Hit and Run at 441 & Kimberly? Victim Identiified

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Late last night we learned there had been a serious accident at the intersection of 441 and New England, which is between Glades and Yamato at the north end of Boca Greens plaza.

The initial report we had just before 11:30 pm was:

New England Blvd & State Road 7 — PBCFR station 54 on-scene of a motorcyclist hit by a van that fled the scene, advising Priority-1 Trauma Alert to Delray Medical Center by ground, suspect vehicle is a silver van Hispanic male driver — Tac 4A

Shortly thereafter we had an update:

State Road 7 will be shut down, both directions, from Yamato Rd to Kimberly Blvd for a couple hours at least, for an active Traffic Homicide Investigation

This morning we received an update from the Sheriff. Their report did not mention the van or anything else about a hit and run.

V-1 was westbound on New England Boulevard, approaching US Highway 441 in the right turn lane. V-1 made a heavy braking application before reaching the intersection, which resulted in the vehicle overturning onto its right side. The motorcycle slid through the intersection on its side and came to rest on the west side of US 441, within the westbound lanes of Boca Green (Entrance to a gas station). The operator of the motorcycle was not wearing a helmet and was ejected from the motorcycle. He was transported to Delray Medical Center for treatment.

New England is the north side of Boca Greens plaza, and it is where the gas station is located.
They did identify the motorcycle driver as James Andrew Bishop, age 20, a resident of The Colony in Delray Beach. He is an Olympic Heights graduate.

James Andrew Bishop
James Andrew Bishop

Friends of Mr. Bishop gave us an update on his injuries:

He’s in the Trauma ICU at the Delray Medical Center in critical condition. Skull fractures and a few other head injuries.

Note that the PBSO report indicated Mr. Bishop was in serious condition, rather than critical.
There are a couple of discrepancies in the story that we can’t resolve at this point. We checked with our contact at PBSO who had also initially heard about a van leaving the scene and did not know why it’s not in the report. The way the report is written suggests that there was no van involved.
We’re not sure why but we see a lot of accidents in this area. Last May there was another motorcycle accident there. And there was a fatal accident very close to this in the southbound lanes in August.
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Just north of this at Yamato there was a rollover accident in November.
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Deals on Deva Curls Hair Care Products: West Boca Stores and Online

hairLast year, I took my daughter to Curls Rock Hair Studio in Boca Raton and discovered DevaCurl. DevaCurl makes hair products for girls and women with curly hair. This wonderful product really enhanced her curls and cut down on the frizz. Her hair has never looked better! Unfortunately, these hair products are not cheap.
Luckily I discovered that Amazon is selling the 32 oz size for under $30. Other DevaCurl products are also being sold at very good discounts.




In comparison, Sephora sells a 12 oz bottle of the no poo conditioning cleanser for $20 and the 32 oz bottle for $40.  Ulta, located at 9882 Glades Road (Westwinds of Boca, near DSW), sells the same product for $19.95 and $39.95. Harmon Face Values, located in Boca Greens Shopping Center, also sells DevaCurl products. The price is the same as Ulta but you can use a 20% Bed, Bath & Beyond coupon.
If you have curly hair, I highly recommend these products! The Amazon deal is particularly good if you have Amazon Prime’s free shipping.

West Boca Shooting: Details and Photos

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Sunday there were reports of a shooting in the Boca Fontana neighborhood, on the 7600 block of Majorca Place. This area is east of 441 on the south side of Kimberly (between Yamato and Glades), and not far from Boca Greens, Southwinds Golf Course and Olympic Heights High School.

Details from official sources are limited, and the people involved aren’t talking. The official story so far is that a resident was confronted by robbers and used a pistol in self defense, accidentally hitting a neighbor in the process. Oddly some of the reports identify the shooter as the “victim.”
We went to the scene Monday afternoon. As you can see in the picture on top, the media was there. This was well over 12 hours after the shooting, and nothing was going on.
One notable detail is a bullet hole in the neighbor’s house:
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The following photo gives a better feel for the scene, with the shooter’s home to the right and the neighbor’s house across the street on the far left:
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The two houses are mirror-image single floor models even with a similar color scheme. The bullet hole is in the vertical blue stripe between the garage and the front door, a few feet above the horizontal stripe and a few feet below the roof line.
Considering the height of the bullet hole, it would appear that the shooter fired at least two rounds, and not very accurately. It is possible that one of the rounds hit one of the robbers, though we haven’t heard anything further. Reports indicate the robbers got away.
We believe we have identified the shooter, a 72-year-old man who runs a business out of the home. We are not publishing his name yet because the Sheriff has expressed concerns that the robbers might target him. Similarly the shooting victim has not been named, though we understand he is in his 30s, married with a young child (note the toy near the front door). The property is owned by an investor group that acquired it in 2013 and owns at least one other house on the street. It was rented out in December of 2013, though one source tells us the shooting victim is a new tenant so the 2013 tenant may have been replaced.
The shooter’s house is owned by another 70+ woman who appears to have immigrated from Japan many years ago. Their relationship is unclear but they’ve both been in this house for a long time. We see no criminal history for the shooter, other than a few minor traffic tickets.
One story we’ve heard is that the shooter was coming home from some kind of event, perhaps a jewelry show. He does own a business that would fit with going to jewelry shows, though we can’t find any record of such an event that day. In this version of events, the “bad guys” followed him home to rob him, and he defended himself.
We can’t say this version of events is false of course. But we should also recognize that this area has some crime, as you can see in the crime map below (showing more than 10 burglaries, along with thefts, car break-ins and more reported from March 1 through April 6):
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Also, the story does not seem consistent with how the Sheriff initially reported the story:
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A later version we heard from the Sheriff was a little closer:

Victim was returning home from work when he was approached by unknown suspects. In an attempt to protect himself he armed himself with a handgun. During the course of the attempted robbery the victim discharged his firearm. Gunfire accidently struck a nearby neighbor.

The shooting is shown on the lower left of that image, marked in the assault category with the word shooting in the description. Note that the alleged robbery is not included in the crime map data. Zip code 33434 has a very low crime rate but that is mainly because it includes the gated and mostly senior communities of Century Village and Boca West.
A shooter in cases like this will often be prosecuted, at least for negligence in how he handled his firearm if not for something more serious. In firearms training one learns not only to be sure of your target but also to know what’s behind your target. Keep in mind that Palm Beach County voted heavily Democrat in the last four or five presidential elections, and our county prosecutor went after retired dentist Wayne Tover in a shooting incident on Glades Road where Tover actually hit his target. The fact that this shooter is being treated differently makes us wonder if he has connections to police or others in government.
The Boca Fontana shooter is also likely to face a civil suit from his neighbor, and that looks like a strong case for the shooting victim. It shouldn’t be too hard to find a lawyer to take that case.
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Fortunately for all involved the shooting victim appears to be recovering well.

3 New Gyms in West Boca and Parkland

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There are three new gyms opening off 441 in and near West Boca. Yesterday we popped in to see the new Crossfit West Boca, in Boca Greens Plaza. It’s toward the north end of the plaza near Bruce’s of Great Neck.
Crossfit seems to inspire a following, as can be seen in this interview with Jordan Nicolosi.

Jordan Nicolosi

Crossfit seems to be the high end of the spectrum of private gyms, with unlimited coached group training included and a cost of $150 per month or more. Nicolosi told us they’re offering a pre-registration special right now at only $59 for the first month and $125/month after that. They’ve had their soft opening already with a grand opening planned on October 4th. Hours are 5:30 – 10:30 am and 4:30 – 8:30 pm weekdays with more limited hours on weekends. Classes are an hour long.
The interior is definitely a different look from other gyms we’ve seen:
crossfit-inside
They also have a kids room in the back where members can leave their kids during workouts.
On the less expensive side Youfit West Boca will be opening any day now in Sandalfoot Square (near Western Beef). The “standard” membership is $10/month. A “lime” membership at $19.99/month includes some additional privileges like half-price beverages and access to other Youfit locations. They’re offering a $1 signup for those joining before the opening.
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Competing on the same rough price level as Youfit is Crunch Parkland, which will be opening on the west side of 441 a little north of Hillsborough in the Riverstone Shoppes plaza. Their base membership is $9.95/month with a $30 fee to enroll, and their pre-opening deal is 25% off that enrollment fee. For $19.95/month there’s no enrollment fee and you get more privileges. There may also be an additional $40 annual fee but that wasn’t clear from the website. West Boca Chamber members are eligible for discounts as well.
Update on that from Crunch Parkland:

I just saw the post regarding the new gyms in the area and wanted to send you some corrections on the information you reported for our facility. Our enrollment fee is normally $40 on either membership. It is currently 25% off (which brings it to $30) for the $9.95/month Base membership. We are currently waiving the enrollment fee for the $19.95/month Peak membership which includes group classes, it allows you to bring a guest for free during every visit, ability to use all of our franchise locations nationwide, free hydromassage, and free tanning. Like Youfit and other low cost gyms, our memberships carry an annual club maintenance fee of $39.99. For your convenience, I also attached a picture of the facility.

House Fire in Boca Greens

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Thanks to our readers and Palm Beach County Alerts for information about this morning’s house fire in Boca Greens Country Club.

***WEST BOCA*** Residential Fire — 19661 Sea Pines Way (Boca Greens CC) — E51 onscene of a 1-story house, advising heavy fire blowing thru the roof, starting fire attack and searches, per neighbors the house is unoccupied, E54 plugging the hydrant — Tac 7A

As best we can tell, the fire may have been started by a lightning strike around 3 am. The “whole back of the house caught fire” and “the back of the roof caved in.”
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Fortunately no one was in the house and no injuries have been reported. Property appraiser records show the 2000 square foot home was purchased in June for $257K. The new owner’s mailing address is an apartment in New York City
As always we and our readers appreciate Palm Beach County Fire Rescue for their quick and thorough response.