Man tried to shoot victim in chest, police say

ST. PETERSBURG -- A 19-year-old man was arrested on an attempted homicide charge Monday. Police say he pointed an assault rifle at another man's chest and pulled the trigger in October.

Joshua D. Malone, 19, was booked into the Pinellas County Jail on multiple charges.

Police say Malone tried to kill Jukerius Bowens, 23, after he confronted Malone about owing money for damaging a rental car near Sixth Avenue and 40th Street S.

Malone pointed an assault rifle at Bowens' chest and pulled the trigger, but the gun didn't fire, police say. He loaded a bullet in the chamber while Bowens ran away, according to an arrest affidavit. Malone fired three times, hitting the victim in the foot, police say.

Police encountered Malone in a stolen rental car Monday after they were called to the scene of drug activity in the 4500 block of 18th Avenue S. Malone was bleeding from the head, so police took him to Bayfront Medical Center and arrested him after he was released.

Malone, of 1235 Farragut Drive in St. Petersburg, faces charges of aggravated battery, aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer, resisting arrest without violence, grand theft, possession of marijuana and attempted homicide.

Stephanie Garry, Times Staff Writer

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Folk artist dies at 65

Taft Richardson Jr., a Tampa folk artist, teacher and community leader famous for his elaborate, biblically inspired bone sculptures, died Sunday after a battle with prostate cancer, his family said. He was 65.

"He felt strongly about children and making the community better, teaching wisdom and letting children have something to do to broaden their life experience," said former daughter-in-law Jacquelyn Green.

Mr. Richardson, a longtime vegetarian, first realized his artistic calling as a young man, when he envisioned a giraffe in a plate of rib bones. He spent the rest of his life collecting animal bones, which he melded with a mix of crushed bone and glue. He devoted his life to teaching children to paint, sculpt and grow plants. Neighborhood kids painted colorful designs on the walls of his home, which many referred to as the Garden of Eden.

"If the child can walk, he can dance,'' Mr. Richardson told the St. Petersburg Times in 2006. "If he can color with a crayon, he can paint. ... It's a struggle, man, from the womb to the tomb. We have to take care of our children.''

Read a 2006 profile of Mr. Richardson by Jeff Klinkenberg here.

Stephanie Hayes, Times Staff Writer. Photo by Times photographer Joseph Garnett Jr.

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Deputy disciplined for pocketing found cash

Chad Earl, a deputy at the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office, found $360 in the parking lot of his apartment complex one day while he was off duty.

That day -- Sept. 13 -- was shaping up to be a pretty good one, but it ended up getting him in a bit of trouble.

As many people would do, Earl took the money to the bank and deposited it in his personal account, according to an internal affairs report from the Sheriff's Office.

Unfortunately for Earl, the cash turned out to be counterfeit -- a detail that did not escape the bank.

And the Sheriff's Office requires that found money be placed into the care of the property and evidence section.

When authorities at the agency found out what Earl had done, they opened an internal affairs investigation, which ultimately ended with a written reprimand.

Earl, 29, has worked for the Sheriff's Office since 2003. He is in the patrol division. He declined to comment Tuesday afternoon.

Jonathan Abel, Times Staff Writer

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tbt* photographer suing Rihanna, Chris Brown

ST. PETERSBURG -- A tbt* photographer will seek $1-million in a lawsuit against R&B stars Rihanna and Chris Brown, alleging their bodyguards beat him and stole his camera in May.

Luis Santana, 26, is seeking the money to replace a $3,000 camera that was broken and stolen; to pay for the photos he lost; and to compensate him for his injuries and emotional distress, said his attorney, Paul Kimsey.

The lawsuit, being filed today, is based on a May 6 incident as Brown and Rihanna celebrated his 19th birthday at Vintage Ultra Lounge in St. Petersburg. The club and three alleged attackers also are named as defendants in the suit.

Santana took at least one picture of the stars through an open window of their limo, Kimsey said. Then bodyguards working for Brown, Rihanna and Vintage Ultra Lounge chased Santana, forced him to the ground and stole his camera, breaking it in the process, according to Kimsey.

"This is America. It’s called the First Amendment. If you’re in public, you’re subject to being photographed," Kimsey said. "Everyone is, celebrity or not."

Kimsey says the most significant loss was the picture that Santana took of Brown and Rihanna as they left the club, Kimsey said. The two have not publicly confirmed they are dating, and the photograph would have been valuable because it showed Brown and Rihanna together on Brown's birthday. Kimsey said the picture was evidence of their relationship because it showed Brown in the Tampa Bay area solely to be with Rihanna, who performed as an opening act for Kanye West the previous night.

Santana is a 32-hour employee of tbt*, a tabloid published five days a week by Times Publishing Co.

"I just don’t want them to get away with it," Santana said. "That’s not right. I wasn’t doing anything wrong."

The state attorney’s office is not prosecuting because witnesses provided too much conflicting information to identify the suspects beyond a reasonable doubt, said Bruce Bartlett, chief assistant state attorney. Criminal cases must meet a higher standard of proof than civil cases to hold someone responsible.

St. Petersburg police referred a charge of strong-arm robbery to the state attorney's office, but when prosecutors brought witnesses in to interview them in more detail, they gave contradictory information. None of the witnesses knew the suspects by name and identified them by articles of clothing, Bartlett said. The chaotic scene, just after bar closing time in downtown St. Petersburg, probably contributed to the confusion, Bartlett said.

Police also presented Santana with photos of possible suspects, but he was unable to make a clear identification, Bartlett said. Instead, he pointed out the defendant and said the picture "looks like him," Bartlett said.

“We’re not saying it didn’t happen,” Bartlett said. “We’re saying we can’t really show it because everybody’s giving us different stories.”

The St. Petersburg Times did not join the suit as a co-plaintiff because the injuries suffered were to Santana, said Times attorney Alison M. Steele.

"He has a right as a citizen to seek redress for being beaten up," she said. "We stand behind him."

Stephanie Garry, Times Staff Writer

• Audio: Hear 911 call

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Two injured in Clearwater mobile home fire

A Pinellas County sheriff's deputy and fire officials stand outside a Clearwater mobile home that was destroyed by fire this morning. [Photo \ Luis Perez]

A man and a woman were seriously injured and left homeless this morning after a raging fire destroyed their mobile home in Clearwater.

The fire at 2291 Gulf to Bay Boulevard, inside the New Ranch Mobile Home Park near Belcher Road, gutted the structure, fire officials said. It began at 4:20 a.m.

The victims, 41-year-old Reba Godbey and 43-year-old Michael Oboikovitz, were taken to Tampa General Hospital with minor burns and smoke inhalation.

Both victims were outside the home when firefighters arrived. It took eight units and 27 firefighters from the Clearwater Fire Department half an hour to fight the blaze.

The fire is under investigation.

Oboikovitz was in critical condition and Godbey was in serious condition. Both of them were being kept in the burn unit at Tampa General Hospital.

Property manager Doris Marsh said she was told by authorities that the fire began in the bedroom.

She said Oboikovitz had lived there since July 2006. In the past year he had turned his life around and put a lot of effort into sprucing up the mobile home. Marsh said he was one of her "star" tenants.

Neighbor Ronnie Davidson said he was visiting with the Oboikovitz and Godbey late last night. They got together to celebrate the holiday season. Davidson and Oboikovitz were drinking beer. Godbey was drinking wine, Davidson said.

"This is a couple that was coming up," Davidson said as he looked over the fire.

The 52-inch television was among the wreckage strewn on the lot. The Christmas lights that Godbey hung over the living room were destroyed, too.

"This is devastating," Davidson said.

Luis Perez and Jonathan Abel, Times Staff Writers

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Deputies search for missing man in Brandon

BRANDON -- Deputies are searching for a missing man who is considered vulnerable because of medications he is taking.

Gustavo Martinez, 56, went missing from 1334 Foxboro Drive in Brandon, which is just south of Lumsden Road and east of Providence Road. He is a black man, about 5 feet 7 and very thin. He was last seen wearing a red shirt and blue jeans and carrying a multicolored blanket.

Deputies put out a reverse 911 call to alert residents about the missing man, a Hillsborough County sheriff's dispatcher said.

Jessica Vander Velde, Times Staff Writer

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Pinellas deputy suspended one day over traffic stop

Pinellas sheriff's Sgt. John Daniels has been suspended for one day after pulling over two Pasco deputies in September and letting them go even though he knew they had been drinking.

Daniels, who has almost 30 years on the force, served the suspension Saturday.

In the Sept. 21 stop, Daniels spotted a Dodge Charger driving 98 mph and weaving around other cars in a no-passing zone on Keystone Road in Tarpon Springs. By the time he caught up, the Charger was stopped at an intersection and the passenger was standing outside the door urinating.

Jose Berrios was in the driver's seat with glassy eyes and breath smelling of alcohol, Daniels wrote in his report. Berrios identified himself and his passenger, Kurt Hentschel, as Pasco deputies. Berrios told him they'd been out drinking.

Daniels asked Berrios whether he would like to take a breath test; the Pasco deputy declined, Daniels' report said. Daniels went no further with the investigation -- no Breathalzyer, no field sobriety tests -- and let the deputies call for a ride home.

Berrios was initially placed on desk duty, then fired in October. A Pasco spokesman said Berrios' actions that night caused Sheriff Bob White to lose confidence in the deputy's ability to do his job.

Hentschel, who returned to regular duty, is still under an internal affairs investigation.

In a Pinellas Sheriff's Office memo, Daniels was found to have violated the sheriff's general order regarding performance of duty.

Molly Moorhead, Times Staff Writer

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Deputies search for missing man in Brandon

BRANDON -- Deputies are searching for a missing man who is considered vulnerable because of medications he is taking.

Gustavo Martinez, 56, went missing from 1334 Foxboro Drive in Brandon, which is just south of Lumsden Road and east of Providence Road. He is a black man, about 5 feet 7 and very thin. He was last seen wearing a red shirt and blue jeans and carrying a multicolored blanket.

Deputies put out a reverse 911 call to alert residents about the missing man, a Hillsborough County sheriff's dispatcher said.

Jessica Vander Velde, Times Staff Writer

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Pinellas settles with jail wing builder

The Pinellas County Commission voted unanimously today to pay Skanska USA Building nearly $2-million to settle a dispute over construction costs for a jail medical wing.

The payment brought the total cost of the project to just over $36-million.

The wing, which opened in 2007, was a year and a half behind schedule. County officials have admitted to handling the project poorly and approving payments before final designs were complete. Also, the project was begun without first having developed a firm overall cost estimate.

Skanska had sought over $7-million. Though the county points to some performance issues with Skanska that contributed to the fiasco, a decision was made that settlement was preferable to potentially costly litigation.

A workshop will be held on the county's procedures for handling big construction projects.

"I want to be real clear on the process changes that we have implemented so that we're sure this never happens again," said County Commissioner Ken Welch.

Will Van Sant, Times Staff Writer

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TAMPA: Water main break closes 50th Street

Northbound 50th Street at State Road 60 is closed because of a broken water main. Traffic is being rerouted to 40th Street. It's unclear how long the street, which is also U.S. 41, will remain closed.

Please return here for updates.

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Police: Robber shot deli owner over size of loot

ST. PETERSBURG -- Narendra Patel did everything the gunmen who robbed his store Monday night asked. But police believe they know what motivated one of them to shoot the store owner anyway:

The gunman was angry that the victim didn't have enough money.

Patel was reported in stable condition after being shot three times -- in the chest, left hand and right foot -- during the 10:30 p.m. armed robbery of Star Deli, 2451 Fifth Ave. N.

An eyewitness to Monday night's robbery gave this account to the St. Petersburg Times. His name is being withheld at the request of the St. Petersburg police because the gunmen are still being sought.

Two masked, armed men burst into the store about 10:30 p.m., the witness said. Police said one pointed a gun at Patel while the other stood as a lookout by the door.

"Get behind the register," the gunman told the owner. "Give me the money from the register."

Patel cooperated, police say, but apparently what he handed over wasn't enough.

"Is this all the (expletive) money?" the robber asked. "I'm not playing with you."

Police say the gunman fired a warning shot at the owner, then shot him in the foot, then shot him twice more as he fled the store. The witness confirmed hearing four gunshots.

"I'm shot," Patel yelled. "I'm shot."

The witness called 911. Patel called his wife. By the time Varsha Patel got to the store, paramedics were loading her husband into the ambulance.

"He's fine," she said this morning, minutes before she went to visit him in the hospital. "He's strong, which is why he is fine."

Her husband of 29 years wasn't even supposed to be working Monday night, she said. He was covering for a relative whose flight had been delayed. She said the store has been robbed five or six times in the past 10 years. Police confirmed this is the third robbery at the store in the past two years.

Patrons of the Star Deli today stopped by today to check on the family and the injured owner.

"We'll be praying for Mr. P," customer Ted Foust told the family this morning.

Police expect to release a video of the robbery sometime today. Check back here for updates. Anyone with information about this crime is asked to contact St. Petersburg police at (727) 893-7780.

Jamal Thalji, Times Staff Writer

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Bucs to help build homes for five bay area families

TAMPA -- Jaquaze Sorrells is preparing himself for an inevitable surge in popularity. Becoming quick friends with three Bucs players will do that to an 8-year-old.

He has armed himself with an autographed T-shirt in case he encounters any skeptics. He gives a straight-faced nod when asked whether his friends will be jealous. And he and his brother are already planning a way to show their appreciation: decor of a certain team in their soon-to-be new room.

The room, in a brand new house, will be built with the help of several Bucs players as part of Habitat for Humanity's Super Bowl charity event, SuperBuild. Three houses in Hillsborough County, two in Pinellas and one more in the town of the winning bowl team will be built in the week leading up to Feb 1.

Organizers are asking for $59 donations -- the cost of one square foot of a home -- in exchange for a chance to win two tickets to the big game.

At a press conference Tuesday morning, Jaquaze's family, Bucs player Warrick Dunn, former Bucs linebacker Shelton Quarles and ex-Bucs quarterback Doug Williams symbolically raised the first wall of the project.

"You get a chance to give back to society. That's important," Williams said. "It makes me feel good."

Kim Wilmath, Times Staff Writer

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Pasco commissioners approve smaller garbage rate increase

Pasco residents didn’t get a freeze in garbage rates for next year, but they won’t have to pay the full 16.5 percent that was set to take effect.

County commissioners today approved a compromise that raises fees 6.4 percent in 2009. Maximum residential rates will go from $11.69 a month to $12.44. Commercial fees, which vary based on volume, also will rise by the same percentage.

In voting to raise rates, commissioners rejected a staff recommendation to hold the line next year due to an economy battered by foreclosures. Haulers told commissioners the formula approved in 2007 actually measured expenses in after the fact and said they had been hit hard by diesel prices that peaked near $5 a gallon.

Lisa Buie, Times Staff Writer

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Ex-letter carrier gets probation for stealing gift cards on postal route

TAMPA -- A former U.S. Postal Service letter carrier was sentenced today to a year's probation for stealing gift cards from residents' mail along his St. Petersburg route.

Elminio Dion Thomas, 42, was also fined $500, the approximate value of the gift cards that Thomas pleaded guilty to stealing. Prosecutors said he had already paid restitution.

"I would just like to apologize for my mislapse," Thomas told U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas B. McCoun III, who sentenced him for the misdemeanor offense of opening mail without authority.

"This is a pretty stupid error on your part to think that one, you could do this, and two, you could get away with it," McCoun told Thomas.

According to court records, Thomas opened about 10 pieces of mail on his route between September 2007 and January. A 13-year veteran with the U.S. Postal Service, he was assigned as a letter carrier to the post office on Fourth Street N in St. Petersburg.

Thomas used the gift cards on purchases at Wal-Mart, Target and Sam's Club stores in Tampa and Brandon. Court records show that during a trip to Sam's Club to use one of the stolen cards, Thomas was captured on surveillance video showing his identification card. He was also wearing his postal service uniform in the video, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

"It's beyond me why people would jeopardize a good career for such minor gain," the judge said.

Kevin Graham, Times Staff Writer

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Judge orders Gotti trial moved to New York

TAMPA -- A federal judge today granted a defense motion to move the racketeering and murder trial for John Gotti Jr. from Tampa to New York.

Defense attorney Charles Carnesi had argued that Gotti stood a better chance of receiving a fair trial if the case was moved to New York, where the crimes charged in a federal indictment against Gotti took place.

Prosecutors argued against the venue change, saying that Gotti actively tried to expand the reach of the Gambino crime family into the Tampa Bay region through valet parking and other businesses.

Kevin Graham, Times Staff Writer

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Hillsborough deputy to be honored by Crist for heroism

Hillsborough sheriff’s Deputy Malachi McCoy hugs his father on Sept. 9, 2008, after receiving the Medal of Honor from Hillsborough County Sheriff David Gee. McCoy shot and killed a man who had gone on a shooting rampage on June 7 and already killed three people. [JOHN PENDYGRAFT | Times]

TAMPA -- Malachi McCoy, the Hillsborough sheriff's deputy whose sniper shot ended a man's deadly rampage in June, will be honored tomorrow by Gov. Charlie Crist.

McCoy, 29, will receive the Medal of Heroism from Crist during an 11 a.m. ceremony at the state Capitol in Tallahassee. Governor's spokesman Sterling Ivy said it will be the first such medal Crist has bestowed since taking office. Former Gov. Jeb Bush presented 13 during his time in office.

Former major league ballplayer Derek Bell arrested on drug-related charges

TAMPA -- Former Major League Baseball player Derek Bell was booked into a Hillsborough jail early this morning on several drug-related charges.

Bell, 39, lives in Valrico and is listed as unemployed in jail records. He faces three misdemeanor counts of possessing drug paraphernalia and one count of failing to appear on another charge of possession of drug paraphernalia that he picked up this summer.

Last year, he pleaded no contest after being arrested on similar charges. A judge withheld adjudication.

Bell, a King High graduate, had an 11-year major league career with the Blue Jays, Padres, Astros, Mets and Pirates.

Colleen Jenkins, Times Staff Writer

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Father of wounded CVS clerk appeals for help

[A photo of the Nov. 29 robbery suspect. Hillsborough County sheriff's photo]

Editors note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified Gene McGinnis, the victim's father.

TAMPA --  One bullet went into his leg. The second went through Sam McGinnis' liver, small intestines, large intestines and colon. Inside his body, McGinnis was bleeding badly after he was shot by a masked robber inside a Carrollwood CVS on Saturday morning.

Just as he was going into surgery at St. Joseph's Hospital, the 26-year-old man told his mother to call his second employer to let them know he wouldn't be able to get to work.

"This is the kind of man that only thinks of others always," Gene McGinnis, his father, said in a statement released by the hospital Tuesday. The hospital said Sam McGinnis is now in stable condition.

McGinnis and her family are pleading for anyone to come forward with information about the violent armed robbery, which left McGinnis, a store manager at the CVS, in critical condition.

"This is going to happen to another family like mine unless this man is caught," Gene McGinnis said. "Please don't let this happen again and you be in my shoes."

Hillsborough sheriff's deputies are investigating whether the CVS robbery was related to two other recent violent robberies.

Man in jail, accused in attack with cell phone

A 19-year-old Tampa man is in jail this morning after attacking someone with a cell phone and a pipe, according to a Hillsborough County sheriff's report.

Justin Ryan O'Quinn, of 8318 Jackson Springs Road, was arrested on Gardner Road in Westchcase about 12:50 a.m., the report said.

O'Quinn, who according to the report works at a Tampa pizzeria, was charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and obstructing an officer.

He was being held in the Orient Road Jail in lieu of $10,000 bail.

Luis Perez, Times Staff Writer

[Photo: Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office]

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Red light cameras far from perfect

More than 7,000 drivers were cited for running red lights in Temple Terrace since the city installed new cameras in mid October, but a third of the tickets were tossed by the city, tampabays10.com reports.

Tammy Jackson has gotten three citations for running a red light at Bullard Parkway and 56th Street and is irate because she says she stopped at the light before making a turn. Her ticket shows her brake lights on before she went through the intersection, but a video shows she didn't come to a complete stop.

The new cameras are just a way for the city to generate revenue, Jackson contends.The city gets 60 percent of the money from citations, while the company that owns the cameras gets the rest. The city says it's about safety, not money.

Since the cameras were installed on Oct. 16, the city has sent out 4,787 citations at $100 each. At the current rate, the city would make $2.4-million dollars in the first year of operation.

The Hillsborough County Commission voted in March to begin installing the cameras on county roads. Port Richey installed its first red light cameras in March. Brooksville voted in April to install them.

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83-year-old woman hit by car dies

An 83-year-old Largo woman who was critically injured while crossing Oakhurst Road last month died in a hospital bed yesterday, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

Kathryn Melnick died at 5:39 p.m. at Bayfront Medical Center, where she was taken after the Nov. 24 crash, the FHP said.

Melnick was crossing the road in the area of 105th Avenue when she walked into the path of a car driven by Karl Merl, 53, troopers reported. Melnick was hit and thrown into the road.

A report said the investigation continues.

Luis Perez, Times Staff Writer

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Brace yourself for colder weather

A northern cold front blowing through the East Coast will bring chillier weather for the next few days, including possible freezes in Citrus and Hernando counties, meteorologists say.

The high in Pinellas today will remain about 60 degrees, and the sun will continue to shine. But it may feel colder, said Bay News 9 meteorologist Josh Linker, as a steady winds blow from the northwest at 20 mph.

"It will feel kind of crummy all day," said Linker. "It will be sunny this afternoon, but not enough to warm us up."

The upside: The rain appears to be over. Rainfall that trickled through the night accumulated about a quarter inch, Linker said.

The colder weather is normal for this time of year. As usual, the further one gets from the gulf the colder it gets. And it will get colder overnight, with temperatures ranging from about 55 degrees along the beaches to 40 degrees in northern Pinellas and further inland.

The National Weather service issued overnight freeze warnings for Citrus and Hernando counties. The advisories are from 1 to 8 a.m. Wednesday.

Luis Perez, Times Staff Writer

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