Here in Florida, when it comes to crime, every arrest seems to have its own set of quirks. But an adult toy? Meet Ariella Messina from Jensen Beach, Florida. She takes the cake for the most unconventional plea ever made to law enforcement.
As the SWAT team delved into the depths of her backpack during a recent search, they stumbled upon a treasure trove of illicit substances. But amidst the chaos of narcotics and contraband, Messina had only one request... "Don't take my dildo."
According to The Smoking Gun, Messina, made this plea when the authorities unearthed a "blue vibrator" in her backpack. According to the police report, the backpack also housed her driver's license and a necklace with the name "Ariella," just in case there was any confusion about who the adventurous backpack owner was.
The police, in their infinite wisdom, declared that Messina's plea for the preservation of her adult toy was a surefire sign that the backpack was indeed hers. It would also seem that she was well aware of its contents. It's not every day that a sex toy becomes the key to unlocking a criminal case, but here we are.
Adult Toy:
The search that led to this discovery occurred during the execution of a search warrant at Messina's residence. Cocaine, meth, and even brass knuckles made their way into the hands of the law. Messina, it turns out, was just one player in this thrilling ensemble of criminal activity.
And if you thought the dildo was the only surprise in her bag, think again. The search also uncovered a mysterious substance that tested positive for meth and muscle relaxers, for which Messina had no prescription. It seems her backpack was the Mary Poppins bag of illicit goodies.
As fate would have it, this wasn't Messina's first rodeo with the law. At the time of her arrest on November 21, she was already on probation for a 2022 conviction involving possession of coke, Ecstasy, and weed. In that case, court records reveal that she kept her stash inside a locked safe in her residence.
Now, Messina finds herself booked into jail on drug charges. The price for her release? A cool $10,000 bond. That's a lot of blue vibrators.
As for the whereabouts of Messina's beloved adult toy, the mystery remains unsolved. Perhaps it's on a journey of its own, exploring the depths of evidence rooms and police storage, forever a symbol of a crime story that went from strange to downright sensational.
Florida Has 3 Of The Fastest Growing Cities In The US
People love Florida. They just keep coming. Whether it's the big metro areas, or smaller cities like Cape Coral, Fort Myers, or Naples, they keep coming. But it's not just Florida. Some of the fastest growing cities are located out west, in Texas and Arizona. Even Boise, Idaho is seeing some big gains as well. But let's start with where people are leaving.
The Fastest-Declining Cities
Financebuzz created a metric to measure cities in decline. They analyzed data from 2019-2022 such as population change and unemployment rate. They also looked at personal income, new businesses, vacancies, home values. Plus another metric which can show a city in decline - percentage of the population that is in debt collections.
San Francisco is listed as the fastest declining city in the US. Even with the recent "homeless cleanup" that went down earlier this month, San Francisco can't avoid that since 2019, according to Financebuzz, the city's population has dropped by 8.29%. Home values are increasing below the national average, plus new home construction and new business openings are below average. New Orleans, and New York round out the top 3 US cities in decline.
Where are the Fastest Growing Cities located?
Topping the list for the fastest growing city in the US is a city with just over 200,000 people in the Dallas-Fort Worth Area. It's Frisco, Texas. They can't build houses fast enough there (which sounds very familiar to us in Florida). Over 2,200 new homes per 100,000 people were built there last year. An incredible amount considering just 3.5% of housing is vacant. Texas is booming, but if you're really looking for a hotspot, 3 of the top 5 cities on this list are suburbs of Phoenix, Arizona.
The Fastest Growing Cities in Florida
Orlando
Number 6 overall, Orlando's population has gone up by 10% over the past 3 years. Plus, home values have increased 24% higher than the national average. The Lake Nona neighborhood of Orlando is one of the fastest growing communities in the country.
Port St. Lucie
PCL has seen a population boom of 15% over the past few years. And construction is absolutely on fire with 2,385 new homes built per 100,000 people in 2022. This puts it at number 7 on this list. Port St. Lucie is on Florida's East Coast about halfway between Orlando and Miami. Away from the big cities, but easily reachable.
Miami
Coming in at number 9, just behind Huntsville, Alabama, is Miami. And business is the tone for Miami. More than 28,000 new businesses opened per 100,000 people in 2022. Per capita income has also outpaced the nation - but it's not enough. Miami is struggling with housing. Everything is getting so expensive. It's hard to attract new talent when they can't afford housing. If South Florida can't solve this problem, many of the issues that plague California will begin to develop here. We're ok - for now.
