FORMER DHS PRESS SECRETARY ARRIVES AT POLK COUNTY JAIL

The big news in much of the local media this morning was last evening's arrival at the Polk County Jail in Bartow of former Department of Homeland Security Assistant Press Secretary Brian Doyle, who was nailed last month for attempting to solicit sex online from what he believed was a teenage girl but who, in reality, was a Polk County sheriff's detective.

Doyle had originally planned to fight extridition to Florida, but not only did he agree to drop his opposition, he paid approximately $2,000 to have two Polk deputies pick him up and bring him here on a commercial flight. The alternative was to ride on an inmate bus which picks up prisoners across the country and delivers them to other jurisdictions.

Doyle will appear before a judge this morning for a first appearance, after which his attorney has requested a bail reduction hearing. He currently is being held without bail for 23 third degree felonies.

UPDATE Friday, 05/05: Doyle is probably back at his Maryland home this morning after being released on $230,000 bond following Thursday's hearing before Judge J. Dale Durrance. Doyle had to surrender his passport and agree to 1) sign a permanant waiver of extradition, 2) not use or possess a computer or use an Internet service, and 3) avoid contact with anyone younger than 18.

And while on the subject of online sexual predators, Dateline NBC has been doing a series of shows --- five to date --- where they have teamed up with law enforcement agencies and volunteers to sting would-be preds who come to a house with the intent of meeting teenagers they had met on the Internet. The show has another such sting in the books, this time in Florida, and several Tampa Bay area men were reportedly busted during their time here.