GAINSVILLE, FLORIDA (BNO NEWS) — Gainesville Police Department (GPD) on Monday announced that Janoris Jenkins, football star of the University of Florida (UF), was arrested on marijuana charges over the weekend.

According to the St. Petersburg Times, UF senior cornerback Jenkins was arrested on early Saturday at a local night club after being caught with a bag of marijuana. He received a citation on Monday.

Jenkins, 22, was at the Status Nightclub in Gainesville. At about 12:50 a.m. local time, he was found rolling a marijuana cigarette in the restroom of the club during a routine patrol by GPD.

Law enforcement agents also found a small, clear bag containing less than 20 grams of cannabis. He was arrested but the FU cornerback signed a notice to appear and was released.

The college star was charged with possession of marijuana, a misdemeanor offense. He is due to appear on court on February 17. The University of Florida has not commented on the issue.

This is the second arrest of Jenkins since joining the Florida Gators’ football program. In May 2009, the defensive player was arrested for resisting arrest following a fight outside a Gainesville night club.

He alleged that he was defending himself as he believed that someone was attempting to steal a chain he was wearing around his neck. He was charged with affray for resisting arrest without violence.

He signed a deferred prosecution agreement and his record has since been cleared of the charge. The affray charge was dropped as there was not enough evidence against the player.

Jenkins recently announced that he will return to FU for his senior season after declining entering the National Football league (NFL) Draft in order to become a professional player.

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MIAMI, FLORIDA (BNO NEWS) — Two Miami police officers on Thursday were killed as they attempted to serve an arrest warrant, the Miami Herald reported.

A male and female cop attempted to serve a warrant to a violent fugitive in a home in Northwest Seventh Avenue and 69th Street. However, the suspect was with other individuals and shot the officers.

Roger Castillo was killed at the spot and the female officer was transported to the Jackson Memorial Hospital where she underwent surgery but did not survive. Her name was not disclosed.

Authorities are investigating the incident as there are not many details on how the shooting began. One suspect was also killed in the fire exchange and another was taken into custody.

It was the first time in decades two law enforcement officers were killed in the line of duty. The shooting took place on Thursday morning. Several other suspects reportedly fled the scene.

Authorities shut down traffic on Interstate-95. In addition, nearby schools were put in lock down including Thena Crowder Elementary School and Little River Elementary School.

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MIAMI (BNO NEWS) — A suspicious item found aboard an American Airlines flight at Miami Day International Airport on Monday morning has been declared safe, according to federal officials.

According to Greg Soule, a spokesman for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the suspicious item was found after American Airlines flight 930 landed at Miami’s airport following a flight from Sao Paulo in Brazil. “In the process of unloading cargo, a suspicious item was identified in the cargo hold,” Soule said.

Out of an abundance of caution, the spokesman said, local law enforcement and the bomb squad arrived on scene to inspect the item. About two hours later, at 10.37 a.m. local time, the item was cleared and declared safe.

It was not immediately clear what the suspicious item was.

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ZEPHYRHILLS, FLORIDA (BNO NEWS) — Authorities in Pasco County, Florida have evacuated an apartment building in Zephyrhills after several explosive devices were found, police said on early Friday morning.

A spokesman for the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office said a 911 call came in at 8.48 p.m. EST when renters at an apartment building at Cypress Point in Zephyrhills reported they had found possible explosive devices at a room which belonged to a former roommate. The devices were determined to be improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

“The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Bomb Squad is removing the improvised explosive devices,” said Kevin Doll, a Sheriff’s Office spokesman. “A Pasco Sheriff’s deputy is part of the Tampa Bay bomb task force and is on scene assisting.”

No further details were immediately available.

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MIAMI, FLORIDA (BNO NEWS) — The United States on Thursday sentenced a former Cuban Army officer to more than three years in prison for health care fraud, prosecutors said.

Renier Vicente Rodriguez Fleitas, 60, was convicted of conspiring to commit health care fraud. He pleaded guilty to his offense on October 28, 2010. Rodriguez is a former Cuban Lieutenant Colonel.

According to the plea agreement, the defendant admitted that in November 2009, he purchased Pirifer Medical Supplies while doing business as Pirifer Pharmacy and Discount, located in Hialeah, Florida.

Rodriguez admitted that he opened three bank accounts and completed many Part D Medicare applications with plan administrators on behalf of Pirifer Medical Supplies company.

The former colonel, a Miami-Dade County resident, submitted approximately $1.8 million in fraudulent claims to various Part D plan administrators, and received approximately $135,930 from Medicare.

The fraud lasted from December 2009 until March 2010. After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Rodriguez was arrested on September 9, 2010.

The Former Lieutenant Colonel was sentenced to 37 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. In addition, he was ordered to pay $135,930 in restitution for his role in the health care fraud conspiracy.

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MIAMI (BNO NEWS) – A Nicaraguan national and five members of his drug and weapons smuggling organization were charged in the United States on Wednesday for attempting to provide weapons to a terrorist organization, prosecutors said.

McField-Bent, who is charged with four counts of conspiring and attempting to provide material support to a designated terrorist organization and three counts of narcotics charges, was arrested in Barranquilla, Colombia on October 8, 2010. Also charged and arrested in Colombia were co-defendants Jeison Archibold, 29, a Colombian national, Miguel Villela, 54, a Honduran national, Juan Carlos Cuao Camacho, 40, a Colombian national, Fausto Aguero Alverado, 38, a Honduran national, and Edwin Rodriguez Leon, 28, a Colombian national.

McField-Bent and others allegedly attempted to provide grenade launchers, grenades, automatic rifles and other weapons to what they thought were members of the Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (“AUC”), which since 2001 has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States. The defendants, however, were dealing with undercover agents.

If convicted, the group could face a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison for each count of conspiring to provide weapons. They also face charges for attempting to distribute cocaine knowing that it would eventually reach the United States. If convicted for three narcotics charges, the detainees could face a maximum life sentence for each of the charges, and a mandatory minimum ten year sentence on each count.

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MIAMI, FLORIDA (BNO NEWS) — Doors late singer Jim Morrison on Thursday was granted a posthumous pardon By Florida’s board of clemency in relation to his conviction of indecent exposure during a 1969 Miami concert.

The board of clemency voted unanimously at the recommendation of Florida Governor Charlie Crist. However, Angel Lago, a former Miami police officer, objected the decision as he claimed that it would send the wrong message to the youth population.

Morrison was arrested following a football game at Florida State University on September 28, 1963. He was accused of lewd and lascivious behavior, drunkenness, profanity and indecent exposure during a concert at the Dinner Key Auditorium in Miami in 1969.

He was convicted in 1970 of indecent exposure and open profanity and cleared of the other two charges. He was sentenced to six months in prison and appealed the case. However, the rock legend died two years later in Paris as the appeal was ongoing.

Crist decided to look into the case and pursued the pardon as he was not convinced that Morrison did what he was accused of. Whether Morrison exposed himself during the concert has been debated and speculated for years.

There are many photographs of such concert but no one showed Morrison exposing himself as alleged. There is no video or other tangible evidence but the declaration of about a dozen of eye-witnesses.

“Much controversy surrounds this conviction, and not only because many witnesses testified they did not see Morrison expose himself,” said the Florida governor. “A case was brought against him only after newspaper articles recounted the alleged events at the concert, based on a complaint filed by an employee of the state attorney’s office.”

Morrison was not arrested until four days after the show. During trial much more witnesses testified that the legendary singer did not saw him doing the alleged acts during the entire concert.

“His death prevented him from exercising his right to a direct appeal, a right given to every American by the United States Constitution. Because he is unable to state his case for clemency before this board today, I offer to do so for him,” Crist told the board.

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FT. LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA (BNO NEWS) — Canadian comedy actor Leslie Nielsen, famous from movies such as “Airplane!” and “The Naked Gun”, died at a hospital in Florida on late Sunday afternoon, his agent confirmed. He was 84.

“We are sadden by the passing of beloved actor Leslie Nielsen, probably best remembered as Lt. Frank Drebin in The Naked Gun series of pictures, but who enjoyed a more than 60 year career in motion pictures and television,” said John S. Kelly, Nielsen’s agent.

He added: “Mr. Nielsen, 84, died of complications of pneumonia in a hospital near his home in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, surrounded by his lovely wife and dear friends.”

Kelly said that Nielsen, who had been hospitalized for nearly two weeks as a result of pneumonia, said the actor died at 5.34 p.m. EST.

Earlier, Doug Nielsen, his nephew, told CJOB talk radio station in Canada that the actor passed away in Ft. Lauderdale. “Just in this last 48 hours, the infection has gotten too much and today at 5.30, with his friends and his wife by his side, he just fell asleep and passed away,” Doug told the radio station.

Born in Canada, Nielsen appeared in more than 100 movies and hundreds of television shows during his long career. He married four times and has two children from his second marriage, Maura and Thea Nielsen.

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OCALA, FLORIDA (BNO NEWS) — Actor Wesley Snipes on Friday was ordered to surrender to authorities to begin his 3-year sentence in prison after being found guilty of tax evasion in 2008.

The Blade trilogy actor was sentenced to three years in prison after being found guilty in April 2008 on three misdemeanor counts of failing to file federal income tax returns.

U.S. District Court Judge William Terrell Hodges denied a motion regarding a new trial that Snipes’ lawyers requested after claiming that the actor’s trial was damaged after prosecutors hid key information of a witness.

Snipes claims that the government failed to disclose that his former accountant Kenneth Starr was under investigation for engaging in criminal activities of conspiring to evade income taxes with another client.

Starr gave a key testimony during Snipes’ trial which was fundamental for the jury finding the actor guilty. The accountant pleaded guilty to one count each of wire fraud, investment fraud, and money laundering last month. Starr faces 45 years in prison for allegedly stealing between $20 to $50 million from his clients.

In addition, Snipes’ lawyers also argued that there was jury misconduct during trial and they have evidence to prove it. The lawyers added that emails prove that three jurors told the rest that the actor was guilty before they even heard the first piece of evidence.

The actor has repeatedly mentioned that he will not go to jail as his trial was unfair. He appealed his sentence in repeated occasions and requested a new trial with no avail. He had been free on bond throughout the appeal process.

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TAMPA BAY, FLORIDA(BNO NEWS) — Tampa Bay Buccaneers rookie wide receiver Mike Williams was arrested on speeding and suspicion of driving under the influence (DIU), local authorities said Friday.

Early Friday morning, at around 2:45 a.m. local time, Williams, 23, was pulled over near highwayt 301 and Cuaseway Boulevard in Hillsborough County for going 57 miles per hour (mph) in a 45 mph zone. In addition, the arrest report indicates that the officer witnessed his vehicle weaving and failing to maintain a single lane.

According to the report, Williams smelled like alcohol and appeared to have glassy eyes.

Williams was arrested for DUI, and later took a breathalyser test where he registered a blood alcohol content of .065 and a .061., which is under Florida’s legal blood limit of .08. He was also submitted to a urine test.

Results of his urine test are pending and the investigation is ongoing, Hillsborough deputies said.

Williams, a 2010 fourth-round draft pick out of Syracuse, who currently leads the Bucs’ receivers with 40 receptions, 627 yards, and 5 touchdowns, was released on bond at around 8 a.m.

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