The West Melbourne City Council voted on Tuesday night to take the next step to fire Police Chief Brian Lock.

Lock is accused of covering up for a former police officer who was caught on video stealing drugs from an evidence room.

"My priority in this crisis was to help a human being, but that does not mean I neglected my duties," said Police Chief Brian Lock.

Lock's supporters addressed the council and asked that the council allow him to keep his job, but other residents demanded he be fired.

"To sweep it under the carpet, I'm going to fear every day I walk out that door," said George Tilden, a West Melbourne resident.

Council members voted four to three to move to the next step in the firing process.

Chief Lock is a 31 year veteran of the police department. He denied the cover-up allegations.

An investigation showed Lock did not immediately report when Commander Charles Schrum was caught on video in 2009 stealing drugs.

Shrum went to drug rehabilitation and retired with a $40,000 a year pension. If he had been fired he would not have been eligible for the pension.

The police chief of neighboring Indian Harbour Beach defended Chief Lock's actions.

"Chief Lock hasn't lost any, I repeat any credibility," said Indian Harbour Beach Police Chief Robert Sullivan.

The Council will hold a due process hearing in the next thirty day, which is the next step in firing Chief Lock.

The state Department of Education and the Volusia County School District have launched separate investigations of the Reading Star Academy of Excellence K-5 charter school in Orange City.

As WFTV's Jeff Deal reports, the school is being run by the same people who managed another school that was shut down for misuse of funds.

Grandparents and parents said they were not aware that the same two women listed as officers at Reading Star ran the Imani Charter School, which was shut down in Orange County last year, in part because of mismanagement of funds.

"I'm not aware of that, but it's nice to know that," Willie Dominguez said.

The Imani School was $400,000 in debt. Ardonnis Lumpkin, a convicted felon, was an advisor for both schools.

Volusia County Public Schools and the state Department of Education are looking into the school.

The school district is not calling this an official investigation, but it did confirm it has been in talks with top leaders from the charter school because of this situation.

Wolfgang Halbig opened the first charter school in Florida. He said there are good charter schools, but state laws make it easy for schools to spend money with little oversight.

"You see it over and over throughout the state. Have one charter school, they close down, and all of a sudden open up and leave the first school with a half million in debt. They change the name, but the players don't change," Halbig said.

While he doesn't know the situation at Reading Star, he said he believes some operators are living large large on the taxpayers' dime.

"A principal of a school of 180 kids, she could say, 'I want a salary of $250,000.' Who is going to stop it?" Halbig said.

Parents at Reading Star said they hope it isn't happening there. There is no evidence of wrongdoing at the school in Volusia County. The school district said it just wants to make sure that everything is "on track."

A Seminole County firefighter has been arrested for driving drunk, and he refused to submit to a breathalyzer test. But as WFTV's Mary Nguyen reports, he's still on the job.

Firefighter and paramedic Matthew Hoggatt refused to look at the deputy who arrested him. The firefighter also refused to take a breathalyzer test.

"I do not agree to take this test because I do not believe that my driving privileges should be revoked," Hoggatt said.

But because he did not take the test, he lost his license for at least a year. He will now have to fight criminal charges, as well as go before a hearing officer, to try to get his license back.

Reports show the firefighter had left a bar in east Orange County called Jake and Mickey's on Jan. 26 around 1 a.m.

A deputy noticed Hoggatt driving down the street. He veered to the left and then to the right. Then at one point, he stopped in between two lanes.

According to the report, the deputy asked Hoggatt how much he had to drink. He replied that he had too much. The deputy said he smelled of alcohol and his speech was slurred.

The firefighter makes a salary of $40,000 and received a 5 percent pay cut, and even though driving is a requirement for the job, he's still working. WFTV couldn't get a straight answer as to why.

Once the court proceedings are complete, there will be an internal investigation to determine if Hoggatt violated any policies, and if there should be any further disciplinary action.

It's decision day for the Chief of Police in West Melbourne.

Tuesday night the City Council will decide whether or not to fire him.

Chief Brian Lock is accused of covering for a commander who admitted to stealing drugs from an evidence room.

The chief's critics have his poor performance reviews as new ammunition going into the meeting.  Five council members gave Lock an overall rating of two or less. The question is, will that turn into five votes to get rid of the chief and end the ordeal?

Lock may have managed to fend off accusations he covered up a drug theft by one of his commanders, Charles Schrum, who admitted to stealing prescription drugs from the evidence room, but with his latest performance appraisal his days may now be numbered.

Council member Michael Hazlett plans to force his colleague's hands.

"I don't see how they can now publicly sit up there and protect the chief any longer,' said Hazlett.           

Three council members rated the chief’s overall performance as "unacceptable," while two others, and the city manager, said the Lock "needed improvement.”  Some said the loss of trust was beyond repair.  Council member John Tice wrote, "I don't see any solution outside of departure of the chief."           

Candy Graves says the chief was just protecting one of his employees under state and federal laws, and shouldn't be given a poor review this year for something that took place in 2009.

"There is a vendetta there.  There is a vendetta.  You have to understand that in the 31 years he has been with the police department this is the first year he has ever received a damning evaluation," said Graves.

Two council members gave the chief an almost perfect score on his review.  Neither of those council members made a mention of the drug theft from inside the police department.

A fight over a fence at the Amway Center could cost Orlando big bucks. Some nearby businesses have given the city a deadline before they decide to sue.

We've reported how the NBA is demanding a security fence around the Amway Center for the All-Star weekend in two weeks.

The 8-foot tall fence would run along Church Street and Division Avenue. Business owners were offered spots inside the fence, but they turned it down.

WFTV's Daralene Jones found out the city is now offering cash to avoid a lawsuit.

City officials said these businesses have until Wednesday to accept up to $3,000, which is far more than most of them make in a week.

This after city officials said some owners demanded $3.5 million, plus two tickets to All-Star events for the inconvenience that fence will cause.

When WFTV stopped by around 11 a.m. Tuesday, only a few of the shops across from the Amway Center were open, and none of the owners who were around would talk.

But their south Florida attorney confirmed that he will sue if the city doesn't cancel plans to put up a fence around part of the Amway Center during All-Star Weekend by Wednesday.

The 8-foot steel fence would go up on Thursday and stay up 24-7 through Sunday after the big game.

City officials said the fence would go from Hughey to Division and stop at the curb, which means customers could still walk along the sidewalk and patronize the businesses if they want.

"We continue to be supportive. But we have to be good stewards of the public trust," City of Orlando spokesman Thomas Chatmon said.

The 11 business owners lease space from the city, and records show only one is current on rent and utilities. Five others haven't paid rent in six months.

Since 2008, the city and the Magic have given the businesses more than $100,000 to make it through the down economy and construction of the Amway Center.

And WFTV learned that the fence will have openings, so that VIP clientele leaving the All-Star events will be forced onto the sidewalk and forced to walk by the businesses.

There's a new push to avoid another deadly pileup like the one that killed 11 people on I-75 in the early morning hours of January 29.

A dangerous combination of wildfire smoke and fog made the road invisible, and a series of metal-twisting crashes left charred vehicles strewn across I-75 and 11 people dead.

Now, a Gainesville state lawmaker told WFTV's Drew Petrimoulx that he wants to use new technology to make sure it never happens again.

The interstate was the backdrop as state Rep. Keith Perry called for change.

"We owe it to our families. We owe it to our communities. We we owe it to the literally millions of out-of-state drivers that travel on our interstates," Perry said.

Perry said he wants to amend a transportation bill to force Florida DOT to spend $1 million on digital warning signs and cameras along I-75 to warn motorists as they enter the low-lying area south of Gainesville where the fatal crashes happened last month.

But Perry admitted the technology to update digital signs with the type of real-time information that could saves lives is not yet available.

"I think the FHP and Florida DOT need to be working with meteorologists, need to be consulting meteorologists, and maybe we have a way to update that through those predictions as well," Perry said. "Sounds like it a long time away. I think it's a long ways away for the full system to be in effect."

The fog and smoke mixture can cause dangerous conditions across the state. The National Weather Service data shows central and north Florida have the most occurrences of dense fog.

Four years ago, fog mixed with smoke to along I-4, leading to a massive pileup where four people died.

"We need to look for the entire state of Florida," Perry said.

Investigators caught an escaped inmate in Volusia County on Tuesday.

The state prisoner, 23-year-old Michael Burke, had been taken to Florida Hospital DeLand for treatment, where he managed to get away.

WFTV's Blaine Tolison found out more about the prisoner and how he escaped.

Burke was shackled, but still able to make it all the way out of the hospital, across the street and into the woods behind a building.

Police said he even broke into a house where he grabbed a knife.

When DeLand police pulled Burke from the woods, he was wearing boxers and had a chain between his ankles and sensors from a heart monitor still covering his body.

Officials said Burke had been in the custody of Volusia County corrections officers at the hospital.

Burke slipped away somehow when he went to use the bathroom. Police said officers received a call around 12:45 p.m. about a man walking through a nearby parking lot wearing shackles and a hospital gown.

A short time later, police found Burke in the garage of a vacant home on Plymouth. They said he broke in and armed himself with a knife.

Burke, who appeared to be in a daze, gave up. He was taken by ambulance back to the hospital where he has been since Sunday.

The Volusia County Department of Corrections is conducting an investigation into exactly how he got away.

Burke does have a prior criminal history. He's facing charges of forgery, grand theft, and dealing in stolen property and is now charged with escape and burglary.

Seminole County commissioners really hit the school district hard Tuesday as they try to prevent more school closures.

Some commissioners accused the district of overbuilding and carrying too much debt.

And now, as WFTV's Bianca Castro reports, they're considering a plan to spend taxpayer dollars, to rent places that tax dollars already built, including district fields, school building, and even the school copy center.

Dressed in bright blue, parents from Geneva Elementary came to a special meeting between commissioners and school board members with a clear purpose.

"We're just looking to help find a way to keep all the schools open," parent Sandy Buckner said.

The district is $20 million in the hole and may have to close two schools. That doesn't sit well with commissioners.

"Then we become an unattractive place for people that want to come and develop, then we become an unattractive place for people to want to bring their businesses because they now can't afford housing, and so it's a vicious cycle," Commissioner Brenda Carey said.

So to help alleviate the district's costs, the county is looking at renting out the district's athletic fields for its recreational programs.

They may also repair the old Midway Elementary and historic Rosenwald School to use as community center or administrative offices.

Total savings haven't been calculated. That frustrated some commissioners.

"I don't see a true plan on any of this," Commissioner Bob Dallari said.

Other commissioners were more concerned about how the district has spent its money. It's in deep debt for building enough space for 73,000 students.

Enrollment has steadily declined. Right now the district has 62,000 students. That number is expected fall to 49,000.

"The question I have is whether the school system has been good stewards on the money that is provided," Commissioner John Horan said.

The county and school district will firm up cost savings by April. The school board had planned to announce which schools will close by early March, but may push that deadline back.

Holly Hill taxpayers are now footing the bill to remove a man's houseboat from the Halifax River.  On Tuesday, crews finally started moving the houseboat that ran aground near Riverside Drive.

The boat's owner was arrested in December for threatening to kill police if they moved his boat. On Tuesday, he told Eyewitness News that he is not giving up his fight.

When workers started pumping water underneath Robert McGary’s 60,000-pound house boat in Holly Hill in an effort to move it, residents lined up to watch.  The 52-foot vessel is McGary's home, but it became a nuisance when it washed ashore during a storm last October.

"I knew there might be a chance that this would happen, and it's just an inconvenience,” explained McGary. “I mean, yeah, they made me homeless.  It's an inconvenience; not the end of the world.  Oh yeah, I'm going to fight (them) tooth and nail, you can bet on that."

So far, McGary has been losing the fight against code violations for anchoring to public land.  The city issued him a final notice to move his boat in December, and that is when police arrested him for threatening to use lethal force against officers if they boarded his boat.

"I didn't make threats. What threats? You talking about my maritime law; that's a statement of fact," said McGary.

On Tuesday, McGary cooperated with police.  They took possession of his boat Monday night and took up a collection to provide him with a motel room.

“We're certainly working with him to get his life back together.  Best case scenario for this is he is able to reclaim his vessel and sail off into the sunset, if you will," said Holly Hill Police Chief Mark Barker.

The boat removal is costing taxpayers $8,700.  Then, taxpayers will pay even more to store the boat at a nearby marina. It is not clear, yet, how much that will cost.

McGary has 30 days to pay the cost of removing the boat or it will be auctioned off to recoup that money.  However, the police chief says the city would consider giving McGary more time if necessary.

Sex offenders who live in Lake County now have to follow some of the strictest rules in Central Florida.

On Tuesday, Lake County commissioners passed a new set of rules detailing where sex offenders can live.  The push comes after the commission denied a proposed sex offender village.

The new ordinance contains six pages of restrictions.  One of them not only forbids offenders from entering a public park, but they also have to stay back at least 300 feet from the entrance.

Some believe every Lake County park is safer today than it was yesterday.

"It does give us a level of protection we didn't have before," said Leslie Campione, parent.

At the meeting of the county commission, members approved a tough new ordinance that restricts registered sex offenders.  Those on the state registry can no longer come within 300 feet of any park, playground, school, or daycare.   And they are not allowed to live within 2,500 feet of those places.

"I think what Lake County is trying to do is based on fear," said Gail Colletta of the Florida Action Committee.

Colletta leads a group trying to protect the rights of registered offenders.  Colletta said Lake County's residence restrictions, which also stipulate that offenders cannot live within 500 feet of one another, may be unconstitutional and will only make matters worse.

"But if we keep pushing people to live in the woods, what do we expect?" asked Colletta.

County leaders drafted an ordinance after stopping a proposed sex offender village in the community of Sorrento.  But commissioners say the new rules can only go so far.

"So, don't get a false sense of security because we adopted this ordinance, (and) that we don't need to still be diligent as parents," said Campione.

The new rules apply only to unincorporated Lake County.  The commission is now hoping to get all the cities onboard to have the same stricter ordinance countywide.