JACOB CARPENTER

The Firearm-involved violent crime rate has dropped 33 percent between 2007 and 2011, while the number of issued concealed weapons permits rose nearly 90 percent during that time, state records show.

While Damas, accused of killing his wife and five children, hasn’t been in court since July 2011, his lawyers have been working behind the scenes, taking depositions and finding witnesses for the 36-year-old.

A Collier judge has found 15-year-old Jonathan Rowles delinquent, the juvenile equivalent of guilty, on a single charge of manslaughter in the shooting death of his mother.

A Naples Manor man died in a fire contained to a small shed behind his home Thursday.

While the teen doesn’t face prison time — the juvenile system focuses on rehabilitation, rather than punishment — a delinquency finding could affect Rowles for several years.

Stevens recounted some of the highs and lows from his time on the bench, which lasted 34 and a half years. Speaking about the landmark Bush v. Gore decision, which struck down the Florida Supreme Court’s plan for recounting votes ...

“I don’t think my client or any of the other individuals would have had any idea of committing any type of unlawful activity if not for the police,” said Jason Kaufman, a Pembroke Pines-based lawyer representing Adam Silva, 32.

Jonathan Rowles’ four-day trial wrapped up with one defense witness and closing arguments Thursday. Collier Circuit Judge Ramiro Mañalich will consider the case until he renders a verdict Jan. 4.

“He was well aware of his actions that day” in August 2010, assistant state attorney Tammy Wilson said. “We’re not saying he intended to shoot and kill his mother. We’re saying his actions on that day led to her death."

Day three of the juvenile manslaughter case against Rowles, accused of shooting and killing his mother, resumes Monday.

When firearms expert Stephanie Stewart tries putting "trigger pull weight" into layman's terms, she starts with a simple frame of reference: it takes 6 pounds of force to open a can of soda.

When the boys from Immokalee and Naples take the football field tonight, playing for a spot in the state title game, they’ll be surrounded by family and friends.

Prosecutors Friday morning brought out physical evidence and showed photographs of the August 2010 scene at Jonathan Rowles' home, where the now-15-year-old is accused of shooting and killing his mother.

The juvenile manslaughter trial for 15-year-old Jonathan Rowles started Wednesday afternoon after a judge denied the defense's motion to exclude evidence related a rifle.

Prosecutors successfully argued to keep a doctor from testifying that Rowles' attention deficit hyperactivity disorder might have been a factor in the shooting, while Rowles' lawyers are still trying to exclude evidence related to the rifle recovered at the scene.

In proving manslaughter, prosecutors will have two options. They can show Jonathan Rowles intentionally shot his mother. Or they can show Rowles is guilty of “culpable negligence.”

At oral arguments, the three Second District Court of Appeals judges pressed the state as to why prosecutors needed the test results, and whether requiring disclosure of such results could eventually lead de

Lawyers for Andrea Kidder, charged in the November 2009 highway crash that killed 22-year-old Bree Kelly, are expected to argue this morning in Tampa to keep results of a second BAC test out of the hands of prosecutors.

They started the day with sights set on a title, three teams looking to inch closer to the Citrus Bowl. For three hours, the boys from Naples, Immokalee and First Baptist Academy battled, their boisterous fa

Football playoff games are big-buck endeavors across the state, often generating large profits for high school athletic departments but sometimes leaving programs with less fan support in the red.

The Collier County Sheriff's Office has launched an anti-texting while driving campaign, aimed at making Florida the 40th state to ban the activity.

“When I came here, I felt like these young kids here needed what all the public schools had,” Sparacio said. “I wanted to be a part of building that wall for them, building that stadium and atmosphere for th

Alex Crain is one of the fortunate few juveniles in the corrections system to be placed in a Department of Juvenile Justice setting, which juvenile advocates generally agree is better for rehabilitation of violent teens.

Brian Battaglia is accused of twice trying to buy Freon using bad checks for his unlicensed auto repair company.

Most, but not all, of the statements made to investigators by Jonathan Rowles, the East Naples teen accused of shooting his mother in August 2010, will be admissible during a trial scheduled for next month, a Collier judge ruled Thursday.

Chief Phil Kinsey, a nearly 24-year veteran of the department, will retire in about two months.

As a gentle breeze swept through sunny Cambier Park, hundreds of local residents turned out Sunday morning for one of several Veterans Day ceremonies across the region.

With about 90 minutes before polls close in Florida's northeast corner, the ballroom at the Embassy Suites in downtown Orlando is filled with media looking to catch a glimpse of U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson.

Connie Mack has the name. He has the conservative credentials. He’s been campaigning for the U.S. Senate for months. He has the backing of virtually all major Republican players in Florida, plus Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney.

Unless prosecutors appeal, the ruling ends the second-degree murder case against Gonzalo Venegas, 47, who said he was defending himself when he stabbed and killed Oscar Quintero, 41, of North Naples.

One week before Election Day, U.S. Senate hopeful Connie Mack voted Tuesday at a Fort Myers polling location.

Finally, Rowles said, he turned the rifle toward his mother, who was sitting in a chair, reading a newspaper. By accident, Rowles said, he pulled the trigger, shooting his mother from behind.

At first, Jonathan Rowles said it was an intruder — a bald man wearing black gloves — who broke into his East Naples home and fatally shot his mother, Kelly.

Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan promised leadership in the White House while warning of fiscal calamity if President Barack Obama receives another four years in office.

Looking to make up a deficit in the polls, Republican Connie Mack accused incumbent Bill Nelson of raising taxes and ravaging Medicare at Wednesday's U.S. Senate debate, with the Democrat defending his record and fighting back against attacks he deemed ...

Like a headlining musical duo, Bill Nelson and Connie Mack are getting together for one night only.

Supporters of both candidates are making sure citizens get registered, get informed, then get to the polls. Because in Florida, with its ever-important 29 electoral votes, turnout could decide whether Barack Obama or Mitt Romney takes the White House.

Next month, Mitt Romney will lean heavily on this Republican-loaded region just north of Miami, an area traditionally supportive of conservative candidates and beset by unemployment that President Barack Obama hasn't been able to staunch. It's a virtual certainty Romney ...

A month from now, President Obama will find out whether voters in coastal Brevard County, east of Orlando, will punish him at the polls for the new direction of the nation's space program. Republicans have long held Brevard County, and ...

County commissioners voted Tuesday to move forward with terminating the contract of Ian Mitchell, who manages commissioners’ staff members, after Mitchell complained about an “untenable” work environment.

Before his death in June, Stan Gober talked at length with his son Steve about the future of the family's iconic Goodland restaurant.

Jack Edward Dyson, 21, took the plea agreement Monday on charges of manslaughter and failing to remain at a crash involving death, avoiding a maximum sentence of 45 years in prison.

Early voting sites in Collier County must be open for the same number of hours as in years past, but the time can be condensed into fewer days to comply with a change in state voting laws, a federal panel ...

Pristine waters, calm winds and a cloudless sky made conditions perfect the first Park-to-Pier swim Sunday morning.

A Daily News review of all 556 votes taken in the House this year shows Mack has mostly been absent for votes on amendments to bills, and his presence could have only swung the outcome once.

Folks in Goodland grabbed their measuring tapes Monday morning. They wanted to keep track of the rising waters creeping ever closer to their front doors as Tropical Storm Isaac swept through the Gulf of Mexico.

She lived through Hurricane Andrew 20 years ago. She survived Wilma in 2005. She can tell you exactly how many feet her house rests above shore level: 16.

Officials are investigating whether the man was the victim of a robbery near Tropicana Boulevard and 25th Place Southwest.

A Collier County sheriff's deputy and his wife were arrested Tuesday on charges related to illegally obtaining prescription pain and sleep pills, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement said.

“I’ve felt for some time there is not enough information out there about merit retention,” said Justice Barbara Pariente, who is up for a retention vote and visited the Daily News on Monday.