Florida: 5 Things To Know For October 21

Your daily look at news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today.

2 PERUVIANS CONVICTED IN US TELEPHONE FRAUD CASE

A mother and son from Peru have been convicted of multiple U.S. fraud, conspiracy and extortion charges stemming from a scam targeting Spanish-speaking people. The Justice Department said Monday that 35-year-old Juan Alejandro Rodriguez Cuya was convicted by a federal jury in Miami of 26 conspiracy, fraud and extortion charges. His mother, 52-year-old Maria Luzula, pleaded guilty to similar charges about halfway through the trial. Both face lengthy prison sentences.

TEEN, 13, PULLED OVER IN STOLEN FRONT-END LOADER

Police say a 13-year-old runaway in north Florida stole a front-end loader and began driving down the interstate with the idea of going to Fort Lauderdale. The Marion County Sheriff’s Office says the boy ran away Sunday morning and went looking for a vehicle to steal at a nearby construction company. He made it about three miles down the busy I-75 before a Florida Highway Patrol trooper stopped him.

FORMER STATE GOP CHAIR, LAWMAKER SLADE DEAD AT 78

Tom Slade, who led the Republican Party of Florida as Jeb Bush rose to power, died after being hospitalized last week for heart failure. He was 78. A spokeswoman for the family confirmed the Monday afternoon death. Slade led the party from 1993 to 1999, a period in which Bush lost a 1994 election to Gov. Lawton Chiles, Republicans took over the Legislature and Bush won the governorship in 1998. The governor’s mansion, House, Senate and Cabinet were all controlled by Democrats when Slade took over the party.

AUTOPSIES SHOW THAT FATHER, KIDS DIED FROM SHOTS

Autopsies confirm that a stay-at-home father in Florida and his two children died from gunshot wounds fired by the dad. The autopsy results released Monday show that all three deaths were the result of shots fired from a 9 mm handgun. Deputies say David Mohney killed his 11-year-old son, David Mohney, and his 14-year-old daughter, Savanna Mohney, last Friday following an argument with his wife. The shootings took place in their home in an upper middle class neighborhood south of Daytona Beach.

MAN GUILTY IN FATAL ROBBERY

A southwest Florida man has been convicted of killing another man during an apparent robbery. A Lee County jury found 26-year-old Michael Anzualda Perez guilty Thursday of second-degree murder with a firearm. His sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 3. Authorities say Perez was arrested in October 2012 after fatally shooting 29-year-old Angel Espinosa. Perez has been in jail since the night of the killing.