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Thursday, June 25, 2026
Alachua County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded early Wednesday to a shooting at a gas station in the 4200 block of East University Avenue, near the Morningside Nature Center. A man was struck by gunfire, though the severity of his injuries was not immediately disclosed. The station was closed while detectives worked the scene and sought witnesses.
Sources: WCJB TV20
A Florida Alligator investigation looks at the parallel processes — criminal charges, internal agency discipline, and state certification reviews — that unfold when law enforcement officers in the Gainesville area face misconduct allegations. The piece uses specific cases to illustrate how these overlapping systems work and where they may diverge in outcome.
Sources: The Independent Florida Alligator
The Florida Department of Health in Alachua County has confirmed a locally acquired human case of West Nile Virus, prompting coordinated mosquito surveillance and spraying efforts across county retention basins by county, city, and state health partners. The county’s June 24 community newsletter also noted that Alachua County Animal Resources has temporarily suspended cat and kitten adoptions through June 30 due to a surge in upper respiratory infections at the shelter. Additional items in the update include the launch of a new county Community Hub website and the completion of a solar lighting project at the Cuscowilla Nature and Retreat Center in Micanopy.
Sources: Alachua County
A judge declined to accept a proposed plea agreement that would have reduced Fisher Watts’s second-degree murder charge to manslaughter with a 15-year sentence in the 2024 Memorial Day weekend shooting death of Koty Stewart at Ginnie Springs. The decision came after Stewart’s wife addressed the court on behalf of herself and the couple’s two children during a pretrial hearing. Watts’s brother, Dallas Watts, is already serving a five-year prison sentence on related charges.
Sources: WCJB TV20
The Alachua County Sheriff’s Office has designated a Special Event Zone in parts of Hawthorne from Saturday evening through early Sunday morning to curb traffic problems and illegal activity that have historically arisen on the fringes of the annual Hawthorne Homecoming celebration. Sheriff Chad Scott approved the measure, which is not aimed at the official 94-year-old community event near Shell Elementary but at the unsanctioned gatherings that form after dark in surrounding roadways. Deputies will use the designation to address crowd control and enforce traffic laws in the affected area.
Sources: WCJB TV20
A Gainesville woman charged in connection with the beating death of her 2-year-old daughter will remain jailed until her trial after a judge granted a pretrial detention motion at a Wednesday hearing. The woman was arrested last week, and court records indicate she did not contact emergency services because she feared the consequences of doing so.
Sources: WCJB TV20
Alachua County Sheriff’s deputies arrested Jason Michael Vigliotti, 55, on a charge of sexual battery after a client reported being inappropriately touched during after-hours massage appointments at Affordable Chiropractic in northwest Gainesville. The investigation, which began in April, also revealed that detectives uncovered a history of similar inappropriate conduct during sessions. Vigliotti was booked into the Alachua County Jail on Tuesday.
Sources: WCJB TV20
In Brief
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