LEHIGH ACRES -- A 23-month-old boy died after his parents accidentally left him in a van for five hours after coming home from church, authorities said.

Daniel James McCray was left in a child seat in the van with outside temperatures in the 90s Sunday, Lee County sheriff's spokeswoman Kim Swanson said.

Daniel's parents, David and JoAnn McCray, each thought the other had retrieved the child after the family came home from church about 1 p.m., Swanson said. Daniel was the youngest of the couple's five children.

No one noticed his absence until they were getting ready to go back to church for evening services, Swanson said.

"They were going about their Sunday routine, which involved many of them taking naps," Swanson said. "Between 5:30 and 6 they noticed he was not there, and they . . . found him in the van."

The investigation is continuing.

Federal probe brings arrests for illegal gun sales

MIAMI -- Federal authorities charged six people and one corporation with illegally selling guns and said some of the sales were tied to specific crimes.

One store, the Cash Inn in Miami, sold 28 guns in 2000 that were later involved in crimes, said U.S. Attorney Guy Lewis. Irfan Hazoor, a salesclerk, was charged with selling firearms to a felon, lying about gun sales and selling firearms without proper paperwork.

George "Jorge" Carbonell, a manager at Eagle Arms & Collectibles in Miami, and Jorge Soler, a salesclerk, and Chris Perrotta, a salesclerk at R.T. Money Tree Pawn Shop in Miami, were all charged with lying about gun sales and filing illegal records of gun sales. La Turquesa Inc., which operates La Turquesa Pawn Shop in Miami, manager Sandra Elias and salesclerk Sandor Elias were also charged with illegal sales.

Four undercover agents from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, with help from two confidential informers, conducted a five-month investigation, pinpointing stores that sold an unusually high number of cheap handguns or guns that were later traced to crimes.

An undercover agent would enter the gun shop with a felon, who would ask to buy a weapon, according to prosecutor John Blakey. In the cases of the stores that were charged, the felon would end up with the gun by having someone else's name on the paperwork.

Lewis said other stores are under investigation.

Governor forms panel to attract more retirees

TALLAHASSEE -- Gov. Jeb Bush on Monday announced formation of a commission to help attract retirees to Florida.

"I think the conventional wisdom is that seniors somehow are a burden when in fact they are providing a net benefit to our economy," Bush said. "Seniors are wealthier and in many cases they are healthier."

He said money spent by the state's seniors generates much more in sales taxes than the state spends on health and human services for them.

"Historically Florida has been the place where people naturally come to retire, but in recent times there's been a change. Other states have figured this out," Bush said, adding that in 2000 North Carolina and South Carolina combined attracted more out-of-state retirees than Florida.

The 15-member Destination Florida commission, which includes former Miami Dolphins coach Don Shula, will recommend how to attract retirees and provide them with services.

Back to State news

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright

Special Links

Lucy Morgan

From the Times state desk