Deputies: Man shot after tossing fire bomb

BROOKSVILLE -- Authorities say a Tampa Bay area deputy shot a man after he threw a fire bomb at investigators.

The Hernando County Sheriff’s Office reports that deputies had a warrant to search the Brooksville home early Tuesday morning. The search was part of an investigation into the death of 30-year-old Joey Lynn Hattenbrun. She was found in her driveway Sept. 16 with severe injuries. She later died.

Authorities didn’t immediately name the man accused of throwing the fire bomb Tuesday. Officials say he was shot in the stomach and taken into custody. He was taken to a nearby hospital with injuries that were not considered life-threatening.

Florida reports illness linked to listeria outbreak

TALLAHASSE -- Florida officials are saying that a 70-year-old woman got ill after eating cantaloupes linked to an outbreak of listeria.

The Florida Department of Health said on Monday the woman moved to the state just two weeks ago. The initial investigation shows she ate the cantaloupes while living in Alabama during her incubation period as well as some ready to eat meat products.

The Centers for Disease Control confirmed that the listeria is genetically linked to an outbreak associated with produce from Colorado.

As of last week, the CDC had said eight people had died due to the outbreak and that 55 people in 14 states had been confirmed as being sickened from eating the fruit.

While most healthy adults can consume listeria with no ill effects, it can kill the elderly.

Bicyclist dies after crash with motorcycle deputy

MALABAR -- Authorities say a bicyclist was killed after riding into the path of a Brevard County motorcycle deputy.

The Florida Highway Patrol reports that 61-year-old John Caudill was traveling in a bicycle lane Tuesday morning but then crossed into the path of a marked Brevard County Sheriff’s Office motorcycle.

Officials say Caudill was critically injured in the collision and then died later at a hospital. The deputy, 39-year-old Frank Santiago, was also hospitalized, but his condition was not considered life-threatening.

That FHP ruled the cause of the crash was an improper lane change by Caudill, who was not wearing a helmet.

Officer says he killed man who pulled gun

ST. PETERSBURG -- St. Petersburg police say an officer fatally shot a man who pulled a gun on his partner during a struggle.

Police spokesman Bill Proffitt said an officer on patrol early Monday noticed a suspicious vehicle in the parking lot of a boat ramp in the western part of the city. A pair of officers confronted two people near the boat ramp, one of whom pulled a gun while struggling with one of the officers.

That’s when the other officer shot and killed the man. Neither of the officers was injured.

No more information was immediately available.

Police: Teen with gun was knocking on doors

ORLANDO -- A teen who spent part of Monday knocking on doors in Orlando’s Pine Hills community is now facing a criminal charge after police found a loaded gun in his bag.

A resident in the area of Tallow Wood Court and Shumard Oak Court -- near where there had been several recent burglaries -- called police about 11:42 a.m. after noticing that two teen boys had been ringing doorbells and knocking on the doors of homes that had no cars in front.

When police found the 15-year-old boy and the 17-year-old boy, the teens agreed to allow the officers to search a backpack that belonged to the 15-year-old boy. Inside, officers found a Glock that contained seven .357-caliber rounds, according to police.

The teen who owned the bag with the gun is facing a weapons violation charge, police said.

Prostitution sting nets 83-year-old man

DAYTONA BEACH -- Eight suspected prostitutes were arrested Monday in a crackdown in Daytona Beach, coming on the heels of a string Friday in which six men were arrested after allegedly propositioning a police woman posing as a prostitute.

While one of the men arrested in the sting Friday was just 20, another was 83-year-old John P. Miller Jr. of Edgewater. All of the men were from east Volusia County. All were accused of solicitation to commit prostitution.

According to an arrest affidavit, Miller asked the undercover officer if she was looking for a date and he was arrested after agreeing to pay $25 for oral sex.

Monkey reportedly on the loose in Osceola County

ST. CLOUD -- Residents of the St. Cloud for the past couple of weeks have been reporting seeing a large monkey behind Home Depot, near East Lake Tohopekaliga, police said.

“We don’t know whether we have a monkey or whether we have a chimp,” said Lee Radebaugh, director of the county animal-control department.

St. Cloud police said they don’t know whether the animal is a missing pet -- no monkeys have been reported to be on the lam, they said -- an escapee from a circus or something else.

St. Cloud has a lot of trees, so the monkey may nap at night in one of them and forage during the day, Radebaugh said.

Do not approach, try to feed or touch the beast, authorities advise because they bite.

-- Associated Press

This story was originally published September 28, 2011 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Deputies: Man shot after tossing fire bomb."