Marion County
Marion County, Florida (June 30, 2017)- Marion County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) Major Crimes detectives and Cold Case team members have closed the homicide case of Margaret Mary Mohrenne (DOB: 08/11/1971) nearly 12 years after her death. Mohrenne was found deceased in her home, then located at the 3600th block of NE 22nd Street in Ocala in July of 2005. Mohrenne’s boyfriend, Allen Hodder (DOB: 01/16/1979) was the main suspect in the case but was not arrested.
After further investigation and consultation with the State Attorney’s Office (SAO), the Florida State Fire Marshal’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), the SAO began the process of seeking a Second Degree Murder indictment against Hodder. However, Hodder died on March 13, 2017, of a Fentanyl and Carfentanil overdose before the indictment could be brought against him, therefore closing the case. Continue reading
Marion County, Florida (June 10, 2017) – Late Friday evening, June 9, 2017, Marion County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) deputies responded to a 911 call for a stabbing at 19400 SE Highway 42. When they arrived, deputies found a male victim suffering from what appeared to be stab wounds. Deputies rendered first aid until paramedics arrived.
During an argument with the victim, Catherine Melvyn (DOB: 11/20/1959), attacked the victim stabbing him with a knife and then later called 911. Initially, she told deputies that the victim had attempted suicide. After making several conflicting statements to MCSO detectives, she then confessed that she had, in fact, stabbed the victim to get him to stop arguing with her. Continue reading
Marion County, Florida (June 7, 2017) – On Tuesday, June 6, 2017, Marion County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) Property Crimes detectives arrested Wayne Frazier (DOB: 01/30/1992) after he committed an occupied burglary in Summerfield early Tuesday morning. Frazier was also charged for his involvement in another burglary case that occurred several days prior.
The investigation revealed that at approximately 2:00 a.m., Tuesday morning, Frazier entered a residence located at the 17000th block of SE 108th Terrace Road in Summerfield while the victims were asleep inside. Frazier stole over $500.00 in miscellaneous items from the victims’ garage and stole a 3-wheel motorcycle valued at approximately $27,000.00. Frazier caused $2,550.00 in damages to the two other vehicles parked in the garage while stealing the motorcycle. The victims discovered the burglary when they awoke Tuesday morning. While MCSO patrol deputies were on scene conducting their investigation, a MCSO sergeant conducting a search of the area found the stolen motorcycle outside of a home located at 17012 SE 108th Terrace, approximately five minutes away from the victims’ residence. Continue reading
Marion County, Florida (June 2, 2017)- Marion County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) Major Crimes detectives are currently investigating a possible drowning in the Ocala National Forest. MCSO Deputies and Marion County Fire Rescue (MCFR) paramedics were dispatched to a remote pond in the area of SE 125th Terrace Road in reference to an unresponsive elderly female in the water. Deputies recovered the deceased victim later identified as Sally Cook (DOB: 10/28/1937) and released her body to the Medical Examiner’s Office.
At this time, no foul play is suspected and MCSO detectives are continuing to investigate this incident.
Director Paul Bloom, Public Information Director, Volunteer Services Director
Marion County Sheriff’s Office
Desk: (352) 368-3527
Marion County, Florida (June 1, 2017) – At approximately 9:00 p.m., on Wednesday, May 31, 2017, Marion County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) deputies were dispatched to a residence located at 5645 SE 102nd Place in Belleview in reference to a home invasion robbery and shooting. When units arrived on scene, they found two gunshot victims, a 18- year old male and 37- year old female, who both had non-life threatening injuries. Witnesses told
deputies that suspect, Eboni Porter (DOB: 12/10/1994), came to the house looking for the male victim. When she wasn’t allowed in the house, Eboni and her sister, Nakia Porter (DOB: 01/04/1999), their mother, Charronda Rhem (DOB: 07/09/1974) and other subjects entered the house armed with handguns. The victims were then shot and the suspects fled the scene. A motive for the crime is unclear at this time. Continue reading
One of the two primary goals of the CEP is to create and retain jobs in our community. Four of our five core areas are organized around this goal. You will often see our five-year goal of impacting the announced creation of 4500 new jobs if you attend a CEP event or browse our website. However, job creation is more than just the projects that we directly impact. In fact, if we are doing our jobs then the community should see greater economic impact and job creation.
One way many people track the status of the job market is through the unemployment rate. While there are some real challenges with this approach, it does provide a good barometer of what is happening in our community. Using the latest numbers available (March 2017), the current unemployment rate in the Ocala MSA (Marion County) is 5.1 percent. This is a tremendous improvement from just a few years ago when it surpassed 14 percent. Additionally, when you look at the three-county workforce the numbers remain very positive. Marion County is the center of a regional workforce shed so these numbers are important. The unemployment in this region was 5.2 percent with nearly 5,900 more people employed than a year ago. Continue reading
There are so many incredible things happening in our community. The coming months will see the announcement of new primary employers and major expansions by existing primary employers. The Power Plant Business Incubator continues to help innovative and scalable startups primarily in the areas of technology, health care, and communications. The downtown area continues to generate enthusiasm with the new midtown plan, an ever-growing line up of restaurants and stores, and the long awaited hotel project set to break ground by the end of summer. All of this excitement and growth is in large part the result of our partners. Thank you for your engagement and investment in moving Ocala and Marion County forward.
Leadership Ocala Marion
Spring brings warmer weather, high school proms and graduations, and the beginning of planning for the CEP’s amazing leadership programs. For 30 years, Leadership Ocala Marion (LOM) has been training and providing opportunities to train new generations of leaders on the needs of this community and how they can engage. Continue reading
Last month, I outlined the successes of the CEP’s inaugural five-year plan, Moving Forward. In fact, this plan was reached a full year early. This month’s column will be focused on outlining the recently adopted Moving Forward-Phase II plan which seeks to continue to grow and diversify the local economy.
Moving Forward – Phase II
Just like its predecessor, this plan did not just happen. It is the result of months of discussion and research by the CEP staff and Board of Directors. Once again, the Board asked economist Dr. Sharon Younger to assist them in the creation of this plan. She provided an incredible layer of analysis and detail to assist the Board including a significant amount of data on how the Ocala MSA and the CEP compare to our ten benchmark communities. Continue reading
The biggest event hosted by the CEP each year is our Annual Luncheon. Each of the last four years, this has been a Sold Out event and the 2017 edition was no different. In fact, this year’s event filled up before Christmas – a full six weeks before the event! For the 600 attendees we are grateful and hope you left excited about our community and the CEP. For the many, many more who were not able to attend, I am excited to share with you a few highlights of this event. Continue reading
