Patrick Walsh, the brother-in-law of indicted former Florida State Rep. Joe Harding, was sentenced to five and a half years in federal prison Tuesday for defrauding the federal government of $7.8 million in COVID-19 aid in 2020.

The Alachua County Commission unanimously voted at a special meeting Tuesday to spend $2.5 million for a new United States Department of Agriculture-certified meat processing facility in Newberry. The $2.5 million is part of the $52.25 million in federal funds allocated to Alachua County through the American Rescue Plan Act, …

The Alachua County Commission elected a new chair and vice chair at its special meeting Tuesday before voting to use millions in federal aid on several initiatives, including a pilot program meant to help local landlords make their properties more energy efficient.

The Alachua County Commission unanimously voted Tuesday to spend $1.25 million in federal funds on the improvement of the deteriorating water infrastructure for the unincorporated neighborhood of Santa Fe Hills on the outskirts of the City of Alachua.  The $1.25 million is part of the $52.25 million in federal funds …

A chef at the Tijuana Flats in Midtown just north of the University of Florida campus was arrested Friday afternoon on charges of possessing and distributing child pornography. Devon Gregory Jackson, 32, was arrested by Gainesville police officers following an investigation that began with a tip over half a year …

Nineteen-year-old Ian Gabriel Montero-Lopez, who disappeared while on trial for sexually assaulting a minor last Christmas Eve, was sentenced to life in prison in absentia on Thursday. Montero-Lopez, who was 18 at the time, met the underage victim on Snapchat the week before the assault. He pressured the victim into meeting him at her residence, where he gave the victim narcotics and sexually assaulted her. He was later arrested by the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office after being identified in a photo lineup by the victim. He disappeared during the jury selection phase of his trial. He was found guilty in absentia of one count of sexual battery on a child 12-17 years of age and on one count of sexual battery with use of physical force. Law enforcement does not currently know his whereabouts. A warrant is out for his arrest.

Sixty-three-year-old Thomas Duval Andrews was arrested by the Gainesville Police Department Tuesday evening for possessing child pornography. The investigation into Andrews began last November when the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received a tip from the adult video chatting app Flingster, which said one of its users was soliciting child sexual abuse material online. The tip was referred to Gainesville police. The user’s IP address was tracked to Andrews’ residence, where police seized several electronic items after serving a warrant in October.