Man impaled on fence after fall from roof

A 46-year-old man was working on the roof of a single-story house in Tampa Thursday when he lost his balance and fell, landing on a metal post in a chain link fence that impaled him in the left hip area, according to Tampa Fire Rescue.

The accident happened about 6 p.m. at 3101 E McBerry St. When Tampa Fire Rescue paramedics arrived, he appeared to be straddling the fence. They realized he was impaled and called for backup.

Paramedics helped to lift his weight off the fence without taking him off of the post, which was embedded about 6 to 8 inches in his hip and pelvis area. Awake and alert, the man told rescuers what happened.

For about 20 minutes, rescuers worked to cut away the fence and post before placing him, with the post still in his body, on a stretcher. He was airlifted to Tampa General Hospital, where he is in serious condition.

It was unclear whether he lived at the house or was working there. Tampa Fire Rescue did not release his name.

Photo courtesy of Tampa Fire Rescue.

St. Petersburg man dies after car crash

ST. PETERSBURG -- St. Petersburg Police believe a man suffered a medical problem while driving in St. Petersburg, causing him to crash and later die.

Witnesses saw Andrew Milton, Jr., 49, driving a Chevy Blazer southbound on 20th Street North at about 4 p.m. when he made a wide turn onto First Avenue North. After he traveled one block west, the SUV veered off the road and hit a sign, then came back onto the road and swerved off again.

Milton was conscious at the scene, but paramedics had to help him out of the SUV. Milton, of 1847 18th Ave. N, died either on the way or at the hospital. According to police, the crash was not serious enough to cause death. An autopsy will be performed.

-- Stephanie Garry, Times Staff Writer

Fire destroys vacant house, arson suspected

SEMINOLE - A fire that destroyed a vacant house in Seminole early this morning may be arson, authorities said.

The 2-bedroom, 1-bathroom house at 10411 121st Ave., burned about 5 a.m. Owned by Marion Whalen, 83, of St. Petersburg, the house had been empty since November, according to deputies.

Seminole Fire Rescue was on scene at 4:48 a.m. and had the fire under control about 15 minutes later, according to spokeswoman Alison Shanabrook. Investigators estimate the single-story concrete block house was worth about $140,000.

The Seminole fire marshal believes the fire was arson, but wasn't able to determine an exact cause because the house was so badly burned, according to Shanabrook.

Anyone with information is asked to call sheriff's Detective Kristine Gilmore at (727) 582-6200. Callers who want to remain anonymous can call 1-800-873-TIPS.

Photo courtesy of Seminole Fire Rescue

Day 2: Still no verdict for Snipes

OCALA -- Jurors ended their second full day of deliberations today without reaching verdicts in the tax evasion trial for actor Wesley Snipes.

They plan to return Friday at 9 a.m. to continue deciding whether Snipes, 45, and two men intentionally tried to defraud the Internal Revenue Service of about $11.4-million in tax refunds through fraudulent claims.

The two-week trial began at the Ocala federal courthouse on Jan. 14. An October 2006 indictment against Snipes charged him with conspiracy along with co-defendants Eddie Ray Kahn, a Lake County resident whom Snipes hired as a tax consultant, and Douglas Rosile, an accountant who worked for Kahn.

The indictment also charged Snipes with one count for filing a false claim with the IRS and six counts of willful failure to file his tax returns from 1999 to 2004. If convicted on the charges, Snipes faces a maximum of 16 years in federal prison.

Snipes has denied doing anything illegal. His attorneys described him at trial as a man who had questions of the IRS and said the agency refused to meet with him. Instead, Snipes' attorneys say the government charged him with a crime.

-Kevin Graham, Times staff writer

Strawberry damage from freeze significant

PLANT CITY — Strawberry damage from this month’s freeze was worse than expected, but it’s too early to know the overall impact on growers.

Drastic temperature drops in early January have already cost growers at least $15-million, according to the Florida Strawberry Growers Association. The indirect impacts — including pickers’ revenues and packing supplies — could total another $15-million.

That’s significant damage, but it’s not major, said Shawn Crocker, the association’s executive director.

“When you talk to growers, they breathe a sigh of relief because they did not physically lose the core plant,” he said. “They’ve got an opportunity to rebound later in the season.”

What does it mean for strawberry prices? They’re higher right now. But they’ll likely go down as supplies increase.

That’s good news for consumers but bad news for growers, who might have a tougher time making a profit this year, Crocker said.

Strawberry supplies are down more than 30 percent from last year’s levels at this time. And they might not bounce back until after Valentine’s Day.

That will impact berry shipments out of state, but local markets should still have plenty of berries, he said.

-- Catherine E. Shoichet, Times staff writer

Deputies investigate llama slaying

Christine Staat, a 10th-grade agriculture student at Gaither High School pets her llama Chase the day after she found another student's llama dead. [Kathleen Flynn | Times]

TAMPA -- The unsolved murder of Adonis, an eight-month-old llama, has rattled Gaither High School.

Students found the llama yesterday after school, during a routine visit to care for the animals living in a barn behind the school on North Dale Mabry Highway. A padlock outside the llama's stall was smashed. Beside it, a hammer had been dropped on the hay-strewn ground.

Adonis suffered blunt trauma to the head, reported the sheriff's deputies summoned to the scene.

The student who owned Adonis, a 10th grade boy, was distraught and did not want to speak to the media today. Local television and newspaper reporters crowded into the barn around the lunch hour.

"It's very painful, because it's like they destroyed a part of you," said Christine Staat, 16, a 10th grader, who is raising two llamas at the school.

She said Adonis came to Gaither just a few months ago. He was sweet and friendly. Students spoiled him with treats like sweet hay and fruit. The school is now left with three llamas, which students own and raise under the supervision of an agriculture instructor.

Gaither High is offering a $500 reward for information that could lead to the llama's murderer through its crime watch program. A necropsy is being performed to determine the cause of death. Sheriff's officials continue to investigate.

For more information, read tomorrow's St. Petersburg Times.

-- Letitia Stein, Times Staff Writer

Hernando deputies find animals in "deplorable conditions''

BROOKSVILLE - Hernando County deputies serving a warrant at a man's home on Thursday discovered 22 dogs, three cats and a Burmese python snake living in what they termed "deplorable conditions.''

The floors of the home at 24514 Audubon Drive were soaked in urine and covered in feces, authorities said. The snake had no water and many of the dogs had fleas and skin disorders. Three of the dogs were in cages and were groomed, as if ready for sale, according to the release.

Deputies arrested John Arthur Stansfield, 46, on charges of grand theft and dealing in stolen property. They have begun an animal cruelty investigation but no charges have been filed in that case.

"We only went there to serve the arrest warrants," Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Donna Black said. "And then we found all the animals and the deplorable conditions."

Debra Harmon, who lives at the home, said she owns all of the animals. Hernando County Animal Services  removed all the animals from the home, took them to a local veterinarian for evaluation and then transported them to the Animal Services office.

-- Joel Anderson, Times Staff Writer

Reward offered in Tampa cold case

TAMPA --  Eleven years after 41-year-old Stephen W. Edenfield was found stabbed to death inside his Tampa apartment, law enforcement officials are re-releasing information in an effort to solve the cold case.

Authorities say Edenfield was last seen with a man driving in a dark-colored vehicle around 1 a.m. on Feb. 1, 1997. Crime Stoppers of Tampa Bay is offering a reward of up to $1,000 for information leading to the identification and arrest of any suspect or suspects involved in connection with Edenfield's murder.

Tipsters can remain anonymous and are asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-873-TIPS (8477) or visit the local Crime Stoppers Web site.

-- Casey Cora, Times staff writer

Gag grouper fishing to face quota

ST. PETERSBURG - Fishing regulators voted today to restrict off-shore gag grouper fishing despite objections from commercial and recreational anglers.

The tentative ruling will not be confirmed until the next quarterly meeting in April to allow time for public hearings and written comments. The rules would then be posted in the Federal Register for further comment. The earliest they would go into effect is late 2008, said Roy Crabtree, administrator of the National Marine Fisheries Service's Southeast region.

The restrictions would close down recreational grouper fishing for three months in the winter, just when tourists arrive. Anglers would be limited to one gag per trip, and three grouper total. Commercial fisherman would face a quota on gag for the first time, with limits tight enough to shut down the entire grouper fleet every year by October or so -- forcing restaurants and consumers to rely on imports.

The restrictions are designed to reduce gag fish in the Gulf of Mexico by 45 percent. They apply to federal waters, which begin nine miles from shore, but the State of Florida typically matches such rules for inshore fishing as well.

Today's vote by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council comes one day after several hundred anglers, charter boat captains and marine supply store objected to the new restrictions.

Go here for more on the proposed restrictions and here for more on grouper, the Gulf of Mexico fish that is a something of an icon at Tampa Bay area restaurants.

-- Steve Nohlgren, Times staff writer

Online investigation by Clearwater police nabs California man

CLEARWATER -- An investigation of online predators by Clearwater police has resulted in the arrest of a San Francisco man on charges related to targeting children over the Web, officials said today.

Charles Wayne Young, 43, was arrested Wednesday at his home in San Francisco, according to Clearwater police.

The investigation began in June 2006 when Young contacted a Clearwater police detective posing as a child.

Young, who has a previous conviction in Kentucky for molesting a child younger than 12, asked to meet the person he thought was a child to have sex and sent the detective several images of and videos of child and adult pornography.

The Clearwater detective identified Young and tracked him to Louisville, but he moved just days before Kentucky authorities moved in to serve an arrest warrant at his home in October 2006. Several months later, Young contacted the detective again and was traced to San Francisco, where he was arrested.

Young faces charges of solicitation of a minor via computer, transmission of child pornography across state lines and transmission of material harmful to a minor across state lines, Clearwater police said.

-- Times staff writer

Allstate wins again - for now

The 1st District Court of Appeal again rejected Florida's attempt to immediately stop 10 Allstate Insurance Corp. companies from writing new policies in Florida. But in its ruling late Wednesday, the court also set the stage for what could be a quick resolution to the legal battle.

The court ruled that Florida regulators and Allstate have 40 days to submit paperwork supporting their positions. The court had initially stopped the state’s suspension of Allstate on Jan. 18, but Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty appealed that decision last week.

Wednesday’s decision allows Allstate’s 1,100 agents in Florida to keep writing new policies. The ban would have applied to all types of insurance sold by Allstate, but would not affect existing Allstate policies.

Regulators want to know why Allstate, the largest publicly traded U.S. home and auto insurer, has not complied with legislation passed last year that directs insurance companies to lower their homeowner rates. Allstate had asked to raise its homeowner rates an average of 42 percent statewide, a request that was denied in November.

Allstate has about 300,000 homeowners policies in Florida, about half the number it had four years ago.

McCarty said Thursday he remains committed to "get to the bottom of this issue and to ensure that Allstate is held accountable to the law.”

Tom Zucco, Times staff writer

Lawsuit: U.S. Sugar rejected a sweet buyout offer

U.S. Sugar Corp. rejected a $575-million buyout offer and kept it secret from shareholders because selling the Clewiston, Fla.-based agricultural giant didn't serve the founding Mott family's personal interests, a federal lawsuit filed Thursday claims.

Three former U.S. Sugar workers who own shares of its stock under an employee retirement plan claim chairman William S. White rejected a $293-per-share offer in 2005 and again in 2007 even though it was nearly $100-per-share more than the company was paying employees for cashed-in stock. White allegedly fired CEO Robert Dolson after learning of the negotiated offer and then wired him a $10-million "pay-off" so that he wouldn't leak the offer to shareholders.

The suit claims White rejected the offer so that the descendants of founder Charles Stewart Mott, including White's own spouse, could retain their high-paying positions within the company and continue to increase their stake in it via employee stock sales. U.S. Sugar -- the country's largest producer of refined cane sugar as well as a substantial citrus grower -- is privately held, and the only way its retirees can monetize their stock is by selling it back to the company or as part of a corporate acquisition.

According to the complaint, retired U.S. Sugar employees are the company's largest shareholder at 38 percent, but have no representation on the company's board of directors and were not apprised of the buyout offer. A majority of the retirees were said to be former farmworkers, equipment operators or mechanics.

-- Scott Barancik, Times Staff Writer

Hillsborough man gets 40 years in stabbing death

TAMPA -- Jealousy over a woman drove Michael Edmund Smith to stab a Gibsonton man to death last year. On Thursday, a judge sentenced Smith to 40 years in prison.

Smith, 30, initially was charged with first-degree murder and false imprisonment. But he avoided a life prison sentence by pleading guilty to second-degree murder with a weapon and false imprisonment.

On May 30, Smith took his two kids to a mobile home in Gibsonton, looking for James Peak. He was convinced that Peak, 32, was having an affair with Smith's on-again, off-again girlfriend.

Smith questioned Peak's sister-in-law about the allegations. He held her and six children captive as he waited for Peak to return.

When Peak arrived, Smith stabbed him. Peak ran out the door, but Smith chased him and stabbed him at least two more times.

Peak died at the scene as a result of his injuries.

Smith did not offer an apology or explanation at his sentencing Thursday. None of the victim's family attended.

Hillsborough Circuit Judge Gregory Holder also sentenced Smith to five years of probation and ordered him to complete an anger management course.

- Colleen Jenkins, Times staff writer

Snipes jury gets clarification on 'conspiracy'

OCALA -- A federal judge issued a one-page response this morning to a question from jurors deliberating in actor Wesley Snipes' tax evasion trial.

Defense attorneys objected to Senior U.S. District Judge William Terrell Hodges explaining the meaning of conspiracy after jurors sent a note Wednesday asking that he do so.

Robert Bernhoft, Snipes' lead defense attorney, asked the judge to tell jurors they must rely on the instructions they had already received.

"It seems to me the message I propose to send to them is no way a misstatement of the law and may help them with deliberations," Hodges said.

Count one of the October 2006 federal indictment against Snipes, 45, charges him and two co-defendents with conspiracy to defraud the Internal Revenue Service. The two men standing trial with Snipes are Eddie Ray Kahn, a Lake County resident, whom Snipes hired as a tax adviser, and Douglas Rosile, a Venice accountant who worked for Kahn and prepared one of Snipes' tax returns.

Federal prosecutors charged Snipes with filing false income tax returns for 1996 and 1997, requesting refunds totaling $11.4-million. The IRS also accused the celebrity of not filing any income tax returns from 1999 to 2004.

If convicted of the charges, Snipes faces a maximum of 16 years in federal prison.

Jurors spent their first full day deliberating on Wednesday without reaching a verdict. They sent a note to the judge around 4:30 p.m. with their question about a further explanation of the word conspiracy. Hodges sent them home early, giving him time to speak with attorneys today before he responded.

Jurors returned to the courthouse today at 9 a.m. to resume deliberations.

-Kevin Graham, Times staff writer

Feds back off amberjack limits

Federal regulators Thursday backed off a two-month recreational closed season for greater amberjack after listening to fisherman who said fuel prices have significantly cut back their fishing trips anyway.

Preliminary plans had called for a January and February closure to ease pressure on amberjack after stock assessments had shown they were in trouble.

But the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council removed that proposal while passing other restrictions, including raising the size limit from 28 to 30 inches and imposing a one-fish bag limit.

- Steve Nohlgren, Times staff writer

A great view of Venus, Jupiter coming Friday

If you want a nice view of the planets without using a telescope, look to the southeast about dawn Friday. Not far above the horizon, you should see two bright points of light -- Jupiter and Venus, surprisingly close together.

Friday morning is the best time to see this pairing of the brightest planets in our solar system, "like twin headlights piercing the rosy glow of sunrise," NASA says. But if you miss it Friday, get up early Saturday or Sunday, because the planets will still appear relatively close together for the next few days.

For more information from NASA, check out:  Science@NASA.

- Curtis Krueger, Times staff writer

Missing Spoto High student found in Miami

RIVERVIEW -- Miami police found a missing 16-year-old Spoto High School student on a street corner, according to the Hillsborough Sheriff's Office.

Marquita Shantiva Brown of 6929 Summer Harbor Drive ran away from home Jan. 18, deputies say.

Her mother, Betty Graves, told deputies she left for work Jan. 18 and when she returned home, her daughter was missing. A neighbor had overheard the girl talking to someone on the phone and making plans for a trip to Miami by Greyhound bus.

Graves is on her way to pick up her daughter today, deputies say.

- Abbie VanSickle, Times Staff Writer

Search continues for missing Tampa man

TAMPA -- A small group of friends and co-workers gathered this morning to find a missing Tampa man, last seen early Sunday at a tavern on N Dale Mabry Highway.

Police said Timothy Robert Chipley, 34, left, was "packed and ready to go" on a trip to Thailand for Muay Thai kickboxing training Wednesday, but he never made it to the plane.

"His bags are packed, his passport and tickets are still there," said police spokeswoman Andrea Davis.

Co-workers from Nuccio Air Conditioning slipped fliers under the windshield wipers of all the cars in the parking lot at O'Brien's Irish Pub at 11744 N Dale Mabry Highway, where the warehouse manager was last seen Saturday night.

Detectives said Chipley, who lives at 10228 N Oakleaf Ave., was last seen at O'Briens about 2:15 a.m. Sunday.

Friends said he went out to celebrate his trip, and it was common for him to walk home from the pub.

"I won't say he didn't get hammered," said Matt Sheer, who came out to help in the search. "I've gotten hammered right there with him. But he didn't do drugs and he didn't drive, so someone must have seen him."

Sheer said he saw the search party advertised on the Web and decided to join the group.

Detectives are reviewing surveillance video from nearby businesses. They are interviewing friends, neighbors and regulars at the bar.

"No one knows who he left with, if he left with anyone at all," Davis said.

Family members and close friends weren't happy with the impromptu search.

"His family has been searching for the past three days," said Julie Gates, who has known Chipley for 25 years. "I don't know where this is all coming from. These are all the people from the bar, and they have no real stake in this. We don't want them trampling all over evidence."

Close friends are bracing for the worst.

"We're just hoping to find his body, because I know he's gone," said Adam Holt, a friend of 15 years. "He wouldn't have missed that trip to Thailand for anything."

Chipley is described as 5 feet 9 and about 200 pounds. He was last seen wearing blue jeans, a blue striped shirt and brown boots. He has a shaved head and wears a goatee. He has a tattoo on his right arm.

A candlelight vigil is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday in the O'Brien's parking lot.

Anyone with information is asked to call (813) 231-6130

- Casey Cora and Robbyn Mitchell, Times staff writers

Disney hotel gives 2 tons of coffee to troops

The folks at the Walt Disney Dolphin resort recently changed the company that provides guests with little packets of coffee in each room.

So they're donating the unused packages to the military members stationed overseas.

That will amount to about two tons of coffee, all donated to the Wesley Chapel nonprofit group Support Our Troops, which sends packages to American military personnel overseas nearly every week.

Bob Williams, the group's founder, said today that the donation comes on the heels of $8,000 worth of toiletries recently donated by management at the Dolphin because of a similar change in vendors.

Aside from postage, coffee in recent weeks has proved to be one of the more difficult things to find for troops, Williams said.

Starbucks delivers 7 tons of coffee at a time to the group, but those donations come irregularly, Williams said.

"We usually have coffee coming out of our ears," he said.

Anyone who wants to make a donation to Support Our Troops can contact Williams at (813) 991-9400.

- William R. Levesque, Times staff writer

Brandon traffic stop leads to arrests in chicken fighting case

BRANDON -- A routine traffic stop led to the arrest of two Miami men on felony animal fighting charges after deputies found two bloodied chickens in a pickup truck early Thursday, according to arrest reports.

Hillsborough sheriff's deputies say they stopped 39-year-old Juan Miguel Berbert because he was weaving in his lane while driving his 2005 Ford F-150 on the 2100 block of State Road 60 about 1 a.m.

The deputy found two crates in the truck's cab. Berbert told authorities the bloody chickens had been trained to fight earlier in the day.

A second person, Felix Acosta, 20, also was arrested. Authorities say Acosta kept unspecified animal fighting paraphernalia and held $8,000 in cash believed to be gambling money.

Both were charged with felony possession of fighting animals and felony possession of fighting animal paraphernalia and were booked into the Orient Road Jail. Bail for each was set at $4,000.

The chickens were turned over to Hillsborough County Animal Services.

- Casey Cora, Times staff writer

FBI report: USF students' explosives were fireworks

TAMPA -- An FBI report shows that the explosives found last year in the possession of two University of South Florida students were harmless fireworks, according to an attorney representing one of the students.

Adam Allen, the public defender for Youssef Megahed, said in a court motion filed Wednesday that the FBI determined the substance found inside two PVC pipes confiscated from the students' car was "a pyrotechnic mixture" made up of sugar, potassium nitrate and cat litter.

Potassium nitrate is a low-grade explosive also used as fertilizer.

The FBI report found that the substance was simply fireworks and "completely harmless if ignited," Allen's motion said.

That's what Megahed, 21, and Ahmed Mohamed, 26, both Egyptian nationals who attended USF's engineering school, have said since they were arrested Aug. 4 by a deputy who stopped them for speeding near a South Carolina naval base.

Besides the PVC pipes, investigators said there also were bullets and a laptop computer in the vehicle, and Mohamed had allegedly posted a video on YouTube showing how to turn a toy remote controlled car into a detonator.

Jan Wesner, Times staff writer

Fire burns more than 300 portable toilets

Firefighters from Tarpon Springs, Palm Harbor and East Lake responded to today's fire at Comfort Zone Portables in Tarpon Springs. [Photo by Donald Sayre | Tarpon Springs Fire Rescue]

Arson detectives are investigating a fire that burned about 340 portable toilets in 15 minutes on a fenced-in lot of Comfort Zone Portables, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office. The damage was estimated at $131,500.

Firefighters arrived at the blaze, located at 822 Anclote Blvd. in Tarpon Springs, around 4 p.m.

No one was injured.

Stephanie Garry, Times staff writer

Fletcher Avenue reopened after fatal accident

TAMPA -- Fletcher Avenue has reopened near Lake Magdalene Boulevard after the son of a Tampa police officer died in a traffic accident tonight while driving his motorcycle on Fletcher Avenue.

A Hillsborough Sheriff’s Office report said Christopher Sacca, 18, ran into the back of a Lincoln Town Car that was making a U-turn on Fletcher Avenue.

Sacca, the son of TPD traffic officer Terry Sacca, was pronounced dead at the scene.

The driver of the Lincoln Town Car, Joseph Mentkow, 81, of Sun City Center was not injured. His wife was a passenger in the car. She also was unhurt.

The incident is still under investigation; deputies have not determined who was at fault. The eastbound lanes of Fletcher Avenue near the scene of the accident were shut down for several hours.

TPD spokesman Lt. Brian Dugan said the Sacca family had no comment.

Jan Wesner, Times staff writer

Deputies arrest carjacking suspects far from home

A Michigan couple were arrested in Pinellas County in connection with a carjacking that took place in their home town earlier this week, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office.

On-Star GPS tracked the stolen rental vehicle to Pinellas County, where deputies arrested Dennis L. Holbrook, 35, and girlfriend Jennifer Skoda, 19, near 49th Street and 126th Avenue in Pinellas Park on Tuesday.

Deputies say the episode started after a fight between Holbrook and the victim, Tammy J. Foondle, 35, over the vehicle's use. Foondle, of 1220 McCallister St. in Benton Harbor, Mich., lived with Skoda, according to the Sheriff's Office.

As they drove the vehicle to Pinellas County, the rental company activated the On-Star system, which tracked them to Pinellas. There, deputies found Holbrook and Skoda in the vehicle with three passengers who were interviewed and released.

Dennis L. Holbrook was held on one count of carjacking and his girlfriend for grand theft auto.

Stephanie Garry, Times staff writer

Clearwater firefighters put out house blaze

The Clearwater Fire Department put out a small fire at a home at 1983 Nursery Road around 7 p.m. The fire started outside and spread to the house, said district Chief Danny Jones.

The home was occupied at the time, but no one was injured and the damage was not significant, Jones said.

The cause is under investigation.

Stephanie Garry, Times staff writer
 

Snipes jury ends day with question

OCALA -- Jury deliberations in the tax evasion trial of actor Wesley Snipes ended early today when jurors signaled a road block when they sent a note to the judge.

"Further clarify the definition of 'conspiracy' as contained in our instructions," Senior U.S. District Judge William Terrell Hodges said the note read.

Instead of calling attorneys into the courtroom to address the question and respond, Hodges told jurors to end their deliberations for the day and go home. He'd respond to them when they return Thursday at 9 a.m., the judge said.

Federal prosecutors have charged Snipes, 45, and two co-defendants with conspiracy to defraud the Internal Revenue Service. The U.S. Attorney's Office accused Snipes of filing false tax return claims for 1996 and 1997 asking for refunds totaling $11.4-million. They said he conspired with Eddie Ray Kahn, a Lake County resident whom Snipes hired as a tax consultant, and Douglas Rosile, a Venice accountant who worked for Kahn.

Kahn ran American Rights Litigators, described by prosecutors as a firm that tried to "thwart" the IRS process. Kahn and many of his clients, which included Snipes, challenged the IRS' authority to tax them. They protested by citing Internal Revenue Code Section 861, which some believe prohibits the IRS from taxing Americans on income earned in the United States. Courts have rejected the theory.

Rosile worked part time for American Rights Litigators and prepared one of Snipes' tax returns that the IRS said was fraudulent.

After the jury left for the day, Hodges called the attorneys into his courtroom to reveal the jurors' question. With none of the defendants present, Hodges asked the attorneys to think about how he should respond. He planned to meet with them at 8:30 a.m. Thursday for suggestions before deciding what to say to the jury.

"This is a critical stage in the proceeding, and the presence of the defendant is necessary," Hodges said.

Until sending Hodges the note at 4:30 p.m., jurors worked throughout the day without a peep.

Jurors heard closing arguments in the case on Tuesday. They spent about six hours discussing the evidence during the first full days of deliberations, taking a lunch break just before noon and an afternoon break, much like Hodges allowed during the course of the trial.

David Wilson, Rosile's attorney, said none of the lawyers expected a verdict on the first day of deliberations because of the thousands of pages of evidence in the case.

"If they go through all the documents, it's going to take a few days," Wilson said. "That doesn't mean anything really besides the fact that the jury is doing their job."

Wilson said he wouldn't begin to worry until four or five days passed without a verdict. If that happens, he said it could mean the jurors are stuck on an issue.

Besides conspiracy and filing a false claim charges, the October 2006 indictment against Snipes also charges him with six counts of failure to file income tax returns from 1999 to 2004. If convicted on all the charges, he faces a maximum of 16 years in federal prison.

Kevin Graham, Times staff writer

Tampa family hits $18-million Lotto jackpot

A Tampa family was the big winner in the Jan. 23 Florida lottery, garnering an $18-million Lotto jackpot.

The winners were identified only as the DiLucia Family Partnership. They chose a one-time lump sum payment of about $10.6-million, according to Lottery officials.

The winning ticket was a quick-pick purchased at the Albertson's at 8701 W Hillsborough Ave. in Tampa.

The winning numbers were 4-25-33-40-41-45.

Jan Wesner, Times staff writer

Rubio and Crist lawyers spar over gambling

House Speaker Marco Rubio's attorney told the Florida Supreme Court Wednesday that Gov. Charlie Crist went "over the line" and exceeded his authority in allowing the Seminole Tribe of Florida to operate casino gambling without legislative approval.

Lawyers for Crist and the tribe countered that the governor had the right to enter into a deal with the Indians, and that lawmakers had 16 years to pass a law requiring legislative approval -- but didn't.

The justices sharply questioned both sides, pointedly challenging their claims, in a full hour of argument in a case that represents a major test of a governor's power to enter into contracts.

Rubio's attorney, former House Speaker Jon Mills, said Crist made a "dramatic and historic change in gambling policy and public policy in Florida" in dealing with the tribe, and that the legislature was wrongly
excluded.

The governor does not to get to implement public policy by himself," Mills argued.

But Justice Charles Wells, noting that the federal government was pressuring Crist to negotiate a compact, interjected: "Isn't it the necessary business of the governor to try to work out an arrangement?"

Crist last summer negotiated a 25-year deal with the tribe, allowing it to offer slot machines and so-called banked table games such as blackjack and baccarat that are illegal under Florida law.

Crist's attorney, Chris Kise, argued that Florida voters sanctioned that expansion of gambling when they approved a constitutional amendment that allowed counties the option to legalize slot machines.

Kise said Crist's dealings with the tribe were done in accordance with federal gaming law, "a matter about which the Legislature has no role ...(Crist) made a decision because he needed to make a decision."

"You make it sound ministerial," Justice Barbara Pariente told Kise.

When Kise argued that Crist had the power under federal law to allow banked card games, Pariente told him: "I think you have an uphill battle on this issue."

A third attorney, Barry Richard of the Seminole Tribe, said the justices were being asked to rule only on the question of an ambiguity in federal law: whether the term "such gaming" allows Crist to allow certain games otherwise banned.

The justices did not indicate when they will issue a decision, and their questions suggested they might wait until after the spring legislative session to give lawmakers one more opportunity to pass a law that would invalidate parts of the agreement.

-- Steve Bousquet, Tallahassee Bureau Chief

Truck pins man in Seminole

SEMINOLE -- Kevin Brennan was airlifted to the hospital after his Chevy pickup pinned him against a storage container in Seminole about 3:30 p.m. today, said John Martino, who owns the storage lot where Brennan was working.

Brennan, who owns a painting company, drove his truck up to the storage unit where he stores supplies when the truck started moving toward him, said Martino, who was across the street at the time. Some neighbors heard him screaming and called ambulances.

Brennan was flown to Bayfront Medical Center a little after 4 p.m. with injuries to the torso, but his condition was stable, according to the Seminole Fire Rescue.

Fire Rescue spokeswoman Alison Shanabrook could not release information about the victim because of medical privacy laws.

Stephanie Garry, Times staff writer

TECO's John Ramil joins board of directors

TECO Energy, parent company of Tampa Electric, on Wednesday named John Ramil to its board of directors.

Ramil, 52, has been with the company for more than 30 years. He was named president and chief operating officer of TECO Energy in July 2004, and is in charge of TECO Energy's four operating companies: Tampa Electric, TECO Coal, TECO Guatemala and Peoples Gas.

He received both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of South Florida, and currently serves as vice chairman of the USF Board of Trustees. He also serves on the board of the Florida Chamber of Commerce and the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center.

-Asjylyn Loder, Times staff writer

Swimming in green, or drowning in CO2?

The great greening of America gets mixed reviews, according to the inaugural GreenBiz Index, a first-of-its-kind benchmark of “green” released today. The report rates U.S. performance in several areas of greening, from alternate fuel vehicles to corporate carbon reductions, as sink, tread water, or swim.

Much-hyped greening is real, but incremental, concluded Joel Makower, author and expert on corporate environmentalism. In the report, “The State of Green Business 2008,” he noted the move toward a carbon tax or carbon cap-and-trade scheme that could reduce greenhouse gases, but said there’s a lot of work remaining. He lauded the auto industry’s foray into plug-in electric hybrids, although the cars remain years away from an appearance on your car dealer’s lot. Corporate truck fleets, like Wal-Mart’s, have committed to shedding gas-guzzlers and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Consumers found all sorts of green claims on store shelves, but remained wary of the earth-friendly pledges. Well building went bust, green building provided a bright spot, with energy-efficient construction expected to double in size to a $4.7-billion market by 2011.

-Asjylyn Loder, Times staff writer

Social Security takes widow's money by mistake

Cheryl Foelster was already grieving the death of her husband earlier this month when she got this troubling news on Friday: Social Security had taken more than $9,000 out of her bank account and claimed she owed some $3,000 more.

"It was a shock, let me tell you," said Foelster, 70, a retired nursing assistant from Spring Hill

Turns out it was all a big mistake. But she's still hasn't gotten her money back.

Grow house found in Hudson

HUDSON -- Detectives from the Sheriff's Office vice squad raided a grow house Wednesday afternoon after receiving a tip.

Inside the home, at 12509 Canton Drive, they found at least 100 marijuana plants -- many more than 5 feet tall, spokesman Doug Tobin said.

The street value of the plants, which were growing in the garage and pantry, is estimated at $200,000, he said.

Detectives were still at the scene about 2 p.m. interviewing a suspect. At least one arrest is pending.

--Molly Moorhead, Times staff writer

Brown-Waite: Doctor database could help VA

U.S. Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite said a national doctor database with public information about disciplinary actions might have helped prevent the kind of tragedy that has unfolded at a veterans' hospital in the midwest.

Brown-Waite, R-Brooksville, is the ranking member of the Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, which held a hearing earlier this week on issues surrounding the death of 19 patients at a Department of Veterans Affairs hospital in Marion, Ill.

"Giving patients and families access to vital information about their doctors is an excellent way to weed out poor medical professionals and help reduce preventable errors and deaths," Brown-Waite said in a statement.

Brown-Waite pointed to a similar doctor database she said she helped create in Florida that also includes information on malpractice suits.

"Sadly, nothing like the Florida program exists in other states or on the national level," she said.

Investigators have flagged 19 deaths at the Illinois hospital during the last two years that they say are possibly the result of substandard care. They say hospital spervisors moved to slowly to address concerns.

-- William R. Levesque, Times staff writer

Gasparilla boat chase nets federal charges

TAMPA -- Mark Stevens Koert, a Realtor accused of stealing a boat after Gasparilla and leading authorities on a 40-minute chase, now faces federal charges.

Those charges include: forcibly assaulting a federal law enforcement office by use of a dangerous weapon, failure to obey an order of the Coast Guard and damage to property belonging to the United States in excess of $1,000.

Authorities say Koert, 27, was drunk late Saturday when he stole a 28-foot Maxim from the municipal docks at the Tampa Convention Center and tried to ram it into a boat carrying two deputies on a routine marine unit patrol.

The U.S. Coast Guard responded as back-up, and Koert allegedly hit that vessel twice.

"As the chase continued, the USCG personnel feared for their safety as Koert continued to try and ram their boat with his," the criminal complaint states.

A member of the Coast Guard crew fired two rounds from a shotgun into the engine of Koert's boat but failed to disable the boat.

"USCG personnel then ordered Koert to stop at gunpoint but Koert continued to try and run the Maxim over the USCG vessel," according to the criminal complaint.

The federal charges stem from the Coast Guard's involvement in the incident. Koert is due in federal court today at 3 p.m.

He also faces state charges of grand theft, aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, fleeing to elude at high speed and reckless operation of a vessel.

-- Colleen Jenkins, Times staff writer

Man captured after chase from courthouse

Pasco County Fire Rescue personnel place a handcuffed man onto a stretcher along Little Road in New Port Richey today.

The man, yet to be identified, was the subject of a foot chase from the West Pasco Judicial Center and had attempted to lose deputies and baliffs in an orange grove north of the judicial center before being captured.

The man's identity and reason for the chase have yet to be determined.

-- Stephen J. Coddington

Bike helmet saved Largo boy's life, police say

Johnathon Ferland, 11, was riding his bike home from school when he was hit in the head by a falling pole. His mom Tara Bickler, seen in the background, always insists her son wear his helmet. [Jim Damaske | Times]

LARGO -- A Largo Middle School sixth-grader is probably alive today because he was wearing his bicycle helmet Tuesday afternoon.

And 11-year-old Johnathon Ferland wasn't even riding his bike when the helmet saved his life.

Instead, police say, he was standing with his bike on the side of the road at Eighth Avenue SW and Ridge Road when a freak accident took place.

A 1979 Chevrolet truck was trying to back into a parking space at the neighboring Fifth Third Bank when its brakes failed. The truck jumped the curb, went across some grass and hit two poles. One of those poles -- a pedestrian crossing sign post about 10 feet tall and four inches thick -- fell on the 93-pound boy's head, knocking him into the pavement.

Judge sets hearing in Hogan divorce

CLEARWATER -- Linda Bollea and her lawyers will have to wait until Feb. 28 to try to persuade Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge George Greer to freeze accounts controlled by her husband.

Mrs. Bollea, who has been married to Terry Bollea -- or Hulk Hogan -- for 23 years, recently filed a motion asking for an emergency injunction to stop her estranged husband from moving money around.

Greer denied the motion for an emergency injunction and scheduled a hearing on the motion for 10:30 a.m. Feb. 28 instead.

In response, Mrs. Bollea's attorneys Monday filed another motion contending that a Feb. 28 hearing is too late.

"I fear that if we wait until February to get this issue heard before the Court, our monies will have disappeared and unable to be located," she wrote in the motion filed Monday.

Judge Greer denied the second motion, too, and said her allegations will be heard Feb. 28.

In court pleadings filed Monday, Linda Bollea also asked for primary residential custody on a temporary basis of the couple's minor son, Nick Bollea, 17. She wrote that since the breakup, her husband has failed to discuss or include her in important discussions and decisions about their son.

Also filed yesterday, Linda Bollea asks for temporary exclusive use of the couple's marital home on Willadel Drive in Belleair and of the family's Clearwater Beach house at 720 Eldorado Ave. Since the seperation, Terry Bollea has left the residences, she wrote.

-- Tamara El-Khoury, Times Staff Writer

Deliberations underway in Snipes' trial

OCALA -- Jurors began deliberations at 9 a.m. today in actor, Wesley Snipes' federal income tax evasion case.

The five men and seven women who will decide whether the Orlando native tried to defraud the Internal Revenue Service spent a week and a half listening to testimony and evidence presented by prosecutors. When it came time for Snipes' attorneys to call their own witnesses, they called no one.

Snipes' attorneys said the U.S. Attorney's Office failed to prove that Snipes intentionally tried to defraud the IRS by filing false tax return claims for 1996 and 1997, asking for refunds totaling $11.4-million. The federal indictment against Snipes also charged him with failing to file any tax returns at all from 1999 to 2004. Charged as conspirators in the October 2006 indictment are codefendants, Eddie Ray Kahn, a known tax protester from Lake County whom Snipes hired as a consultant, and Douglas Rosile, a Venice accountant who worked for Kahn.

Throughout the trial, which began at the Ocala federal courthouse on Jan. 14, Snipes' attorneys have portrayed him as an everyday American citizen who simply had questions of his government and wanted answers. Defense attorneys said Snipes received conflicting information from financial advisers about whether he had to file tax returns or whether the IRS owed him refunds on money he had paid.

Reading the Internal Revenue Code "is the quickest way to go crazy," says Snipes defence attorney, Robert Barnes told jurors during closing statements on Tuesday.

Snipes tried repeatedly to meet with IRS or have them audit him, but no one responded, Barnes said.

"Tax frauds and people out to deceive the IRS do not write lots and lots of letters to the IRS," Barnes said this week in court. "Tax frauds, people out to deceive the IRS, people out to trick the IRS, people out to take something from the IRS do not ask to be audited."

Prosecutors presented documents in court showing that Snipes wrote strongly-worded letters to the IRS as they tried to prove his attempts to thwart the IRS' authority.

Snipes asked for tax refunds citing Internal Revenue Code 861, which would prohibit the IRS from taxing Americans on income earned in the United States. Prosecutors caled the theory "gibberish" at trial. Courts have rejected the argument.

The charges against Snipes carry a maximum penalty of 16 years in federal prison.

Even if he's acquitted on the charges, Barnes says that Snipes will still owe the IRS money for unpaid taxes, and the government will likely try to seize property from him.

Stay with tampabay.com for updates.

- Kevin Graham, Times staff writer

Child porn nets Clearwater man 67 months in prison

TAMPA -- A federal judge sentenced Kevin McMahon to 67 months in prison Wednesday for distributing child pornography on the Internet.

"Yes, I knew it was wrong," the Clearwater man said in court this morning. But "I did not recognize that (children) were exploited and most likely physically and emotionally harmed."

McMahon, 62, pleaded guilty in October. The charge carried a minimum-mandatory sentence of five years.

Federal prosecutors say that between June 25 and Dec. 1, 2006, he sent at least 200 e-mails with pictures of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct from an American Online account.

After conducting a search of his apartment on McMullen-Booth Road, agents found approximately 1,700 images and 10 videos containing child pornography.

Sentencing guidelines called for McMahon to serve between 97 and 121 months.

U.S. District Judge James S. Moody Jr. ordered a downward departure, citing McMahon's age, low risk of re-offending and stable background. McMahon already has been in sex offender treatment and has not physically harmed a child.

After prison, he must serve 10 years of supervised release.

-- Colleen Jenkins, Times staff writer

Deputies: Hitchhiking turns into carjacking

ST. PETERSBURG -- The late-night pickup of a hitchhiker quickly escalated into an armed carjacking that led Pinellas County sheriff's deputies on a chase that ended at a gas station in Madeira Beach, sheriff's officials said.

Investigators say David Harrell was driving a purple 1971 Oldsmobile when he picked up 23-year-old Corey Robinson on the 9500 block of Bay Pines Boulevard about 11 p.m. Tuesday.

When Harrell stopped at a nearby gas station, Robinson brandished a .22 caliber handgun threatened Harrell, 30, then made off with his car.

Deputies say Robinson continued driving until he reached a gas station at Gulf Boulevard and 150th Street, where he bailed from the car but was caught. Deputies recovered the gun they believe Robinson used in the attack.

Robinson, whose last listed address is 2311 Calexico Way in St. Petersburg,  was arrested on two felony charges, carjacking with a deadly weapon and possession of a firearm and misdemeanor resisting arrest without violence. Jail records show Robinson has multiple outstanding warrants.

-- Casey Cora, Times staff writer

Deputies close Gulf Boulevard to clear accident

Pinellas County Sheriff's deputies closed a small stretch of Gulf Boulevard in Indian Shores after a traffic crash knocked out power to about 2,000 customers in the area.

The incident happened about 10 p.m., and deputies were still working the scene between 183rd Avenue and 183rd Terrace at 11 p.m. Traffic lights were not working, but Progress Energy expected the power back on about midnight.

No one was seriously injured in the accident.

Stephanie Garry, Times staff writer

Apartments burn in west Hillsborough

Hillsborough County firefighters have a fire under control at the Silver Palms Apartments complex, at 12905 Firth Court, said Fire Rescue spokesman Ray Yeakley.

The fire was first reported around 5:18 p.m. While Yeakley said firefighters initially thought someone might be inside the building, a search failed to find anyone inside.

S.I. Rosenbaum, Times staff writer

Arson detectives to investigate East Lake mansion blaze

[Douglas R. Clifford | Times]

Watch video

EAST LAKE -- Pinellas County Sherif's Office arson detectives are investigating today's fire that heavily damaged a $2.8-million mansion overlooking Lake Tarpon.

The fire, at 3723 Mullenhurst Drive in the Myrtle Point at Lansbrook, was reported about 10 a.m. The 11,700-square-foot, two-story home is west of East Lake High School, and smoke was visible 10 miles to the south on the Bayside Bridge.

The fire was spotted by a UPS delivery driver and an official from Palm Harbor Fire Rescue. It apparently started upstairs and caused much of the home's tile roof to collapse. Firefighters from East Lake, Palm Harbor, Tarpon Springs and Oldsmar responded to the blaze.

Sheriff's detectives said the house was vacant at the time of the fire, and has possibly been vacant as long as 2 to 3 years. There were no injuries reported.

Florida consumer confidence at recession levels

The Florida Consumer Confidence Index dropped this month to its lowest level in 16 years. "Consumer confidence in Florida reflects the same conditions we had during the recession of 1990-1991," said Chris McCarty, who directs the consumer survey for the University of Florida's Bureau of Economic and Business Research.

He said Florida is "almost certainly" in a recession. Although he said the recession might be confined to a few states, such as Florida and California, "it is very possible that the effects of the housing crunch in these states may result in a recession for the entire country, if we aren't in one already." Here is the detailed report.

Times staff writer

Beam falls on truck, blocks section of Gandy Boulevard

TAMPA -- A beam fell on a semi tractor trailer, blocking eastbound traffic on Gandy Boulevard between Manhattan Avenue and Westshore Boulevard, according to the Tampa Police Department.

Officers will divert eastbound traffic for about 2 to 3 hours while a crane moves the beam, police say.

-- Abbie VanSickle, Times Staff Writer

Builder files for bankruptcy

TOUSA Inc, parent company of the builder behind New Tampa's Live Oak Preserve, filed Tuesday for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

The Florida company, which also built Pasco County's Tampa Bay Golf & Country Club, blamed the credit crisis, falling home prices, low consumer confidence and high inventory for its troubles.

It promises "business as usual" as it restructures. TOUSA is the second builder active in the Tampa area to file for bankruptcy. The first was Levitt & Sons, active in Hernando County.

Florida's share of insurance settlement: $3-million

Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum, Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink and Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty announced today that the state has reached a settlement with a large insurance carrier involved in a "pay-to-play" tactic used by Marsh & McLennan and other insurance brokers.

American International Group Inc. will pay $12.5-million to Florida and eight other states, as well as the District of Columbia, to resolve allegations that some of its insurance subsidiaries engaged in bid-rigging and price-fixing in the commercial insurance market. Florida's share is about $3-million.

AIG and several of its insurance subsidiaries allegedly conspired with Marsh and other brokers by submitting fake bids to create the illusion of a competitive bidding process in the excess casualty commercial insurance market. Investigators determined that despite the appearance of a fair bidding process, the broker had already decided which insurer would receive a particular policyholder's business. As part of the scheme, AIG paid the brokers "contingent commissions" that were not disclosed to policyholders and in return received other lucrative business.

The Florida Attorney General's Office, Department of Financial Services and Office of Insurance Regulation will receive approximately $3-million of the settlement. The money will be used to fund a reimbursement pool for affected policyholders and repay state agencies' investigative costs.

Tom Zucco, Times staff writer

Gibbs High School student arrested with handgun

ST. PETERSBURG -- A Gibbs High School ninth grader was arrested this morning after he brought a semiautomatic handgun to school, police said.

A campus monitor noticed the 15-year-old boy congregating with other students at about 7 a.m. in the first floor boys' bathroom in Building 2, a police spokesman said. As the monitor moved closer, he reported seeing the boy holding a  Phoenix P 51 .25-caliber pistol in his right hand.

The monitor, Phillip Hawkins, cleared the other boys out of the bathroom and took the gun away from the boy after asking him to give it up, police spokesman Bill Proffitt said.

The boy tried to run, but Hawkins restrained him, police said. Hawkins then called the school resource officer, who arrested the boy and took the handgun. Tampabay.com is not naming the boy because of his age.

Proffitt said it is unclear why the boy brought the gun to school. It had one round in the chamber and eight rounds in the magazine.

He was taken to the Juvenile Detention Center on a felony charge of possessing a firearm on school property.

Curtis Krueger, Times staff writer

Health director jailed on intoxicated boating charge

TAMPA -- Dr. Douglas A. Holt, director of the Hillsborough County Health Department and professor of internal medicine at the University of South Florida, was jailed Saturday afternoon on a charge of boating under the influence.

Holt, 49, was out on his boat for the Gasparilla festivities.

As he headed home, he said, another man claimed Holt hit his boat. Investigators with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission came to check things out and conducted a field sobriety test on Holt. They decided he was intoxicated, though he refused to take a breathalyzer test.

Holt, who was at work on Tuesday, disagreed that he had been drunk. He said his boat had gone no more than 50 feet after he untied it to return home when the alleged accident occurred.

The doctor said the facts of the incident were not as clear as authorities made them out to be.

"I do believe that I'm a very responsible person, but I made perhaps a wrong choice," Holt said. "I certainly put no one in danger."

-- Colleen Jenkins, Times staff writer

Runaway driver kills bystander in Apollo Beach

The car sits under a parking cover after the crash. [Skip O'Rourke | Times]

APOLLO BEACH -- A man was killed and a condominium building on Golf and Sea Boulevard was struck by a runaway driver shortly before noon today, a Hillsborough County sheriff's spokeswoman said.

The victim was identified as Earl Hamm, 80, of 711 McAlister in Sun City Center.

Sheriff's officials gave this initial account of the incident: An elderly woman in a 1990 Cadillac pulled into a parking lot at the Apollo Beach Golf Club to ask for directions. Hamm and another man were putting on their golf shoes and offered to guide her as she backed out of the parking lot.

But the driver apparently hit the gas pedal and ran over Hamm, dragged him a short distance and then hit a tree and a condo building at the Golf and Sea Villas, 809 Golf and Sea Blvd.

The driver of the Cadillac, 82-year-old Valerie Green of 6431 Lake Sunrise Drive in Apollo Beach, did not appear to be injured.

A witness at the scene called 911. Neighbors gathered to see what happened.

"I left to go vote, stopped at the bank and this had happened," said Lois Shindorf, 70, who lives in the condominium that was hit.

Shindorf said she arrived home to see a crashed car and ambulance in her driveway, and emergency workers administering aid to Hamm before he died.

Green sat in a yellow lawn chair near her crashed car this afternoon as traffic homicide investigators tried to unravel what happened.

Jan Wesner, Times staff writer

12-year-old hit by car

TEMPLE TERRACE -- A 12-year-old Tampa girl was taken to Tampa General Hospital after she was struck by a car Monday near 56th Street and Sligh Avenue, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

Moranga Ismanuela of 6906 Castlegate Drive tried to cross the southbound lanes of traffic on 56th Street at 8:30 a.m., when a 1998 Chrysler struck her, troopers say. The driver of the Chrysler was Andrew Ralph, 28, of 13901 N Florida Ave., troopers say.

No charges have been filed. Moranga was taken to Tampa General Hospital with serious injuries, troopers say. Ralph was not injured.

-- Abbie VanSickle, Times Staff Writer

Plane makes emergency landing at local airport

Airport officials said today that Sarasota-bound flight made an emergency landing at St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport because of a mechanical problem, the Associated Press reports. Michele Routh, a spokeswoman for the airport, said the USA 3000 Airlines flight from Chicago landed here about 9:30 p.m. Monday. A subsequent inspection of the plane showed no problems, Routh said.

Man arrested for keeping kids in deplorable conditions

When police arrived at this wood-framed house at 5018 N. 30th Street, they found six children, ages 5 to 13 years old, clad in filthy clothes. Click to enlarge. [John Pendygraft | Times]

TAMPA -- Police arrested a 31-year-old man this morning after police received a tip of children and animals living in "deplorable" conditions.

Dewey James Hendrix was charged with six counts of child neglect, eight counts of cruelty to animals and four counts of confinement of animals without food or water.

When police arrived at the wood-framed house at 5018 N. 30th Street, they found six children, ages 5 to 13 years old, clad in filthy clothes. Here's what else they found:

Exposed electrical wires lining the structure and cords connecting two portable space heaters, one of which  was covered with a blanket. The only running water came from the bathroom sink. The house has no kitchen, but a refrigerator held bags of rice and vegetables. Police also found only one mattress, and it was covered with dirty linen.

Outside, investigators found five neglected dogs in the yard.

Police said the children had not been going to school. It is unclear where the children were taken.

Please return to tampabay.com for updates

-- Casey Cora, Times staff writer

Federal regulators begin grouper crackdown

ST. PETERSBURG -- Federal regulators took first steps today to reduce gag grouper fishing by 45 percent, a deep cutback that would shut fishing down for recreational angles for several months, severly damage the charter boat industry during tourist season and possibly remove fresh Florida grouper from restaurant menus for several months a year.

These were recommendations of the Reef Fish Committee of the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, which sets rules for federal waters, where most grouper are caught. The public will get a chance to comment Wednesday before the full council votes on the plan. Though the full council may tweak the committee's recommendations, options are limited because federal biologists have determined that gag stocks in the Gulf are in trouble.

Here is a rundown of the proposed regulations:

For recreational anglers, all grouper fishing would shut down between January 15 and April 15 in federal waters, which begin nine miles off-shore. Currently there is a one-month shutdown Feb 15 to March 15 during the height of the gag grouper spawn.

Recreational anglers could keep three legal-sized grouper per person, per trip, but no more than one could be a gag. Current bag limits allow for five grouper, but no more than one red grouper. All five can be gag, the preferred target of recreational anglers.

"This will cost the State of Florida $300-million in direct expenditures,''' said Dennis O'Hern, director of the Fishermen's Rights Alliance." With a bag limit of only one gag , people will not sink $20,000 or $30,000 into an offshore boat and spend hundreds of dollars in fuel to go bottom fishing, O'Hern said. Tourists will not spend $1,000 to hire a charter boat.

Federal law requires the council to end overfishing of gag, said Roy Crabtree, Southeaster Region administrator for the National Marine Fisheries Service.

"It will impact some fishermen, no question,'' Crabtree said. "But the long-term results of all these measures is that we will have an economic gain if the stocks rebound.''

NMFS will request the State of Florida impose the same regulations in state waters, Crabtree said. If the state refuses, then further restrictions might be necessary in federal waters to compensate.

The council also imposed a new restriction on charter boat captains licensed to fish in federal water: If federal and state rules differ, charter boats must follow the more stringent rules, which means no grouper fishing anywhere during the proposed three-month closure, even if Florida takes a less restrictive approach for state waters.

The proposed changes would impose a gag quota on commercial fishermen for the first time. They would be limited to 1.2-million pounds in 2008, with slight increases in later years. From 1998 through 2005, the Gulf fleet averaged about 2-million pounds a year. On restaurant menus and seafood counters, gag are usually mislabeled "black grouper,'' and are generally more prized than the red grouper, which makes up the bulk of the commercial catch.

The fleet has faced a red-grouper quota for several years, as well as an overall quota for "shallow water grouper,'' which include red, gag, scamp and other less common species. The new rules would add an individual quota on gag and make it very tight -- a 45 percent reduction of what the fleet catches in typical years.

Grouper species swim together. Anglers can't catch one species without also catching another. Regulators typically shut down all grouper fishing once any of the quotas are met. One problem with a gag quota that is 45 percent less than the fleet usually catches is that a gag shutdown would also force a red grouper shutdown well before the red grouper quota is met, and red grouper makes up the bulk of the commercial market.

To soften that blow, the council decided to ease into gag quota closures. Under the proposed rules, gag fishing would begin to be restricted once 80 percent of the quota is met. At that point, only 10 percent of a boat's grouper haul could be gag. When the catch hits 100 per cent of the quota, then all shallow-water grouper fishing would be closed for the rest of the year.

If the grouper bite is good, as it was in 2004 and 2005, then the gag quota would force a shutdown in October, according to federal estimates. Diners would have to look for imports for their grouper sandwiches. In poor fishing years, like 2006 and 2007, the fleet would make it through the year without a closure.

Probably the hardest hit sector will be the charter fishing industry. The winter tourist season can make up a huge part of a charter captain's business. Red snapper are already restricted and migrating fish like mackeral, cobia and tarpon are mostly in warmer water to the south. Without grouper, there are few offshore targets, said charter captain Ed Walker.

"Essentially they have left us nothing to fish for during the peak tourist season,'' Walker said. "This is going to kill us.''

The full council meets again Wednesday. The public may comment on the proposed gag restrictions and other matters from 1:30 to 4:30.  If the council tentatively adopts the committee recommendations in full, or tweaks them, the public can still submit written comment until the council meets again in April for a final vote.

The council meeting continues Wednesday and Thursday at the Radisson Hotel and Conference Center, 12600 Roosevelt Boulevard, St. Petersburg.

--Stephen Nohlgren, Times staff writer, can be reached at 727-893-8442 or at nohlgren@sptimes.com 

 

Cop risks life for bridge jumper

A Tampa police deputy helped save