Two brand new flea markets opening in Tallahassee just weeks after long-standing market closed
Two brand new flea markets are opening in Tallahassee just weeks after the long-standing Flea Market Tallahassee closed.
They are happening at 9372 Woodville Hwy and the Tallahassee Urban League.
Flea Market Tallahassee closed in July, six months after heavy damage from the January winter storm.
Hundreds of vendors at the old Tallahassee flea market have been in limbo since the market closed late last month.
That is until this weekend, when two new flea markets will open in the Capital City.
Learning about the efforts made to organize new spaces for these vendors and to find them a new home sooner than later.
Back in January, Flea Market Tallahassee was damaged by the winter storm.
Damage that caused it to close for good in July.
A frequent customer — Gordon Cox says he was shocked when he first heard the news.But soon after, he was inspired, "We're less than a mile from the flea market, we have a big open parking lot, and on Saturdays no one is here so why not offer it up to the vendors?"
He says he spent the last two weekends of the flea market passing out flyers to let vendors know he had a space for them starting this weekend.
As of Friday, he's expecting more than 10 vendors to show up.
"One of the older vendors that had been there for 40 years looked at me several times throughout the day with a big smile on her face and told me that this is going to be a success," said Cox. "So that alone, to inspire them and have them be excited about it was benefit enough. I already feel like I'm serving a greater purpose."
"We just felt like we needed to try to do something for these vendors."
The Urban League is also stepping in to host about 25 vendors this weekend at their facility on Old Bainbridge Rd.
But President and CEO Curtis Taylor says the real goal is to find a permanent home for the market.
Taylor says local leaders are considering possible locations like the North Florida Fairgrounds or Carter-Howell-Strong Park on Georgia St.
"We are going to do everything we can to make sure that these local businesses end up in a good permanent location where they will be able to sell their products," said Taylor. "Please come out Tallahassee. Please come out and support your local businesses. This is what it's all about."
The Urban League's flea market will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday.
The market on Woodville Hwy will open from 10 to 4 on Saturday.
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Man allegedly shot wife's lover in flea market parking lot after 5-year affair
MIAMI-DADE, Fla. (WKRC) - A man allegedly shot his wife's lover in the parking lot of a flea market as the victim was bringing food to a friend, concluding a 5-year-long affair.
According to a probable cause affidavit obtained by local outlet the Miami Herald, deputies were dispatched to a shopping center on July 12 for a report of a shooting. Upon arrival, deputies found a man who had been shot in a car, per the outlet. He was reportedly taken to a hospital and pronounced dead.
Investigators learned that the victim was killed by 69-year-old Omar Rene Aguila, who was motivated by a 5-year-long affair the victim was having with Aguila's wife, per the outlet.
Aguila allegedly first learned about the affair in April of 2024, although it started in 2019, and demanded she end the relationship.
Police reported that the victim went to Aguila's house just two days before the shooting to speak with his wife, but Aguila confronted him instead.
The incident at the flea market occurred when Aguila, his wife, and their son were shopping and the victim arrived to deliver food to a friend, per the report. The victim allegedly decided to try and talk to Aguila's wife again.
Aguila's son reportedly told him the pair was talking, so Aguila drove his mobility scooter over to the victim's car and started arguing with him. Within moments, Aguila allegedly pulled out a gun and shot the victim multiple times.
Aguila was arrested and charged with second-degree murder.
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Vendor charged in Flea Market shooting
A vendor at the Memorial Day Flea Market in Hillsville, Virginia, has been charged with reckless handling of a firearm and malicious wounding following a shooting Friday.
Richard Dale Lee, 49, of Hillsville, was arrested and charged malicious wounding and reckless handling of a firearm, according to the Hillsville Police Department. He is alleged to have fired on two teen-agers, striking one in the back, as they ran from the booth he was attending.
According to Hillsville Police Chief Shannon Goad, the Hillsville Police Department and Carroll County EMS responded to West View Terrace Apartments on May 23 at approximately 12:43 a.m. in reference to a male juvenile with a gunshot wound to the back.
"After a preliminary investigation, it was determined that the incident occurred sometime earlier in the area of 1010 West Stuart Drive in Hillsville. During a brief encounter at a local vendor's tent set up for the Memorial Day Flea Market, the 17-year-old juvenile was shot in the back with a semi-automatic .40 caliber pistol," Goad said.
Chief Goad said Lee was transported to the New River Valley Regional Jail in Dublin, where he is being held with no bond. The juvenile was airlifted to Baptist Hospital in Winston-Salem. No word was available on his condition.
"The investigation is ongoing and future charges are pending," Chief Goad added.