Body found inside tarp-covered car

Pinellas County sheriff's detectives were investigating the death of a man found inside a broken-down car late Monday night.

Sheriff's deputies and crime scene investigators received a call about 8:30 p.m. Monday from the residents of the home at 2720 60th Ave. N about a strong odor coming from a tarp-covered vehicle parked in the yard. Inside they found a decomposed body.

The car, officials said, did not run and had been covered for some time.

Though deputies believe they know the man's identity, they must use dental records to confirm their information.

Homicide detectives were also investigating the death.

Seffner soldier dies in Afghanistan

SEFFNER — Staff Sgt. Michael D. Thomas, an Army Special Forces soldier, died after a firefight Friday while on a combat patrol in Herat Province, Afghanistan, the Army announced today.

Thomas, 34, a Seffner native, first enlisted in the Army in 1991 as a military police officer, serving in Korea. Over 13 years, he worked his way up to squad leader and then joined the Special Forces last year, according to the Army.

His awards and decorations include the Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Korean Defense Service Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, NCO Professional Development Ribbon, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, Parachutist Badge, and the Special Forces Tab.

Thomas is survived by his wife Teresa, son Craig, daughter Diana and granddaughter Alexis, as well as his mother Debbie Kirkpatrick and stepfather Bob Kirkpatrick of Thonotosassa.

Heat, lack of water mires Rockfest

TAMPA — After 11 rock bands and ten hours, concertgoers at the first 98 RockFest likely weren’t hungry for more music.

But on a day when temperatures flirted with 90 degrees and shade was at a premium, they were thirsty.

So they chanted for water.

They waited in lines for up to three hours for $3 bottles.

Sometime around 3 p.m. came the announcement: the concession stands were sold out of water.

“It defies all logic,” said 49-year-old James Walker, whose three teenagers went to Sunday’s daylong festival, hosted by 97.9 WXTB-FM.

What’s worse, Walker said, organizers compromised the health and safety of some 16,000 estimated customers by prohibiting them from bringing their own bottled water into the festival, held this year on the grounds of Raymond James stadium.

“You can’t do that to a dog, but you’re going to do this to human beings?” Walker said. “They should be held be liable.”

This year’s one-day Rockfest replaced its predecessor, Livestock, where spectators could bring in their own water and refreshments during the three-day event in a small Pasco County pasture.

Rockfest fans were barred from entering with their own refreshments and were prohibited from re-entering the concert grounds — even when fetching water after the venue ran out.

“Once you’re in the concert area, you’re in,” said a warning on a 98 Rock Web site.

Vending officials at the venue could not be reached for comment.

More than 250 people were treated for heat exhaustion, dehydration, and alcohol intoxication during the event. Five people were taken to hospitals, said Tampa Fire Rescue spokesman Bill Wade.

Help, in the form of hundreds of cases of bottled water, was on the way, said 98 Rock promotions director Mike Oliviero.

“Once we saw the line of people waiting, we went and got 800 cases of water,” he said.

But something held up the shipment, Oliviero said.

The bottled water didn't arrive until late afternoon and was given away free, Oliviero said.

But for some, the damage had been done.

“Everyone was getting super, super dehydrated,” said Genavieve Lewis, 19, a horse trainer from Thonotosassa who paid more than $30 for her ticket but left around 4 p.m., five hours before headliners Hinder played their last note.

Most of her time was spent waiting in line for water.

“We had to get out there,” she said.

Aniria Wilson, a 37-year-old mother of two, just went home.

“I was standing in line for three hours for a bottle of water,” said Wilson, a manager for a Tampa area non-profit company who attended Rockfest with two friends.  “I was disgusted with the whole situation.”

— Casey Cora, Times Staff Writer

Bucking trend, Times' circulation inches up

Overall Florida newspaper sales continue to falter the past six months, but the St. Petersburg Times managed to reverse the trend with circulation gains.

Thanks to strong sales in Hillsborough and central Pasco counties, the Times' average Sunday circulation grew by 8,483 copies, to 430,893, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations.

The Times widened its lead as the state’s largest newspaper owing to a steep circulation drop at No. 2 Miami Herald. The Herald sold 38,760 fewer papers on Sunday, a plunge of 10.2 percent.

The Times' Sunday sales were 88,461 copies greater than the Herald's and 132,219 copies larger than the Tampa Tribune's. The Tribune's Sunday circulation edged down to 298,674.

Excluding Sunday sales, the Times' daily circulation slipped like almost every other Florida newspaper, but its losses were less than 1,155 copies. The Times' daily sales averaged 324,899 from October 1 through  March 31.

"Year by year, the Times is becoming the newspaper for all of Tampa Bay," said Paul Tash, editor and chairman.  "We're especially encouraged by our strong growth in Tampa and Hillsborough County."

The Times is unique among Florida's largest newspapers in being independently and locally owned.

Grand Prix renews contract

The Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg is returning for two more years, city officials said Monday. Race promoter Andretti Green agreed Friday evening to extend a contract to host the IndyCar Series race in 2008 and 2009. Under the agreement, the city provides up to $150,000 in city services to help put on the race.

Man gets 40 years for rape

TAMPA  -- Scott Schweickert, who was convicted of helping to drug and rape two Tampa men, was sentenced to 40 years in prison this morning.

Schweickert, 41, was found guilty in January of conspiring with his accomplice Steven Lorenzo to distribute GHB, a central nervous system depressant. He was also found guilty of drugging one victim.

That victim, Michael Wachholtz, and another man, Jason Galehouse, were later tortured and killed, authorities said.

U.S. District Judge Steven Merryday last week declined to overturn the guilty verdict, setting the stage for today's sentencing decision.

The 40 year sentence was the maximum allowed by law. In ruling, Merryday said he thought that sentence was "palpably insufficient" and that both Schweickert and Lorenzo should be charged with murder.

Victim identified in burning vehicle

TAMPA -- While fighting the flames that ravaged the four-door, black 1996 Cadillac sedan early Monday, Tampa Fire Rescue crews discovered the body of 43-year-old Tracey Alan Jones inside the burning vehicle.

Police said Jones had been “highly intoxicated” Sunday evening and passed out in the car, which was parked in front of a home at 1018 E Jean Street, when a fire ignited in the engine compartment.

Investigators have ruled out foul play.

Casey Cora, Times Staff Writer

(Photo courtesy of Tampa Fire Rescue)

Fire truck, car collide

CLEARWATER -- A fire engine struck a vehicle that was forced into the road following a rear-end collision on Sunday, sending that vehicle's driver to the hospital, police said.

Police said 18-year-old Sean Dobbin rear-ended another vehicle stopped at a private drive within a private residential complex just before 8:25 p.m. The collision caused that car to roll forward into Sunset Point  Road, where it was struck by a Clearwater Fire Department Engine 48.

The driver of the twice-struck vehicle was taken to Morton Plant Hospital with minor injuries, said Sgt. Gregory Stewart with the Clearwater Police Department.

Officials said the fire truck was not responding to a call when it stuck that vehicle.

Police said Dobbin ran from the scene, but was caught and arrested.  He was charged with felony driving with a suspended or revoked license, felony leaving the scene of an accident and misdemeanor marijuana possession. Dobbin also was ticketed for careless driving.

-- Casey Cora, Times Staff Writer

Fire crews return to junkyard fire

SEMINOLE -- Fire crews have been called back to the scene of a fire that broke out within a Seminole junkyard on Sunday.

Fifteen units were called to the blaze at Starkey Road Auto Parts on the 11000 block of Starkey Road around 9 p.m. after a "stack of cars caught fire" said Alison Shanabrook, a Seminole Fire Rescue spokeswoman.

Fire officials said the two-alarm blaze was under control after an hour. No injuries were reported Sunday.

Plumes of smoke caused fire crews to return to the scene at 5 a.m., officials said.

Triathlon swimmer in critical condition

A 48-year-old participant in this morning’s St. Anthony’s Triathlon is in critical condition at Bayfront Medical Center after being pulled from the water during the swim portion of the race.

A lifeguard found Juli Marshall, of Illinois, face down in the water about 10 a.m. today. She was taken to shore by a St. Petersburg fire rescue boat and then by ambulance to Bayfront.

St. Petersburg fire Lt. Rick Feinberg said Marshall was not breathing on the beach, but paramedics were able to resuscitate her in the ambulance on the way to the hospital.

A hospital spokeswoman said Marshall’s family had requested that no information about her condition be released.

Former 'Idol' contestant arrested

TTAMPA — Former American Idol contestant Jessica Sierra was arrested early Sunday morning at the Hyde Park Cafe for allegedly throwing a cocktail glass at another patron’s head, Tampa Police spokeswoman Andrea Davis said.

The 21-year-old singer was “belligerent” and uncooperative with police, Davis said.

She was threatened with leg constraints after repeatedly kicking at the windows from within the squad car, so hard, officers thought they would break, Davis said.

Police have not yet determined if Sierra knew the victim, Wisam Hadad, 28, of Tampa. Hadad declined medical transport for the laceration over his eye.

When Sierra was transported to Orient Road Jail, police reportedly found a small baggie of cocaine in her purse.

She was arrested on charges of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, possession of cocaine and introduction of contraband into a detention facility.

Sierra was released at noon Sunday on $11,500 bond. She resides in Port Tampa.

n 2005, Sierra was one of 10 finalists on American Idol. Her name lingered in the news into 2006 after 59-year-old Daniel Robert Young was arrested and tried for stalking her.

-- By Alexandra Zayas, Times Staff Writer. She can be reached at (813) 226-3354 or azayas@sptimes.com.

(Booking photo from Hillsborough Sheriff's  Department; click to enlarge.)

Hillsborough deputy shot; suspect arrested

After a nearly six-hour search, Hillsborough deputies have arrested DeAndre Jamal Wallace, 18, right, a suspect in the shooting of a narcotics officer Saturday afternoon.

Wallace, who was shot by the deputies in the upper torso, will be charged with attempted murder, said J.D. Callaway, a spokesman for the Sheriff's Office.

Sheriff's officials said Chrisopher Baumann, 30, a narcotics deputy who has been with the sheriff's department since 1998, was shot multiple times in the upper torso. He is in critical condition.

He said the deputies were in the neighborhood to arrest several people on crack cocaine possession, including Wallace, when shooting broke out. The deputies returned fire.

It is unclear if any of the suspects were injured. Deputies have taken two male witnesses in for questioning.

Man found hanging from tree; girlfriend found dead at home

TAMPA -- Police are investigating a murder that took place early Saturday morning in a duplex north of Busch Boulevard and the related suicide of a man who hanged himself from a tree in Rowlett Park.

Police believe Tampa resident Angel Jimenez, 44, killed his girlfriend, Cuadalupe Cajiga, 27, in the duplex apartment they shared at 10118 N. 14th Street in Tampa before killing himself.

Jimenez’ body was discovered at 8:37 a.m. Saturday by four people who called 911. Jimenez, wearing blue pants and a t-shirt described as white or light gray, was found handing by a white rope some 10 feet off the ground near the intersection of Rowlett Park Drive and 22nd Street.

In his pocket was a receipt for nylon rope and a cassette tape. While detectives translated the tape at Tampa Police Department headquarters, police tracked down the Jimenez’ stepdaughter, who called her boyfriend and had him meet police outside the duplex. The boyfriend told police the last time they had seen Jimenez was the night before. Jimenez left the house, seeming distraught, saying he was going to take a walk, the boyfriend said.

Police have not said what was on the cassette tape, but while talking to the stepdaughter’s boyfriend, Maj. George McNamara received a call telling him Jimenez may have harmed Cajiga before killing himself.

McNamara broke a window in the apartment and went inside, and found Cajiga on the bed, apparently dead from what was described only as upper body trauma.

Hillsborough County jail records show Jimenez had an arrest in January on  aggravated assault with a knife in a domestic violence case, and a charge of stalking.

Steele sentencing: defense's closing

DADE CITY -- Assistant Public Defender Bob Focht delivered the defense's closing argument in the Alfredie Steele Jr. sentencing hearing Friday. This is the argument that helped sway the jury to spare Steele's life, and recommend a sentence of life in prison for fatally shooting Pasco sheriff's Lt. Charles "Bo" Harrison in 2003.

The defense had already conceded one of the aggravating factors the state listed: that Harrison was on duty when he was slain.

"The state had indicated to you there are two aggravators. Lt. Harrison was on duty and this crime was committed in a cold, calculated and premeditated manner. As you will see from the instructions, it is not cold, or calculated, or premeditated. It is that it wass cold and it was calculated and it was premeditated and each must be proved beyond and to the exclusion of every reasonable doubt.

"The state would submit to you that this cold and calculated and premeditated plan began to be played out on the night of May 31, 2003. There is absolutely not one strap of evidence that Mr. Steele knew or had reason to know that any police officer, let alone Lt. Harrison, would be there waiting for him to bring fruit to his plan. If that is the case then what you have out at the cook shed is a guy shooting a gun. A drunk shooting a gun. And nothing more.

"The state has to prove to you that there is a plan, beyond and to the exclusion of a reasonable doubt. The state will then submit to you that as part of the plan (at this point the victim's son, Charles Harrison Jr., the only family member able to remain throughout the trial, has to leave the courtroom) that somehow he knew he was going to have this opportunity to enact his plan, that he was drinking to screw up his courage. That was part of his plan, other than a 19-year-old drinking.

"The definition for you means that cold means the murder was the product of a calm and cool reflection. And that it was calculated means it was a careful plan for a prearranged design to commit murder. Without some knowledge, some reason to believe there was a police officer going to be there who would somehow come into his sights that night, what is there but pure speculation?

"What substantial period of reflection is established by the evidence or can even be inferred by an inebriated 19-year-old who comes out of the club and sees the police officer? I submit to you that that aggravated circumstance did not exist and should not be relied upon you as you sit here today.

"If you determine that one or more of the aggravators have been established, you must reach the decision that if one or more of the aggravators themselves warrants the death penalty without looking at another thing. And if you do not, your inquiry is over, and the recommendation is life.

"What was he doing? Sitting back, throwing back drinks to get progressively stronger so he could commit his plan to commit premeditated murder? That fact undermines any thought that there was a plan."

Focht asks for a bench conference. Both sides huddle with Senior Circuit Judge Robert Beach, who then announces to the jury that Steele has no criminal record -- prior to Thursday's first-degree murder conviction, that is.

"If you would find the aggravator or aggravators justified in the imposition of the death penalty, then you must consider the mitigating factors for Mr. Steele. His background, the crime itself ...

"... As the court will indicate to you (Steele) has no criminal record. This is not someone who ran wild. All but those unholy seconds, these few minutes of his life, has he done anything wrong except for this disaster.

"You may also consider from the evidence whether Mr. Steele was under the influence of extreme mental or emotional disturbances. I would submit that that what has been implied as motive, the last in the series of violent deaths of friends and family members. This is not a justification. But it is an explanation for the total irrationality of his act. And lastly, the capacity of Mr. Steele to appreciate the criminality of his conduct or to conform his conduct or to conform his conduct ..."

"To one degree or another every witness who saw him that night said he was intoxicated, from drinking too much.

" 'Fredie got along with everybody, and possibly one of the most telling of these other factors is that in his own home as a child, as a burning cross is put in his yard, as his home is assaulted, his reaction is to reach out to the community. This is a young man who has manifested the ability to reach out to people, which is what makes this all the more horrific.

"From jail facing trial on charges that could cost him his life, he helps a family member in counseling a cousin. At school, the phrases that were used by two of the teachers, ' 'Fredie being 'Fredie'  and 'the same 'Fredie anywhere ...

"In the horror of life in prison, he will in fact bring a helping hand. If for no other reason than that, I would ask you to spare his life.

"He's polite. See the way he behaved here? ... other than these few minutes of aberration the only thing you can say about Alfredie Steele is he's just a nice kid."

As Focht looks into the courtroom gallery it is divided into two halves. On his  right, Harrison's family. On his left, Steele's family.

"Probably the most horrifying and heartbreaking, the most destructive part of this whole chain of events is that if Lt. Harrison's picture wasn't here, that whole family (Focht stretches out his hand to the Harrison family) would be over there. And if Alfredie Steele was not over there (the lawyers reaches out to Steele's family) that whole family would be over here. That is just a disaster for these people.

"The death of Alfredie Steele would serve nothing."

-- JAMAL THALJI

Steele sentencing: state's closing

DADE CITY -- The verdict has been rendered, the sentence has been carried out.

It took just 10 minutes for a Pasco County jury on Friday to end a tragedy that unfolded over nearly four years. Ten women and two men recommended a sentence of life in prison for Alfredie Steele Jr. in the death of sheriff's deputy Charles "Bo" Harrison on June 1, 2003.

Forgive us if the blogging fell off in all the chaos. Here, then, is what we didn't have time to blog about before the sentencing.

Assistant State Attorney Jim Hellickson delivered the state's closing argument:

"In this case the state has established two aggravating factors as I said in my opening statement. The defendant committed the crime in a cold, calculating, cruel, premeditated manner without any moral or legal justification.

"He took the SKS (semi-automatic rifle.) Took it out about 10 p.m. to the Withlacoochee Forest and shot it at that cook shed. Getting acclimated to the nighttime conditions, getting acclimated to the weapon, firing 12 rounds at that cook shed. Either then or sometime before he turned himself in on June 3, taking shells from the scene, shell casings which could have been connected at the scene of the murder of Lt. Bo Harrison.

"He arrived at the cook shed about 10 p.m., spent about 20 minutes there, according to his statement to the police. Shooting shots, collecting the shell casings, and when he was done he left. He said to the police he put his SKS in the back seat of the car of the car he was using ... and headed out to Rumors. He arrived at Rumors about 11:30 p.m.

"At 11:30 p.m. he arrived at Rumors, spends some time there, then walks out of Rumors. He looks across the street and sees what he says is a marked patrol car, sitting by itself, lights on, engine running. (He) gets in his car, drives behind the marked patrol cruiser, up Bald Eagle Drive. He doesn't stop. He goes around a corner. Stops at the curve. Walks back. Doesn't run back, doesn't go quickly back to try and get the shots off. He walks back to where he saw the police car with his loaded SKS. Points it at the back of the cruiser and starts cranking off 13 rounds. Four of those rounds hit the cruiser. You've seen the pictures of the back of the cruiser.

"What is significant, what is significant about all four bullet holes in that cruiser. You noticed it looking at the picture yesterday. All four bullet holes are on the driver's side, the left side of that cruiser. There are no holes on the right side, the passenger side of the cruiser. All four bullet holes were on the driver's side of that vehicle and what was on the driver's side of that vehicle?

"Lt. Bo Harrison.

"And you could see clearly in the re-enactment the head of that individual. The head he told Mr. (Nathaniel) Vanzant he could see in the cruiser and never saw move. That established heightened premeditation."

Then the prosecutor began to argue the second aggravating factor the jury had to consider: "a law enforcement officer engaged in the official performance of his duties."

Then Hellickson grabbed a large, blown-up photo of Harrison. He is in his gray uniform shirt, the long-sleeved dress uniform with his gold badge and lieutenant's bars, posed in front of the red, white and blue of an American flag.

"Here's a person you haven't heard much about the last two weeks. This is a picture of Lt. Charles "Bo" Harrison. This is what Charles Albert 'BoBo' Harrison looked like in life. Bo Harrison was a cop. Bo Harrison was a citizen of the peace. Every single one of his working days he strapped on his service pistol and went out to serve and protect. Every day he strapped on a service pistol and went out to serve and protect the people of Pasco County.

"On May 31, 2003, Lt. Harrison strapped on that service pistol and went out to serve and protect. On May 31, Lt. Harrison went out on patrol. On June 1, 2003, Lt. Harrison never came back.

"On June 1, 2003, Lt. Harrison never came back because of that man right there," Hellickson said, pointing at Steele.

"During the course of this trial the defense has been talking about the defendant being young. Mr. (Tom) Hanlon (Steele's lawyer) called him a child. On June 1, 2003, that child was a man. On June 1, 2003, the defendant was a man on a mission, to kill a cop. His mission was a success.

"Lt. Bo Harrison was going to go into retirement on June 15, 2003 after 31 years of service to the Pasco County Sheriff's Office. Instead, on June 7, 2003, Lt. Bo Harrison was buried.

"The state has established the two aggravating circumstances. Every time a law enforcement officer is killed or murdered it is an appropriate consideration for you to consider death."

-- JAMAL THALJI

Racial slurs smear Palm Harbor High

PALM HARBOR — Nine portables at Palm Harbor University High School were spray-painted with racial slurs overnight Thursday, officials said.

The school's head plant operator discovered the vandalism about 6 a.m. Friday, school district spokeswoman Andrea Zahn said. Students with classes in the portables were sent to the auditorium for first and second period Friday while school employees painted over the slurs.

"Everything was back to normal by third period," Zahn said.

Students said teachers and administrators lined up side-by-side to block students' view of the graffiti. "Our principal didn't want anyone to be offended by it, so he didn't let anyone see it," said sophomore Somah Sameni, 16.

Rumors about the vandalism swept the campus Friday. "Tonight is prom, so we thought it might have been a senior prank," Sameni said. She and her friend, Amber Taylor, 15, said they then wondered if the vandalism was done by students from a rival school.

The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office is investigating but has not identified any suspects. "We’re reviewing surveillance video from the school campus," sheriff's Sgt. Jim Bordner said.

All Pinellas County middle and high schools are equipped with surveillance cameras, Zahn said.

Bordner declined to say which minority group or groups were targeted, citing an open criminal investigation. The graffiti contained "racially insensitive and offensive" slurs, Zahn said.

Several students said they heard about the vandalism, but did not see it. Senior David Cole, 18, said he heard from a friend that several minority groups were mentioned. Sameni and Taylor said they heard the vandalism contained references to "blacks and Asians" and others.

Based on numbers reported to the state Department of Education last year, about 15 percent of Palm Harbor’s students are minorities. Asked if they ever felt racial tensions at the school, Sameni and Taylor both said they hadn't. "Not at all," Sameni said.

- RITA FARLOW

Jury: Life for Pasco cop-killer

DADE CITY -- A jury took just 10 minutes to recommend a life sentence for cop-killer Alfredie Steele Jr. on Friday, a day after they found him guilty of fist-degree murder in the sniper-style slaying of Pasco sheriff's Lt. Charles "Bo" Harrison in 2003.

The quick verdict came in at 4:21 p.m.

Then Senior Circuit Judge Robert Beach affirmed the jury's recommendation and sentenced Steele, 23, to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

"Nobody won in this case," the judge said. "Everyone in this courtroom wishes we could turn back the clock , but it can't be done. So what's a fair sentence in this case? What is fair for the defendant? There is no fair sentence.

"It will not return things to what they were."

The jury of 10 women and two men left without comment.

Before the sentencing was carried out, Harrison's family addressed the court and the man convicted of shooting the beloved sheriff's deputy in the back on June 1, 2003, as Harrison sat in his patrol cruiser just two weeks before he was set to retire after 31 years on the force.

Instead of a retirement party, they held a funeral.

"My daddy put his gun in his holster every day and never took it out until he got home every day," said the victim's daughter, Sandy Harrison. "He trusted the people in this community to the point where he felt a (bullet-proof) vest wasn't necessary because he was a mentor, he was a peer to his friends, he had the utmost respect of over 5,000 people who (were at his funeral) on the day we should have had his retirement party.

"I agree with allowing Alfredie Steele Jr. to live so he can have the rest of his life to think about what he has done to myself and my entire family."

Steele's lawyers rejoiced that he had been spared the death penalty. Everyone seem satisfied with the outcome except for those who should have wanted a life sentence the most: Steele and his family.

Steele was defiant throughout his sentencing hearing, telling the judge Friday morning that "the fact (is) there is no evidence against me in this case." This despite a week spent watching the very audio and videotaped confessions he made just days after the shooting, in which he confessed and apologized.

Then, after he was fingerprinted and led out of the courtroom, Steele had this to say to the crowded courtroom:

"First time y'all seen somebody convicted without any evidence."

A friend shouted: "Yo dawg."

-- JAMAL THALJI

Mother: Steele didn't do it

DADE CITY -- His easy going manner. His absent father. His love of those of every color. The death of his stepfather. His helpfulness, his friendliess, his good nature. The deaths of good friends during that tragic summer of 2003.

The defense has shared all this with the jury in the Alfredie Steele Jr. sentencing.

Steele's lawyers are trying to convince the jury to spare his life, to not recommend the death sentence for the man convicted of killing Pasco sheriff's Lt. Charles "Bo" Harrison.

But there is one element missing from the defense's game plan to save Steele's life: contrition.

Regina Clemmons, the mother who tried to humanize her son to the jury, had just one more thing to say at the end of her testimony Friday:

"I want to go on the record saying I don't believe my son did this," she said.

Assistant Public Defender Bob Focht tried to stop her from blurting that out in front of the jury.

The jury wasn't in the courtroom earlier Friday when her son said the same thing a day after he was convicted of first-degree murder: he didn't do it, and his lawyers should have told the jury that.

"The fact there is no evidence against me in this case," he told the court. "It wasn't stressed. It wasn't put there, and therefore the jury never really had the chance to even get that in their brain, to even consider that there."

No evidence, except the many recorded confessions Steele made that were played for the jury this week.

-- JAMAL THALJI

Steele's family tells his story

DADE CITY -- The jury has become well acquainted with who Alfredie Steele Jr. was the night of June 1, 2003, when he pointed a semi-automatic rifle at the back of a sheriff's cruiser and took the life of a helpless deputy.

Now, slowly, the jury is learning about the Alfredie Steele Jr. who existed before the murder -- the man the defense wants them to see.

Steele's friends, sisters and his mother, Regina Clemmons, told the jury about key moments in the 23-year-old's life. His father, Alfredie Steele Sr., was a faint part of his life.

"He was hurt," Clemmons said of her son. "(His father) didn't really show any love for him."

In 1993, the mother moved her family from the Cypress Manor apartments to another Lacoochee neighborhood on Jarvis Street -- a predominantly white and Hispanic neighborhood.

They were the first black family to live there, Clemmons said.

Soon, a burning cross lit up their yard.

"We made the newspaper," the mother said. "It was not a ritzy neighborhood, but they just did not want me there. They burned a cross in my yard. They threw bottles and rocks."

There were fights too, Steele's sisters told the jury, with boys and girls on the block.

"Is it fair to say those years were difficult (for Steele)?" attorney Bob Focht asked.

"It was very difficult," said Catrina Ceazer, Steele's sister.

But Steele helped his mother accept her neighbors and other races.

"I can honestly say Freddie broke some barriers for me," Clemmons said.

Then the jury learned about Lonnie Clemmons. He was Steele's stepfather, who drowned in a 1999 boating accident. Who was there to comfort Clemmons? Bo Harrison, the man her son was convicted of killing.

"He tried to calm me down," Clemmons told the jury. "He was really decent to me."

Lonnie Clemmons' death devastated the family.

"It was fair to say he was near and dear to your family's heart?" Focht asked.

"It would be fair to say that," she said.

Then she talked about the series of events in 2003 that pushed Steele over the edge.

That year an accident took the life of Garion "Red" Pope, a good friend and former teammate of Steele's. Soon after another friend, Michael Reed, died. Reed died after fleeing a traffic stop by a Pasco sheriff's deputy. A photo of a dying Reed appeared in the St. Petersburg Times.

"How did 'Fredie react to these deaths?" Focht asked.

"I ... I ... I guess it was like anybody else," Clemmons said. "He was so hurt he couldn't even attend the funeral."

-- JAMAL THALJI

Her brother, her mentor's killer

DADE CITY -- Catrina Ceazer, one of Alfredie Steele Jr.'s sisters, is the first family member to take the stand. She is a corrections officer at the Hernando County jail.

She grew up in Lacoochee and owes her start in law enforcement to the man her brother is convicted of killing: Pasco sheriff's Lt. Charles "Bo" Harrison.

He even helped her pass a key firearms qualification test she had failed.

"He asked me if I had any problems he would help me," she said. "He wanted me to pursue my career."

Then she talked about her brother.

"He's very quiet," Ceazar said. "He loved me and protected me, especially from the boys. He was very nice and outspoken. He wouldn't hurt nobody."

-- JAMAL THALJI

It was 'Fredie being 'Fredie

DADE CITY -- Pasco High athletic director Jim Ward was the first character witness called by Alfredie Steele Jr.'s defense.

Steele was a student assistant for Ward when he was in high school, known at the school as a peer, and often stayed late to help grade papers, do chores or even help other kids who struggled with reading.

"It was 'Fredie being 'Fredie," Ward said. "He just wanted to help out."

"What was your phrase? ' 'Fredie being 'Fredie?' " asked defense attorney Bob Focht.

"Yeah, 'Fredie always helped out," Ward said. "It didn't matter what I needed done."

And Steele made friends across racial boundaries.

"It didn't matter to 'Fredie if it was black, white or Hispanic," Ward said. "If they needed help he was gonna help them."

Ricky Giles then took the stand.

"Most kids know me as Coach Giles," he said.

Pasco's longtime baseball coach said he's known Steele since he was in elementary school, and knows Steele's family, too. Steele was also Giles' peer, or student assistant, and played for the football team.

"How did he get along with other kids?" Focht asked.

"He was always fun," Giles said. "I never really seen him upset. He was always a joy to be around."

Giles said his relationship with Steele was beyond student-teacher.

"You consider him like a friend?" Focht asked.

"I consider him like a son," Giles said.

East Pasco can be a very small place sometimes. The Steele trial is no exception. For like many at today's sentencing hearing, Giles also knew well the victim, Pasco sheriff's Lt. Charles "Bo" Harrison. Giles grew up watching Harrison star in football and baseball at old Mickens High School.

Focht asks each witness if they had ever known Steele to be violent. It is a question the defense will ask again and again throughout the day.

Ward and Giles both said no, never.

-- JAMAL THALJI

Guilty verdict upheld in torture case

TAMPA -- A federal judge rejected a request Friday to overturn the guilty verdict for Scott Schweickert, who was convicted of helping to drug and rape two Tampa men.

In January, a federal jury found Scott Schweickert, 41, guilty of conspiring with his accomplice, Steven Lorenzo, to distribute GHB, a central nervous system depressant. Schweickert was also found guilty of drugging one of the men, Michael Wachholtz.

Wachholtz and the other alleged victim, Jason Galehouse, were later tortured and killed, authorities said.

In an order filed Friday morning, U.S. District Judge Steven Merryday found there was ample evidence to support the jury’s verdict.

At trial, Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony Porcelli introduced dozens of instant message chats between Schweickert and Lorenzo where they discuss their plans to drug and rape an unsuspecting victim.

Schweickert’s attorney, Pedro Amador, said those chats weren’t sufficient to convict his client because he never specifically mentions the drug GHB. He asked Merryday to overturn the jury’s verdict and acquit his client.

But Merryday said there was more than enough circumstantial evidence to suggest the drug was used.

“Everything known about Lorenzo and Schweickert’s actions demonstrates the pair’s slavish conformity to the plan, which was to ambush, disable with GHB, and torture an unwary and unknowing victim for Lorenzo’s and Schweickert’s libidinous gratification,” Merryday wrote.

Merryday also noted that Lorenzo and Schweickert “celebrated the accomplishment of their plan” by taking pictures of Wachholtz’s lifeless body in various poses after his death.

Schweickert is scheduled to be sentenced Monday morning. He faces up to 40 years in prison.

-- By Carrie Weimar, Times Staff Writer

Sheriff's seek help in finding armed robbers

TAMPA - Hillsborough Sheriff’s detectives are asking for help from the public in identifying two people they believe are responsible for a string of similar crimes in the north Tampa area.

Detectives are investigating eight cases in which two armed men approach people in parking lots and  demanded either vehicles or personal belongings at gunpoint.

The latest incident occurred Tuesday, when two armed men approached a woman at the 2800 block of Somerset Park Drive, snatched money and keys from her purse, then sped away in her maroon 1993 Honda Accord, said Sheriff's Office spokesman J.D. Calloway.

The men may have accomplices dropping them off at the crime scenes, Calloway said.  Those accomplices may be driving in a red sedan or black sport utility vehicle.

Detectives are also searching for three of the vehicles taken in the carjackings – a green 1996 Oldsmobile Cutlass, license tag P890SG, a black 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt, license tag V876ME and the maroon 1993 Honda Accord, license tag W49XRG.

Anyone with information about the robberies, or the location of the vehicles, is asked to call  813-247-8200.

-- By Casey Cora, Times Staff Writer

 

The prosecution opens and rests

DADE CITY -- The state opened and rested its case. It took maybe a minute or two.

Assistant State Attorney Jim Hellickson introduced only one new piece of evidence:

It is a photo of slain Pasco sheriff's Lt. Charles "Bo" Harrison, in his dress uniform, posed in front of an American flag.

The photo has become a local icon, one that can be seen in buildings and offices and homes -- and newspapers -- since he died in the line of duty nearly four years ago.

Then Hellickson read off four important dates for the jury:

Harrison's first day of service as a sheriff's deputy: Oct. 15, 1972.

The lieutenant's retirement date: June 15, 2003.

The day he died in the line of duty: June 1, 2003.

The day Bo Harrison was buried: June 7, 2003.

The state will rely on the power of the case it presented to the jury this week, the same case that convinced the jury to return a guilty verdict for first-degree murder.

Hellickson will deliver the state's closing.

The defense says it could put on more than 20 witnesses.

Now begins the fight to save Steele's life.

-- JAMAL THALJI

Defense: Steele deserves life, not death

DADE CITY -- The state will argue two aggravating factors the jury in the Alfredie Steele Jr. sentencing should consider when deciding whether to put the convicted cop-killer to death.

Assistant State Attorney Jim Hellickson's opening is succinct:

"No. 1, the crime for which he is to be sentenced was committed in a cold, calculated, premeditated manner without any moral or legal justification," the prosecutor said, "and the victim of the crime for which (Steele) is to be sentenced was a law enforcement officer engaged in the performance of his official duties.

"It's not a counting process. It's a weighing process ... if you feel the aggravating circumstances outweigh the mitigating circumstances, you should recommend a sentence of death."

Then Assistant Public Defender Bob Focht delivers the defense's opening:

"I cannot tell you that today is going to be any easier."

Unlike the trial phase, voluntary intoxication can now be considered in the penalty phase, Focht tells the jury.

Then Focht tells the jury they will hear about Steele's life -- good and bad.

"Alcohol abuse. Emotional disturbances. You will hear evidence of a number of deaths, violent deaths, in Mr. Steele's life before this incident. Contributions from his family and the community about the kind of person he was, is, and will be. His manner, his mild manner.

"Probably the most fundamental concept that you need to go back into that jury room with is that there is never, ever, a circumstance in which you are required to return a recommendation of death ... after all is said and done, you have no obligation at any point in time to return a verdict -- a recommendation -- of death.

"After you have heard ... the evidence presented in this portion, and when you consider it with the evidence presented in the first portion of this case, you will come to the conclusion that a recommendation of life is a proper (sentence.)"

-- JAMAL THALJI

Steele, lawyers at odds as sentencing begins

DADE CITY –- It’s hard to imagine that things could get worse for Alfredie Steele Jr.

But barely 10 hours after the 23-year-old man was convicted by a jury of first-degree murder, Steele’s relationship with his public defenders appears to be crumbling.

For about 10 minutes before today’s sentencing hearing began, Steele huddled with his attorneys, presumably to discuss strategy.

The jury can recommend one of two sentences for Steele: life in prison or the death penalty for the murder of sheriff’s Lt. Charles “Bo” Harrison almost four years ago.

Then it will be up to Senior Circuit Judge Robert Beach. The judge allowed Steele’s mother, Regina Clemmons, to be part of the discussion, albeit with armed deputies standing feet away.

The meeting, which was a privileged conversation, appeared tense. At one turn, lead public defender Tom Hanlon started to speak, then stopped as he fought back tears. At another, Steele turned his chair away from his attorneys in anger and refused to turn back.

Then, when Beach returned to the courtroom, Steele rose and gave his longest statement yet.

“I was fine with all the representation that was given to me up until the point yesterday,” Steele told the judge. “There’s some things that happened yesterday that I specifically asked not to go on with my attorneys, and it was done anyways.”

Hanlon urged Steele to be specific about his objections.

“Yesterday, a lot of facts of the case came out on my behalf, and they were not stressed to the jury, things that I specifically asked to be specifically stated to the jury were not stressed.

“The fact there is no evidence against me in this case,” he continued. “It wasn’t stressed. It wasn’t put there, and therefore the jury never really had the chance to even get that in their brain, to even consider that there.”

He went on.

“The fact that I could not be put at the scene of the crime. The fact that I don’t even know what happened, what went on.” There were things about that June 1, 2003, night Steele said he couldn’t remember.

“That this picture was used against me … a picture that was taken two months before this occurred. A picture of a gun that was seized two months before any of this occurred.”

Steele was referring to a photograph prosecutors showed the jury of Steele sitting on a couch holding an SKS assault rifle. That’s the same type of weapon Steele said in confessions that he used in the crime.

But it may not be the murder weapon, which was never found.

The atmosphere in the courthouse is as tense as it has been during the week long trial. Harrison’s family is here, his former wife, adult children and small grandchildren seated in the first row. Some of them plan to take the stand.

Both sides have the opportunity today to present mitigating and aggravating factors –- aspects of the crime and of the lives of the victim, Harrison, and the man convicted of his murder, Steele, to guide the jury’s recommendation.

Beach then must give great weight to the jury’s recommendation before handing down the ultimate decision.

Steele had one last request before Assistant Public Defender Bob Focht began the defense.

"My client's biggest concern was that I was going to say something negative about Lt. Harrison," Focht said, "and I am obviously not."

Opening arguments began at 10:07 a.m. Friday.

-- MOLLY MOORHEAD

Hernando County approves Hickory Hill development

By DAN DEWITT, Times Staff Writer

BROOKSVILLE –- The Hernando County Commission approved the Hickory Hill development Thursday by a 4-1 margain, with Commissioner Diane Rowden casting the only opposing vote.

The developer, Sierra Properties of Tampa, had asked for a comprehensive plan amendment to allow it to build the development, with 1,750 houses and three golf courses, on a 2,800 acre ranch in Spring Lake. It now needs only the approval of the state Department of Community affairs before the amendment is final.

It passed with the votes of Commissioner Rose Rocco, who had run on a platform of controlling growth and had previously said she thought Hickory Hill was "premature" for the area. At Thursday's meeting, she said she voted in favor because the project "raised the bar" for development in the county and would improve the community.

Commissioner Chris Kingsley, who voted against sending the amendment request to the state last year, also said he was impressed by the high quality of the development.

He agreed with the argument, repeated frequently during the 12-hour meeting, that development would eventually come to the area. He pointed to a map showing planned development districts lying to east of the site, as well as to the south, in northern Pasco County.

"When you look at this," Kinglsey said, "it's glaringly saying something is going to happen here."

Steele guilty of first-degree murder

DADE CITY -- A jury convicted Alfredie Steele Jr. of first-degree murder at 7:56 p.m. Thursday in the sniper-style slaying of beloved Pasco sheriff's Lt. Charles "Bo" Harrison nearly four years ago.

The next task for the panel of 10 women and two men: decide whether or not Steele, 23, should be put to death for his crime.

"I'm just glad that it's over so my children can finally have some peace," said Lydia Harrison, the slain deputy's former wife. Her son, Charles Jr., hugged her outside the Pasco County Courthouse, as TV news cameras lined up to speak to Harrison's family. "It's been a terrible thing for all of us and I'm jsut glad that God allowed me to be there for them, to stand in the gap in the absence of their father."

But should the man who killed the father of her children be put to death?

"That question I will not answer," she said. "I cannot answer that."

Steele's family left quickly, without comment.

In recorded confessions, Steele admitted to shooting Harrison as he sat in his parked cruiser outside a Trilacoochee nightclub June 1, 2003. But Steele wept with regret about killing a man he had known his whole life.

"Mr. BoBo, I'm sorry," Steele sobbed in an apology recorded for Harrison's family soon after the murder, a recording the family didn't hear until it was introduced as evidence on Monday. "God bless your soul."

Steele was distraught over the deaths of several friends -- deaths he blamed on the Sheriff's Office -- when he killed Harrison in an act of vengeance, authorities say.

But even prosecutors conceded that Steele hit the wrong target.

"Even as upset as he was -- he likely didn't intend to kill Bo Harrison," Assistant State Attorney Bob Lewis told jurors in the state's closing argument Thursday, "But he intended to kill whoever the deputy sheriff was that was sitting in the car."

"He just didn't know it was Bo."

Authorities say Steele took an SKS semi-automatic rifle out shooting the night of May 31, 2003, in the Withlacoochee State Forest. Then he went to the infamous Trilacoochee nightclub Rumors to drink.

As he left the club, he spotted a sheriff's cruiser parked across U.S. 301 on stakeout. He drove into some nearby woods, parked, walked back, raised his rifle and opened fire about 130 feet from the car. At least thirteen shots were fired early that June 2003 morning.

Deputies patrolling nearby didn't know at first that one of their own had been felled by a bullet. Finding him unconscious, they thought Harrison had suffered a heart attack and began CPR. It wasn't until paramedics rolled him onto his back that they saw the blood and two bullet wounds in his back.

It was only later that Steele learned the man he had killed was someone he knew and respected, a man who often helped Steele's own family and many others in the impoverished community of Lacoochee.

Harrison, 57, was a high school sports legend who grew up during segregation and rose through the ranks of the Pasco County Sheriff's Office. He was one of the agency's first black deputies. When he died he was highest-ranking African-American in Sheriff's Office history, and he touched many lives along the way.

"He worked 31 years for justice," said Charles Harrison Jr. of his father, "and this was justice for him."

The murder weapon was never found, but Steele made several recorded confessions after Harrison's death, including two videotaped interviews with detectives. The jury heard them all during the trial.

On a television screen, jurors watched Steele bury his face in his hands as he cried while telling detectives he pulled the trigger -- but didn't mean to "kill that man."

"I didn't mean to kill Mr. BoBo," Steele cried. "Sorry Mr. BoBo."

The defense argued Steele acted without premeditation, the key element of first-degree murder. If the jury believed Steele when he said he pulled the trigger, his lawyers argued, then they should believe him when he said he didn't mean to hurt anybody, that he couldn't see if anyone was in the car, that he only meant to scare, not kill.

"Why can't you believe that?" implored Assistant Public Defender Tom Hanlon in an emotional closing argument Thursday. "Why can't you believe when that young man has the decency -- even though he did a completely indecent act -- to tell you he did it. And your common sense tells you if he was gonna lie about it, he'd just say 'I didn't do it.' "

Harrison was a 31-year deputy two weeks from retirement when he died.

And his family will get their say when Steele's sentencing hearing begins at 9 a.m. Friday.

Said Harrison's son: "My name ain't Charles if I don't testify tomorrow and tell him how I feel."

-- JAMAL THALJI and MOLLY MOORHEAD

The jury has reached a verdict

DADE CITY -- Everyone is summoned back to Courtroom D at 7:45 p.m. The jury has reached a verdict in the murder trial of Alfredie Steele Jr., accused in the 2003 murder of Pasco sheriff's Lt. Charles "Bo" Harrison after nearly five hours of deliberations.

-- JAMAL THALJI

Waiting for a verdict

DADE CITY -- The victim's family, the Harrison family, sits outside in the courthouse atrium.

Inside the Pasco County Courthouse, the crowd is divided into two sides: on one side sits the defendant's family, Steele's family; on the other side sits another family, the Pasco County Sheriff's Office.

Outside, television news trucks are lined up, waiting for a verdict.

Extra deputies are on patrol everywhere. Even the Dade City Police Department sent over extra officers, just in case.

A nervous tension hangs over everyone.

Dozens hang on a sign, any sign, from the jury of 10 women and two men charged with the task of judging Alfredie Steele Jr.

His lawyers have conceded what his own numerous recorded confessions revealed: that Steele pulled the trigger in the June 2003 sniper-style slaying of Pasco sheriff's Lt. Charles "Bo" Harrison. But the defense also says Steele never intended to kill or hurt anyone.

The state told the jury it was a premeditated act for which they should return a guilty verdict on the maximum charge possible: first-degree murder, which carries the death penalty.

Their discussions started at 3:03 p.m. and pressed into a fifth hour Thursday evening.

Another note from the jury room made its way to Senior Circuit Judge Robert Beach at 5:52 p.m. This time the jury had a serious question: what was the time and date that Steele recorded an apology to the Harrison family with his cousin Nathaniel Vanzant?

"What do you want to do?" Assistant Public Defender Tom Hanlon asked the state.

"What do you want to do?" Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney Bernie McCabe responded.

Hanlon turned to the judge: "I asked you first."

Both sides agreed: the jury would be told the audio recording was made between Steele's first videotaped confession to detectives and his second.

And the wait continues at the Steele trial.

-- JAMAL THALJI, MOLLY MOORHEAD

Smoke signals from the jury room

DADE CITY -- The attorneys in the Alfredie Steele Jr. murder trial were quickly summoned back to the courtroom at 4:55 p.m. A bailiff handed a note from the jury room to Senior Circuit Judge Robert Beach.

It read:

"We need a smoke break please."

"I've never had that asked," the judge said. "What's your pleasure, gentlemen?"

Both sides agreed to it. But the jurors were instructed not to discuss the case during their smoke break.

-- JAMAL THALJI

Doctor again arrested for trafficking

GULFPORT - A doctor who was awaiting trial on drug trafficking charges was arrested again Thursday on a charge of trafficking in oxycodone.

Craig Bammer, 55, a doctor of ostheopathic medicine, was previously arrested in February on charges related to trafficking in oxycodone and hydrocodone. Bammer prescribed dangerous narcotics to patients without completing a medical history or a physical examination, the Sheriff’s Office said. Authorities began their investigation in January after undercover detectives posed as patients at his clinic, at 5317 Gulfport Boulevard.

Steele's fate in the jury's hands

DADE CITY -- The fate of Alfredie Steele Jr., accused of gunning down Pasco sheriff's Lt. Charles "Bo" Harrison in 2003, was placed in the hands of a jury of 10 women and two men at 3:03 p.m. Thursday.

"It's your duty to return a verdict for the highest offense allowed," Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney Bernie McCabe told the jurors as he delivered the state's rebuttal to the defense's closing argument.

Steele, 23, is charged with first-degree murder, which implies he acted with premeditation and can carry the death penalty. He made several recorded confessions implicating himself in Harrison's death.

The defense argued intent, that Steele did not intend to kill anyone when he fired his SKS rifle at the deputy's cruiser the night of June 1, 2003. Rather, Steele intended to scare. The defense asked the jury to return a verdict on a lesser murder charge, one that only carries a prison sentence.

-- JAMAL THALJI

First inmates released from Pinellas jail

Twenty-five inmates charged with misdemeanor crimes have been released from Pinellas County’s chronically crowded jail, according to a list exclusively obtained by the Times.

Among those set free:

Willie B. Jones, 47, of St. Petersburg who spent nearly a month behind bars on a battery charge.

Michelle Erway, 40, a homeless woman in St. Petersburg charged with soliciting for prostitution. She spent eight days in custody.

Margaret Martinsen, 50, of Largo who was charged with criminal mischief. She spent three weeks in the jail.

Ronald Paul, 31, of Largo who spent four days in jail after being charged with exposing his sexual organs in Clearwater.

They were among the first inmates set free late last week after a court order empowered Sheriff Jim Coats to release inmates accused of misdemeanors and local ordinances violations, like having an open container of alcohol in public.

All 25 were accused of relatively minor offenses, including driving under the influence, battery, criminal mischief, prostitution and drug possession. For the most part, they were poor and remained in custody because they couldn’t afford to post even the small amounts of bail. The 25 inmates were not released as one group, but on a case-by-case basis, officials said.

Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Chief Judge David Demers issued the authorization last week to free certain inmates, responding to a jail population hovering around 3,600 - 1,100 more than it was originally designed to house.

Under the policy, the inmates eligible first for release are those accused of misdemeanors or ordinance violations. If that doesn’t provide enough relief, Coats can ask the court to consider freeing people accused of nonviolent felonies, such as retail theft and drug possession. Jail staff already has compiled a list of 30 inmates charged with nonviolent felonies.

And if the jail population is still above 3,300, the facility’s modified capacity, the sheriff could set free inmates sentenced to the county jail who only have a short time left to serve.

-- JACOB FRIES, Times staff. Staff researcher Angie Drobnic Holan contributed to this report.

50 dogs confiscated from breeder

LUTZ -- Hillsborough County Animal Services has arrested a dog breeder and charged her with improper confinement of animals after confiscating about 50 dogs from her property.

Ingebog Koch, 71, of 2809 Wilson Circle, was arrested Wednesday and has been released on her own recognizance. Authorities had been investigating her since last year.

They found 50 small dogs, including chihuahuas and Yorkies, which were being kept in small containers with improper ventilation. Some of the dogs were caked in waste and infected with fleas. The dogs were taken to the county Animal Services shelter.

Defense: Steele told the truth

DADE CITY -- Assistant Public Defender Tom Hanlon delivered the defense's closing argument in the Alfredie Steele Jr. murder trial:

" 'Fredie Steele told (cousin Nathaniel) Vanzant that the cops were looking for him. Vanzant told him that he was worried they were gonna kill him. What -- stand up 'Fredie -- what did this 19-year-old boy do when he found out they were looking for his cousin? He said 'Go down and clear your name.' Does that sound like a liar to you?

" 'Fredie tells (detectives) the story, "I didn't intend to hurt nobody or nothing.' Now you're supposed to presume he's innocent unless they can show through the evidence that that's not true. He told the truth. If you were gonna lie to try and get out of this charge, would you lie about 'Yeah, I shot him, no, I didn't mean to hurt anybody.' Well you know your common sense will tell you he is gonna say 'I didn't do it.' The biggest time in his life, with his mother's guidance, he tells them, based upon the truth, he tells them he shoots, but he didn't mean to kill anyone. A stupid thing? Yeah. Do people do stupid things every day? Yeah, and I don't mean to be disrespectful to him, but a dumb, drunk 19-year-old with a gun? Is there ever a rationale for that? How do we ever know he intended to do this thing?"

"How could anybody, without being clairvoyant, know that there would be a police car there? He didn't know there would be a police car there. Well Detective Medley asked him 'Did you go down (to the cook shed) for target practice. He said no. He went to shoot the gun. Like kids who go to throw rocks at windows ..."

"So four hours after he's shooting in the middle of the dark, it's target practice, to shoot what? Something he doesn't even know is going to be there?"

"He then talks to Detective Medley and Detective Christensen, and you recall they started out by Detective Medley saying 'I want to talk to you about Lt. Harrison.' And that's what his attention is drawn to, Lt. Harrison. And therein being the basis to say 'That man.' ...

"If he never intended to kill this unknown person he never knew about, then you don't have first-degree murder. It's gone."

"And he said 'that man' when he talked about Mr. BoBo and he's crying and he knows who's dead, and he knows he shot, and that's what he said. 'I wasn't trying to kill nobody or nothing, I guess I was trying to scare them.' Why can't you believe that? Why can't you believe that when that young man has the decency -- even though he did a completely indecent act -- to tell you he did it. And your common sense says if he was gonna lie about it, he'd just say 'I didn't do it.' "

"Had that young man not been honest we would not be sitting here today. There is no direct evidence that suggests he did it. No DNA, no fingerprints, no tire tracks, nothing, nothing that indicates he did it. Nothing. We're not here if he's not honest. And have they proved anything that makes you disbelieve him?"

"They can't prove to you beyond and to the exclusion of every reasonable doubt that he meant to hurt anyone."

"As jurors in life, don't we give credit to those who tell the truth?"

"I know as you sit there right now it's hard to fathom how could somebody do something like this? Go out and scare somebody like this, like that man told you. But you have no reason to disbelieve him. None."

"Was there a terrible disaster that occurred? Yes. I will assure you that Lt. Harrison did not deserve to die. A fine man. Did not deserve to die. That's not what this case is about. This case is about what that young man did and what that young man intended. That's what this is about. And don't think that for a minute that anybody sitting at that table (pointing to the defense table) thought he deserved to die, because he didn't. He was a fine man."

"Don't hold anything I've done against him. Only hold against him what the evidence shows. And if he's established a trust ... with you when he tells you he didn't meant to hurt, you can rely on that. Does that mean a not guilty all the way down the board? ... But the evidence shows that what he said, 'I didn't mean to hurt anybody,' certainly that makes first-degree  murder a not guilty."

"If you don't think it took intestinal fortitude to the deepest depths that no one else can know for that 19-year-old kid to come in here and tell you what he did, then you're wrong. If you don't think it wasn't the biggest day of his life, you're wrong."

-- JAMAL THALJI

Two prisoners caught after escaping during work duty

Two prisoners from the Sumter County Correctional Facility walked off from a work detail shortly after noon on Thursday, sparking a multi-county search in the woods of eastern Hernando County. They were caught about an hour and a half later.

The prisoners were with a group helping the state Division of Forestry work on U.S. 41 near the county lines of Hernando, Citrus and Sumter counties when they walked off at 12:06 p.m., Hernando officials said. Tracking dogs from the three counties as well as deputies in helicopters and on the ground were involved in the search.

Authorities identified the prisoners as Timothy Hurtt, 5-foot-5, 177 pounds with dark hair; and Rusty Johnson, 5-foot-9, 170 pounds.

Bring your kids to the murder trial day

DADE CITY -- Now we know why so many children have suddenly appeared at the Alfredie Steele Jr. murder trial.

It's bring your kid to work day.

But that's not the only reason why Courtroom D is nearly packed for Thursday's closing arguments. There are more than 60 here, including Pasco Sheriff Bob White.

Prosecutor Bob Lewis finished at 11:20 a.m. The defense will start soon.

-- JAMAL THALJI

Judge pleads not guilty to marijuana citation

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- A judge charged with smoking marijuana in a city park - and perhaps best known for his bit role in the Anna Nicole Smith case - has filed a written plea of not guilty to misdemeanor marijuana possession, his attorney said. Read the full story here.

Prosecution: Steele intended to kill

DADE CITY -- Assistant State Attorney Bob Lewis started the prosecution's closing argument in the Alfredie Steele Jr. murder trial:

"Let me just clear the air about what the evidence will show in this case. What we are talking about, the issue in this case. Even as angry and upset ... as he was about the death of his friend Michael Reed, he likely didn't intend to kill Bo Harrison that night. He said it. 'I didn't intend to kill that man.' But he intended to kill whatever deputy sheriff who was sitting in that car. He just ended up killing Bo Harrison. That's exactly what happened ...

"He intended to kill whoever it was, whatever deputy sheriff was sitting in the car, and that was his intent ... if he intended to kill one person but actually killed another, that's premeditation. Your intent is transferred to the person he intended to kill. It doesn't make any sense, does it? That you can excuse killing someone. 'I didn't mean to kill that man.' Bo Harrison is still dead, dead at the hands of that man."

Lewis then pointed to Steele, who sat passively at the defense table.

"What's the best evidence of his intent? What should you consider? Well frankly there's a lot of evidence. He said he took his SKS (rifle) to the cook shed to shoot it at 10 at night. How do we know that? He. Said. It ...

"Now we had a lot of witnesses come in and testify ... some said he was drunk. Some said he was calm. But you didn't hear one single witness who said he was a liar. He said he took his SKS. He said he took it to the cook shed. He said it was 10 at night. He said he shot it. Why can't you believe that?

"... Same gun fired both bullets. One bullet lodged in the cook shed. One was taken from Bo Harrison's spine. Why can't you believe he took the gun to the cook shed and shot it?"

"Is there any other reasonable explanation for shooting a gun in the darkness of the forest at 10 at night other than preparation? Then continuing to Rumors where he drank ... We know from his statement at Rumors that he saw a marked police car ... "

"His own statement, he told you be drove down Bald Eagle Drive, around the corner, parked the car and walked back. Walked back. What he didn't say in that statement, which is implicit in his statement, that he carried his SKS with him ... What did he intend to do?"

"He shot, and shot, and shot, and shot, and shot ... until he fired 13 rounds, four of which hit the car, two of which hit Bo Harrison, killing him. And he said 'I didn't mean to kill that man.' That's true. The evidence seems to show that. He didn't know he was killing Bo Harrison. The evidence shows he intended to kill whoever that deputy sheriff was sitting in that car. He just didn't know it was Bo Harrison ..."

"He filled the car with lead. Why? To shoot the FM dial off? Didn't mean to hurt nobody? 13 shots from a rifle? At a car? He didn't mean to hurt nobody? Use your common sense. If he didn't mean to hurt nobody, why is he shooting at them?"

"He only became upset when he learned who he had killed."

"Some think there's no evidence of premeditation. How about the first time he fired the gun? Was the gun aimed at the ... the woods or the sun? Maybe some think he didn't have time to reflect or not. How about the second time he aimed the gun at the car and pulled the trigger? How about the third time he pulled the trigger? ..."

"You know exactly what happened. That man set out to take revenge for the deaths of at least one of his friends on those he blamed, the Pasco County Sheriff's Office, the police. And he did, he just didn't intend to kill that man."

"Everything ... tells you to take that cop-killer right there and let him stand in front of the judge, if you render a verdict of guilty."

Read today's story: Defense offers two theories.

-- JAMAL THALJI

Students, coach mourn loss of football player

TAMPA - Jefferson High School students made a solemn procession to the school's front entrance this morning as news spread that star Dragon linebacker Cedric "C.J." Mills was gunned down Wednesday in front of his Tampa home, just blocks from the school.  Read today's story here.

Dragon's head football coach Mike Fenton talked to reporters this morning about Mills' "tremendous smile, a big old smile." Listen to his statement.

"CJ was a great kid all around" Fenton said. "He had so much potential."

Fenton said he had been in contact with University of Miami recruiters, who had taken an interest in the 5-foot-10, 210-pound sophomore.

"He put the fear of God in different teams," Fenton said. "His work ethic was tenacious."

-- By Casey Cora, Times Staff  Writer

Both sides rest; Steele speaks

DADE CITY -- Both the defense and the state rested their cases this morning in the murder trial of Alfredie Steele Jr.

As he has several times throughout the trial, Senior Circuit Judge Robert Beach questioned Steele himself about how he thinks his trial has gone.

"You've discussed the strategy of this case with the lawyers?" Beach asked.

"Yes, sir," answered Steele, who was standing, under oath, wearing a dark suit.

"I take it that you're not going to testify in this case," Beach said.

"No, sir," he replied.

But then Steele indicated that at least some things have happened that were not to his liking. He told Beach he is satisfied with lawyers, but that "a lot of things happened during this case I don't think should have happened."

Beach did not ask him to explain but had Steele clarify his dissatisfaction is not with his own lawyers -- a frequent issue on appeal. The judge has made numerous incremental rulings against the defense, key among them the introduction of a photo of Steele holding an SKS rifle, which is the same type of gun Steele confessed to using in the 2003 shooting of Pasco sheriff's Lt. Charles "Bo" Harrison. The gun in the picture is not necessarily the murder weapon, which has never been found.

The defense then again asked the judge for a motion of acquittal on the charge of first-degree murder, which carries the death penalty. Assistant Public Defender Jason Bavol argued nothing in the state's case showed Steele acted with premeditation.

"There is no testimony inconsistent with the theory ... that he did not mean to hurt anyone," Bavol told the judge.

Interestingly, the defense did not ask for a judgment of acquittal on the second-degree or manslaughter charges, which are lesser crimes of which Steele could also be convicted.

Does the defense believe the state has met its burden of proof on those charges?

Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney Bernie McCabe summarized the prosecution's case: "(Steele) said he saw a head. A re-enactment shows a head. The shooting height of the bullets was high enough to inflict two fatal wounds to the back of the victim. We believe we have met our burden."

Beach again denied the defense's motion.

The jury was brought into the courtroom, told they'll have to wait another 30 minutes before closing arguments so both sides can work on the jury instructions, then sent back out.

Pasco County's top law enforcement officer made his first visit to the Steele trial. Pasco Sheriff Bob White entered the courtroom at 9:25 a.m. and sat in the back pews.

Several young children were seated in the courtroom, too. Either they were looking for juvenile court and got lost, or they're here to watch the trial, too.

-- MOLLY MOORHEAD, JAMAL THALJI

Jefferson High's Mills shot, killed

By JUSTIN GEORGE AND MICHAEL A. MOHAMMED, Times Staff Writers

TAMPA — Cedric “C.J.” Mills, a Jefferson High School star linebacker one assistant coach called the best player to ever put on varsity pads, was gunned down in his front yard Wednesday night.

Just a 17-year-old junior, Mills’ only dream was playing for the “U,” the nickname for the powerful University of Miami Hurricanes, which is known to churn out NFL stars — especially at his playing position.

Mills father, Vidal Mills, 34, was also a Jefferson High School standout who nearly made the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1994 after a strong performance at training camp. He then went on to play with the Tampa Bay Storm Arena football team.

Like his son, Vidal Mills played the stout positions of linebacker and fullback.

A witness told police C.J. Mills was leaning against a car at his home at 4219 W Laurel St. about 6:25 p.m. when two black men drove up in a late-model Chrysler with tinted windows. One man got out, fired several shots at Mills and drove away.

Mills was shot twice in the torso and died an hour later at St. Joseph’s Hospital, Tampa Police Lt. Donnie Peters said.

To assistant coach Lane McLaughlin, the unthinkable had happened. Though only a junior, McLaughlin said Mills’ legend was growing and the young man seemed invincible.

He compared the 5-10, 210-pound Mills to John Wayne, someone whose mere presence made his teammates fearless.

“You know he’s going to make a play and get you out of a situation and make something happen,” McLaughlin said. “Cedric was the best player we ever had.”

He ticked off players a notch below Mills’ skill level that Jefferson had sent to Iowa State, the University of South Florida, Maryland and Troy State.

He began playing on varsity four games into his freshman year, and he started every game from then on. Last year he had 13 sacks and more than 100 tackles playing middle linebacker, often a leadership position similar to quarterback on defense. He was an honorable mention All-Suncoast player

Times staff writer Joey Knight contributed to this report. Justin George can be reached at (813) 226-3368 or jgeorge@sptimes.com.

Questions about the Steele defense(s)

DADE CITY -- Alfredie Steele Jr.'s lawyers are competent, experienced criminal defense attorneys. They're well-known around the Pasco County Courthouse as good guys. They're public defenders, passionate about their work. And they clearly have an affection for their client, Steele, the 23-year-old whose very life is at stake in this week's murder trial.

So now that all the niceties are out of the way:

What is going on with the Steele defense?

They've meandered while questioning witnesses, and during cross-examination, and even during Wednesday's long-delayed opening argument. It came to a point where one attorney had to shout questions to another attorney at the podium questioning an expert state witness.

Now they've unveiled a contradictory defense strategy.

Assistant Public Defender Tom Hanlon first argued Steele didn't intend to kill Pasco sheriff's Lt. Charles "Bo" Harrison when he drunkenly aimed and fired his rifle in 2003.

"I didn't mean to kill that man," Steele sobbed on an audio recording introduced as evidence Tuesday. "I didn't mean to kill Mr. BoBo."

Basically, the defense is arguing against premeditation, the key element of first-degree murder. If Steele is convicted of that, he could be put to death. A second-degree conviction saves Steele's life. It's a simple concept for the jury to grasp.

But if that's the defense, then why did the lawyers try so hard to muddy that by dredging up another, far more nebulous theory in front of the jury?

That's what the lawyers might have have done every time they brought up Nathaniel Vanzant, Steele's cousin, the one who recorded the defendant's tearful apology to the Harrison family that is quoted above.

Vanzant is a controversial figure in the case. He gave the apology to his lawyer, not Harrison's family. Steele's mother, Regina Clemmons, raised Vanzant and thinks he knows more about the case against her son than he's telling. But Vanzant has never been charged with anything in connection with the Harrison case.

Vanzant testified as a state witness on Monday. The defense got him to say that Steele was drunk during the time of the murder. That helped the defense. But then Hanlon kept questioning Vanzant's role in the case, pointed out he was the first one deputies looked for after Harrison's death, and implied he had something to hide.

"If you didn't do anything why would you have to clear your name?" Hanlon asked him.

"When that many people come with rifles," Vanzant said. "I didn't know you need that many rifles to talk to anyone anyway."

Then in Wednesday's opening argument, Hanlon said Steele didn't intend to kill anybody, that Steele was drunk --- then the lawyer wandered off his own tracks to bring up Vanzant again.

"Does your common sense make you wonder, when he was the first person of interest for the state, that he had something to do with it?" Hanlon asked the jurors. "And what did he have to do with it?"

So which defense theory should the jury believe? That Steele killed Harrison, but didn't intend to? Or that maybe he wasn't responsible for the shooting, others may have been involved, and that a state witness might know more than he's telling?

That's reasonable doubt?

So the defense was in the uncomfortable position Wednesday of putting witnesses on the stand who testified to one theory or the other. Some testified, to varying degrees of success, that Steele was drunk the night of the murder. Some testimony cast aspersions upon Vanzant.

It culminated late Wednesday afternoon in what might be the most head-scratching moment of the Steele trial: the testimony of Shaun Yeomans. Well, he didn't testify. He skipped out on the subpoena and couldn't be found. So two defense attorneys just took turns reading his deposition to the jury.

In it, Yeomans said he bought marijuana from Vanzant, and the two spent time together behind bars. They were also together the morning after Harrison's murder, watching TV news reports.

"He just said he was involved," Yeomans said in the deposition. "He was acting skittish, he was acting nervous."

Spectators smirked, rolled their eyes and shook their heads.

And it was already past 5 p.m.

-- JAMAL THALJI