LABELLE - A city commissioner died Saturday night after a fight that drew as many as 100 people. Authorities said he might have been trying to break up the altercation.
Deputies arrived to find Cornelius Johnson attacking LaBelle City Commissioner James Singleton, Hendry County sheriff's spokeswoman Susan Harrelle said.
After arresting Johnson, deputies were told Singleton had clutched his chest and fallen to the ground. Singleton was taken to Lehigh General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, Harrelle said.
Johnson, 23, of LaBelle, was charged with manslaughter.
Singleton often acted as a mediator in the community 27 miles east of Fort Myers, Harrelle said.
Two others were charged with inciting a riot - Tyrone Love, 20, of LaBelle, and a 15-year-old girl.
13-year-old charged with manslaughter
BUSHNELL - Authorities charged a 13-year-old boy with manslaughter for the accidental shooting that killed his younger brother in this town northeast of Brooksville.
Mitchell Maddox was playing "cowboys and Indians" with his three younger siblings in February when he allegedly shot 7-year-old David Lanford in the head with a .410-gauge shotgun.
The State Attorney's Office decided to formally charge Maddox last week.
"There was no intent to harm but careless action that reached the level of criminality," Sumter County sheriff's Capt. Gary Brannen said.
The children's parents were not at home during the shooting. Mitchell carried his brother's body next door to the home of his cousin, Darrin Segrest, to call 911 since the family didn't have a phone. David was pronounced dead at Citrus Memorial Hospital.
