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Jurors in the murder trail of Deneilo Bradshaw, convicted yesterday of the murder of police informant Rachel Hoffman were today asked whether Bradshaw should live or die.  As Mike Vasilinda tells us, the trial has been hard on both the victim’s and defendant’s families.

Rachel Hoffman’s mother read a statement in which she said watching the trial had been a challenge.

“Hearing and seeing the evidence was painful, but I knew I had to be here. It is what a mother does for her daughter. I will always be Rachel’s mother,” Rachel Hoffman’s mother, Margie Weiss, said.

Rachel’s father, Irv, found it the hearing to painful to attend and sent a statement

“Her death has devastated my soul, changed my life for the worse forevermore,” Hoffman-Weiss family attorney Lance Block said as he read Irv Hoffman’s statement.

In an effort to prove there was no remorse, Prosecutors pushed Deneilo Bradshaw’s mother over what her son had told her about the crime.

“I asked him to tell me where he was,” Bradshaw’s mother, Judianna Freeman said.

Prosecutor: So you didn’t ask him to turn himself in?

“Yes, I did,” Freeman said.

Prosecutor: And did he turn himself in?

Closing arguments took just over an hour. Prosecutors asked for the death penalty.

“She was killed for the money,” prosecutor Eddie Evans said.

But the defense asked for mercy.

Juror: “We the jury advise and recommend to the court that it impose a sentence of life imprisonment, without the possibility of parole.”

The judge quickly imposed a life sentence. The family called it justice.

“And we look forward to holding the Tallahassee Police Department accountable for setting this nightmare into action,” Weiss said.

A second defendant is set for trial in October.

In addition to the October criminal trial, the family is pursuing civil action against the Tallahassee Police Department as well as a claims bill on their daughter’s behalf.

Florida now has more unemployed people than eight US states have citizens. More than a million Floridians are looking for work. As Whitney Ray tells us, 16-thousand Floridians were laid off just before Thanksgiving.

Instead of a Christmas bonus, Matt Durkin received a pink slip. Matt was working construction, the hardest hit sector in Florida.

“Companies have just decided to lay people off as opposed to cutting back your hours, they just lay you off and everybody knows this is a bad time of the year to be out of a job,” said Durkin.

Matt is now one of more than a million Floridians out of work. The state’s jobless rate is 11.5 percent up point three percent from a month ago. Add in the people who’ve stopped the job hunt or settled into a part-time position and the rate skyrockets.

“Add 7.2 percentage points to the unemployment rate, which would make it 18.7,” said Rebecca Rust, AWI Chief Economists.

Florida’s unemployment rate rose, while the national average fell, signaling a tougher turnaround for the Sunshine state.

An estimated 250-thousand Floridians that have run out of unemployment pay are eligible for extended benefits, but thousands haven’t begun the application process.

The state sent letters to eligible candidates. They are asking those who think they may be entitled to extended benefits to contact the Agency for Workforce Innovation.

“They can go online, check your eligibility, fill out the application and get the application to us as quickly as possible,” said Robby Cunningham, AWI Spokesman.

Economists say the state’s job market will begin to turn around in April, but add the recovery will take years. People who think they are eligible for the 13 week extension can go to www.floridajobs.org and click on the EUC button on the right hand side of the screen.

State inspectors want to make sure no one receives a sick puppy for Christmas. The Department of Agriculture has inspectors combing stores statewide looking for sick dogs and cats. As Whitney Ray tells us, when buying a pet, shoppers need verification the animal is at least eight weeks old and has been vaccinated against common diseases.

Butterscotch and Franz frolic in their cage, barking, biting and having a ball. The puppies seem healthy but state inspector want more proof.

Inspectors are making random stops at pet stores to makes sure owners aren’t selling sick puppies as Christmas gifts. When the holiday visits began five years ago, a lot of sellers ended up on the naughty list.

“We found quiet a few violations. A lot of pet shops that we stopped in or breeders or what not, some of them didn’t know they were required to have health certificates,” said Dr. Sam Lamb.

Sellers are required to provide an updated certificate of health with every dog and cat sold. The certificate gives a vaccine history and verifies the animal’s age.

Florida law requires puppies and kittens to be at least eight weeks old before they’re sold.

Carol Hoovers’ store passed inspection with flying colors. She says people increase the risk of ending up with a sick pet if they buy from roadside venders

“It could be a world of heartache if the animal ends up being sick. It could be very expensive if you have to take it to the emergency room over the night or over the weekend,” said Carol.

If the pet gets sick or dies within two weeks the seller has to pay the vet bills. Buyers can also exchange sick animals or ask for a refund. Even with all the inspectors holding pet sellers to a higher standard, many say giving a dog or a cat as a Christmas gift is a bad idea. They suggest letting the owner choose the animal they’d like and making sure the family is ready and willing to add a new member.

After 22 hours of deliberations over three days, a jury in Tallahassee has found Deneilo Bradshaw guilty of first degree murder in the death of 23-year-old police informant Rachel Hoffman. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, the next question for jurors is whether to recommend life or death.

The verdict came on what would have been Rachel Hoffman’s 25 birthday.

“The jury finds the defendant, Deneilo Bradshaw, guilty as charged.”

Family friends say Rachel’s mother, Margie Weiss’s first thought was for the family of Deneilo Bradshaw, reportedly saying “I know what it is like to lose a child.” Afterwards, she still appeared stunned.

Reporter: How would this day have been different?

“I would have been releasing 25 butterflies to celebrate her birthday,” Weiss said.

Prosecutors declined comment, for now.

Deneilo’s step father prayed, while his mother said he got a fair trial. But his step father isn’t so sure.

“This boy didn’t do what they said he did,” stepfather Karey Freeman said. “He might have been guilty of something, but he wasn’t guilty of that. He wasn’t guilty of what he was charged with.”

“I’ll stand here before you as a mother to tell any mother, that you trust God for your children,” Bradshaw’s mother Judiana Freeman said. “Because today is a day where I can stand and say, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that God is still God and I love my son.”

After deliberating for 22 hours over three days, the jury will be back friday, to recommend life or death.

A second defendant won’t go on trial until October.

Nearly 7 hundred thousand State Farm Customers are happy tonight. After a year of fighting with the state over rates, and deciding to stop writing homeowners insurance, Mike Vasilinda tells us the insurance giant has negotiated a settlement that will keep it writing policies in Florida.

State Farm asked for a 47 percent rate hike in 2008. Then said it was leaving Florida last January when it didn’t get a dime. Charlie Crist said “Good Riddance.” But in a dramatic turnaround, the company and state have reached a deal to keep State Farm in Florida.

“The State Farm has been granted a %14.8, across-the-board rate increase for their condominium and homeowners policies,” Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty said.

In addition to the rate hike, the company will be allowed to drop 125 thousand customers, but no one will be dropped before August 2010.  Customers are excited

Joe Cain has been with State Farm more than 20 years.

“That’s great,” Cain said. “Oh wow, boy, if I had had to go to other insurers right now, some of these Mickey Mouse insurers, fly-by-night maybe, I don’t know. I was really worried.”

The leaner State Farm will still keep up to 800 agents will keep working. The agents’ association calls the news good for Florida.

“There are roughly 4 million homeowners policies in Florida,” lobbyist Tim Meenan said, “They’ve got 800,000 of them. Dumping them all onto the market at the same time would have created some havoc.”

State Farm will begin identifying which policies it will drop almost immediately. The rate hike will likely be in place for policies renewing as early as February.

State Farm customers are being encouraged to contact their agents after the first of the year to see if they are on the cancellation list.

Governor Charlie Crist signed legislation today creating Commuter Rail and High Speed Rail Commission. The bill was passed last week in a hurriedly called special session. The signature sets up funding to keep Tri-Rail running in South Florida and create a 61 mile long commuter rail system across four Central Florida counties.

“Sun Rail, Tri-Rail, High-Speed Rail will move the sunshine state into a new era of collaboration and innovation,” Crist said. “These passenger rail projects are the building blocks of a better statewide transportation network. They will yield benefits far beyond the rail lines themselves. They will make the daily commute cleaner and more efficient, will fewer cars on the road, and therefore less pollution.”

The hope is that the projects will show the states interest in high speed rail and attract billions in federal funding. An estimated 14 thousand jobs may be created, although some say the number is overly optimistic.

Twelve jurors are filing through evidence trying to decide whether to charge a Tallahassee man with the murder of confidential informant. Deneilo Bradshaw faces first degree murder for the 2008 shooting of Tallahassee Police Informant Rachel Hoffman. As Whitney Ray tells us, if Bradshaw is found guilty he could be executed.

With a life on the line and grieving parents on both sides of the isle, prosecutors began to state their case.

“She trusted the police to protect her and they failed her and she trusted this defendant not to execute her and dump her body in a ditch, but that is what he did,” said deputy prosecutor Georgia Cappleman.

Confidential Police informant Rachel Hoffman was shot and killed in May of 2008 during a botched drug sting. Deneilo Bradshaw and his Brother-in-law Andrea Green were arrested for the shooting.

In the courtroom the two defendants are hoping the jury will believe the other guy bulled the trigger. Bradshaw’s attorneys say Green threatened to kill their client if he didn’t play ball.

“This young man had to make a decision while he was staring down a gun that’s just been fired, apparently without remorse,” said defense attorney Clyde Taylor.

Prosecutors aren’t buying it and say Bradshaw is still guilty even if he didn’t shoot Rachel.

“It just doesn’t matter, because under the law both the defendant and Andrea Green were equally responsible for her murder,” said prosecutor Frank Allman.

While the prosecution and the defense argued their cases, both agree Rachel would still be alive if police hadn’t made mistakes. If the jury finds Bradshaw guilty of first degree murder the court will hold a sentencing hearing Wednesday morning. If at least seven of the 12 jurors vote for the death penalty after that hearing, Bradshaw would face execution.

The attorneys defending a man accused of killing confidential police informant Rachel Hoffman took just 15 minutes to present their case today. The attorneys for Deneilo Bradshaw say his co-defendant was the triggerman and As Whitney Ray tells us, they called on jail house snitches to collaborate their story.

In an opening statement that lasted less than two minutes, the defense told jurors their client didn’t pull the trigger.

“Andrea Green shot and killed Rachel Hoffman,” said Defense Attorney Chuck Hobbs.

Deneilo Bradshaw is on trial for the murder of Tallahassee Police Informant Rachel Hoffman. Prosecutors say Bradshaw and his brother-law Andrea Green shot Hoffman to death during a botched drug sting. The defense says Green was the lone triggerman.

The defense called on two jailhouse snitches who were locked up with Green. One witnesses wanted the camera’s turned off during his testimony. He didn’t get his way.

Defense: Mr. Aldridge, isn’t it true that at some point in time during your conversation with Mr. Green that he told you that he himself killed Rachel Hoffman?

Dekovin Aldridge: Yes.

The defense also claimed Green threatened to kill their client if he didn’t follow the plan. Once the defense rested prosecutors called Tallahassee Police Officer Tom Maltese to the stand. Maltese interviewed Green before the two were arrested. He says Green denied shooting Hoffman and says he never threatened Bradshaw.

Prosecutor: Did Mr. Green ever tell you that he threatened Mr. Bradshaw?

Maltese: Not to my knowledge. No.

The defense took just 15 minutes presenting its case. The jury is expected to take much longer. The judge told jurors to bring extra clothes and prepare for an overnight stay once deliberation begins Tuesday afternoon. Bradshaw faces the death penalty in this case. Green’s trial is scheduled for October.

New emails have surfaced showing negotiations between the Florida Department of Transportation and CSX Rail show the two may have been trying to thwart the state’s public records law.

The subject lines included such phrases as “waffles” or “pancakes”. CFO Alex Sink and the grassroots group Ax the Tax are calling for the resignation of DOT Secretary Stephanie Kopelousos if avoiding public records request was the goal. But this afternoon, the Secretary Kopelousos says there was nothing nefarious about the subject lines, they were simply eye catching in an avalanche of emails.

Kopelousos: It was a word to get my attention so I could find the email in hundreds of emails in my system.

Reporter: How is SunRail, TriRail not attention grabbing enough, we’re talking billions of dollars?

Kopelousos: You’ve got to think, I get several hundred emails a day especially around the times when these are the hot topics.

As proof there was nothing illegal afoot, the DOT points out that it released the emails. It did, but the release was months after they were requested by SunRail opponent Senator Paula Dockery. In a statement, Dockery says she has make another public records request for any email with a breakfast sounding code word. Says Dockery, “A sound statewide rail policy is something that deserved to be openly discussed and debated-not negotiated behind closed doors.”

Kids across the state are standing in line for a chance to see Santa Claus and make their Christmas wish list official. But while they ask Santa for gifts, they may be giving him a little unwelcome present, their germs. As Whitney Ray tells us, Santa’s taking extra precautions to keep from catching swine flu.

Seven year-old Malcolm and his friends are letting Santa Claus know what they expect to see under the Christmas tree.

“I want a BB Gun,” said Malcolm. His Friend Caleb is asking for a Wii.

The kids will stay on the nice list, as long none of them gave Santa the Swine Flu. All the hugs and handshakes have Santa a little germ-a-phobic this holiday season. 50 million Americans have already contracted the H1N1 virus.

“It’s very important for parents of children who are sick to keep those sick children at home. To not expose them to other children in line waiting to see Santa,” said Susan Smith, a spokesman for The Florida Department of Health.

Parents taking their kids to give their wish list to Santa Claus may want to give them an early Christmas present; hand sanitizer, and for those who didn’t bring their own, “each child was given hand sanitizer, and that was a good thing. And it was so discrete. It was done so discreetly and that was a good thing,” said Ruby Barr, the boys’ chaperone.

And Santa even keeps an extra bottle on the fence in his winter wonderland. Santa was too busy keeping up with who’s been naughty or nice to talk on camera, but tells us he’s already received both of his flu shots and expects to be healthy for his trip around the globe.

Since May, 180 Floridians have died of swine flu. 10-thousand have died nationwide. Although the virus has slowed, experts say a second wave is expected before flu seasons ends. Florida hasn’t been hit as hard of other states, but the peak of flu season in Florida comes in February, a little later than in colder states.

The prosecution rested this afternoon in the case of a man charged with killing a Tallahassee police informant. Rachel Hoffman was shot to death in May of 2008 while working undercover for Tallahassee police. As Whitney Ray tells us, Hoffman’s death sparked legislation changing the way police recruit and train confidential informants.

Rachel Hoffman made a deal to stay out of trouble, but the deal brought her more trouble than she bargained for.

Facing drug charges Hoffman opted to go undercover to buy cocaine, ecstasy and a gun. It was a fatal decision.

As the details of Hoffman’s death unfold in court, more light is being shed on the secret dealing between police and confidential informants. Governor Charlie Crist signed legislation to provide more safeguards for informants. Representative Peter Nehr was the sponsor.

“The most important thing about Rachel’s law is that it allows everyone to fully understand the consequences of what they will have to do if they become confidential informants,” said Nehr.

The law took affect in July, and requires recruiters to inform potential informants of all their legal options.

The sponsors of Rachel’s Law say more needs to be done, because the legislation was weakened as it went through the committee process.

The Hoffman family attorney, Lance Block, fought to keep Rachel’s law intact, but the legislation lost language that would prevent people in drug programs from going undercover.

“It’s just a fundamental no-no for someone to be in treatment for substance abuse and them be exposed to that environment,” said Block.

Block says in future sessions the family will lobby lawmakers for more changes to the law that bares their daughters name.

Bank of American customers facing foreclosure will ring in the new year with better customer service from their lender.

Attorney General Bill McCollum met with Bank of American representatives yesterday to ask the bank to be more available to customer with faulty loans. Most major banks ask customers to call a 1-800 line to work out their problems. McCollum says there’s normally no one on the other end.

“They’re not getting through. They are not getting answers. Not getting anywhere. Bank of America assured me that they were going to have, by January, people on the ground, boots on the ground in Florida to do this. I don’t know if this is going to be a one time operation in here for a couple of weeks then out or if its going to be a full time operation,” said McCollum.

McCollum is still working out the details of the agreement with Bank of American. He’s also asking Wells Fargo and JP Morgan Chase to position a staff member at every branch to work with customers looking to modify their loans.

Eleven former felons who mistakenly had their civil rights automatically restored had them taken away today.

Governor Charlie Crist and the state cabinet signed an order to revoke the felon’s rights. The mistake was discovered after a September audit of the state parole commission. Governor Charlie Crist says mistakes are going to happen but adds the important thing is it was caught and fixed.

“There’s human error involved in a lot of things that happen and I know these people are trying to do the best that they can and sometimes mistakes occur when they do and we try to rectify them,” said Crist.

While the 11 ex-felons had their rights revoked, several people who went in font of the clemency board got an early Christmas present: their civil rights.

SunRail is expected to bring 8,000 construction and maintenance jobs to Florida by 2011. Workers will be needed to build the 61 mile commuter rail track and train depots. As Whitney Ray tells us, the job opportunities could help put the state’s starving workforce on the right track, but House Democrats worry the jobs may not go to Floridians.

The gravy train is headed to Florida promising jobs and economic recovery. For the state’s 700 million dollar investment, along with matching contributions from the federal and local governments, 8,000 jobs will be created laying track and building train depots.

“These aren’t just average jobs. These are high paid, high skilled jobs,” said Cynthia Lorenzo, the Director of the State Agency for Workforce Innovation.

House Democrats wanted a guarantee those high paying jobs would go to Floridians. They didn’t get it.

“The devil is in the details as they say. I would feel much more comfortable if we could assure Floridians that they could be getting those jobs,” said House Democratic Leader Franklin Sands.

Because some of the money will be coming through a federal grant the construction projects will be open to bids from all comers, but the Department of Transportation is confident Floridians will still receive the bulk of the benefit.

“When you look at the companies, they are going to have to give workers in our communities an opportunity to work on these lines and they want to,” DOT Secretary Stephanie Kopelousos.

But the economic development won’t stop with construction and maintenance jobs. Once the train starts rolling shops and restaurants are expected to pop up along the track, putting Florida investors and business owners in prime position to reap the benefits.

If Florida is awarded the 2.6 billion dollars for a bullet train another 5-thousand construction jobs would be created. Economists say the bullet train and SunRail combined could create as many as 100-thousand direct and indirect jobs over a 30 year period.

140,000 first-time homebuyers bought houses in Florida this year.

Realtors say the surge is a direct response to the 8-thousand dollar federal-tax credit. Today Governor Charlie Crist sat down with real estate agents from across the state to discuss ways to improve the housing market. Crist says SunRail will help the market rebound.

“Transportation avenues are providing greater options for people whether it’s in trade, economic development, or just moving around the state of Florida for whatever reason it might be. The easier it is for people, the easier it is for them to get a home, to rent an apartment, to work in one city and transport to another and commute, all of those things add up,” said Crist.

Toward the end of the meeting realtors asked Crist to support a constitutional amendment to cap property taxes and to oppose an amendment requiring voters to approve any changes to city and county comprehensive growth plans.