Potatoes for dinner, then house fire

TAMPA -- The kitchen was on fire, yelled a child running from the house to Mae Johnson, who was in her yard with two more of her children. Johnson thought she had turned her stove off after frying potatoes, Tampa Fire Rescue Capt. Bill Wade said. Firefighters responded at 6:22 p.m. Monday. It took about 15 minutes to control the blaze at 7501 N Dartmouth Ave. No one was injured. Damages were estimated at $50,000. Johnson and her children plan to stay with relatives, Wade said.

-- Elisabeth Dyer, Times staff writer

*

Suspect arrested in robbery, kidnapping at hotel

TAMPA -- Two men forced three people into a laundry room at a Howard Johnson Hotel, tied them up with duct tape and robbed them of money and cell phones Friday, according to a Sheriff's Office report.

Monday, a suspect was arrested. Emmanuel Diaz, 26, at right, was charged with three counts of kidnapping with a firearm and three counts of armed robbery.  According to an arrest affidavit, two men with a pistol robbed the victims and took the key to their hotel room at 2055 N Dale Mabry Highway, where they stole $1,380.

Diaz was held in the Hillsborough County Jail.

-- Elisabeth Dyer, Times staff writer

*

Murder suspect cuts wrists; trial delayed

TAMPA -- A former Tampa police officer accused of killing his wife's lover got his trial delayed Monday after he attempted suicide at the Falkenburg Road Jail.

Jail guards were delivering breakfast Friday at 4:43 a.m. when they found Thomas J. Hall, 52, reluctant to wake up, sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter said. They shook him and pulled back his covers, then saw that he had cut his wrists with a razor blade.

Carter said Hall is fine now and already back in a regular pod after a short stay in a medical unit. But his first-degree murder trial was postponed because of the incident.

Hall, of Brooksville, is accused of shooting his wife's lover, 35-year-old Jason Mullis, on a street in Northdale after a confrontation. Mullis had been on his way to meet Hall's wife at a restaurant when Hall showed up and rammed his car into Mullis' truck, then shot him with a .45-caliber revolver, according to authorities.

Hall spent nearly 15 years as a patrol officer in Tampa, resigning in 2000 after being accused of lying to his superiors.

-- Colleen Jenkins, Times staff writer

[Photo: Times files]

*

Suicide report turns into death investigation

ST. PETERSBURG -- An elderly man was found dead this afternoon in his home with a gunshot wound to his upper body, authorities said.

Authorities were summoned to the home about 12:40 p.m. The man's roommate told police there had been a suicide at the home.

Once at the home, at 5909 35th Ave., officers began investigating the incident as suspicious. The victim's name has not been released.

-- Nicole Hutcheson, Times staff writer

*

Two injured in Bayonet Point shooting have died

BAYONET POINT -- Two people injured in what authorities are describing as a murder-suicide Thursday have died, officials said.

Steven Kane and his girlfriend Cathy Chorba, who lived together on Villa Drive in Hudson, were found last week by deputies on out-of-the-way Secret Lane, off U.S. 19. Both had single gunshot wounds to the head, Sheriff’s Office spokesman Doug Tobin said Monday.

Investigators think Kane shot Chorba, called 911 and then turned the gun on himself. Kane, 56, died about 10 p.m. Friday, Tobin said. Chorba, 46, died the next morning.

A four-door Buick was found at the scene, Tobin said, along with a .22-caliber rifle.

-- Molly Moorhead, Times staff writer

*

Garden tools become weapons when residents act to foil burglary

TAMPA -- A would-be burglary turned violent Saturday morning when residents of a Tampa Heights home defended their backyard shed with garden tools, according to the Tampa Police Department.

About 2 a.m., police said, 33-year-old Justin Frazier, 203 Frances Ave. W #5, entered the back yard of 4219 E Henry Ave. through an unlocked door, setting off a home alarm. When the residents, 55-year-old Antonio DeArmas and 22-year-old Jose Francisco, went outside to confront Frazier, he punched them, police said.

But DeArmas and Francisco fought back with garden tools. It would have been the second time the home's shed was broken into, police said.

Officers arrived and arrested Frazier after a brief struggle. He was charged with burglary of an unoccupied structure, two counts of battery and resisting arrest without violence. DeArmas and Francisco suffered minor injuries, and Frazier had a cut on the back of his head.

Frazier was taken to Tampa General Hospital for treatment and then to the Hillsborough County Jail, where he remains in lieu of $3,500 bail.

-- Kim Wilmath, Times Staff Writer

*

Pedestrian dies in St. Petersburg car accident

UPDATE Police identified the pedestrian killed this morning as Daina A. Dedeo, 39, of St. Petersburg. Alcohol is said to be a factor in her fall, police said. An investigation continues.

ST. PETERSBURG -- A pedestrian either passed out or fell onto Tyrone Boulevard early this morning, and the consequences were fatal.

Police say the woman was struck about 2:31 a.m. this morning by a Honda Accord driven by Algirdas Blotnys, 26, of St. Petersburg. Blotnys was driving west in the curb lane of Tyrone Boulevard.

The accident victim was identified only as a white woman. Police are trying to notify family members, and they will release her name afterward.

-- Curtis Krueger, Times staff writer

*

Motorcyclist injured in New Port Richey crash

NEW PORT RICHEY -- A 52-year-old New Jersey motorcyclist was airlifted from a crash at Seven Springs Boulevard and Perrine Ranch Boulevard earlier this morning, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

Thomas Sykes, of Gloucester City, N.J., was driving his 2008 red Harley-Davidson motorcycle east on Perrine Ranch when 71-year-old Joseph Williams of Trinity turned left from southbound Seven Springs in a 1998 four-door Ford, and the two collided, authorities said.

Sykes was airlifted to Bayfront Medical Center with nonlife-threatening injuries, said Sgt. Steve Gaskins, FHP spokesman. The incident is still under investigation, and no charges have been filed.

-- Kim Wilmath, Times Staff Writer

*

Largo apartment fire displaces 8 residents

[Harold Rhymer leaves with his things after this morning's fire. Douglas R. Clifford | Times]
View photo showing the remains of a scorched apartment

LARGO -- An early morning fire at an empty Largo apartment displaced the residents of eight units. No one was injured in the blaze.

It happened at about 2 a.m. at the Brittany Bay Apartments, 1201 Seminole Boulevard, according the Pinellas County Emergency Medical Services. Though the fire was briefly upgraded to a second alarm, it was put under control shortly thereafter. The Red Cross will provide temporary shelter for the displaced residents. The fire is under investigation.

-- Kim Wilmath, Times Staff Writer

Pinellas inmate dies at hospital

ST. PETERSBURG -- A 54-year-old Pinellas County Jail inmate died Sunday afternoon after he complained of chest pain and was hospitalized, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office.

Alvin Harris, 2420 Melrose Ave. S, (pictured) had been in jail since Aug. 2 on charges of possessing cocaine and resisting arrest with violence, deputies said. Just before 5 p.m. Sunday during a video visitation with a family member, Harris complained of chest pain. He was taken to Northside Hospital, where he was pronounced dead about 45 minutes later.

According to the Sheriff's Office, the death does not appear suspicious, but an autopsy will be performed to confirm the cause. The office's Homicide Unit and Administrative Investigation Division also will investigate.

-- Kim Wilmath, Times Staff Writer

*

93-year-old Seminole man believed to have drowned in pool

SEMINOLE -- Pinellas County sheriff's detectives are investigating the apparent drowning of a 93-year-old Seminole man in his pool.

Walter Stubbs, 14381 Mark Drive, was found at the bottom of his pool by his wife and daughter about 4 p.m. Sunday when they returned from a beach trip. Stubbs was pronounced dead at the scene.

An autopsy will be performed to confirm the cause of death.

-- Kim Wilmath, Times Staff Writer

*

Fatal crash to be investigated

PALM HARBOR -- The Florida Highway Patrol will investigate a Sept. 23 crash on U.S. 19 that left one woman dead and a teenager with minor injuries.

About 11:30 a.m. that day, Eileen P. Murphy, 79, of Dunedin, was driving south in the outside right lane of U.S. 19 approaching Innisbrook Drive. Keri McIntosh, 17, of New Port Richey, was stopped at a red light on Innisbrook Drive facing east, according to Florida Highway Patrol. When the red light turned green, troopers said McIntosh proceeded forward, but Murphy failed to stop at her red light, and she crashed into McIntosh.

After the collision, McIntosh's car spun away and came to rest straddling the outside and center lanes of U.S. 19. Murphy struck a cement bench and a pedestrian walk-signal pole, troopers said. She was taken to St. Joseph's Hospital, where she died Sept. 30. Before she died, Murphy was charged with running a red light, driving with an expired license and driving without a seat belt. McIntosh had only minor injuries.  

The case was assigned to investigators Sunday.

-- Kim Wilmath, Times staff

*

Missing Clearwater man found

CLEARWATER -- A man with Alzheimer's disease reported missing Sunday morning by his wife has been found.

Clifford A. Harrison, 2930 Mayfair Court, had left his house sometime between about midnight Saturday and 6:30 a.m. Sunday in his Toyota Camry. His wife, Cynthia, told police he suffers from severe Alzheimer's disease. He was found later Sunday in St. Petersburg.

-- Kim Wilmath, Times Staff Writer

*