59-year-old virginia ortega being led to jail in cuffs. walked outside after noon to find the police surrounding the home, and they discovered her son, 29-year-old blake howard, dead in the shower. >> i saw the big crowd of people standing there. and oh, i'm sorry. >>reporter: police say she planned the shooting. a family member called to report him missing from work today. >> that mother said some things to her, which is part of the investigation, that led her to believe, hey, something is not right, blake is in danger. >>reporter: officers responded and/or at the ga refused to -- ortega refused to answer the door. they quickly got her to drop the gun and put her in cuffs. police had no prior calls for service at the quiet home. but the family member who called them this morning knew of a history between mom and son.

>> i noticed that she lost a tremendous amount of weight and i thought she was ill and didn't want to talk to anybody. >>reporter: police do not know how long this mom and son had been feuding, they're waiting right now to get inside and investigate, they say once they're able to get into the home, they expect to find out more, but they've been waiting hours to get inside and investigate. i'll tell you what the hold up is, coming up tonight on eyewitness news at 6:00 o'clock. for now, live in altamonte spring, channel 9 yns news. -- eyewitness news. following breaking news in volusia county, firefighters are working feverishly to keep the blaze from spreading to homes. firefighters say the winds have calmed a little, that's going to help them get control of the flames along ropers way, but you can see, there is still a lot of smoke there. and in the past 15 minutes, sky witness 9 was also over this fire, along land fair avenue in deltona, you can see the smoke

at the top of the screen there, a firefighter, and you can see how close it was to the homes, burning a fence in one backyard. we have calls in to the fire department, to find out what may have caused both of those fires. also, tonight, we're tracking some is showers on the radar right now, and possible severe weather in the forecast for tomorrow. >> certified chief meteorologist tom terry is tracking it all in severe weather center 9 and tom, you're watching the el nino storm headed our way. >> a big storm system, several reports of tors on the -- tornadoes on the ground now to the west. we will stay quiet for this evening. scattered showers along the east coast, will taper off. it will be this big el nino winter storm system, cranking up in northeast texas, three reported tors on the ground right now -- tornadoes on the ground right now to, baton rouge, louisiana. that means business for tornadoes across the gulf cost for us, a lesser degree, but a

tornado risk in central florida, starting in the mid-morning hours tomorrow through this time wednesday. we have a lot to talk about and we'll time all of this out hour-by-hour in a moment. >> a teenager accused of running down an orange county sergeant will spend the next month in jail. >> marci pierce was in court today to see the 15-year-old boy who tried to kill her. she left the court in tears after seeing john carlos ortiz and his apparently uncaring attitude. the last time she saw him was friday morning, he struck her with a stolen car and she fell on the road. she was surrounded today by more than a dozen deputies. >> i love my guys. my agency. my friends and my family. and my community's support is incredible. >> brand new for eyewitness news at 6:00, we are digging into the back ground of this teenage suspect, who we found was on the honor roll just a few years ago.

and the millionaire accused of killing his wife will get a new trial. bob ward's attorneys are already trying to get him out of prison. ward was sentenced to 30 years in 2011. shannon butler is live at the orange county courthouse now and shannon, this new trial was granted because the judge said ward's attorneys made too many mistakes and he didn't get a fair trial. >>reporter: yeah, bob, ineffective counsel, it's not an argument that works often, but the judge did decide in fact that bob ward had the right to remain silent and the things he said to the detective s should not have been used the against him to a jury. bob ward maz been in -- has been in a marion county prison for four years. the millionaire was convicted of shooting his wife in the bedroom of his home, he was sentenced to 30 years behind bars, but today he got a second chance after a judge decided he didn't get a

fair trial. >> a criminal lawyer down here, let's get to work on this. >>reporter: the main issue was that bob ward had already asked for an attorney. before prosecutors played this 32 minute video of him in a holding cell. they inferred to the jury that bob ward was guilty of murder because he wouldn't tell them what happened or let them test for gun residue on his hands. the judge's orders said that ward had the right to remain silent. so his attorney should have objected to the use of the video and the questioning. it's a fundamental right that can't be tamperred with. >> is it an armature error by the prosecution? >> i wouldn't say an armature error by the prosecution. >>reporter: r this is the first step, ward's attorney told channel 9 today he will be asking for bond. saying that ward is presouped

and has now served over four years in prison pursuant to a faulty conviction. another issue that the judge said was when bob ward was in the car being transported, he was talking to the deputy driving about football, prosecutors told the jury that he never mentioned his wife and that was a sign again of a guilty man, again, the judge saying he had the right to remain silent. the state has already appealed. we are live tonight, at the courthouse, shannon butler, channel 9 yns news. pushed back yet again, this surveillance video capturing officer kneeing a handcuffed -- the spleen ruptured had to be removed. he was fired from opd. the trial has been moved to start in july. right now, troopers are searching for a semi, that hit an elderly woman and then took off.

this morning at the intersection of sand lake road and kings port parkway in orange county. outside of the orlando regional medical center and you learned that the investigators are trying to track down surveillance video that might show this accident. >>reporter: yeah, martha, i noticed a surveillance camera, one of them at a gas station near the intersection, but investigators with fhp tell me they do not have a copy of the video yet. also, within the past 90 minute, we learned that the victim is here at ormc in serious, but stable condition. let's take you back to this morning when it all happened. sky witness 9 flew over the accident scene, as investigators tried to piece together what exactly happened. troopers say truck driver ran over 68-year-old theresa vazquez as she waited on the shoulder, to cross that busy street. they say the driver initially stopped but then took off as soon as the paramedics arrived. the only description they have now is that the truck trailer is white.

which of course many of them are. troopers say they do plan to charge that truck driver. for now, live in orlando, channel 9 eyewitness news. the state health department justs placed an emergency restriction on the license of a massage therapist accused of sexually abusing two women. cezar has been charged in one case from a massage envy in winter garden and accused of sexual assaulting a different woman at a hand and stone massage in clermont, but he's not be arrested or charged in the case. the emergency restriction means he can still work, but the health department has put limits on what he can do. ong detectives -- orange county detectives have made another arrest in the wedgefield community. >> in august of 2014, today, jonathan stood before a judge, facing two murder charges. and one attempted murder charge. deputies arrested another suspect eduardo -- last year. a wallet and cell phone were stolen during the crime. at this hour, orlando police

>> [ inaudible ]. >> next, the reason nancy pelosi to told us today, both should be reelected. >> i'm continuing to monitor tornadoes on ground right now,

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u.s. house minority leader nancy pelosi is standing behind alan grayson and congresswoman corrine brown. both face federal probes that could tarnish their campaigns. asked pelosi about the controversies. >> everything is great, during her trip to orlando, today, she both touted them as valued members of congress and the party. >> she's my girl. we're pals. >>reporter: when representative nancy pelosi had no problem expressing her love for

congresswoman corrine brown. >> she's a fighter for the people of florida in term s of infrastructure, and terms of job creation. and terms of all of the things that we care about, education. >>reporter: brown is in the middle of a federal probe that she's not talking about. >> however, sources close to her told 9 investigates appear that the feds are focussing on one door for education, based in virginia. sources say donors to one door thought it was a charity fi for education. we uncovered that the group has never been registered with the state of virginia to solicit donations. one door is not a tax exempt nonprofit registered with the irs. pelosi down played the subpoena. >> it may be a subpoena about somebody else that they know something about. >>reporter: in the middle of an ethics investigation, allen

involvement with an offshore hedge fund. we asked pelosi if he should drop out of his race for the senate. >> he, too is a valued member of congress. that is something for him to decide. >>reporter: alan grayson denied any wrongdoing. bob. nancy pelosi came out today in support of val democrat ing. >> battle testing, you can't assume anything about elections. just because it's a better district. doesn't mean it's a foregone conclusion, that's why we have elections. >> republican congressman daniel webster is currently serving district 10, but since the lines were redrawn, that district now leans in favor of democrats. so webster plans to run for congress in district 11, which stretches from lake county to the gulf coast. meanwhile, in district 10, state senator gerald dean thompson, business -- and orlando -- are all running against.

questioning why pelosi isn't supporting the other democratic candidates. we asked congresswoman pelosi several questions on a variety of topics today. you can listen to the ber view on wftv.com. apopka city leaders want to know how you want the city to change in the next ten years and in the next hour, they'll start planning a vision for apopka. residents are welcomed to share their ideas on how to make apopka better and work with city leaders to see if those ideas can become real. on east main street, at 6:00 o'clock tonight, the big question, tom, folks are going to the meeting, are they going to need an umbrella? >> we're fine tonight, tomorrow is a different tomorrow. el nino enhanced because of the southern jet stream is quicking in. it's been -- kicking in. we don't have a lot of these

threats unless we have a threat for large tornadoes, we've already had damage reports in louisiana, and we have one, two, three different tornado warnings out now. and these are on the ground. so we are really watching this storm system very closely. that's where the highest risk will be through t daybreak in the morning, including the western panhandle, if you're travelling out here, be very, very cautious tonight. central florida, our threat will be lower, it's only a slight risk, but this doesn't mean we can't get severe weather. as a matter of fact, we've had some of our more notable storm systems under a slight risk. in years past. we're watching this closely, including a slight tornado risk. make sure you download the free weather app. timing of this from 9:00 to noon in our western zones, approaching i-4 closer to the lunch hour, that's where storms may intensify tomorrow. and then moving offshore, after 4:00 o'clock. so that's what we're expecting for tomorrow. future track, evening showers just about gone along the east coast. we'll start out quiet and see

the west -- downpours developing to the west and intensifying from daytona beach, orlando, here's the lunch hour. you have the timing, it will be the fast-moving, moving through quickly type storm systems. by 3:00, bringing the severe weather risk along the east coast. the more natural spin we'll have and the higher the possibility of a tornado. it doesn't mean we'll get a tornado outbreak tomorrow, but any time we have a well-organized storm system, like we had, most of the energy will lift north of the state, we will be watching for these little storms to come down through the area. so a slight risk of a tornado tomorrow. a much more high risk of getting wind gusts over 50 miles per hour, in addition to 1-inch rainfall. in the meantime, it's fantastic, # 5 in downtown now. we had a quick shower earlier and we'll keep temperatures quiet this afternoon in the 60s. mid-morning tomorrow, through mid afternoon, severe weather risk. here's your five-day forecast with you weekend always in view. likely rain and thunderstorms,

of course we'll be updating facebook with the facebook live event going on on our main page, after 9:00 tonight. be sure to tune in there. martha, a lot going on. we'll update you on the gusty winds in our forecast and how much rain wu we've could get at -- we could get at 5:30. new homes, rotting on the inside, owners blame defective stucco on the outside. action 9 found it could impact thousands of local homes, what owners can do about it now. >> plus, 9 investigates, a candidate for an orange county commission seat with a lengthy record and a history of problems. >> do you have a drug problem? >> new at 6:00, which he says his checkered past shouldn't deter voters. >> parents are proposting state exams by refusing to let their kids take them.

students are about to begin testing for the first time since last year's troubleded roll out of a fsa. the state has made changes but problems may pop up. the frustration has led some families to refuse to take the test. >>reporter: the state says students must take the florida

stt standards assessment, but parent cindy hamilton is encouraging them to opt out. >> parents are going to have decide whether or not the future of their kids is worth taking a stand now. >>reporter: the group is protesting florida's education system by refusing to take -- [ inaudible ] one that was plagued by glitched and a cyber attack last year. hamilton says frustration over the glitches is helping to fuel their cause, growing to roughly 4,000 members. >> we have had a lot of people come to us in the last couple of weeks because testing starts next week. and people want to know, what can i do? >>reporter: the state says it's offered practice tests, checked computer systems and made upgrades. but some administrators i spoke with still have concerns of the next round of testing will go smoothly. >> we documented all of concerns and we're hopeful that they'll be resolved. >>reporter: monday is when students in grades 3-8 will begin the english writing portion. seminole county reporting some issues. >> there were errors missing to

>>reporter: the state says that it fixed issues that caused the big problems last year, but there's no guarantee things won't happen this year. we'll find out soon during the first real test of the test. michael -- the testing will continue through the end of the school year. >> we want to know if you should be able to take the test, opt out and how old kids should be before they're testing, you can go to the home page of wftv.com, take the poll on the right side of the screen. at 4:00, we told you three marion county deputies quit their jobs. new for 5:00, what the sheriff told us he's doing now to clean up the agency. >> it's horrible. they didn't organize this at all. >> this detour sending tons of traffic into a local neighborhood, the confusion that has some folks who live there even more frustrated. >> and this teenager asked a judge to show mercy today by not

sentencing her to life in prison. all new at 5:00, the emotional plea that the mother of the

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continues right now at 5:30. >> this marion county teenager helped lure her ex-boyfriend to the home where he was murdered and his body burned. it's been five years since the virgs attack -- vicious attack and the suspect was sentenced for a second time. >> rocked ocala, and eyewitness news as followed every single development. jackson's ex-girlfriend was granted the second trial because she wasn't properly read the miranda rights. live now along southeast 53rd avenue in ocala, where jackson was murdered and tim, seth's mom told the judge today, her son's killer was lucky to get life. >>reporter: seth's mom says the 19-year-old is lucky that her son's killer will not have to suffer the same fate that seth did. five years ago, he was asked to meet up right here on 53rd avenue, here in marion county. he walked down this dirt road