the building.

Suddenly, FBI agents exploded on the scene, announcing their presence and calling on the men to surrender. The gunbattle that ensued left one of the gunmen dead, two others wounded and the target of the operation in federal custody, an FBI affidavit said. The drama near downtown West Palm Beach was part of a sting federal agents and city police set up to capture one man, Frank Jackson, and the other Broward County men he called his 'goons,' the report said. Jackson, 37, of Fort Lauderdale and Pompano Beach, has an arrest and prison record peppered with convictions for cocaine possession and sales dating to 1991.

From the witness stand, James Michael Forney told Broward County jurors he stabbed the prostitute eight times because she gurgled and it sounded like demons.

He had to kill the demons, Forney said, explaining the multiple stabbings.

It took the jury about 90 minutes Wednesday to convict Forney, 49, of first-degree murder, prosecutor David Frankel said.

Forney, of Pompano Beach, tried representing himself at trial. That didn't go so well. After two days, Circuit Judge Ilona Holmes turned the case over to Forney's stand-by counsel, Michael Takiff.

By Yomin Postelnik

Topix Editor for Pompano Beach

Florida Power and Light has clarified that the majority of power outages that affected the Pompano Beach area were the result of storm damage. The one power outage on June 28th that was not storm related, and was the cause of our inquiry, was due to a problem with a feeder and a downed wire, the two problems coinciding to cause a more extensive outage.

When asked why no advance notice was given to Pompano and Lighthouse Point residents regarding the feeder repair, FPL clarified that the damage was new and they saw fit to act immediately, before a more extensive problem would occur.

FPL spokesperson Heather Kirkendall asked that residents be informed of FPL's dedicated number for residents to report outages. If you experience or know of a power outage please call (800) 4-OUTAGE. According to Kirkendall, FPL is taking steps to ensure the reduction of outages, but allowing them to know of an outage immediately can reduce repair time and help get power back up faster.

Paper Luck and driver Bruce Ranger was able to squeeze by pacesetter Cape Karuna along the rail in deep stretch and post a head triumph Saturday to win the $12,000 Open Pace at the isle pompano park.

Pompano's century of recipes To celebrate Pompano Beach's 100th anniversary of its incorporation on this day in 1908, the Pompano Beach Historical Society has produced Tasteful Traditions.

A Broward County judge Monday sentenced suspected deputy killer Michael Mazza to 30 years in prison for robbing a bank and two drug stores.

Last month, Mazza, 41, pleaded guilty to three robberies in an open plea, leaving it to Circuit Judge Paul Backman to determine the sentences.

Mazza could have been sentenced to between 15 and 30 years for each of the robberies - at a Bank of America and two Walgreens - which took place during an eight-day span in February 2007.

Backman sentenced Mazza to 30 years for each of the three robberies, to run concurrently.

An underwater search for a gun used in the shooting death of Broward County sheriff's Sgt.

It was a big day for two sea turtles at the Miami Seaquarium . Tuck and Sobe are a pair of loggerhead sea turtles that have been at the Seaquarium undergoing rehabilitation.

Lester Leavitt has made a request of his family: Oppose their church's opposition to gay marriage.

By Yomin Postelnik, Pompano Beach Editor

Special to Topix.com

For the past two Saturdays, hundreds of residents of the greater Pompano Beach area have experienced power outages that have lasted for hours. While the first one was caused by heavy storms, the outage lasted hours longer than usual and hours after the storm had subsided. The second outage, exactly one week later, took place under clear skies and lasted for hours as well.

According to Pompano residents who experienced today's power outage, which lasted between 2-3 hours, the blackout was proceeded by the flickering on and off of power for several minutes. This seems to indicate that the outage was staged and was the result of FPL's actions.

Topix.com is attempting to contact FPL for a clarification as to what premeditated today's outage. It does not seem likely that FPL would purposely wish to lose revenue, as it does during every outage. It is also not clear that any negligence was involved on their part, or that the outage was a result of incompetence. All indications are that today's outage may have been the result of a necessary repair. However, the PR Department of Florida Power and Light is being asked to issue a statement and Topix.com readers will be informed as soon as we have more information.

In the meantime, we ask you to share your thoughts on this event. See comments below for intermediate updates.

A toddler was recovering Friday after she was shot in the leg while she and her mother, Selena Conner, were visiting Conner's sister at a house in the 4700 block of Northeast Terrace in Deerfield Beach, said Broward Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Keyla Concepcion. A possible suspect, a juvenile, was arrested on an unrelated drug possession charge a short time later, she said.

The two women and child were inside the house at about 9:40 p.m. Thursday when shots were heard outside, Concepcion said. Moments later, Conner's daughter, Salayah Buie, 3, began crying. When her mother examined her, she discovered the toddler had been shot, Concepcion said.

Four candidates have qualified to seek the District 4 City Commission seat in a special election Aug.

The Broward County Fair's plan to stage its 33rd annual event in November on the rear parking lots of the Festival Flea Market Mall is not dead, despite denial of a special event permit by the city's Zoning ...

The three year old is recovering from leg surgey while police question a suspect.

The Pompano Beach Power Squadron will conduct an eight-week safe boating course at the squadron's headquarters, 3701 NE 18th Terrace.

Royale Energy, Inc. announced the election of its 2008 board of directors with an average of 97.79% of votes cast in favor of the slate.

The Broward County Fair, a tradition for more than thirty years, may be in jeopardy this year.

A firefighter was taken to the hospital this morning after a fire hydrant blew out of the ground and struck him while he was helping fight a blaze, a Pompano Beach fire rescue spokeswoman said.