County Crime Blotter: July 16

Deputies continue to investigate double homicide in Highlands

INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — A few more details were released in a Sunday home invasion in the Highlands that left two women dead, including one who was pregnant. Deputies said the women - whose names weren't publicly released by the sheriff's office - lived at the residence. The 19-year-old pregnant woman, along with a 68-year-old woman, were shot to death, said Lt. Kevin Jaworski, a spokesperson for the Indian River County Sheriff's Office. A motive for the slaying - or description of any possible suspect - was not immediately released. The pregnant woman's unborn baby also died, Indian River County Sheriff Eric Flowers said in a Tuesday update. The sheriff said the shooting was an isolated incident and there was ...

Phone, clothing left behind helps police nab Mulligan’s robbery suspect

VERO BEACH — A phone with text messages and calls to a getaway driver and a Mulligan's employee, along with DNA extracted from a mask, helped detectives make an arrest in the armed robbery of a beachside restaurant that occurred in mid-August. Officers said the suspect left behind his phone, mask, and other items during his escape. After the robbery, the suspect met up with the Mulligan's employee at a barbecue in Gifford, reports show. Police on Wednesday arrested Sederick Maurice Upton, 43, of the 2400 block of 42nd Street, Gifford, on charges of robbery with a firearm, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, kidnapping or false imprisonment and burglary with assault. Upton was held Saturday at the Indian River ...

‘Strangers came together’: Highlands recovering from catastrophic tornado damage

INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Barbara Bedell remembers looking out her window and seeing a "big, black, smoky mass" in the skies above. Moments later, the roof came crashing down behind her as she and her two dogs quickly made their way from the family room into the study room. "Everything kept collapsing behind us. We kept going forward," said Bedell, 72, of Indian River County. "We finally got to the living room and it was over in a matter of 30 seconds. That's how quick it was. If I hadn't gotten up out of that room when I saw that black cloud, we would probably be dead or seriously hurt because the roof would've collapsed on me." Some of the ...