Category: News

Pasco Begins New Recycling Program

By Matt Wiley

In an effort to improve recycling participation in Pasco County, including in Wesley Chapel, residents are being offered an alternative to the decades-old “Blue Bag” system.

Wesley Chapel residents probably noticed some mail from Pasco County in the past few weeks, specifically from the county’s Solid Waste department. Included in the envelope was a reflective sticker, along with a letter, detailing the county’s new “Choose & Use Your Own Container” program.Continue reading

Man Crashes Stolen Car, Returns To Resist Arrest

By Matt Wiley | May 26

A Land O’ Lakes man remains in custody at our press time after allegedly stealing and crashing a vehicle, attempting to carjack another vehicle and resisting arrest with force, while in the process attempting to take a deputy’s weapon and radio.

According to the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO), Paul Jeremiah Brock, 29, of 4511 Land O’ Lakes Blvd., was arrested just after 4 p.m. on May 26, after stealing a grey Toyota Camry from a home on Jam Ln. in Odessa and crashing the vehicle on Woodsman Dr., north of Mangrove Dr., in the Angus Valley area of Wesley Chapel.

Pedestrian Killed In Accident On I-75

By Matt Wiley | May 23

Details have emerged about the May 23 accident that killed a pedestrian standing next to her broken down car on I-75.

According to the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP), 22-year-old Kerry Ruiz, of Tampa, was killed when she was struck by an Isuzu truck towing a 29-foot boat, driven by Sarmad Joseph Jamil, 36, of Gilbert, AZ, who was traveling north on I-75 near mile marker 282, three miles north of S.R. 54, at 3:25 p.m.

The report says that, for unknown reasons, Ruiz, who was standing on the east shoulder of the interstate next to her car, which had its emergency flashers on, ran out in front of Jamil’s truck. Jamil was unable to avoid hitting Ruiz and his truck struck the pedestrian and then ran into the right side of a 2009 Acura RSX being driven by 26-year-old Ashley Fields of Largo. The Acura spun off the northwest side of I-75 before coming to rest.

Ruiz died at the scene and northbound I-75 was closed at S.R. 54 for about three hours. No other injuries were reported and no further information was available at our press time. The crash is still under investigation.

Weightman PTSA Treasurer Arrested For Embezzlement

By Matt Wiley | May 21

A Wesley Chapel woman, who also is the treasurer of the Thomas E. Weightman Middle School PTSA (Parent Teacher Student Association), has been arrested on charges of embezzlement.

According to the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO), Jocelyn Ann Severson was arrested on May 21 at her home on McKendree Rd. in Wesley Chapel for embezzling nearly $5,200 from the school’s PTSA fund between September of 2011 and February of this year.

By changing the mailing address for the group’s bank account, Severson was able to have the PTSA bank statements sent directly to her home, where she allegedly deleted evidence of her transactions and changed the balances accordingly, the report says.

I-75 Dump Truck Collision Kills One, Injures Two

By Matt Wiley | May 21

A man is dead and his wife and granddaughter are in serious condition at our press time, following a collision with a dump truck on I-75.

According to the Florida High Patrol, at 10:42 a.m. on May 21, John Porter, 61, of Wesley Chapel, was traveling southbound on I-75 south of S.R. 56 with his wife Mary, 58, and three-year-old granddaughter in his 2012 Hyundai sedan, when a dump truck, driven by Critobal L. Cepero, 49, hauling dirt from the I-75-widening project, pulled onto the interstate, directly in the path of the Porters’ vehicle.

Unable to avoid a collision, the report says, the Porters’ Hyundai struck the back of Cepero’s truck and came to rest on the inside shoulder of the interstate. The Porters and their granddaughter, who was in a child seat, were airlifted to St. Joseph’s Hospital. John Porter died at 12:30 p.m. Mary and the child remained in serious condition at our press time.

Relatives have since been notified. Seatbelts were worn and alcohol is not thought to be a factor in the collision. No additional information was available at our press time, although PCSO says the accident remains under investigation. All lanes of the interstate were reopened as of 12:45 p.m. that day.