Fire damages garage apartment

ST. PETERSBURG -- A fire damaged an upstairs bedroom apartment in St. Petersburg just after 10 p.m. Thursday night.

The apartment at 765-H 22nd Ave. S was on fire when firefighters arrived, said Lt. Joel Granata of St. Petersburg Fire & Rescue. The flames were confined to one bedroom, but smoke damage affected the rest of the apartment. There was no working smoke alarm in the apartment.

No one was home, and no injuries were reported.

--Stephanie Garry, Times Staff Writer

Pasco robbery turns into murder investigation

HUDSON -- A man snatched a 62-year-old woman's purse outside TJ Maxx on Wednesday night, deputies say. The woman fell to the ground during the robbery, hitting her head on the ground.

Today, Linda Rose Roma was pronounced dead in a local hospital. Now the Pasco County Sheriff's Office says what was a strong-arm robbery has turned into a homicide investigation.

Deputies are looking to question a man and a woman in connection with the victim's death. The male snatched the purse, according to the Sheriff's Office, then escaped in a champagne-colored 90's Buick Regal driven by the female.

Roma, of 13827 Woodward Dr. in Hudson, was leaving the store at 12209 U.S. 19 around 9 p.m., deputies say, when she was attacked and robbed. Anyone with information about her death is asked to contact Det. Lisa Schoneman at (800) 854-2862, ext. 7473.

Jamal Thalji, Times staff writer

I-75 lane closures tonight in New Tampa and Brandon

TAMPA -- The Florida Department of Transportation has announced several lane closures tonight in New Tampa and Brandon. Check below to see if your routes will be affected:

* One southbound lane and one northbound lane will be closed on Interstate 75 from Bruce B. Downs Boulevard to the Hillsborough River from 9 p.m. to 5 p.m. tonight.

* Bruce B. Down's flyover ramp to southbound Interstate 75 will be closed from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. tonight for paving work.

* One lane will be closed on the Interstate 75 exit to the Lee Roy Selmon Expressway in Brandon from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. tonight.

-- Jessica Vander Velde, Times staff writer

St. Pete detective quits before she's fired

ST. PETERSBURG -- Detective Leticia Harrison resigned this morning before the St. Petersburg Police Department could fire the 16-year veteran for conduct unbecoming an officer.

The department could not substantiate the most serious allegations made against Harrison in February: that she accompanied her husband on a trip to obtain drugs. Harrison, a tipster told police, was to use her badge to shield Marvin Wedderburn from potential trouble.

Both Harrison and Wedderburn denied those allegations, according to a police memo released today, and no "independent" information could be found that supported such allegations.

But during that investigation, the memo said, the department's own surveillance of Harrison revealed several instances of "inappropriate conduct."

The most serious allegation concerns a convicted felon who in 2007 moved in with Harrison: Audra Howard, convicted of a 1993 armed robbery. In June, narcotics detectives searched their home and found a small amount of marijuana and a 38-caliber handgun.

Harrison denied knowing the marijuana was in her home, the memo said, but said she knew Howard kept a gun in the house -- essentially, the officer admitted she knew she was living with a felon breaking the law.

The memo also showed that while under surveillance, Harrison's fellow officers saw her speeding in her unmarked police cruiser while on and off duty; spending "extensive" time outside the city while on duty; twice parking her police vehicle in handicapped spaces; and once activating her emergency lights -- to get to lunch.

Chief Charles "Chuck" Harmon said Harrison apologized for her conduct this morning before the chain of command board met to decide her fate. Harrison, a mother of three, had been suspended with pay since July.

"She was apologetic for hanging around the wrong people," Harmon said.

But her fate was already sealed: "I reached the conclusion that, had she not resigned," Harmon said, "she would have been terminated."

Jamal Thalji, Times Staff Writer

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Police arrest suspect in armed robberies

ST. PETERSBURG -- Deputies arrested a man they suspect in two armed robberies of convenience stores and one attempted armed robbery.

Jonathan Michael Hurst, 23, used a box cutter and a toy gun to take cash from two convenience stores in October, deputies say.

The first armed robbery occurred on Oct. 1 at the Haines Road Corner Deli, at 5705 Haines Road in unincorporated St. Petersburg. The second took place on Oct. 14 at the same place. A man tried to rob the BP gas station at 6231 Haines Road on Nov. 2 with a toy gun, but the clerk refused to hand him money and called 911, deputies say.

Hurst was arrested Wednesday at his home at 2597 57th Place N and was booked at the Pinellas County Jail on a $300,000 bond.

Stephanie Garry, Times Staff Writer

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Motorcyclist in fatal crash identified

ST. PETERSBURG -- Police have identified the 58-year-old motorcyclist who died in Wednesday evening's crash on 62nd Avenue N as Joseph P. Desmond.

Desmond was riding his 1978 Harley Davidson west on 62nd Avenue N when an eastbound 2005 Nissan Altima turned left into a shopping plaza in the 1000 block of 62nd, police said.

Desmond's bike collided with the Nissan, driven by 41-year-old Nenad Mandic, the report said. Desmond was thrown from his motorcycle onto the road, and was taken to Bayfront Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 6:46 p.m. Wednesday.

The investigation is continuing, police say.

Jamal Thalji, Times Staff Writer

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Apollo Beach rape victims recognized suspects in sheriff's lineup

TAMPA -- The victims of an Apollo Beach rape that involved an illegal immigrant "immediately identified" two of the three suspects from a photo lineup, according to investigation reports released today by the Hillsborough State Attorney's Office.

The women, ages 24 and 31, identified Rigoberto Moron Martinez Jr. and Vicente Reyes-Carbajal, also called "Daniel," in a packet of photos shown by Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office investigators. A detective wrote in one report that when shown a packet of photos containing a picture of Jose Guadalupe Walle, a third suspect charged in a string of rapes and robberies in Pinellas and Hillsborough, the women made no identification.

Walle, who was 13 at the time of the alleged incident, has been charged as an adult and could face life in prison.

 

When the trio first began raping the women, the 24-year-old victim told her assailant that she had a serious STD, according to the written report. He'd pulled her shirt and bra up and her pants down. "I quickly told him I had a serious STF and that I was dying from it," she wrote in her statement to detectives. "He didn't believe me at first, but I told him that I was just looking out for him and I had papers to prove it."

The strategy worked -- at least for her. When the man walked away from her, he went to her friend and continued to sexually assault against the 31-year-old victim, according to records.

The records also reveal that while both women reported having had duct tape placed over their eyes, one said she could see through a small opening at the bottom of the tape. She was able to tell detectives where her rapists drove the night she and a co-worker were abducted from the Docks Bar and Grill in Apollo Beach.

She told detectives that the men stopped at a Bank of America automated teller machine, and she recalled being taken to a Chevron gas station near U.S. 41 and College Avenue.

Detectives obtained surveillance video from the gas station and identified a man matching the description and clothing described by the victim. The investigation report says that the woman identified the suspect.

After the captors finally released their victims on the side of I-75, the women made it to roadside call station and called for help. The 31-year-old was taken away on a stretcher, with a piece of duct tape stuck in her hair. The 24-year-old, records say, did not need medical assistance.

Records also show that detectives recovered condom wrappers, wine bottles, beer cans and duct tape from the scenes of the rapes. When detectives searched Martinez' Lincoln Navigator, they found a section of nylon rope in the driver's door, black electrical tape and masking tape in the center console and a New Lifestyle condom on the passenger side door.

Previous coverage: 3 arrested in rapes, robberies

Kevin Graham and Rebecca Catalanello, Times Staff Writers

Photo caption: From top, Jose Walle, Rigoberto Martinez and Vincente Reyes-Carbajal

Photos courtesy Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office

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Divers found dead in sinkhole identified

[Brendan Fitterer | Times]

The two divers found dead in a Hudson sinkhole near Old Dixie Highway yesterday have been identified by the Pasco County Sheriff's Office.

Deputies said Joseph Christian Hartranft, 52, of 1504 Scotch Pine Drive in Brandon, and Yessic Cozay Spencer, 42, of 2026 NW 27th Terr. in Gainesville, were reported missing to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office two days ago. Spencer was a Marine lieutenant colonel stationed at MacDill Air Force Base and a diving instructor.

Hartranft's Land Rover was found by Pasco sheriff's deputies at School Sink on Wednesday afternoon. The two men's bodies were found shortly thereafter, deputies said.

According to his son, also named Joseph, Hartranft threw himself into scuba diving after retiring from the Navy in 1995, where he served as a communications specialist. 

Spencer's father, Yessic Spencer Jr. of North Carolina, said he last spoke to his son on the phone a week ago.

"He was cheerful," the elder Spencer said. "He was always in a good mood. He had his head screwed on right."

He said Spencer III was a diving instructor in Tampa, and he also had a black belt in karate.

But above all, Spencer was a family man, his dad said. His wife, Sherolyn, and two kids, 13-year-old Yvonne and 9-year-old Yessic IV, were his life.

A cause of death has not been determined, and an investigation continues.

Times Staff

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Man dies after fight on Tampa street

TAMPA -- When Tampa police responded to a fight at E Fairbanks Street and N Lamar Avenue last night, they arrived too late. The only evidence of the brawl was a 46-year-old Tampa man badly hurt on the corner.

Officers began administering first aid to Eddie James Ivy, of 811 E Frierson Ave., and transported him to Tampa General Hospital. He died there from blunt-force trauma to his upper body, police said.

The fight happened about 8 p.m. Police haven't caught the other people involved, two or three white males who drove away in a small silver two-door vehicle.

Anyone with information should call the Tampa Police Department at (813) 231-6130.

Kim Wilmath, TImes Staff Writer

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20-year-old bicyclist dies in crash with car

ST. PETERSBURG -- A 20-year-old bicyclist died Wednesday night after he was struck on Gandy Boulevard, according to Florida Highway Patrol records.

Troopers said Michael Franklin Bentley of St. Petersburg was riding his bike east in the right-turn lane on Gandy Boulevard just west of Brighton Bay Boulevard around 9:40 p.m. Lily Elizabeth Lusty, 40, of South Pasadena was driving a 2004 Jeep Liberty in the same lane and didn't notice him, troopers said. Her Jeep struck the bike from behind, throwing Bentley onto the hood and then onto the pavement.

Bentley was taken with critical injuries to Bayfront Medical Center, where he later died. Troopers said he was not wearing a helmet. No charges have been filed.

Kim Wilmath, Times staff writer

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Summertime weather to linger a few days

If you're wondering where all the cool weather went, wait it out a couple days. Hot and humid weather is expected to continue through the weekend, with a cold front moving in late Saturday, said Bay News 9 meteorologist Juli Marquez.

But for now, it's hot, hot, hot. Wednesday's weather tied a record high in Tampa for that date with 88 degrees. The average high today is 79 degrees, Marquez said.

Factor in some humidity, and "it feels like summertime for some of us," she said.

Cooler temperatures will likely show up later in the day Saturday and last through Wednesday.

Kim Wilmath, Times staff writer

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Dad's truck backs over 2-year-old

TAMPA -- A 2-year-old girl was hospitalized Wednesday after her dad's truck backed over her, according to Florida Highway Patrol.

About 2:30 p.m., troopers said, Bee Vue, 35, of Wauchula, was pulling into his driveway on Old Bradington Road in a 1993 Chevrolet pickup with his daughter, Ariya Vue, riding in the truck's bed. The truck stopped, and the girl fell to the ground. Vue then backed up, and the left rear tire ran over Ariya, troopers said.

Ariya was taken to Tampa General Hospital in serious condition. Her condition was updated to fair Thursday morning.

Vue's Florida driving record includes a 2006 offense in Polk County when he failed to obey a traffic signal, according to records from the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Vue was penalized with four points on his license.

Kim Wilmath, Times Staff Writer

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