Man, son not hurt in car fire

ST. PETERSBURG -- A car caught fire at 18th Avenue S and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street about 4 p.m. today, but the owner and his 4-year-old son escaped unharmed.

Kenneth Powell, of St. Petersburg, said the car caught fire while he was driving, said St. Petersburg Fire and Rescue spokesman Lt. Joel Granata. Crews found a car with an engine compartment fire when they arrived.

The intersection was blocked for about half an hour.

Stephanie Garry, Times Staff Writer

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[Photo: St Petersburg Fire and  Rescue]

Pair sought in afternoon bank robbery

TAMPA -- Deputies say a man and woman were in cahoots in the robbery of an American Momentum Bank on Wednesday afternoon.

According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, a woman (pictured at right) entered the bank at 15150 N Florida Ave. shortly after 10 a.m. and left. Forty-five minutes later, a masked man went into the bank with his hand under his shirt to imply he had a gun and demanded money.

Witnesses told deputies the man got away in a four-door silver Nissan Frontier pickup, similar to the one pictured, model year 2004 to 2007, with chrome tie bars on the truck bed. Authorities said the woman was driving.

If you have any information about the crime, call the Sheriff’s Office at (813) 247-8200 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-873-8477.

Robbyn Mitchell, Times Staff Writer

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Police: Man tried to rape prostitute at gunpoint

ST. PETERSBURG -- A man refused to pay a prostitute and pointed a gun at her in an attempt to rape her, police say. He then drove his truck toward her, according to jail records.

Scott Allen Curran, 43, was arrested on charges of sexual battery with a deadly weapon, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and grand theft of a firearm.

Police say Curran arranged to pay for sex with the victim at 2929 Central Ave. about 10 p.m. Tuesday, then refused to pay and pointed a gun at her inside his Chevrolet Silverado. When she escaped, he drove after her with the truck, police said.

When police arrived, they found Curran sitting on the ground with his pants unbuttoned. Police found a .32-caliber pistol and a .38-caliber pistol in his truck. One was found to have been stolen.

Curran was booked into the Pinellas County Jail early this morning; bail was set at $70,000. Records show his criminal history in Florida is limited to a 1983 charge of carrying a concealed weapon.

Stephanie Garry, Times Staff Writer

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City law protects chickens, mayor says

TAMPA -- Ybor City's roosters are free to roam the streets, says Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio.

She announced at an Ybor City Chamber of Commerce luncheon this week that an ordinance passed by the City Council in 1989 designated Tampa as a sanctuary for all birds, including "wildfowl." So trapping the birds is illegal, say city officials.

That information is good news to Tommy Stephens, who has been leading protests against neighbors who complain that the chickens are a nuisance.

"This solves my problem, and I'm very happy," Stephens said. He said he has contacted the police to let them know they can cite people caught disturbing the animals.

Janet Zink, Times Staff Writer

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Driver dies after losing control on I-275 off-ramp

ST. PETERSBURG -- A 28-year-old St. Petersburg man died early this morning after being thrown from an out-of-control vehicle that rolled off an Interstate 275 exit, according to Florida Highway Patrol records.

Leif Nissen had just left the Howard Frankland Bridge and was getting off southbound I-275 at the Fourth Street N exit about 3:09 a.m. when the accident took place, according to an FHP accident report.

He was driving a 2003 BMW M3 that crossed onto the grass of the south shoulder, the report said. The right front tire blew out, and the driver lost control.

The vehicle crossed back onto the ramp and then drove off the north shoulder, spun out of control, struck a guardrail, went down an embankment, crashed into bushes and trees, then overturned and struck a palm tree.

The driver was thrown from the vehicle, the report said, and died of his injuries at the scene. He was not wearing his seat belt, according to the FHP report. The investigation is continuing.

Jamal Thalji, Times Staff Writer

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Boyfriend gets 40 years for screwdriver murder

TAMPA -- A man with a history of domestic violence pleaded guilty Wednesday to second-degree murder with a weapon and received a 40-year prison sentence for stabbing his pregnant girlfriend to death with a screwdriver.

To Van Phan (pictured), 39, did not make any statement in court.

But in February 2006, he told a friend that he killed Sonya Simone after she threatened to kick him out of her apartment. He said he was trying to get her to stop using drugs.

He told Tampa police that the couple fought after Simone threatened to get an abortion, prosecutor Mark Lewis said Wednesday. She was in her first trimester.

Phan stabbed Simone in the neck, then drove her body to the friend's house. He admitted on a 911 call to killing her, Lewis said.

After the killing, Phan was found incompetent to stand trial but has since been found competent.

Two of Simone's three children attended the hearing with their aunt and grandmother.

"It devastated my family," Simone's sister, Shirley Schmotzer, told Hillsborough Circuit Judge Robert Foster. "We'll never be the same."

In 1993, Phan was convicted of one count of aggravated assault, one count of aggravated battery and one count of simple battery for the torture of his then-wife, Thu Ahn Lee. He burned her genitals with a cigarette lighter. He served prison time.

Colleen Jenkins, Times staff writer

[Photo: Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office]

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It's cold out there, but not freezing

Teresa Jones of St. Petersburg warms her hands while waiting for her bus at the PSTA Depot on Central Avenue in St. Petersburg about 7:30 a.m. today. She was on her way to work at her telemarketing job at a debt settlement company "where no one wants to talk to her." She loves the cold weather, she says -- it's better for her asthma. [CHERIE DIEZ | Times]

View more cold weather photos

Temperatures around the bay area haven't dipped below freezing yet, but that's no reason to leave your jacket at home.

It's 41 degrees in Tampa this morning, 46 in St. Petersburg, 37 in Crystal River, 33 in Floral City, 38 in New Port Richey and 40 in Lutz, according to residents in those areas.

Carl Grooms, of Fancy Farms in Plant City, said his strawberries didn't suffer any damage. He monitored his fields from 3 a.m. to sunrise, but he didn't have to run the overhead irrigation.

“The wind blew all night, so there was no frost," he said.

Today will likely only reach a high of 60 degrees in the bay area, according to Bay News 9.

Body of missing Tampa woman found in Lakeland

LAKELAND -- The body of Jennifer Johnson, left, the Tampa woman missing since Saturday, was found in an abandoned Lakeland home last night, according to the Tampa Police Department.

Neighbors of the abandoned home found the body at 1810 Elliott St. about 5:30 p.m. Tuesday. They went into the foreclosed house because they were thinking of renting or buying it, according to Jack Gillen, Lakeland police spokesman. Tampa police joined the investigation soon thereafter. The death was ruled "suspicious."

Her family members said police told them she was found partly clothed. Gillen said he could not confirm that detail, as it is part of the investigation.

Johnson's ex-boyfriend, Vincent Brown, remains a "person of interest" in Johnson's disappearance, said Tampa police spokeswoman Andrea Davis. Brown is in the Hillsborough County Jail without bail on probation violation charges. He turned himself in Sunday night and has not been cooperative, police said.

The couple had a history of domestic violence incidents.

Johnson's car was found in the parking lot of Oak Park in east Tampa on Monday morning. Her purse and wallet were inside.

On Tuesday, even before Johnson's body was found, an assistant state attorney said Brown was a "suspect in a murder case" during his first appearance in court. A spokeswoman later said the prosecutor misspoke, and Brown was a "suspect in the disappearance of a missing woman." Police have not publicly upgraded Brown's status to suspect.

The 31-year-old woman was last seen arguing with Brown at the Apollo Club on 40th Street late Friday night. Police said the couple then went to Brown's parents' house about 3 a.m.

Johnson didn't show up to the birthday party she planned for her 2-year-old daughter, Janice, on Saturday, leading family members to call police. The investigation continues. Check back with www.tampabay.com for updates.

Kim Wilmath, Times Staff Writer

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Old John's Pass bridge to be imploded Thursday

[Preparation is under way for an underwater demolition of what remains of the old St. John's Pass Bridge between Madeira Beach and Treasure Island. Martha Rial | Times]

TREASURE ISLAND -- Thursday morning, engineers will implode pilings that are nearly all that remain of the northbound span on the old John's Pass Bridge.

The underwater blasts will take place at 8 a.m.

Gulf Boulevard from 126th Avenue to 130th Avenue will be closed at 7:50 to cars and pedestrians. It will stay closed for about 10 minutes after the demolition to make sure all the charges detonated.

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