Instead, the man was confronted by an MMA fighter, a Russian YouTuber and their camera-carrying entourage, who were livestreaming the interaction to thousands of viewers online.

The 50-year-old did not appear surprised. He recognized the fighter, Dustin Lampros, from his videos.

“Oh,” he said, laughing, “you got me.”

The man was placed under arrest by Delray Beach Police and taken to the Palm Beach County jail. That was only the first arrest of the evening. Over the next three days, Lampros and Vitaly Zdorovetskiy recorded back-to-back confrontations with nearly a dozen other people from throughout South Florida, all of whom, they said, had traveled to either Delray Beach or Boynton Beach for the purpose of meeting children.

“There’s no better feeling, chat,” Lampros, wearing one of his “561 Predator Catchers” shirts and joggers, told viewers. “There’s no better feeling than getting a grown adult locked up that is coming to meet a kid for sex. There’s nothing more fulfilling. This is what life’s about. Protecting the children and serving.”

The men were doing the first of multiple collaborative streams in Lampros’ stomping grounds of Delray Beach. Both are “predator catchers,” or content creators who use “decoys” to chat with adults online while posing as minors, then arrange meetings in supermarkets and fast food restaurants. There, they record themselves confronting and questioning the accused pedophiles until the police arrive.

Around the world, predator catching has flourished since the popularity of the 2000s hit “To Catch a Predator,” fueled by social media algorithms, distrust of the justice system and an epidemic of child exploitation online, experts say.

And in Palm Beach County, where prosecutors and police have sought to publicly distance themselves from the predator catchers, Lampros’ group has become the dominant force behind arrests and prosecutions under the state’s “traveling to meet a minor” statute, court records show. Calls from his team, 561 Predator Catchers, which focuses on Delray Beach and its surrounding area, have led to approximately 40 arrests in the county since it started in 2022, records show, outnumbering arrests by police acting alone under the same statute. Their “catches” include multiple local teachers, a campus safety officer, a rabbi who tutors children, and, most recently, a Miami-Dade police lieutenant. Several have already led to convictions, with one resulting in a nine-year sentence.

The predator catchers have also attracted controversy. Some, like Zdorovetskiy, have been accused of assaulting and humiliating their targets as viewers push for violence. Even the more restrained Lampros is facing criticism from local attorneys and law enforcement who say his group’s tactics violate constitutional rights and jeopardize legitimate investigations. 561 Predator Catchers now appears in so many Palm Beach County prosecutions that several defense attorneys have formed a group to share discovery materials across the cases, according to a recent court filing.

But Lampros says that the work his team is doing has only revealed a pervasive problem that law enforcement alone is not solving. Nationally, experts have said that police no longer proactively conduct undercover operations as frequently due to limited resources.

“We’re actually exposing a hole in the system down here,” Lampros told the South Florida Sun Sentinel. “They don’t have enough resources to do it like we’re doing it.”

The predator-catching formula

An MMA fighter with the nickname “Scrappy,” Lampros moved to South Florida from Illinois 11 years ago. He started 561 Predator Catchers in 2022 with his friend, Ryan Montgomery, who was already working with predator catchers across the country. Montgomery later left the group, but Lampros stuck with it, and the channel has grown steadily. He works with the assistance of multiple “decoys” around the country and a cameraman.

The group’s Instagram bio reads, “trying to make South Florida a better place by catching one child predator at a time.” It encourages people to donate via CashApp. Defense attorneys have estimated that members of the 561 Predator Catchers team have each individually brought in at least $50,000 from the videos, though they “believe the amount is far higher,” according to court filings.

“I wish,” Lampros told the Sun Sentinel when asked about the figure, though he declined to share how much money he makes from his content. He emphasized that his objective is to protect children, not financial gain; for the first several months, he said, he didn’t publish any videos of the catches. His childhood best friend was a victim of sexual abuse at the hands of their school principal for two years, he said, before the principal killed himself, which makes the issue especially personal to him.

The group’s videos follow a formula similar to Chris Hansen’s “To Catch a Predator”. Lampros employs a “decoy” to chat with potential predators on websites like Grindr, Whisper and MeetMe. Some decoys appear young; others use AI to make their photos look younger. During the conversation, the decoy will reveal that he or she is underage, but the predator will agree to meet anyway.

Lampros then confronts his targets, telling them that he and his team “monitor online activity between minors and adults” but that he won’t call the police as long as they talk to him openly. He does not tell them that he has already called the police and officers are on their way. In nearly all of the videos, the accused predator agrees to talk at length about his or her reasons for showing up that day (while the vast majority are men, women have also appeared in Lampros’ videos). Often, they admit that they were trying to meet with someone underage, though some deny that they would have gone through with anything sexual. Some have brought condoms and sex toys to the meet-ups.

In many chat logs documented in police reports, the accused predators appear fully aware and excited about the prospect of meeting children.

“I’d teach u about sex,” wrote one 43-year-old Palm Beach Gardens man, who thought he was messaging a 13-year-old girl, according to a probable cause affidavit, later asking her if she has had her period. When deputies searched his phone, they found hundreds of images and videos of child pornography.

Other stings by Lampros have similarly led police to evidence of further crimes, police reports show. One man, a transient resident of West Palm Beach, was revealed to have failed to register as a sex offender; a search of another’s phone found that he had a sexual relationship with a girl when she was 17 and he was 32. When Boynton Beach Police contacted the girl, she said she wanted to pursue charges.

Sometimes Lampros leans more heavily into alternative forms of punishment. He has confronted accused predators at their homes, in front of their spouses. In one video, he ordered a man to call his wife on the phone and tell her what he had done as well as perform push-ups and sit-ups.

“Let me see the predator push-ups,” Lampros told the man as he knelt to the ground in front of his house. Later, as the man began doing sit-ups, Lampros said, “Repeat: I’m not gonna talk to kids ever again.”

“I’m not gonna talk to kids ever again,” the man said.

A controversial figure

Lampros’ approach is tame compared to Zdorovetskiy’s.

The YouTuber emigrated to the U.S. from Russia and has traveled the world performing pranks and publicity stunts alongside predator-catching videos, amassing over 10 million subscribers. He was detained for months until January of this year after his pranks in the Philippines led authorities to arrest him and declare him an “undesirable alien,” according to the country’s Bureau of Immigration.

Prior to his arrest, he was known for controversial videos targeting alleged predators in South Florida. In one video, he shaved a man’s eyebrows, saying “this is what you do to pedos.” For another, he and his group posed as a 15-year-old boy and pressured a man to meet at an apartment in Miami-Dade County before surprising him with a live alligator and telling him he would have to fight it, according to a 2024 memo from prosecutors.

Police arrested the man, but the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office declined to file charges, citing “evidentiary problems” linked to the tactics of Zdorovetskiy’s group, including the fact that the defendant’s comments were made under duress due to the threat of the alligator. They wrote that, should the case proceed to trial, “the Defendant would come off as unusually sympathetic.”

Off camera, Zdorovetskiy’s criminal record includes a 2020 arrest on charges of violently beating a female jogger in Miami Beach, an assault which required stitches. Prosecutors dropped the charges after he participated in a deferred prosecution program.

Streaming with Lampros over Valentine’s Day weekend, Zdorovetskiy toned down his behavior but still toyed with the men the group caught. He asked the first accused predator if he was a citizen, and then, upon learning he was Puerto Rican, questioned if he was related to Bad Bunny. During another confrontation at a McDonald’s, he put a dildo confiscated from the accused predator on his forehead.

Zdorovetskiy did not return voicemails or texts left by a reporter.

Some of the streamer’s viewers, used to his more aggressive antics, were disappointed by the relative lack of excitement.

“this is getting boring vitaly can you cut their hair and do crazy shit make them eat dog food,” one person wrote. While the two were questioning an alleged predator, others wrote, “MAKE HIM CRY BREAK HIM DOWN” and “BOX THIS FAT BASTARD.”

Several of Lampros’ viewers criticized his recent decision to collaborate with Zdorovetskiy given the latter’s history. But Lampros said that he agreed to the collaboration to have more control over the situation since the YouTuber was already planning to film videos in the same area.

“People should be more concerned about the people we caught than the people I catch with,” he told the Sun Sentinel.

Other viewers have urged Lampros to be less restrained.

“More violence please,” one commenter wrote on recent Instagram post.

This past weekend, the two men joined forces again in Delray Beach.

‘This is gonna go so wrong’

Fort Lauderdale defense attorney Adam Rossen hadn’t heard of predator catchers until a couple of weeks ago, when he got a flurry of calls from prospective clients. He started watching Zdorovetskiy’s videos.

“Me and my attorneys are sitting there going oh, no, no, no,” Rossen, who is currently representing two accused predators who have not been arrested, told the South Florida Sun Sentinel. “This is gonna go so wrong eventually. It’s just a matter of time.”

Defense attorneys and law enforcement experts say the encounters are unpredictable and dangerous, especially for the decoys, who often meet with the alleged predator before the cameras arrive. In the recent sting involving the Miami-Dade lieutenant, a decoy posing as a 15-year-old girl told police that he touched her chest without her consent prior to the arrival of the predator catchers, according to a report.

Multiple people stopped by Lampros and Zdorovetskiy were carrying guns, according to police reports. Nationally, multiple people caught in predator-catching operations have died by suicide.

There are also due process issues. When law enforcement officers conduct undercover stings, they must be careful not to entrap defendants by inducing them to commit an act they wouldn’t have otherwise committed, such as by pressuring someone to meet for sex. Entrapment applies to law enforcement, not civilians, but it can apply if civilians are operating as an extension of the government under what is known as the state actor doctrine.

Police regularly use evidence supplied by the catchers to support search warrants and arrests, including chat logs and recorded phone calls, records show. But the chat conversations could be edited, legal experts say, while the phone call recordings could run afoul of Florida’s two-party consent law.

Rocky Brancato, a Tampa-based defense attorney who specializes in sex crimes and has reviewed Lampros’ videos, said he believes his relationship to the police would designate him as a state actor.

“The police know what’s going on,” he said. “They’re allowing it to happen.”

Relationship to police

Since Lampros’ group began in 2022, the majority of all arrests in Palm Beach County under Florida’s “traveling to meet a minor” statute came out of Delray Beach Police responding to his calls, records show.

In 2024, calls from Lampros’ team led to 20 of 22 total arrests under the statute that year, records show, 19 of which were made by Delray Beach Police.

Asked about the predator catchers’ relationship to Delray Beach Police, spokesperson Ted White told the Sun Sentinel, “They’re doing their own thing. They’re their own thing, they don’t collaborate with us in any way, form or fashion. They basically just call us when they’re at a certain point where they believe police need to intervene.”

White did not respond to follow-up questions about the police department’s resources for combatting child sex crimes or grant a Sun Sentinel request for an interview with someone in the sex crimes unit.

On camera last month, Lampros and Zdorovetskiy praised Delray Beach Police for their responsiveness. “Should I move to Delray?” Zdorovetskiy said at one point during the stream, following another arrest. “I don’t think the cops will ever get tired of this.”

Other agencies, they say, have not been as amenable to predator catching. Lampros has criticized Boca Raton specifically, saying officers told him not to call them again after he reported a catch leading to a conviction.

Boca Raton Police have had only two reported interactions with the group, records show. In one, a detective wrote that Lampros would not allow him to download the unedited video of a catch from his phone, though the man still ended up getting arrested and pleading guilty. In the other, Lampros called about an alleged predator at a Publix but, when asked to go to the police department to make a formal report, he “refused,” the police report says.

In response to questions about Lampros’ comments, Boca Raton Police spokesperson Jessica Desir said in a statement that “the Boca Raton Police Services Department has a Computer Crimes Unit dedicated to investigating these types of crimes. These investigations are often complex and require time to build a case that supports successful prosecution.”

Local police say they are well-equipped to handle child predator investigations and have encouraged predator catchers to report suspected offenders rather than confront them on camera. Several agencies, including Delray Beach, Boca Raton and Boynton Beach, participate in the South Florida chapter of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, or ICAC, a national organization that provides funding for police efforts targeting child sex crimes, including undercover operations.

The task force, managed by the Broward Sheriff’s Office, has made 520 arrests in 2025 alone, according to Sgt. Thomas McInerney, who serves as the commander of the task force.

McInerney emphasized that his task force works directly with prosecutors and that investigators receive special training while adhering to strict standards regarding evidence. In contrast, he said, predator catchers may use tactics that prevent successful convictions such as selectively editing interactions with suspects, failing to preserve evidence properly, and engaging “in conversations that may support entrapment defenses.”

“I have personally communicated with members of several of these groups and encouraged them that, if their primary goal is protecting children and ensuring justice, they should immediately notify law enforcement upon identifying an individual attempting to exploit a child online,” McInerney told the Sun Sentinel in an email. “This allows trained investigators to assume the case, properly preserve evidence, plan a safe arrest, and pursue a successful prosecution. Unfortunately, some groups have chosen to continue conducting public confrontations and recording those encounters for social media distribution rather than properly communicating the information to law enforcement.”

But Lampros says that ICAC is not doing enough to combat the problem. As for entrapment, he is not a police officer, and even if he were, he doesn’t think that defense applies.

“You think if it goes to trial, a jury of the public is gonna say, ‘You know what, he said he wanted to have sex with the 14-year-old four times, but I don’t really think he was going to’?” he told the Sun Sentinel.

Over the last few years, child exploitation has surged online; a 2025 study found that one in 12 children worldwide have fallen victim to online child sexual exploitation or abuse. Nationally, some experts have argued that law enforcement lacks the resources to counter it.

“ICAC Task Forces throughout the United States used to regularly conduct undercover operations targeting offenders who traveled to meet and assault individuals they believed were 10- to 14-year-olds,” John Pizzuro, the retired commander of New Jersey’s chapter of ICAC, testified in a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in 2023. “… Unfortunately, task forces are no longer able to perform these types of operations — they are resource intensive, and the volume of reactive cases prohibits it.”

Prosecutions

Dozens of cases spurred by predator catchers are now making their way through the court system, and many of them are succeeding. At least six stings led by Lampros have resulted in plea agreements in Palm Beach County, records show, with several convicted predators facing two-year sentences. At least 25 are ongoing.

In response, local defense attorneys have created a group to share discovery evidence amongst themselves due to the sheer number of cases involving Lampros, according to a January court filing. Some have begun asking for the YouTube videos of their clients to be removed.

“The ongoing publication and maintenance of YouTube videos by civilian ‘predator catcher’ groups, who are witnesses in this case, constitutes a form of extrajudicial conduct that creates a substantial and imminent threat to the administration of justice and the defendant’s right to a fair trial,” reads a motion filed by Brian Balaguera, a member of the defense attorney group.

Rossen was surprised to learn that a number of Lampros’ operations have already ended in convictions in Palm Beach County, not just because of due process issues but because those prosecutions would require the catchers to sit for depositions, motion hearings and trials.

“There’s so many constitutional and procedural issues when it’s done by a civilian like this,” he told the Sun Sentinel.

Lampros says he has sat for depositions and is often one of the lead witnesses, though none have gone to trial.

In response to questions over their decision to prosecute cases and the extent to which predator catchers are involved, a spokesperson for the Palm Beach County State Attorney’s Office told the Sun Sentinel in a statement that “successful child sex crimes prosecutions by our office are based on evidence that is properly collected during investigations by law enforcement agencies. Our office does not coordinate with or seek input from civilian ‘predator catcher’ groups concerning arrests, case filing decisions, plea negotiations, or sentencing recommendations. As always, each case is reviewed individually to determine whether there is enough evidence to prove the charges presented by law enforcement beyond a reasonable doubt.”

By comparison, both Broward and Miami-Dade have received and prosecuted only a handful of cases since 2022.

The Broward State Attorney’s Office said that it is reviewing three cases but has not otherwise received any or filed formal charges in recent years, save for one case in 2022 from a group known as Colorado Ped Control. The Broward Sheriff’s Office arrested a man last week after an operation of Zdorovetskiy’s; it is one of the three cases under review at the State Attorney’s Office.  

“We encourage anyone who believes they have information that could identify a child predator to report that information to law enforcement agency for investigation,” a spokesperson for the office told the Sun Sentinel in a statement, adding that there are “potential legal issues when individuals who are not in law enforcement engage in this behavior as they may end up violating the law and jeopardizing the ability to make an arrest or sustain the charges in court.”

A Miami-Dade prosecutor said in an email provided to the Sun Sentinel that the only case brought to the State Attorney’s Office in recent years was the one involving the alligator, which the office declined to pursue.

Stranger danger

To predator catchers and their viewers, a lack of support from prosecutors and police is only further evidence that a system designed to protect children cannot be trusted to do so.

The public’s fascination with child predators is not new. Beginning in the 1970s, fears spread across the United States that tens of thousands of children were being abducted by strangers each year, according to Paul Renfro, a history professor at Florida State University and author of “Stranger Danger: Family Values, Childhood, and the American Carceral State.”

The statistics later proved to be exaggerated, Renfro said, but the concerns remained, bolstered by a series of disturbing, high-profile abductions, including the Hollywood abduction and murder of 6-year-old Adam Walsh that thrust his father John Walsh into the spotlight.

The movement brought about new measures to protect children, such as sex offender registries, Renfro told the South Florida Sun Sentinel, but it also placed “the threat of child sexual exploitation outside of the home,” obscuring the reality that the majority of sexual abuse takes place in private, at the hands of people children are supposed to trust.

It continued into the 2000s with the success of “To Catch a Predator,” which popularized sting operations to nab suspected predators. Since then, other child exploitation-focused movements have gained a foothold, often characterized by a distrust of the justice system.

“There’s always kind of been this vigilantism embedded within the child safety movement,” Renfro said. “There’s this skepticism of law enforcement and this belief that law enforcement generally don’t care about what’s going on with children and aren’t interested in investigating these cases.”

Many members of the public view predator catchers as heroes for exposing people who might not otherwise face retribution. Some local viewers have offered Lampros’ group free services or meals.

“You’re a saint!” one commenter wrote on a recent video. “Us moms thank you for all you do!”

Christl Ramirez, a 36-year-old guardian ad litem and mother of two, discovered Lampros through her husband and quickly became a devoted fan. When she was 12 years old, she said, a man tried to molest her in Collier County; after she told the police, they picked him up and dropped him off down the road at a supermarket.

“I feel that our system is very failed in that way,” she told the Sun Sentinel. “And him bringing it to the public for us civilians to be able to see it starts an uproar.”

To report a suspected child exploitation crime, contact the confidential tip line at 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678) or use the online reporting form at https://southfloridaicac.org/report-a-tip/

Staff Writer Shira Moolten can be reached at smoolten@sunsentinel.com or 754-971-0636.

Palomas and classy Aperol spritzes are in, mocktails and nonalcoholic beers are rising, and espresso martinis aren’t disappearing anytime soon. In conclusion, the state of our drinking union is strong.

The newest class of bars calling the shots in our region include sky-high cocktails with sumptuous sunset views, a back-door speakeasy, a Spanish tapas hot spot, and a sleek pop-up of an acclaimed aperitivo bar.

Here are four that have recently opened in Broward and Palm Beach counties. Salut!

Broward County

Bar Betty 

2465 E. Sunrise Blvd., Fort Lauderdale; 954-491-6611; SunnessSupperClub.com/bar-betty

When owner Michael Stanley first opened Sunness Supper Club in Fort Lauderdale, he pictured a speakeasy on the second floor.

Then he found the “strange rooms” upstairs, he said: Odd crawl spaces that fed into secret closets. Mysterious numbered doors with deadbolts on the outside. Cramped, cobwebbed hallways that went nowhere. It all gave Stanley, who spent more than a year transforming the space, the creeping suspicion that “nefarious stuff went down here” at some point in the building’s history.

Did the upstairs house potentially illicit goings-on? He found zero evidence to support his theories, but either way, it’s intriguing Bar Betty lore that Stanley will share with any customer who asks.

“This place was built to hide things,” Stanley insists. “I think it was a den of iniquity.”

Now it’s a 1920s-style speakeasy. After a thorough cleaning and a stunning transformation, this classy drinking den that debuted Dec. 18 now crowns Sunness Supper Club. Customers enter through the building’s rear, up a flight of stairs and through a red door, which spills out into a sumptuous, 2,000-square-foot lounge with low tin ceilings, moody lighting and a mammoth Buddha statue.

Take Bar Betty’s checkered past with a grain of salt, preferably on the rim of a margarita. Their version is James and the Giant Peach (ghost pepper-infused tequila, Cointreau, agave, Ancho Reyes Chile Liqueur, lime juice, peach syrup). There’s also a Caramel Espresso Martini and an elixir called Fluffy Dreams (gin, zesty syrup, lemon juice, aquafaba, Luxardo Apricot Liqueur, elderflower, citrus bitters). Teetotalers can try the Black Betty (THC-infused nonalcoholic liquor, guava puree, lime juice).

Entertainment is plentiful, with Postmodern Jukebox-style jazz from Ginetta’s Vendetta on Mondays, backgammon on Tuesdays, local singer-songwriters on Wednesdays and burlesque on Thursdays — and more live music rounding out the weekend.

Ibis Sky Lounge 

1850 SE 17th St., 29th floor, Fort Lauderdale; 754-224-3700, OmniHotels.com/hotels/fort-lauderdale

Picture this: A $50 showstopper dessert from a secret menu called The Garden of Eden.

It’s a green matcha sponge cake, with chocolate crumble and sake-soaked green apple, served nestled at the base of a bonsai tree on a long, slender pedestal, backlit with a glowing halo light. Beside faux-edible moss, there’s also a goldflake-dusted apple sculpture, filled with elderflower mousse, guava gel and lemon poppyseed cake, that you crack open with a spoon, according to Ibis Sky Lounge manager Fabian Vazquez.

To call Ibis an elevated lounge is an understatement. When it debuted Dec. 18 atop the Omni Fort Lauderdale Hotel, it became Broward’s tallest rooftop bar at 29 stories. Floor-to-ceiling windows wrap the circular lounge and its central bar, which is distinguished by a massive birch tree with gray feathers instead of leaves suspended from branches.

Open Thursdays through Sundays, its menu serves global tapas and caviar, including tuna tartare, short-rib empanadas and spiny lobster cocktails. But there are no main courses, executive chef Cristian Mosquera says.

“They could have a full meal if everyone shared, we see it as somewhere people go before or after dinner,” Mosquera says. “These are intricate bites with sweetness and crunch that pair well with cocktails.”

The menu’s 12 cocktails include a Cinnamon Roll Old Fashioned (spiced pear cinnamon reduction, bourbon); a Pink Paloma (tequila blanco, grapefruit cordial, tangerine, guava lime); and two mocktails (Vazquez recommends Amaretti Sour with amaretti, lemon juice and fee foam.)

And that secret dessert? Mention the Ibis logo on the menu to your server and they’ll wave a blacklight over the surface, revealing a scannable QR code that unlocks two more bites and two cocktails. Among them: A 28-gram tin of Grade 000 Beluga caviar from Marky’s Caviar Lounge in Hollywood sitting atop a Rolex-designed box for $750.

ViceVersa Four Seasons

525 N. Fort Lauderdale Beach Blvd., Fort Lauderdale; FourSeasons.com/fortlauderdale

Tucked inside Fort Lauderdale’s Four Seasons Hotel and Residences is an Italian aperitivo bar pop-up of effortless cool, touting a mighty Negroni to match. ViceVersa, now in residency through May in the hotel lobby, is awash in luminescent ambers and leather tones, with acclaimed barkeep Valentino Longo pouring digestivos, bubbly spritzes, and Italian wines.

It’s a foodless offshoot of the Michelin-recognized, James Beard-nominated pizza restaurant-bar Longo also operates at The Elser Hotel Miami. But by no means is it small or stripped-down. The sleek 22-seat lounge (eight at the bar, 14 at tables) lounge has leather-backed chairs, a soundtrack of Italian and American beats and 23 drinks, including riffs on martinis and margaritas.

Case in point: The Martini Doppio is a Gibson twist with Cocchi Rosa Americano aperitivo, Tio Pepe sherry and pickled onions; while its ‘rita blends Patron Blanco and spicy mango with barolo and vermentino wines. And its Negroni is elegant and Florida-inspired, built with ViceVersa’s in-house dolce amaro blend called Mi-To.

There are also drinks exclusive to Fort Lauderdale: a White Wine spritz (Italicus, peach, white wine, elderberry and soda) and Coast to Coast (Aperol, coconut water, prosecco).

Palm Beach County

Barcelona Wine Bar

22 W. Atlantic Ave., Suite 140, Delray Beach; 561-501-0300; BarcelonaWineBar.com

The stars have aligned for exotic wines at this Spanish tapas bar in recently opened Sundy Village, where garlic prawns are paired with crisp, white Riojas.

Barcelona, which has chain outposts in 11 states and Washington, D.C., debuted Jan. 18 with executive chef Javier Narvaez at the helm, serving exotic charcuterie boards with aged goat’s milk cheese and 20-month cured hams, rich paella and tapas that range from Berkshire pork tenderloin to salmon al la plancha.

They have 400 Mediterranean, Spanish and Latin American organic and biodynamic wines, plus wine-based cocktails and zero-proof drinks in a warm space of repeating archways, terracotta pots, Turkish jars and natural woods that’s inspired by “sherry bodegas of Lustau in Jerez, Spain,” according to a news statement.

There are dry and sweet sherries (by the pour or bottle), wine flights, white and red sangria, and 13 cocktails, among them Alebrijes (mezcal, quinquina, salted honey syrup, dragonfruit and tangerine powders) and Laird’s Way (scotch, vermouth, amaro, walnut bitters).

After all, they have withstood being scooped up from the ocean by heavy equipment, transported to shore, sifted in giant baskets and dumped in a public park. Still, every few minutes, a treasure hunter finds an unsullied remnant and places it in a tote bag or basket for safe keeping.

Dozens of people have been spending hours each day at the temporary pile, which opened on Feb. 6. Many come ready for a day of digging, bringing hats, sunglasses, gloves, shovels and cushions to protect their bottoms from the rocks. The pile, which has so far been replenished twice, consists of the leftovers from an ongoing renourishment project that is adding sand to eroded parts of the city’s beach.

“This is so fun, they should do this all the time,” said Amanda Centrone, 24, a Delray Beach resident who was at the pile for her second visit on Tuesday and plans to make a bathing suit rack of conch shells. “A lot of them are crushed, but they’re all unique.”

The renourishment process extracts sand and other items from a designated area of the ocean and transports it to shore, city spokeswoman Gina Carter said. The debris is pumped through specialized baskets that separate the sand needed for the beach project from larger materials such as shells and rocks, not to mention sunglasses, tin cans and plastic pieces found in the water.

These vestiges are typically hauled to landfills for disposal. But this time, instead of throwing out the leftovers, Carter said Palm Beach County is incorporating some of the shell and rock into its parks and natural areas, and Delray Beach decided to offer the materials to shell enthusiasts.

Many of these hobbyists are showing off their finds on social media. One seeker found an assortment including the shells of olive, green star and alphabet cone snails, which she organized by size and shape. Another found what appeared to be a shark tooth.

Jim Neville, 76, a New Jersey resident spending the week with his family in Delray Beach, was watching his three grandchildren comb through the pile on Tuesday. He said a fellow beachgoer told them about the trove, so they walked over to the park and planned to stay as long as the kids wanted.

“As long as we don’t find any human bones,” he said.

The treasure hunt in a rock pile, remnants of a beach renourishment project, is taking place from sunrise to sunset every day, while supplies last, at Anchor Park, 340 S. Ocean Blvd., Delray Beach. For updates, visit Facebook.com/CityofDelrayBeach.

The deadline to request a mail ballot is Thursday, Feb. 26.

State law sets a strict deadline of 5 p.m. for vote-by-mail ballot requests to be at the county elections office. That includes online applications. Postmarks for mailed applications don’t count.

People can request mail ballots online.

Residents of two cities, towns and villages in Broward and 19 in Palm Beach County are electing local officials, deciding on referendums, or both. Some communities will pick successors to departing mayors who have been in office for years.

There are three key factors voters may not be aware of and need to know:

— People who want to vote by mail in the March municipal elections need to make new requests if they haven’t done so since the 2024 presidential election. Under state law, all requests for vote-by-mail ballots made prior to the 2024 presidential elections have been voided.

— There is no in-person early voting for the city, town and village elections.

— Voters who have renewed or replaced a Florida driver’s license or state ID may need to update their license or ID number with the county supervisor of elections office so the request for a mail ballot can be processed.

Who can vote

Most Broward communities have their local elections in November. Palm Beach County municipalities generally use the uniform March election day.

Broward voting: Lauderhill and Pembroke Pines. Candidates in four other places were unopposed, so elections won’t be held.

Palm Beach County voting: Boynton Beach, Belle Glade, Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Greenacres, Gulf Stream, Hypoluxo, Juno Beach, Jupiter Inlet Colony, Lake Park, Lake Worth Beach, Loxahatchee Groves, Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, Palm Beach Shores, Royal Palm Beach, South Palm Beach, Wellington, and West Palm Beach.

Only people who are registered to vote in municipalities are eligible to participate. Voters whose address lists a city, yet reside in an unincorporated area, are not eligible to vote in the municipal election.

Returning mail ballots

People should return their mail ballots well before Election Day, March 10.

Florida law features a strict deadline for returning mail ballots. They must be back at the county elections office by 7 p.m. on Election Day. Postmarks don’t count.

Elections officials routinely warn against waiting too long to return ballots and risking a Postal Service delay. Every election there are ballots that arrive late and can’t be counted under Florida law. In close elections there often have been enough uncounted ballots to potentially change the results.

People can also return their mail ballots at drop boxes at supervisors of elections offices in their home counties. Details about the hours and locations are available at the county elections office websites.

State law no longer uses the term “drop boxes” for ballots. Florida changed the name to “secure ballot intake stations” after Republican activists claimed without evidence that they weren’t sufficiently secure and could lead to fraud.

Someone who requests and receives a mail ballot is not required to use it. Voters can still vote in their neighborhood polling stations on Election Day, March 10. Safeguards are in place to prevent someone from voting more than once.

Make it count

To make sure your vote counts, mark the ballot exactly the way the instructions specify. If you don’t, it might not scan correctly.

If someone votes for more than one candidate in a race (unless it’s a contest in which people are supposed to pick more than one candidate), the vote won’t count. People can skip a race and leave it blank.

Elections canvassing boards in each county end up reviewing unusual ballot markings and are left to decipher voter intent. If they’re unable to figure it out, the vote isn’t counted.

Election Day

Neighborhood polling places are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Election Day, March 10.

Anyone who is in line at 7 p.m. is allowed to vote.

People must vote in their assigned polling place on Election Day.

Someone must have a current, valid photo ID with a signature. The most common are Florida driver’s licenses or state ID cards.

Many other forms of ID, including passports, are accepted. If the photo ID doesn’t have a voter’s signature, the person will have to show another ID with a signature.

Dates & deadlines

In-person early voting: Not available for March local elections.

Return mail ballots: 7 p.m. March 10. Postmarks don’t count.

Election Day: March 10. Neighborhood polling stations are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Information

People can check to see if they’re registered to vote, request mail ballots and check their status, and find locations of polling places online and by phone.

Broward County: www.browardvotes.gov, 954-357-8683.

Palm Beach County: www.votepalmbeach.gov, 561-656-6200.

Yet Garlic Fest’s homecoming on Feb. 28 and March 1 tastes bittersweet, if you ask organizers, arriving 10 months after the death of beloved co-founder Nancy Stewart-Franczak and three months after the passing of cherished teacher Tom Johnston, who charmed endless fans in his Mr. Garlic costume.

“Nancy made sure Garlic Fest came back home, where it always belonged,” said the festival’s new executive director, Jennifer Costello. “And Tom made so many people happy. He was a light. So this year’s event gives us a sweet and tender and melancholy type of excitement.”

First staged in 1999 and modeled after California’s Gilroy Garlic Festival, this pungent South Florida event has been drawing droves to cloves on the expansive green lawn of Old School Square, where Swinton and Atlantic Avenues meet. At first, city officials ridiculed co-founders Stewart-Franczak and Bern Ryan.

“They said to us, ‘That’s the stupidest idea I ever heard for a festival,’ ” recalled Ryan, CEO of Garlic Fest’s producer, Festival Management Group.

But Garlic Fest had the last laugh: It drew 8,000 visitors that first year.

Even more, its carnival rides, national music headliners (Buddy Guy, Blues Traveler, Trombone Shorty, among others) and over-garlicked foods helped morph Delray Beach from a sleepy beach town into a destination, said Laura Simon, executive director of the city’s Downtown Development Authority.

“The festival was this big catalyst,” she said. “It made people aware that Delray was becoming a big food destination.”

By 2016, Garlic Fest had outgrown Old School Square, shutting down Swinton Avenue and Northeast First Avenues with a glut of vendors and forcing drivers to find different routes. At the same time, city staff wanted to dial back special events — plus, “residents got upset when events like ours closed down streets,” Ryan said.

No one understood her festival’s popularity better than Stewart-Franczak, so she didn’t raise a stink when Garlic Fest left Delray Beach, and instead relocated to John Prince Park in Lake Worth Beach, where Garlic Fest was staged from 2017 to 2020.

Of course, weeks after the 2020 bash, pandemic lockdowns closed the Palm Beach County parks system, which left organizers scrambling for a third location: Wellington. The event hopscotched around that city from 2021 to 2025, first at Wellington Green Park and later at Village Park Athletics Complex, dropping its amusement rides due to COVID concerns.

But returning the event to Delray Beach required the singular influence of Stewart-Franczak, a “workhorse” and a “force of nature” who organized troves of community events, from the Wellington Bacon & Bourbon Fest and Delray Affair to LagoonFest in West Palm Beach.

As the effervescent face of the fragrant fiesta for 26 years, Stewart-Franczak began taking meetings with city officials in April 2025, insisting she could make Garlic Fest’s Delray Beach comeback happen.

Simon recalled greeting an unusually “emotional” Stewart-Franczak at her office.

“I think she knew more than she was letting on about her health,” Simon said. “She just showed lots of passion that day. This was her baby, and she didn’t like it not being in her hometown. Her dream was to be here for her own event.”

So they hashed out details: Garlic Fest would become a slimmer affair, a city-imposed condition of its Delray reunion: No more carnival rides and Ferris wheels of yesteryear, no more giant cook-offs, and no more street closings of Swinton and Northwest First Avenues, Costello said.

Ryan remembers Stewart-Franczak finding enough strength to attend one last meeting with the city manager.

“The city manager was basically saying, ‘If you don’t close the streets down, you can come back home,’ ” Ryan said. “And Nancy says, ‘We’re ready to keep it small and intimate.”

Two days later, on April 28, Stewart-Franczak died at age 67 due to complications from liver and colon cancer.

The spirit of Nancy and Tom

The spirit of Stewart-Franczak will be felt all over Old School Square this year, Costello said, particularly in the form of staff and volunteer Garlic Fest T-shirts bearing her likeness. There will also be cardboard cut-outs of the late Delray Beach teacher who costumed as mascot Mr. Garlic for 22 years, from 1999 to 2021, and his family will be selling “O.G. Mr. Garlic” tees at their vendor booth.

Johnston’s death last November was less expected, said Ryan, fondly recalling him as “my drinking buddy.”

“We were two Irishmen, so go figure,” Ryan said. “To me, he was the Jackie Gleason of Delray, and everyone at the festival cheesed for pictures with him in his costume.

“Funny story is, he never told his students in class that he moonlighted as a bulb of garlic at the festival. But he’d show up every year wearing a giant pair of black high-top Converse sneakers that were like 40 years old. And the students were just shocked to see their teacher dressed up like a cartoon.”

In 2022, he passed the costume to Johnny Mackey, who has suited up as Mr. Garlic ever since, although Johnston continued visiting Garlic Fest before his death, Ryan added.

What’s in store

This year, Mr. Garlic will parade around Old School Square and its signature Gourmet Alley, where 100 vendors will sell clove-infused dishes, from garlic shrimp scampi to garlic smash burgers to the kitschy acquired taste that is garlic ice cream and garlic-bread beer.

Meanwhile, the Clove Kitchen, a bulb-centric bazaar, will boast new bourbon samplings and chef demonstrations, plus the usual garlic cocktails and heads of elephant garlic on sale from Christopher Ranch, the same supplier behind California’s iconic Gilroy Garlic Festival.

“We’re creating a smaller footprint, but we’ll have the same impact,” Costello said. “We do have fewer vendors, but to be honest, we’re a homegrown event, so we’re expecting even more people. We’re expecting a huge hug and a welcome back.”

Leading the bill will be New York alt-rockers Spin Doctors (“Two Princes”), Garlic Fest’s first national headliner in six years, alongside sets from blues-rock stalwarts The Fabulous Fleetwoods, pop-punk act If I’m Lucky and Pearl Jam tribute band Given to Fly.

Stewart-Franczak held a special affinity for the music portion of the evening. After a long day of organizing, her favorite activity was cruising the venue in her golf cart, people-watching and soaking in live music onstage.

“She loved being a concertgoer,” Ryan recalled. “She liked the foods and bringing home the tchotchkes, but when the music started, everybody shut up so she could roll up to the stage and be in the middle of the crowd.”

On Saturday night, when he’s watching Spin Doctors at Old School Square’s amphitheater, he will imagine Stewart-Franczak there beside him, rocking out.

IF YOU GO

WHAT: 27th annual Delray Beach Garlic Fest

WHEN: 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 28, and 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Sunday, March 1

WHERE: Old School Square, 51 N. Swinton Ave., Delray Beach

COST: $15 general admission both days, except for Saturday after 6 p.m., when its $25

INFORMATION: 561-279-0907; GarlicFestFL.com

Sun Sentinel staff writer Phillip Valys can be reached at pvalys@sunsentinel.com or Twitter/X @philvalys.

At 12:01 a.m., police received multiple 911 calls about gunshots in the 500 block of Northwest 5th Court, Ted White, a spokesperson for Delray Beach Police, said in a news release.

When officers arrived, they found a man who had been shot inside of his home. Paramedics took him to the hospital, where he died. Police have not identified him.

Officers have not made any arrests and are searching for the suspect.

This is a developing story, so check back for updates. Click here to have breaking news alerts sent directly to your inbox.

Christopher Jorge Diaz, 50, had made contact on two dating sites with a member of the group who told him she was 15, according to an arrest report by the Delray Beach Police Department. After engaging in sexually charged interactions online, they agreed to meet Friday evening at the IPIC Theater in Delray Beach.

When they met, Diaz said, “I want to kiss you,” the report stated, ignoring her when she said she was nervous and trying to keep her distance. She told Delray Police officers that Diaz “was touching her all over her upper chest, to include her breasts.”

The woman who participated in the sting was actually 24, according to the police report.

As they walked out of the theater, Diaz was confronted by the group 561 Predator Catcher, which had set up the sting.

Miami-Dade Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz, who said she was “outraged” at the deputy’s conduct, announced that Diaz had been relieved of duty without pay and that she directed that “termination proceedings begin immediately.”

Diaz was charged with simple battery and pleaded not guilty.

Since 2013, Wimbledon businesses have been decorating their storefronts with tennis garb to draw shoppers into the British village during racket season each summer. Judges choose the best windows based on creativity, humor and level of difficulty.

Adam Baron, executive director of the Delray Beach Open, imagined a similar contest in downtown Delray Beach, coordinated with his tournament this month, and approached city officials, who embraced the idea. Thus, the first-ever Love At First Sight Window Competition, an homage to both Valentine’s Day and the love score in tennis. Instead of judges deciding the winner, passersby are able to vote for their favorite participating storefront.

About 60,000 spectators are expected for the tournament., which will be Feb. 13 to 22 at the Delray Beach Stadium & Tennis Center. The city’s Downtown Development Authority (DDA) wants visitors to make a connection between the tennis center and adjacent downtown.

“What we don’t have yet, and what this partnership is intentionally designed to build, is a stronger, more visible bridge between the tennis experience and downtown Delray’s retail, dining and cultural offerings,” DDA marketing director Suzanne Boyd said. “The goal is to make the entire downtown feel like an extension of the tournament, encouraging tennis fans to explore, linger longer and discover our local businesses while they’re here.”

In this first year,17 businesses are participating, according to the DDA. They include:

• Beach Paradise Fashion Wear, at 533 E. Atlantic Ave., where mannequins are dressed in beachy outfits of yellow and aqua, the tournament’s colors.

• FURST, at 123 NE Second Ave., a purse and jewelry store displaying backpacks and handbags filled with rackets and tennis balls.

• Love Shack Delray, at 411 E. Atlantic Ave., a clothing boutique showcasing tennis outfits, themed pillows and large multicolored tennis balls inside teacups, glasses and vases in the front windows and inside the store.

An art gallery, a coffeehouse, a real estate agency and even a hotel have also built tennis themes into their front windows.

Amanda Perna, co-owner of A Little Wyld, a children’s boutique at 157 NE Second Ave., said she and her business partner, Skye Dyer, were excited when downtown representatives came into the store about two weeks ago with flyers describing the contest.

They took some Jellycats, a trendy stuffed toy, got them little tennis rackets and arranged them in a scene in the front window. They added colorful balloons to the store’s exterior to draw attention.

“We only had a week to sort it all out,” Perna said. “We wanted to make it cute and fun.”

Those strolling downtown can vote for their favorite storefront through Tuesday, Feb. 17, using a digital pass. Voting cannot be done remotely, and voters must check in at participating stores before selecting their choice.

The business with the most votes will become the Delray Beach Open Window Display People’s Choice Champion and receive $500. The winner will be announced live on Stadium Center Court at the Open on Wednesday, Feb. 18.

To participate in the competition, sign up for the digital pass at downtowndelraybeach.com/do. For information about the tournament, visit delraybeachopen.com.

And that’s a good thing because it’s important to get the romantic dinner thing right.

To help you out, here are our top five fabulous foodie “must-dines” that will make Feb. 14 special. These selections, spanning Broward and Palm Beach counties, offer different price points and are sure to get an arrow of approval from Cupid himself.

Keep in mind that prices do not include taxes or gratuities.

Galley at Hilton West Palm Beach

600 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach; 561-231-6000; hiltonwestpalmbeach.com

Tucked within the Hilton hotel in the heart of downtown West Palm Beach, Galley will serve a four-course prix fixe menu and Champagne toast on Feb. 14 from 5 to 10 p.m. At $145 per person, this menu option will include an amuse-bouche of Spice Crab Puri Puri or Beef Carpaccio; a salad choice of Charred Figs or Lemon Poppy Seed Stracciatella, an entree of Acquerello Risotto di Mare or 30-Day Dry-Aged Ribeye (14-ounce), and a dessert selection of Triple Chocolate Cake or Raspberry Coconut Cremoso.

By the way, there’s another Cupidy special going on at the Hilton. From 5 to 10 p.m. Feb.13-14, Moody Tongue Sushi — a Michelin-recommended eatery — will offer an omakase artistry/craft beer dinner pairing featuring 13 courses for $215 a person and starting off with a Framboise (Belgian fruit lambic beer) followed by dishes such as Botan Ebi with Ossetra caviar, Toro with cherry niçoise, A5 Miyazaki Wagyu, Hokkaido Uni and more.

Gary Rack’s Farmhouse Kitchen

399 SE Mizner Blvd., Boca Raton; 561-826-2625
204 E. Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach; 561-266-3642
farmhousekitchenboca.com

Chef Demetrio Zavala — culinary director at Gary Rack’s and a multichampion of Food Network’s “Chopped” — is planning a three-course Valentine’s menu of specials served from Feb. 12-15.

Start with a Beet and Citrus Salad with whipped ricotta, arugula and toasted almonds ($21).

The choice of entrees includes a 12-ounce N.Y. Strip Oscar with jumbo lump crab and porcini demi, cream spinach puree, whipped potatoes and béarnaise sauce ($55) or a Roasted Branzino with lemon-scented white bean purée, white beans, baby kale, vinaigrette and garlic ($44).

The “feed-each-other finale” dessert options include Flourless Chocolate Cake ($19), Apple Gooey Butter Cake ($19), Monster Carrot Cake ($26) and Key Lime Crème Brûlée ($12).

Ladies, start off with a free glass of prosecco. Specialty Valentine’s Day cocktails ($17) include The Honey Do (Milagro Reposado tequila with Cointreau, orange juice, honey, cinnamon, lemon and a cinnamon-dashed orange slice) or the Love @ 1st Sip (vodka, strawberry puree, angostura bitters, honey and a strawberry slice).

Calusso at Pier Sixty-Six

2301 SE 17th St., Fort Lauderdale; 754-318-6997; calussorestaurant.com

Romantic movies are the inspiration for a five-course meal planned Feb. 13-14 at this restaurant within Fort Lauderdale’s renovated Pier Sixty Six.

The Valentine’s Day tasting menu ($195 a person) will feature Bluefin Tuna with Strawberry and Kaluga caviar (“Lady & the Tramp”), Eggplant Zaalouk with Jamón Ibérico (“Fifty Shades of Grey”), Squid Ink Tagliolini with Blue Crab and Sea Urchin (“Casablanca”), Westholme Wagyu Filet with Crispy Beet Pavé and Beetroot Bordelaise (“Beauty and the Beast”), and Chocolate Raspberry dessert finished with gold (“Moulin Rouge!”).

There will be wine pairings, ranging in price from $150 to $275, and the restaurant, known for its French and Italian rivieras cuisine, will have a pianist playing classic film scores.

Banana Boat

739 E. Ocean Ave., Boynton Beach; 561-732-9400; bananaboatboynton.com

This waterfront dining spot will have the following chef-curated specials: Pan Seared Scallops ($18), Chicken Florentine ($24), Shrimp and Maine Lobster Risotto ($38) and Chocolate Mousse Cannoli ($12). That’s in addition to the regular menu and live music.

There will also be two Valentine’s Day craft cocktail specials ($15): Cupid’s Key with Stoli Vanilla, Liquor 43, coconut puree, raspberry puree and graham cracker rim; and Emily’s Kiss with Skyy Cherry, rosé prosecco and grenadine, topped with Sprite.

California Pizza Kitchen

2301 N. Federal Highway, Fort Lauderdale; 954-565-1196
10300 Forest Hill Blvd. (The Mall at Wellington Green), Wellington; 561-793-1601
3101 PGA Blvd. (The Gardens Mall), Palm Beach Gardens; 561-625-4682
cpk.com

Looking for something a little more casual? All week long, from Feb. 9-15, CPK locations will bring back their heart-shaped pizzas and “Sweet Deal for Two” (starting at $60), which includes a three-course meal created for sharing.

The special offers one starter (Spinach Artichoke Dip or Lettuce Wraps with Chicken), two entrees and one dessert (Butter Cake, Churro Swirl or Upside Down Cheesecake). Entrees include thin-crust heart-shaped pies such as The Original BBQ Chicken Pizza, Hawaiian, Mushroom Pepperoni Sausage and Sicilian.

You can also order heart-shaped pizzas individually for an additional $1.75 above the standard price, with pizzas starting at $18.49.