I heard from one of the neighbors that it started off as a drug bust. There were over eight sheriffs cars and blocked the street off from both ends. Then the guy got out of the house and the sheriffs chased him down outside the street. The whole thing went on for hour from 2 pm and they were still there at 9 pm. I saw them at 7.30pm.
Readers contacted us yesterday about an incident in the Mission Bay neighborhood. There were several PBSO vehicles and it appeared that at least two people were arrested. We have no tips regarding the woman pictured above, but readers tell us the man in the pictures is James “Jimmy” Leclerc. We have been unable to confirm that Mr. Leclerc is involved, nor what the incident was about. Readers told us that it was a drug bust and/or that there was some kind of gun involved. We contacted the Sheriff and have gotten no answers. No arrests matching this incident have shown up in the blotter. Nor do we see any new cases in Broward or in federal court. James Leclerc Mr. Leclerc does have a substantial history in the courts, including a fairly recent three year state prison sentence related to several charges including felony battery incidents in 2011 and 2013. He was released in January of this year. The address listed for him in that record doesn’t exist but it’s on La Salina Circle where this incident occurred. Map showing Diego and Glades, and La Salinas Circle in Mission Bay; map data by Google Mr. Leclerc does have a recent case in Broward, arrested last week for a felony driving with a suspended license – habitual. Despite having just been released from prison only a few months earlier he was released after that arrest on only $750 bond. Keep in mind that he may still be on probation in Broward. At around the same time there was an accident reported to us nearby on Glades at Diego. The pictures we got were blurry. When we asked PBSO about that they described it as a hit-and-run that was under investigation. It’s unclear if this is related to the incident on La Salinas Circle. If any of our readers have more information about this incident, please let us know. You can comment on this article, our Facebook page, or e-mail [email protected].
From a reader: I’ve addressed the situation with the school’s transportation department as well as the Principal of the school. I talked to Faye Ingraham at Transportation Services and told her the situation, she said there wasn’t much they could do but recommend a training course for the driver and maybe even traffic violator schools considering his aggressive driving. She wanted me to send an Email of the incident, so I obliged and forwarded it to the Principal as well. It’s been a few days and I haven’t heard back from the Principal. The staff at the school was nonchalant about what happened as well. Not sure my story is pertinent to any readers but it might be nice to make public the phone number for drivers to call if they have issues with bus drivers on the road. For what it’s worth the phone number to contact Transportation Services is 561-738-9203. The person to speak to is Faye Ingraham. For a reference, we are in the south area and any callers should write down the number that is on the back of the bus so she can reference who was driving that day.
This is what I sent to Faye as well as Principal Mark Stenner. Feel free to share this for whatever reason: Hello Faye, I had the unfortunate experience of coming across one of your school bus drivers this afternoon, one that should not have been on the road; as you well know since we spoke on the phone earlier. Here is my summary of what happened as per your request. This driver and I both left Mission Bay Plaza at the same time, he was in front of me and were both headed westbound. As we approached the first school zone I noticed he was tailgating anybody that was in front of him. He did manage to obey the school zone speed limits, however the aggressive driving took over immediately leaving the school zones. When he started to tailgate another women I pulled up alongside of him to see if he might have been texting/talking on a cell phone and may have been distracted. He was not and I noticed that there were no students on the bus. As we approached the school (West Boca Community High) approximately one mile east of the Fire Department on Glades Road this bus driver was going to cut off the driver behind me in order to merge into one lane. There were no other cars behind the driver so there was no reason that he couldn’t drop back and fall in behind this driver. To my surprise him cutting off this driver behind me wasn’t his plans, this bus driver wasn’t going to be happy unless he passed me on the right (non-passing lane) as the lanes were merging into one. He was actually attempting to pass me on the shoulder where the lane he was in had actually ended. I was going 45 MPH so at that point he was well in excess of 45 MPH. When he finally realized that he wasn’t going to accomplish this ridiculous stunt he slowed down and tailgated me to the point I couldn’t even see his headlights. At this point we were down to one lane and he still was halfway on the shoulder as if he still planned to attempt to pass me. I tapped my brakes to get him off my tailgate and he refused to stop trying to run me off the road by attempting to pass me on the right. At this point I blocked him to keep him from attempting to perform an extremely dangerous maneuver because at this point there were drivers behind him. This is when the bus driver stopped and pulled off the road. I got out of my vehicle to go see if there was something wrong with him. As I approached the bus he floored it, driving off into the grass and in doing so the bus hit my elbow which is now swollen and bruised. At this point I called the police and made sure to know where he was going. We both ended up at the school where I waited for the Palm Beach Sheriffs to show up. Earlier in this ordeal when we had pulled over to the side of the road, the driver that was cut off pulled up alongside of me and explained he also saw the whole ordeal. This driver met up with me at the school to inform the Sheriffs of exactly what happened. His story mirrors mine and he was really worried. This sort of driving is completely unacceptable to me and all other tax payers regardless of whether or not there were students on the bus. Many people that drive commercial vehicles have 1-800 numbers on their car/truck and can be used as grounds for termination for the most petty of complaints. This situation was far from petty and could have turned into an accident and the worst that can happen is this driver will be “recommended” to take a driver’s safety course? In this case the only number to contact is yours, provided to me by the school; a number that is not readily available to those on the road with these bus drivers. I have contact information of the witness but I will not surrender it unless this situation is escalated for whatever reason. Nor will I do so without his permission. The bus driver’s name is Robert (that is the only information the school had) the bus# was 4021 and they told me also to include Code 09. Attached to this Email are a couple of aerial shots of the area where most of this occurred. Map #2 is Glades Road between Ponderosa Drive and Boca Falls Drive by the Fire Department just down the street from the school.
Readers have been contacting us about a coyote problem in various areas, especially Boca Winds and also in Logger’s Run. We recently shared a Boca Winds resident’s video on Facebook and it got a lot of attention:
7am in the broad daylight on Little Palm Lane in Waters Edge in Boca Winds. No fear, 4 grown men, sprinklers came on – wouldn’t leave. AND….my neighbor put that garbage out about 15mins before and I was out here changing tire when this Coyote appeared out of no where.
In comments some readers have talked about trapping or shooting the coyote. Others seem horrified about that and sympathetic to the animal, saying for example that our houses have encroached on their natural habitat. For starters, South Florida is not the coyote’s habitat. They are native to the western United States and not too popular there either as you can see from the photo at top. There might just be a reason that the Road Runner’s bad guy was Wile E. Coyote. Coyotes were first brought to Florida in the 1920s. Most coyotes will keep their distance from us. This one seems unafraid of humans. It is a genuine danger not just to pets but also to children and even adults. There was a report ten days ago that a coyote attacked a man. Florida law considers coyotes a “nuisance species.” You can shoot them under the right circumstances but you should be very careful about both legal and practical concerns. In the case of shooting a coyote, you need to be careful as stated above. To ensure your target is aimed correctly, you should take a look at reviews on two different scopes, primary arms vs vortex, for the best shot.
West Boca News does NOT recommend shooting coyotes.
There are restrictions on when you can hunt various species. Coyotes are so bad that these restrictions do not apply. You can hunt them year-round. The “night and light” permit required for many species is also not required for coyotes. So as far as timing goes, you can shoot them any time. So if you’re looking to hunt coyotes in the near future, you may also wish to look into some new firearms to accompany your hunt, however, it’s always important to carry out some research into various reviews of your next firearm purchase. For example, you may wish to look into the Firearmblog – click here, or similar sites that can provide you with the necessary knowledge to make an informed decision on your new firearm before you buy. Place is a whole different issue. Under Florida law you can fire a gun on your own property (typically for target shooting) and as long as the bullets don’t leave your property it’s legal. State law actually prohibits cities and counties from regulating that. If the coyote is on your property and you shoot it, and you make sure all your bullets stay on your property, you should be fine. But when you live in the suburbs on small lots, it’s hard to do that. If you have your neighbor’s permission you should be able to shoot them on their lot as well. We’d suggest getting that permission in writing (an e-mail or text message is fine). Of course the coyote may not be on your property when you encounter it. In the video the coyote is on a public street. We contacted the Sheriff to ask about this and did not get much of an answer. They referred us to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission. And of course when we looked this up on the FWC website, they recommend contacting local law enforcement.
The discharge of a firearm may be prohibited in some cities and residential areas, check with local law enforcement.
Practical Issues If you are thinking about shooting a coyote we recommend extreme caution. As with any firearms situation, make sure you know what’s behind your target. No matter how good you are you might miss or the bullet might overpenetrate. You don’t want that bullet hitting any people or damaging your neighbor’s property. It may be helpful to shoot at a downward angle if the coyote is on grass. On pavement that bullet will ricochet so it’s still a potential problem. It may be worth using a scope if shooting a coyote with a high powered rifle. If you are shooting from a long distance, up to 1000 yards, then you can visit Optics Boss for more info on the best scope for that. There are many sites out there that could help with queries like this, so if you are still unsure what scope to use, you might want to check out one of many sites that can help you choose the right scope. In reading about coyote hunting we’ve seen various recommendations about caliber and a lot of those suggest “centerfire” rifle cartridges like the .223. Typically these are in rural environments. The problem with such rifles in a suburban environment is that they have serious potential to penetrate walls. It’s pretty common to hunt smaller game with the .22LR which is about as safe as you can get in terms of bad things that might happen with any misses. Some feel that the .22LR lacks stopping power, but we’d rather compromise on that than risk the negative consequences of what might happen with something more powerful. Since “open carry” is generally illegal in Florida you’re probably not going to have a rifle on you when you encounter a coyote. More likely – if you have a CCW license – you’ll be carrying a pistol. Pistols can be difficult to shoot at a distance but this particular coyote seems to come very close to humans so you should be able to get a good shot. Most handgun calibers will be effective. Texas Governor Rick Perry killed a coyote with a .380. As with rifles you have to know what’s beyond your target and we recommend shooting at a downward angle to minimize the risk of unintended damage from misses or overpenetrating rounds. Dealing with the Aftermath In an ideal world after such an incident you would call 911, explain everything to the deputies when they come to the scene, and it’ll all be okay. As a criminal defense attorney I’ve seen too much. I just don’t trust police and prosecutors. Some are good and some aren’t. The Sheriff’s non-answer to our question should make anyone uncomfortable. If you shoot a coyote you are at risk for prosecution. From that perspective it’s safest to go straight home and secure your firearm. If deputies come to your house you should not let them in your house without a warrant and don’t talk to them without a lawyer (who will tell you not to talk to them anyway). It may be wise to write down some notes about the incident to discuss with your attorney later if necessary. Write “For Attorney” at the top of the notes to make sure they’re protected by the attorney-client privilege (in case the police get a warrant and find them). If you’re not comfortable with the above then you probably should not shoot that coyote and may want to reconsider carrying a firearm at all.
There was another major crash on Palmetto Park Road near the bridge over the Turnpike. Readers sent us several photos from the accident scene. The black vehicle hit a tree in the median and knocked it over. You can see the trunk of the tree in the roadway in the photo below. One reader who saw it happen said: “It was terrible a car in the median. A car going east bound totaled. A car going west bound totaled too, and a whole palm tree in the middle of the street going west.” Another said it looked like “the black car in the tree was traveling high speed and was cut off.” Below is a shot of the second car, also badly damaged. The county scanner indicated a call around 5:30 pm which fits with the timing we have on this: Traffic on Palmetto Park westbound was backed up a long way for hours according to several readers, and confirmed by Google Maps: So far we haven’t heard about any injuries. We do see airbag deployments in both cars so hopefully injuries were not too bad. From some accounts there may have been a third car involved but we’re not sure. More photos below:
Adonis Batista and Deaundre Archer After creating a major scene in Sandalfoot Cove yesterday, two young men were arrested and charged with multiple felonies. Adonis Batista (left in the above photo, age 20) is listed on the Sheriff’s blotter as a resident of the Edgewood Apartments on the east side of 441 just north of Sandalfoot Square. Deaundre Archer (right, 19) is a resident of Coral Springs. We first learned of the incident from the following alert:
•••WEST BOCA••• FOOT PURSUIT — Sandalfoot Blvd @ State Rd 7 — Multiple PBSO units are in an active foot pursuit of 2 black male perpetrators, vehicle bail-out, multiple different stolen goods from various local residential robberies, perps fleeing thru an apartment complex by SW 66th Ave & Sandalfoot Blvd, K9 and Eagle Helicopter are enroute to assist
We contacted PBSO and received the following in response:
Just after 2 pm today, there was a burglary “in progress” in the 22400 block of SW 56th Way, Boca Raton. Two suspects fled from nearby deputies, a perimeter was set up and a short time later both suspects were arrested. All stolen property was recovered.
This morning we found their entries in the Sheriff’s blotter. They were not formally booked until 3 am. Both remain in custody, each facing three counts of burglary (unarmed) and two counts of grand theft. We see no criminal history for Mr. Batista. Mr. Archer has had three cases this year in Broward, including a felony grand theft. While we are no longer covering arrests in general, this was a major incident. It involved deputies on a foot chase, a perimeter set up, police K9 unit, and a helicopter.
