Photos of plane crash that killed Brandon pastor, son released

The National Transportation Safety Board released photographs today from the investigation into an airplane crash that took the lives of Bell Shoals Baptist Church pastor Forrest Pollock and his son, Preston, 13, in North Carolina on May 12.

The wreckage of the single-engine Piper plane was located at the 4,700-foot level of Cold Mountain, near Cruso, N.C., on a steep slope in heavily wooded terrain.

The aircraft departed from Rutherfordton, N.C., and was en route to Little Rock, Ark., when the accident occurred at about 5:34 a.m. No flight plan was filed for the flight.

Because the remote accident site is inaccessible to news media, the NTSB has released the photographs today.

[Images courtesy of The National Transportation Safety Board]

Commissioner accused of sexual harassment

TAMPA -- A former aide to Hillsborough Commissioner Kevin White sued the county in state court Friday, saying she was fired for refusing his sexual advances.

Alyssa Ogden, who worked for White for seven months before she was fired in November 2007, has made similar claims to the St. Petersburg Times. She has also filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which is unresolved.

Ogden, 23, claims White repeatedly made sexual advances toward her, begging him to "give me a chance," and promising future career advancement if she did. Days after she was hired, she claims White asked her to accompany him on a trip to Atlanta, where, the suit claims, he attempted to sleep in her bed.

Her suit claims she was ultimately fired for refusing White's advances.

The lawsuit does not name White as a defendant, but is filed against Hillsborough County. Attempts to reach White, Ogden and her attorney was not successful Friday.

"We're reviewing the lawsuit and will prepare a defense," said Hillsborough County Attorney Renee Lee. "That's the extent of our comments at this point."

Bill Varian, Times Staff Writer

Autopsy shows bite mark on triple homicide victim

TAMPA -- Prosecutors will get dental impressions, measurements and photos from Edward Allen Covington after an autopsy showed that one of the children he is accused of killing had a bite mark on her arm.

The mutilated bodies of Lisa Freiberg and her two children were found in their Lutz mobile home Monday. Deputies found Covington, 35, in a closet and say he confessed Wednesday to the triple homicide, believed to have occurred on Mother's Day.

During the autopsy of 2-year-old victim Heather Savannah, a forensic pathologist identified a bite mark on the child's arm, court records show. The bite mark appears to have been inflicted "very close" in time to the child's fatal injuries. A forensic odontologist said it looks like an adult bite mark.

Prosecutors sought permission Friday to get dental impressions from Covington to determine if the bite mark came from him. Hillsborough Circuit Judge Walter Heinrich granted the motion. He said members from the Public Defender's Office, which is representing Covington, must be present when the samples are taken.

Covington, a former corrections officer, remains in jail without bail.

-- Colleen Jenkins, Times staff writer

Services for Lutz homicide victims set

LUTZ -- The funeral for the victims of a triple homicide will be held at 3 p.m. Sunday at the Gateway Christian Center Assembly of God, 14200 Central Avenue North, Tampa.

On Mother's Day, Edward Allen Covington choked, beat, stabbed and dismembered his girlfriend and her two children inside the woman's mobile home, Hillsborough sheriff's deputies say. He also killed the family dog, they say.

Keith and Barbara Freiberg discovered their daughter, Lisa, and their two grandchildren, Zachary and Savannah, the next morning. Lisa was 26 years old; Zachary, 7; and Savannah, 2.

To read Keith and Barbara Freiberg's hour-long interview with the St. Petersburg Times, click here.

Rodney Thrash, Times staff writer

Man in sword slaying gets 40 years

TAMPA -- Willie Tarpley Jr., convicted of second-degree murder for slaying another man with a samurai sword, was sentenced this morning to 40 years in prison, followed by 10 years' probation.

Tarpley, who faced up to life in prison, killed Lee Alexander, his estranged wife's new boyfriend, last May.

He became enraged when he learned his wife began dating Alexander, a ranch hand and registered sex offender whom he didn't want around his daughters. Tarpley and his wife also were registered sex offenders.

Colleen Jenkins, Times staff writer

[Florida Department Law Enforcement]

Police: Women embezzled $6K from employer

TAMPA -- Three Tampa women were arrested Thursday and charged with embezzling more than $6,800 from their employer, police say.

According to a report, Melania Wright, Kimberly Reid and Julia Soto worked at Pearl Crafts, 3916 W Hillsborough Ave. They wouldn't give customers receipts. Then they would void the transactions, remove the cash and pocket the money, the report says.

Wright allegedly stole $3,260; Soto, $1,900; and Reid, $1,656.

Of the three women, Soto was the only one to deny the accusations. In Wright's confession to police, she implicated Soto and Reid in the scheme.

Rodney Thrash, Times staff writer

Woman wanted 22 years ago found, police say

TAMPA -- A woman on the lam for 22 years was arrested Thursday night thanks to a Tampa police officer's investigative work, authorities say.

An investigation of an April armed robbery of an Advance America led Officers Brett Owen and William Logan to the woman, identified in a police report as 55-year-old Bethney Jean Bolds (left).

On his own time, Owen contacted the Florida Department of Corrections, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and requested Bolds' fingerprints. Reports from the agency revealed that the woman also was wanted in connection with warrants from 1986, when Bolds failed to appear in court on two counts of resisting arrest with violence on Tampa police officers.

-- Rodney Thrash, Times staff writer

[Hillsborough Country Sheriff's Office]

No alcohol license for Redner, for now

TAMPA -- A request by Joe Redner to sell alcohol at a brewery failed to get approval today at the Tampa City Council, but Redner will try again June 5 when more council members are present. Redner is best known as the owner of the Mons Venus strip club.

Redner wants to open Cigar City Brewing at his business headquarters on Spruce Street just west of Dale Mabry Highway. The microbrewery would be run by his son. Redner's plans call for five-course dinners with beer tastings on Friday nights and a gift shop that would sell beer.

Neighborhood groups objected to Redner's proposal, saying they were concerned about increased traffic, among other things. Council members John Dingfelder, Mary Mulhern and Joe Caetano voted in favor of Redner's request, and Gwen Miller and Tom Scott voted no. Charlie Miranda and Linda Saul-Sena were absent.

--Times staff writer

Autopsy complete on Bell Shoals pastor, son

Autopsies were completed Wednesday in North Carolina on the bodies of Bell Shoals Baptist Church Pastor Forrest Pollock and his son, Preston.

Donald Jason, forensic pathologist at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, said both father and son died of multiple injuries sustained in the crash.

Dental records were needed to identify Forrest Pollock.

The bodies are now on en route to Florida, where funeral services will be held Saturday at the church.

Man critically injured after being struck by a car

TAMPA -- A homeless man trying to cross Hillsborough Avenue was seriously injured when he was struck by a car early this morning, police said.

Bennie Clay Henley, 47, had just left the nearby Whattaburger fast food restaurant around 2:45 a.m. and was walking south across Hillsborough Avenue near Lois Street when he reached a concrete median "and for no apparent reason" turned around and moved back into the path of a westbound Chevrolet, according to a police incident report.

Henley was taken to St. Joseph's Hospital, where police and hospital officials say he remains in critical condition.

A police spokeswoman said the driver of the 2003 Chevrolet, Linda Caldwell, will not be charged.

-- Casey Cora, Times staff writer

Bus, vehicle collide in Tampa; no students hurt

The driver of a red KIA Spectra, above, was flown to Tampa General Hospital after his car crossed the centerline of Harney Road just north of Terrace River Drive and crashed head on into a southbound school bus. [Ken Helle | Times]

TAMPA -- Hillsborough Sheriff's officials are on scene of a head-on collision between a car and a school bus at Harney Road and Sligh Avenue.

Officials said no students were aboard the bus and no injuries were reported to the bus driver, Bridgette Stewart, 35, of Seffner.

Denny Hernandez, the driver of the red Kia Spectra, was pinned inside after crossing the center line of Harney Road and smashing into the front of the southbound bus, authorities said.

Emergency officials were called to cut him free. Hernandez, 29, of Tampa, was flown to Tampa General Hospital with life-threatening injuries, authorities said.

Authorities say the intersection and surrounding area may be closed for a short time as rescue efforts continue.

Check our traffic section for updates on conditions in the area.

-- Casey Cora, Ken Helle and Rodney Thrash Times staff writers

Carjacking outside adult video store ends after police chase

TAMPA -- Authorities are still searching for a driver who ran away after a police chase stemming from a carjacking in the parking lot of an adult video store, police said.

Police said two men approached Lana Liotti, 18 and a female employee of the XTC Adult Supercenter, 4829 N Lois Ave. while she walked with Darryl Brown, 18, toward her car in the store's parking lot around midnight.

One of the approaching men pointed a handgun. There was a struggle and Brown was struck several times with the handgun, Tampa Police Lt. Rocky Ratliff said. The men took Brown's wallet and cash, then stole the Liotti's 1999 Volkswagen Beetle.

An officer spotted the Volkswagen heading west on Hillsborough Avenue near Hoover Boulevard a short time later, police said. When the officer approached, it sped away until it reached Bray Road and West Chelsea Street. Ratliff said the officer forced the car off the road with a maneuver that sent the Volkswagen into two wooden poles.

After the collision, the unidentified driver ran away.

The passenger in the Volkswagen, Desmond Turner, 26, was caught trying to exit the passenger side. Turner dropped a loaded gun onto the hood of the police cruiser before being taken into custody, police said.

Casey Cora, Times staff writer

Police: Wave sends ex-boyfriend into violent rage, provokes police standoff

TAMPA -- What began as a simple hello between a passerby and a woman sent a man into a violent rage that ended with a woman beaten, a hostage negotiation and the evacuation of several homes in a police standoff, police said.

It all started about 8:50 p.m. Wednesday when Armario Gilbert, 33, left, was standing outside his ex-girlfriend Patricia Diaz's home at 3417 Republica de Cuba, Tampa police spokesman Lt. Bill Ferguson said in a written statement.

Diaz waved to a man on the sidewalk, a gesture that triggered a violent outburst from Gilbert, police said. He dragged Diaz, 38, back into the home and brutally beat her, breaking bones in her face and sending her to Tampa General Hospital. Gilbert broke his hand punching her in the face, Ferguson said.

Gilbert ran away. Police dogs found him hiding in a pickup truck in his father's driveway, 1507 E 28th Ave., just before 12:40 a.m. He told officers he was armed with a .357 Magnum and wanted to kill himself. At one point, he reached into his waistband in an apparent attempt to provoke police into shooting him, Ferguson said.

Authorities evacuated several surrounding homes on E 28th Avenue as a hostage negotiator cooled Gilbert. The negotiations lasted about 45 minutes before he surrendered.

No weapon was found.

Police said Gilbert, a sex offender already on probation for felony cocaine charges, is charged with false imprisonment, felony battery, burglary, resisting arrest without violence and violation of probation.

Casey Cora, Times staff writer

Suspect charged in Lutz triple murder

TAMPA --Hillsborough Sheriff's officials have arrested Edward Allen Covington in the gruesome murders of a mother and her two children.

Covington, left, the 35-year-old live-in boyfriend of victim Lisa Freiberg, is charged with three counts of first degree murder and three counts of abuse of a dead human body and one count of animal cruelty in connection with Monday's triple murder in Lutz.

Freiberg, 26, and children Heather Savannah, 2, and Zachary, 7, pictured above, were victims of a gruesome slaying that was discovered Monday when Frieberg's worried mother stopped by her daughter's mobile home Monday to check on her.

Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office Chief Jose Docobo said Covington was interviewed today and confessed to the killings. "He’s provided extreme detail as to the manner, the order and the means by which he committed these crimes,'' Docobo said.

In an arrest affidavit, deputies wrote that Covington admitted to "choking, beating, stabbing, dismembering and mutilating the victims, as well as the victim's dog.''

Investigators believe the murders occurred Sunday morning, and Covington stayed in the mobile home the couple and children shared until he was found by deputies on Monday hiding inside.

Asked if it was a premeditated act, Docobo said "it appears it was more spontaneous than any kind of plan.''

The victims were so mutilated it's hard to say what was the cause of death at this point, "given the damage,'' Docobo said. "There were multiple means used to inflict the wounds on the bodies,'' he said.   

An arrest affidavit says Covington told authorities he sold his motorcycle last week in exchange for crack cocaine. On Monday, he tested positive for having cocaine in his system.

Just after 5:30 p.m., Covington was escorted in handcuffs from the Sheriff's Office Criminal Investigations Center on Falkenburg Road where he'd been questioned to a sheriff's cruiser to be taken  to Orient Road Jail.

A 6-foot-2 figure with steely hazel eyes and a close-shaven head, Covington kept his eyes mostly downward and said nothing as reporters asked him questions on the walk. He wore red sock feet, a hospital gown and orange prison pants. After he ducked into the cruiser, only back of his head was visible from the back window as it drove away.

- Rebecca Catalanello, Times staff writer

Services for Brandon pastor set

BRANDON -- Services for Bell Shoals Baptist Church Pastor Forrest Pollock will be held Saturday morning. A gathering of friends begins at 9:30 a.m. at the church, 2102 Bell Shoals Road. A "celebration of life" will be held at 11 a.m. with a fellowship reception afterwards, according to Serenity Meadows Funeral Home in Riverview. Interment will be next week in Oklahoma City, Okla. A date for the interment has not been set.

Pollock, 44, and his 13-year-old son, Preston, were killed Monday when the plane Pollock was piloting crashed in the mountains near Asheville, N.C.

Ernest Hooper, Times staff writer

Police: Ex-boyfriend arrested in overnight stabbing death

TAMPA -- Police this morning continue questioning a man they say stabbed his old flame's new boyfriend to death last night.

Anthony Papp, 34, left, was hiding in the woods near S Manhattan Avenue when he dialed police to turn himself in this morning for the stabbing death of Cristopher Brough, police said.

Investigators said the attack occurred around 1:45 a.m., when Papp made his way inside a residence at Gardens of South Bay apartments, 6720 S. Lois Ave.

Waleska Rivera, 31 and Papp's ex-girlfriend, told police she heard noises outside her bedroom door, according to a police report. When she opened the door to investigate, police said, she was met by Papp. He was clutching a knife.

Papp sliced and pushed Rivera on his way to the bed, where he found Brough just waking up. Authorities said Papp stabbed Brough in the neck then ran away, police said. Brough bled to death and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Reached this afternoon, Rivera said Brough had been staying with her for about two months.

"He was staying with me because my ex-boyfriend was threatening me," Rivera said, fighting tears. "He didn't want to leave me by myself."

Police spokeswoman Andrea Davis said detectives are still working to find out how Papp got inside the couple's apartment.

Brough, 35, was recently divorced from his wife Monica, relatives said. He leaves behind three young daughters, Brough's former father-in-law Glenn Archer said.

Archer described Brough as straight-and-narrow, a former heavy equipment operator with a stint working on Air Force bases.

"I've never known him to be in anything crooked or in trouble with the law," Archer said.

Times Action columnist Nancy Paradis dies at 56

Nancy Paradis, who wrote the St. Petersburg Times Action column, died Tuesday afternoon at Woodside Hospice in Pinellas Park. Ms. Paradis, 56, had been battling a brain tumor for more than two years.

Ms. Paradis was born in Paris, France and lived in Ethiopia, England, Germany, Switzerland and Italy. She once worked as a long-distance truck driver. She joined the Times in 1988 as an editorial assistant in the features department. In 1997, she began answering reader questions about consumer problems in Action.

Visitiation is from 2-4 p.m. and 5-8 p.m. May 23 at Brett Funeral Home, 4810 Central Ave., St. Petersburg. A funeral mass is scheduled for 11 a.m. May 24 at the Most Holy Name of Jesus Christ, 5800 15th Ave. S., Gulfport. Click here to leave your memories in our online guest book, or browse tributes from other readers.

Stephanie Hayes, Times Staff Writer

Fatal accident reported in Temple Terrace

Flame retardant foam surrounds the wreckage of an early-morning accident that left the 24-year-old driver of the Cadillac dead after colliding with a semitrailer truck. [CASEY CORA | Times]

TEMPLE TERRACE -- The intersection of E Fowler Avenue and N 56th Street has reopened after a fatal collision between a semitrailer truck and a Cadillac sedan this early this morning.

The crash took place around 4:20 a.m., when the cab of a semitrailer truck heading west on Fowler smashed into a Cadillac sedan that had been headed north on 56th Street, said Temple Terrace Police spokesman Michael Dunn.

"Preliminary reports suggest the Cadillac ran a red light," Dunn said. No charges have been filed.

The driver of the Cadillac, Kenneth R. Wise, 24, 18001 Richmond Place, was killed. The driver of the semi, Lionel Metellus, 38, of Winter Haven, was taken to University Community Hospital with injuries described by Dunn as non-life threatening.

The impact caused the semi to overturn at the northwest corner of the intersection, spilling about 150 gallons of diesel fuel, and rendered the Cadillac virtually unrecognizable. Temple Terrace fire crews continue to sweep up a flame-retardant foam sprayed onto the spilled fuel while emergency crews clean up chunks of debris from the intersection.

Traffic at the intersection remains stalled as the intersection remains partly closed.  Authorities say motorists should avoid the Fowler exit off of Interstate 275.

Casey Cora, Times staff writer

Robles Park shooting victim in critical condition, police say

TAMPA — A 30-year-old Lutz man was in critical condition Wednesday morning after a Tuesday night shooting in Robles Park, Tampa police say.

At 11:23 p.m., the man called 911 and said he had been shot in the lower back, police spokeswoman Janelle McGregor said. He said his shooter left him at the scene, 424 E Stratford Avenue, and pulled a gold chain from his neck. The man was transported St. Joseph’s Hospital.

Police said they have no suspects.

Rodney Thrash, Times staff writer

Teen accused of rape seen at library by witnesses

TAMPA -- A judge ordered Kendrick Morris, 16, to remain in jail today after he was charged as an adult in connection with two rapes.

Prosecutor Michael Sinacore said the 18-year-old victim of the April 24 rape remains hospitalized in critical condition. According to a search warrant released today, the victim suffered a front cranial fracture, fractured right orbital socket and had indications of sexual battery.

Hillsborough sheriff's deputies have said DNA evidence links Morris to the crimes. The search warrants provide further detail establishing that link and new information about how deputies pinpointed Morris as their suspect.

A key clue: Witnesses saw Morris outside the Valrico public library around the time deputies say the 18-year-old female was sexually battered there.

Family Dollar stabbing suspect arrested

TAMPA -- A Family Dollar employee is recovering from her injuries this morning after a stabbing outside the Tampa store where she was working Tuesday evening, Tampa police say.

About 6:15 p.m., Amy Houck suspected a customer, Sonya Patrice Wyatt, 33, of Safety Harbor of shoplifting and confronted her outside the store at 6006 N Nebraska Ave., a police spokeswoman Janelle McGregor said.

Wyatt cut Houck, 46, twice in the left ear and stabbed her left shoulder blade, McGregor said, and threatened to do the same to another woman who tried to break up the melee. Houck was transported to Tampa General Hospital. Her condition was unknown.

Wyatt was arrested on charges of attempted felony murder, armed robbery, carrying a concealed weapon and aggravated assault, McGregor said. She was being held Wednesday in the Falkenburg Road Jail with no bond.

Rodney Thrash, Times staff writer

Tampa ozone advisory lifted, but watch for smoke

The good news is that Hillsborough County's Environmental Protection Commission has lifted an advisory about elevated levels of ozone. The advisory was issued 3 p.m. Tuesday and expired at midnight.

The bad news is that wildfires have been burning in Brevard, Gilchrist, Glades and Volusia counties. Tom Tamanini, Hillsborough's chief of air monitoring, said there's no evidence of smoke from the wildfires approaching the Tampa Bay area yet, but said he's keeping an eye on the winds to see if that changes. For people who want up-to-date information on air quality in the Tampa Bay area, Tamanini suggests going to www.airnow.gov, and following links to Florida.

Curtis Krueger, Times staff writer

Juvenile charged in connection with ammonia pipeline leak

TAMPA -- Six months after an ammonia pipeline leak forced hundreds from their Riverview homes, state prosecutors have charged a juvenile with crimes related to the incident.

Assistant State Attorney Pam Bondi would not give any details about the nature of the charge or the juvenile involved because of his age. But she confirmed the formal charges Tuesday.

Hillsborough Sheriff's deputies last year said the Nov. 12 incident was caused by a 16-year-old who drilled into the pipe under the Alafia River bridge at U.S. 301 looking for hidden treasure.

The sheriff's office declined to comment Tuesday on the latest developments, referring all questions to the State Attorney's office.

The 16-year-old suffered chemical burns over 18 percent of his body after piercing the pipeline, an above-ground section of pipe owned by Tampa Pipeline Corp.

Click here to see complete coverage of the leak.

- Rebecca Catalanello, Times staff writer

[Times files, Skip O"Rourke]

Water main break delays traffic eastbound on Busch Boulevard

TAMPA -- Traffic on Busch Boulevard eastbound between 12th and 22nd streets is being restricted to one lane while city Water Department crews repair a water main break located in the right of way of northbound 22nd Street.

Drivers are being diverted into the outside lane and should expect increased congestion and slower than normal traffic in this vicinity. To avoid delays, drivers should seek alternate routes.

Repairs are expected to be completed to allow normal traffic patterns to resume late this evening. Barricades and signs are located in the area to assist with traffic flow.

-- Times staff writer

Sheriff releases new information in triple murder

Hillsborough Sheriff David Gee, at a press conference Tuesday afternoon. (MELISSA LYTTLE | Times)

TAMPA -- Hillsborough Sheriff David Gee said today that investigators have identified "key players" in the grisly murder of a mother and her two children, who were found slain on Monday morning at a Lutz mobile home. Read the rest of this breaking story here.

Brandon pastor, son die in North Carolina plane crash

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BRANDON -- Bell Shoals Baptist Church Pastor Forrest Pollock and his 13-year-old son were killed in a plane crash in the North Carolina mountains, the Federal Aviation Administration said this morning.

The wreckage of Pollock's plane was found about 20 miles southwest of Asheville in rugged terrain near Cruso, N.C.  in Haywood County.

Pollock's plane was first spotted was about 9:30 a.m., the Civil Air Patrol reported.

Searchers flying over the mountains found the single-engine Piper PA-32-260. Searchers later found the bodies of Pollock and his son, Preston, inside, according to Bell Shoals Associate Pastor George Thomasson. The National Tansportation Safety Board will investigate.

About 75 people gathered for a mid-morning prayer session at Bell Shoals. About half-dozen people knelt in prayer at the front of the sanctuary while Web updates on the search for Pastor Pollock, 44, flashed on two large TV screens used during services inside the massive 3,450-seat sanctuary.

Shortly before 11 a.m., the screens went blank. Ten minutes later, Thomasson told the crowd that Pollock and his son were dead.

"All of our hearts are broken," he said, flanked on stage by a dozen church staff members and parishioners, including Hillsborough County Sheriff David Gee.

Cries erupted from the audience and Thomasson presented a short prayer service and hymn.

A few minutes later, Thomasson told reporters: "It just seems unreal to us."

Dozens of friends, neighbors and church members gathered later at Pollock's house in a gated community in Lithia. His wife, Dawn, refused to comment.

Pollock, 44, had been flying for several years and had previously bought, fixed up and sold several planes, according to Thomasson.

"That was his love on the side. That was his recreation," Thomasson said.

Pollock was an overly cautious pilot -- so much so that his wife sometimes commented about how long it took to get somewhere, he added.

Pollock had gone to North Carolina to see his mother on Mother's Day. One of his daughters, Brooke, accompanied Forrest and 13-year-old Preston Pollock on the flight from Florida but decided to stay with her grandmother in North Carolina, Thomasson said. Forrest Pollock planned to fly to Arkansas to pick up a friend before heading to a conference of Christian leaders in Texas.

Pollock's plane left Rutherford County's airport in Rutherfordton, N.C. at about 5 a.m. Monday bound for North Little Rock, Ark., according to the Civil Air Patrol. There were strong winds that day, with gusts that reached about 50 mph, Gaddy said. When winds are high, the Civil Air Patrol advises its pilots to keep planes tied down, but the Rutherford County Airport cannot prevent pilots from taking off, she added.

According to a special Web page tracking the progress of the search for Pastor Pollock, an emergency transmitter signal was located late Monday about 30 miles from the Rutherfordton airport.

Pollock, pictured above, left Florida on Sunday afternoon, the Web site said, flying his own plane, bound for North Carolina. 

Pollock, who had six children ranging in age from 8 to 16, was senior pastor at Bell Shoals, a politically active megachurch that has been in the news in recent years. Two years ago, its members gathered to protest the opening of a Valrico bikini bar. Last year, the church attracted protesters itself when it hosted a two-day conference featuring some of the biggest names in the national Christian right movement.

The church had just completed the 3,450-seat sanctuary. The first services were held there April 27, according to Thomasson. Pollock planned to open several other branches in Hillsborough County, Thomasson said.

- Jessica Vander Velde, Jan Wesner and Rebecca Catalanello, Times staff writers

Hillsborough sheriff's deputies accused of forgery

TAMPA -- A Ruskin defense attorney accused members of the Hillsborough Sheriff's Office today of forging a judge's initials on a search warrant.

The attorney has solid evidence: An affidavit from the judge.

On May 7, Circuit Judge Chet A. Tharpe signed an affidavit stating that a search warrant authorizing detectives to search a Brandon apartment for drugs in October 2006 had been altered without his permission. The apartment number was changed in two places and the judge's initials "CAT" written in next to the changes.

But the judge said he did not make the changes.

"The handwritten alterations and initials ... are not my true initials, is not my handwriting and were not placed there by me," Tharpe said in a document filed today in open court.

Pair hurt in Hillsborough fire

TAMPA -- Hillsborough County Fire Rescue crews responding to an apartment complex early this morning rescued two people who were found unconscious inside one of the residences, authorities said.

Department spokesman Ray Yeakley said in a statement crews arrived to the Deerpath on the Lake apartments, 10200 N. Armenia Ave., around 1:30 a.m. after someone spotted smoke surrounding one of the buildings. Inside one of the apartments, they found an adult male and an adult female unconscious.

Both were transported to area hospitals with what authorities called serious injuries. Their names were not released.

Yeakley estimated the fire's damage at less than $5,000. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Casey Cora, Times staff writer

Man pleads guilty in TIA box cutter case

TAMPA -- A 22-year-old Largo man pleaded guilty today to trying to smuggle a box cutter in a book through Tampa International Airport security.

A federal judge hesitated before accepting the plea from Benjamin Baines Jr., who said in court that he didn't know he had the box cutter when he tried to board a Southwest Airlines flight on Feb. 17.

"He has maintained from Day One that he did not know the knife was in the book," defense attorney Thomas Ostrander told the judge.

A federal indictment charged him with "knowingly" possessing a concealed, dangerous weapon as he tried to get on the airplane. The box cutter was hidden in the hollowed-pages of a book titled "Fear Itself."

"I don't know that it's appropriate for the court to accept a plea of guilty when you say you're not guilty," said Senior U.S. District Judge William J. Castagna.

Baines had been scheduled to go to trial today before signing a plea agreement. The judge gave him time to speak with his attorney to decide how he wanted to proceed.

Baines chose the guilty plea.

"Ultimately, the decision was his. He wants to get on with his life," Ostrander said after court. "He decided the risk of going to trial was too great a risk."

Ostrander said Baines worried about jurors' perception of some of the materials investigators found in Baines' backpack when they searched it after the box cutter showed up on an airport X-ray machine. He had a Koran, a Bible, gang literature and rap music lyrics referencing police, drugs and guns.

"We had an uphill climb to try to establish his innocence," Ostrander said.

The day after his arrest at TIA, Baines pleaded guilty to state charges of carrying a concealed weapon and received a 30-day jail sentence. He said in federal court that he pleaded to the state charge to avoid potentially going to jail for a year.

Baines told investigators that he used the box cutter to cut marijuana, and often hid his stash of drugs and money from roommates inside the book.

A federal prosecutor said in court that he didn't believe Baines ever intended to use the box cutter to harm any passengers.

While the conviction carries a maximum 10-year sentence, Ostrander estimated that Baines could serve six months or less in prison. Castagna will sentence Baines July 24.

-Kevin Graham, Times staff writer

Complaint seeks class action over citizenship delays

TAMPA -- A local immigration law firm is suing federal authorities over bureaucratic delays in citizenship applications and wants a judge to grant the lawsuit class-action status.

In the federal complaint, St. Petersburg attorney Arturo Rios Jr. called the delays, which in some cases have taken years, "unreasonable and unlawful."

Immigration officials are required by law to make a decision on citizenship within 120 days of an applicant's naturalization interview. Since 2002, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has required applicants to pass an FBI "name check."

Rios said that the extra step isn't mentioned in the law, which requires a decision to be made by a set deadline. He estimates the FBI name checks have caused a delay in at least 60,000 citizenship applications nationwide.

"If there's a law that says you have to have it in 120 days, you have to abide by that," Rios said.

He said about 1,000 immigrants across Central Florida may be eligible to sign onto the Tampa lawsuit if a judge grants it class-action status. The government agencies being sued include the U.S. Attorney General, the Department of Homeland Security secretary, the FBI director and a director for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

So far, two Tampa Bay area women are plaintiffs in the local complaint.

Elizabeth Bello-Camp is a native of the Dominican Republic and Samira Suljic is a native of Bulgaria. Rios said Bello-Camp passed her citizenship interview in 2006 and has been waiting since then to become a naturalized citizen. Suljic passed her interview process in 2005.

"The impact to these individuals is great," Rios said. "They can't vote. We have an election year where immigration is a key issue. A lot of these individuals have family members who may be impacted."

He said the delays also cause losses in Social Security benefits and potential problems being readmitted into the United States when traveling abroad.

A group of 25 Florida Muslims filed a similar lawsuit in Tampa in February. Other lawsuits have been filed in California and Illinois.

Immigration officials haven't commented on the specific lawsuits, but say it now takes an average of 16 to 18 months for a foreign-born resident with a green card to become a citizen. That estimate is from the time immigrants apply to the time they're called for an interview and exam. Federal officials say the FBI name check is part of that process.   

-Kevin Graham, Times staff writer

Firefighters battle two Northdale house fires

TAMPA -- Two houses suffered significant fire damage in Northdale this afternoon, but nobody was hurt.

Randye Tacie, 56, of 4908 Traskwood Court, was watching television when a knock on the door saved her.

"Rachel Ray was just coming on," said Tacie, a researcher for a pharmaceutical mail order company. "Someone knocked on my door and said, 'Your house is on fire.' "

The blaze had started in the attic of the house next door, Hillsborough Fire Rescue spokesman Ray Yeakley said. It spread to Tacie's house across a wooden fence enclosing the two back yards.

The fire was reported just after 3 p.m. at Traskwood Court and Northdale Boulevard. Yeakley said the fire was immediately upgraded to two alarms when firefighters arrived on scene and saw the extent of the blaze.

As of 3:40 p.m., 12 units and 30 firefighters were at the scene, working to contain the fire and protect other nearby structures from igniting. A few minutes later, they had brought the two fires under control.

Flames had burned the breadth of Tacie's attic. Next door, they caved in the roof over a bedroom.

- Rebecca Catalanello and Bill Coats, Times staff writers

Mom, 2 kids killed in Lutz

Hillsborough County Sheriff David Gee speaks today at the scene of a murder at a Lutz mobile home park [KATHLEEN FLYNN | Times]

LUTZ -- Sheriff's investigators are interviewing a man found hiding in a Lutz mobile home where a mother and her two young children were murdered, according to sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter.

The 26-year-old woman and her children, a girl about to turn 3 years old and a 7-year-old boy, as well as the family's dog were found this morning in the mobile home at 1918 S Mobile Villa Drive, Carter said.

Their identities have not been released, but Sheriff David Gee said the scene inside the home is one of terrible violence.

It was an "extremely gruesome scene," Gee said. "There was evidence that a lot of violence occurred inside."

Names of the victims have not been released.

After the bodies were discovered, deputies had to wait for a search warrant to re-enter the home to process evidence, Carter said. A judge had to grant permission for the deputies to continue their criminal investigation because the home owner could not give consent for the search, she said.

The man found hiding in the home was taken to University Community Hospital, Carter said.

"We are interviewing him," she said. "At this point we have not established who he is."

The mobile home address comes back to a 26-year-old woman named Lisa Freiberg. Her parents live about a 5-minute drive from the mobile home in Lutz.

Her father, Keith Freiberg, answered the door of the house, a tidy home shaded by an oak tree on a well kept street. He was visibly upset and told a reporter that he could not comment on his daughter because he didn't want to interfere with the sheriff's investigation.

Abbie VanSickle and Jared Leone, Times staff writers

Victim's family in bus rape case airs their side

TAMPA -- The attorney representing a 15-year-old alleged victim of sexual assault on a school bus said Saturday that video and audio tape of the attack will prove that what happened was in no way consensual.    

Responding to comments suggesting what occurred on the bus at Pinellas County's Dixie Hollins High School may have been little more than horseplay, Paul Kimsey, a Tampa attorney representing the victim, said the girl repeatedly told the boy "leave me alone,'' and resisted his advances.

Branden Allen, an 18-year-old football player at the school was arrested Thursday on sexual battery and false imprisonment charges.

Video and audio tape will substantiate the girl's version of events, and deputies have a confession, Kimsey said.

He added that the bus driver "lets kids ride home in boxer shorts,'' and left the students alone for 25 minutes.

Pinellas Sheriff's Deputies say the bus driver left the girl, Allen and two younger teammates alone while he went to round up other students going home around 6:15 p.m. Tuesday from after-school activities.

The two younger boys, Jermeil Douse and Jacolbi Williams, stood lookout while Allen molested the girl, according to deputies. They've been charged with being principals to sexual battery and false imprisonment.

Allen's mother, Trina Allen, told Bay News 9 the incident appears to have been less serious than it has been made out to be. 

"Honestly, all of this from what he is telling me is a big misunderstanding," she said. "I think horseplaying went a little too far. I mean I think when it all came out the young lady was embarrassed so I think is why it's come as far as it has." 

"The family wants the public to know this was not a consensual act,'' he said.      

  "This is a 15-year-old freshman,'' Kimsey said. "She didn't even know this kid. She didn't even know his name.''

-- Times Staff  Writer      

Fiery I-4 crash kills Tampa man

PLANT CITY -- A 36-year-old Tampa man died after a pick-up truck struck his motorcycle early this morning, causing a fiery crash that temporarily shut down parts of Interstate 4.

A Chevrolet truck driven by Luis Gonzalez-Ines, 26, was traveling westbound on Interstate 4 in the inside lane near County Line Road when it changed lanes into the center lane, where a man on a motorcycle was driving. It approached the motorcycle at a high speed, Florida High Patrol reported.

The truck attempted to go back to the inside lane but struck the motorcycle in the rear. Gilberto Prieto Acevedo, 36, of Tampa, was thrown from his motorcycle and pronounced dead by paramedics. He was wearing a helmet, Florida Highway Patrol said.

The truck dragged the motorcycle down the road, where both caught fire. Gonzalez-Ines, of Lakeland, fled the scene by foot into the nearby woods, Florida Highway Patrol reported.

He was caught with the assistance of Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office K-9 units. Gonzalez-Ines was booked into the Orient Road Jail at 8:51 a.m. on charges of leaving the scene of a crash with death, a felony, and driving while license suspended. His bail was set at $17,000.

-- Jessica Vander Velde, Times Staff Writer

Man accused of violently shaking his baby

TAMPA -- A Tampa man is behind bars, accused of violently shaking his 23-day-old baby last month.

Jose Roberto Estrada-Reyes, 27, left, was booked into jail Thursday evening after police say medical reports indicated his child suffered injuries consistent with shaken baby syndrome while in his care, said Tampa Police spokeswoman Laura McElroy.

Police say Estrada-Reyes was babysitting on April 10, the date of the incident, while the mother was at work.

McElroy said the case is still open as investigators expect to bring additional charges against Estrada-Reyes. The baby has been returned to its mother's custody, McElroy said.

"She may have long-lasting injuries," McElroy said.

- Rebecca Catalanello, Times Staff Writer

Jail commission releases preliminary report

TAMPA -- An independent panel reviewing Hillsborough County's jails released its preliminary report this afternoon, focusing much of its attention on the work left to be done in upcoming months.

The commission, which was created after several highly publicized allegations of inmate abuse at the jails, spent the last two months building an base level of understanding of the jail policies and procedures, including training, hiring and the use of force.

But the commissioners have yet to delve into specifics about the treatment of inmates and the actual implementation of these policies and procedures. The commission will do so before completing the final report, according to the preliminary report. The commissioners plan to speak with jail employees and those involved in the allegations to learn more about what goes on inside the jail before presenting a report that outlines specific recommendations, according to the document.

Shortly after the commission's report was posted online, Sheriff David Gee issued a statement:

Sheriff Gee received a copy of the Independent Review Commission on Jails’ Preliminary Report today, May 9, 2008. He and his staff take the contents of the Preliminary Report very seriously and over the next several weeks will review the commission’s comments and recommendations.

Click here to read the full report (PDF):

-- Abbie VanSickle, Times staff writer

Audio of Ragusa phone call with student released

TAMPA -- Prosecutors released today the audio recording of a March 12 phone call between former teacher Stephanie Ragusa and the teenage student she is accused of having sex with three times during the 2006-07 school year.

Warning: graphic language

Click here to download the file to your computer.

A transcript of the recording was released Thursday.

During the call, Ragusa, 29, worried that if word of their relationship got out, she could land in jail and would be seen as a pervert by her family and friends. She didn't discuss specifics about what they did but acknowledged that it was "illegal."

On the audio version, the boy's voice has been disguised to avoid disclosing his identity.

The call is about 17-minutes long. Hillsborough sheriff's detectives instructed the boy to place the call to Ragusa and record it.

The day after the call, March 13, Ragusa was arrested. She faced two subsequent arrests after detectives accused her of having sex with another former Davidsen Middle School student.

Colleen Jenkins and Casey Cora, Times staff writers

Car crashes, explodes on I-275

A car rear-ended another car in stop-and-go traffic on Interstate 275 and exploded soon after about noon today. The car was at the Howard/Armenia exit when the crash occurred.

The driver escaped before the car exploded, and no one was injured in either car.

Watch video here

Times staff writer

Man gets more than 30 years for armed gas station robberies

TAMPA -- An illegal immigrant was ordered to serve 30 years and six months in federal prison today for committing a string of armed gas station robberies in and around East Tampa.

Jamaro J. Ritchie, 22, pleaded guilty in December to two of the eight counts against him in a federal indictment. Had he been convicted of all eight counts, he faced a mandatory 82 years in prison.

The conviction on two of the charges carried a minimum 32 years in prison. But U.S. District Judge Richard A. Lazzara decreased the sentence by 18 months at prosecutors' request.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Colleen Murphy-Davis asked for the reduction because Ritchie is expected to testify against an accused shooter in a murder-for-hire trial being handled by the Hillsborough State Attorney's Office. The information Ritchie already has provided to state investigators led to the gunman's charges in that case, she said.

If Ritchie follows through with his cooperation and testifies truthfully during the trial, Murphy-Davis indicated she may ask for a further reduction in his sentence.

Mary Mills, Ritchie's public defender, asked for at least five years to be deducted from his mandatory sentence. She argued that he has placed his life in danger by turning state's evidence. The judge denied her request.

Ritchie, also known as Dwayne Alvest Brown, is facing deportation to Jamaica after serving his sentence, Murphy-Davis said.

According to his plea agreement, Ritchie accepted responsibility for robbing a Gas Kwik at 2505 N 50th St. on Dec. 27, 2006, and a BP gas station at 6605 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. on Dec. 29, 2006.

Federal records allege he also robbed a Shell gas station at 2924 N 50th St. on April 25, 2007.

Investigators said that in the Shell robbery, Ritchie showed up about 4:30 a.m. after the store had closed. A clerk who recognized him as a regular customer let him in. Ritchie asked for some Goody's powdered headache medicine then pulled out a gun and demanded money. He got away with nearly $700, kicking the glass door as he left.

Tampa police detectives matched the shoe print on the door to prints found outside and tracked Ritchie to a nearby hotel, where he was arrested.

-Kevin Graham, Times staff writer

School bus, SUV collide in Valrico

A Hillsborough County school bus collided with an SUV at the intersection of Valrico Road and State Road 60 in Valrico early this morning. No one was hurt and there were no students on the bus. The SUV was eastbound on State Road 60 when the bus turned south onto Valrico Road. One witness staid that the bus almost turned on its side from the impact to the right rear side of the bus. Hillsborough County Sheriff's deputies on the scene said no charges were filed immediately due to drivers' conflicting statements. [SKIP O'ROURKE | Times]

House fire kills 16-year-old girl in Carrollwood

CARROLLWOOD -- Firefighters called to a small fire in a suburban home Thursday afternoon found a 16-year-old girl in the front bedroom, where the blaze was focused. She was severely injured and could not be saved, authorities said.

"We working an investigation into a body found in a fire at 5012 Grainary Avenue,'' said Hillsborough spokeswoman Debbie Carter in a news release.

The victim was identified as 16-year-old Madison Clermont. The cause of death will be determined by the Medical Examiners Office, Carter said.

Hillsborough firefighters are still on the scene of the blaze. They put out the fire, which started in a bedroom. During a search of the home, a person was discovered and taken to the hospital.

Hillsborough Fire Rescue spokesman Ray Yeakley said the call came in at 1:39 p.m. and when firefighters arrived they could see smoke coming from the eaves of the house. Inside, they couldn't initially find the source of the blaze, and walked through, punching holes in the ceiling trying to locate the source of the smoke.

Kelsey Finnegan, 15, who lives across the street, said she has known Madison since middle school, but they have since drifted apart since entering high school.

Eventually they pinpointed the source of the fire in the front bedroom. It was there that they came across the victim, laying beneath clothing and other debris, he said. Emergency personnel treated her at the scene and took her to University Community Hospital on Fletcher Avenue, Yeakley said.

Investigators have not yet determined how the fire started.

Return to tampabay.com for updates.

-- Jared Leone, Times Staff Writer

Father guilty of aggravated child abuse, killing infant son

TAMPA -- A Hillsborough County jury returned guilty verdicts today against a man charged with aggravated child abuse and first-degree murder in the death of his 10-month-old son.

Each time prosecutors told jurors that Jovan Blackmon (left) killed his baby, the Tampa father shook his head no in court.

But he couldn't explain at his trial this week what caused the head trauma that contributed to Demetrius Blackmon's death.

"You don't take away someone's liberty because he told you he was with the baby when he went into distress," defense attorney Theda James said during closing statements.

Witnesses testified that Jovan Blackmon, 31, didn't like his youngest son, whom he referred to as a "motherf-----" on the last healthy day of the boy's life, July 26, 2005.

It took jurors about two hours to reach their verdict. The conviction carries an automatic sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

In court, James described Blackmon as "the mildest person you can think of."

"Mr. Blackmon may talk like a sailor, but that doesn't mean he's a killer," James said.

Blackmon testified that he made certain comments to annoy his sisters, including one about not liking the baby because the baby didn't like him. After a friend testified to seeing Blackmon hold a belt over the child's head when making that comment, Blackmon said he was just playing around.

Demetrius was the youngest of three sons Blackmon shared with longtime girlfriend Sonya Hannor. Prosecutors argued that Blackmon injured the baby after Hannor had fallen asleep.

Blackmon said he went to check on the boy and found him having trouble breathing.

"There was absolutely no reason for this man to sneak into the room, hurt his baby and then bring the baby to his girlfriend," James said.

Doctors said the child was brain dead when he arrived at the hospital.

-Kevin Graham, Times staff writer

[Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office]

Crist makes friendly visit to MacDill

TAMPA - Gov. Charlie Crist stopped off at MacDill Air Force Base Thursday, where he briefly thanked veterans for their service, shook hands with a Norwegian Army general and played coy to a question about his girlfriend.

Crist spoke to about 250 people, mostly veterans and military retirees, at the monthly luncheon of the Tampa chapter of the Military Officer’s Association of America.

He told the 250 or so guests, who paid $14 for lunch at the base Officer's Club and the privilege of seeing Crist, that he appreciates their service to the country.

"My main message here today is very simple - it's to thank each and every one of you."

He invoked Cuba when he talked about the importance of preserving the rights of Americans.

"We in Florida are very close to an island that doesn't have that kind of freedom," Crist said.

Crist moved the crowd shaking hands for more than five minutes before his 20-minute speech. He stopped to chat with several military officers from other countries, including Norwegian Brig. Gen. Arne Skjaerpe. The foreign officers are based at MacDill as part of the war effort.

After thanking the troops, Crist stuck largely to familiar territory: property tax decreases, health care and the environment.

Afterwards, reporters peppered him with questions about everything from hurricane preparedness to American Idol contestant Syesha Mercado, who's from Sarasota.

When asked if he’s getting engaged, Crist smiled and replied "I don’t know."

- Jan Wesner, Times Staff Writer

Cop shooter gets life in prison

TAMPA -- DeAndre Jamal Wallace, convicted of shooting a Hillsborough sheriff's detective in April 2007, received a life prison sentence Thursday.

Under Florida's 10-20-Life gun law, he also received a concurrent 20-year prison sentence for the aggravated assault of another detective.

Detectives Christopher Baumann and Tracey Balogh had been participating in an undercover training session in Progress Village when they encountered Wallace. As Baumann searched Wallace's pockets, a bloody brawl ensued. Baumann and Wallace punched each other, Wallace bit the detective's hand and then shot twice at Baumann.

Balogh returned fire, hitting Wallace. Both Wallace and Baumann each have a bullet still lodged in their bodies.

Hillsborough Circuit Judge Ronald Ficarrotta handed down the sentence Thursday.

-- Colleen Jenkins, Times staff writer

[Hillsborugh County Sheriff's Office]

Teacher told student to keep relationship a secret

TAMPA -- Former teacher Stephanie Ragusa, accused of having sex with two middle school boys, told one of them that their relationship was "kind of like one of those things you have to take to the grave."

Prosecutors released today a transcript of a March 12 phone call Ragusa had with one of her alleged victims, who was 14 and in the 7th grade when their relationship began. She didn't realize it was being recorded for detectives to hear. Click here to download the complete transcript (PDF).

During the 17-minute call, the boy pressed Ragusa, 29, to talk about what had gone on between them. She was reluctant to do so on the phone.

"I get paranoid about it," she said. "People look to take you down. People like drama, you know? Look at freaking tabloids, Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton and all that stupid s----."

She said their interaction had been "fun," but she acknowledged that it was illegal because of their age difference.

If word got out, she said, "it would be all over the news and everything."

"Oh, like that one Debra Lafave thing?" the boy asked.

"Yeah," Ragusa said.

She added: "It's no joke, I'm telling you, either end. It wouldn't be from because I don't want to wear an orange jumpsuit and it wouldn't be from you because you couldn't leave your house without someone trying to shove a camera in your face wanting you to talk about it."

Ragusa remains in jail -- wearing orange -- after three arrests in the past two months. She is accused of having sex with two students who attended Davidsen Middle School, where she taught.

A judge denied her attorney's request on Wednesday to keep the transcript of the phone off-limits to the media until her trial.

Ragusa said she didn't agree with society's view of the relationship.

But she worried that her friends would consider it to be perverted, and she was concerned about who would take care of her disabled brother if Ragusa had to go to jail. If her live-in boyfriend found out, she said, he would call the police.

"It's like a real old guy going after really young girls, you know?" she said. "It's creepy. That's what they would see it as."

The boy asked if she had had sex with any other students.

"No," Ragusa said.

Ragusa was arrested March 13. In an interview with detectives, she denied any sexual activity with her students. She said she had developed close relationships with a few students and said their parents knew she would take them places in her SUV to help them with school.

She said that her boyfriend had warned her not to go into teaching because of the potential for allegations like these.

Keep checking tampabay.com for updates.

Complete coverage: Wrong choices: An outbreak of teacher sex scandals

Colleen Jenkins, Times staff writer

Crosstown crash sends one to TGH

TAMPA -- Authorities said a man is recovering after rear-ending a dump truck on the Lee Roy Selmon Crosstown Expressway this morning.

The crash took place just after 6:30 a.m. near the S. Willow Avenue exit. Authorities said the crash pinned the unidentified driver of a box truck, a 30-year-old-man,  between the truck's dashboard and the steering wheel.

Tampa Fire Rescue crews used extrication equipment to cut him free.

"He was pinned in very tight," said department spokesman Jace Kohan. "Once they made cuts, they were able to get him out."

The man was taken to Tampa General Hospital. The driver of the dump truck was not hurt, Kohan said.
The crash briefly closed a portion of the eastbound lanes of the Crosstown, causing morning traffic backups.

Casey Cora, Times staff writer

Missing boy, 8, turns up for start of school day

Sinclair Baldwin, 8, center, returns home this morning after he was reported missing by his mother, pictured at left with a Hillsborough Sheriff's detective, around 11 p.m. Wednesday. [Casey Cora | Times]

TOWN 'N COUNTRY --  After an overnight areawide search that drew canine units and a Sheriff's helicopter, a missing 8-year-old boy turned up for the start of the school this morning, authorities said.

Sinclair Baldwin, who lives at the Harbor Walk and Sandstone Apartments, 6102 Webb Road, was last seen around 4:30 p.m. Wednesday. The boy, described as a frequent runaway, was reported missing by his mother around 11 p.m.

Sheriff's deputies went door-to-door at the apartment complex and blasted reverse 911 calls to residents in the surrounding area. Thursday would be the second time he has stayed away all night, authorities said.

Then, just after 8 a.m. today, investigators said Baldwin showed up for classes at Woodbridge Elementary School, about a half mile from his apartment, this morning.

A Sheriff's detective brought Baldwin and his mother back to the apartment just before 9 a.m.

"He's safe, he's fine," his mother said. "We've got to deal with his issues."

Casey Cora, Times staff writer

Motorcyclist dies chasing thief

TOWN 'N COUNTRY -- A motorcyclist died today chasing a thief who stole a woman's prescription drugs, Hillsborough County Sheriff's officials said.

At 1:30 p.m., a woman came out of a pharmacy at W Hillsborough Avenue and Town and Country Boulevard when a man grabbed her prescription pills and jumped into the passenger seat of a tan Honda sedan with tinted windows.

While the car was in the parking lot, a witness jumped through the rear window of the car, trying to stop it. But the car took off, swiping another vehicle and knocking the witness off the car.

Another witness jumped on his motorcycle and chased the car westbound on Hillsborough Avenue. But he died when his bike collided with a Ford Explorer leaving the driveway.

The Sheriff's Office identified the motorcyclist as Jason R. DeMarzian, 25, of Bradenton.

The suspected thief is described as a 6-foot-2, about 175-pound white man in his 20s or 30s with a beard who wore a blue dress shirt, jeans and blue hat. The Honda had tinted windows and no tags.

More details to come.

--By Justin George, Times staff writer

Judge: Ragusa recording can be released

Prosecutors will release a transcript of a recorded phone call between former teacher Stephanie Ragusa and one of her alleged student victims, after a judge ruled today that it should be made a public record.

Ragusa's attorney, Robert Herce, argued that releasing the information would prevent his client from getting a fair trial in Hillsborough County. He cited the extensive media coverage so far. He also questioned whether officers violated his client's rights in obtaining the recorded conversation and said he would file a motion later to have the contents of the call suppressed before trial.

But Hillsborough Circuit Judge J. Rogers Padgett said in his decades as a judge he's never had trouble seating a jury.

The recording is expected to be made public tomorrow.

--By Colleen Jenkins, Times staff writer

Mystery man handing out cash at gas stations

BRANDON -- Customers at a Mobil gas station on Bloomingdale Avenue say they got cash from a well-dressed mystery man while filling up at the pump, according to a store clerk.

Two people, a male cabbie and a woman driver, reported receiving cash from a man wearing a shirt and tie. The woman told clerks at the Mobil station, 936 E Bloomingdale Ave., she received $55.  One customer refused the money.

The man hopped in a pickup truck and drove off around 8:45 a.m.

Assistant manager Francisco Espel said nothing like that's happened during his three years at the Mobil station. Clerks at nearby gas stations said no one handed out money to their customers today.

According to the MJ radio show on WFLZ-93.3 FM, callers also reported the same thing happening at a St. Petersburg-area RaceTrac gas station. Reached this morning, clerks at several RaceTrac stations in St. Petersburg said their customers are abuzz with the prospect, although no one has seen the man.

-- Casey Cora, Times staff writer

Have you seen the mystery donor? Let us know. Send an email to ccora@sptimes.com

20-year veteran of Tampa police is laid to rest

Tampa police officers carry in the coffin of master patrol officer Victor Guerrero at St. Lawrence Catholic Church in Tampa before this morning's funeral. Guerrero, a 20-year veteran of the Tampa Police Department and father of six, died in a motorcycle crash Thursday with a Pasco County government truck. [CARRIE PRATT | Times]
View more photos

TAMPA -- Tampa police Master Patrol Officer Victor Guerrero was remembered today as a respected man who valued his family and his police unit and served in both the Marines and the police department.

A bagpiper played as his casket was brought in and out of St. Lawrence Catholic Church in Tampa for this morning's funeral, attended by about 400 Tampa police officers and about 200 others.

"Vic was just a very quiet man. The man was a good man," said Monsignor Laurence Higgins. "He did his work well."

Guerrero was killed Thursday when his motorcycle was hit by a Pasco County government truck.

During her remarks, Mayor Pam Iorio addressed Guerrero's wife, Lara, "It seems so unfair, Lara. I stood here before just two years ago wondering why such a kind and good person was taken from our lives," apparently referring to the death of the Tampa police officer who served as her driver. Iorio told the group to look back on Guerrero's life as the gift that it was. "We will never forget the public service and the goodness of a man named Vic Guerrero."

Police Chief Steve Hogue said that Guerrero chose to spend all of his police career patrolling the streets. "He could have chosen something with less danger, something with less stress. He chose that life."

After the service, Hogue presented Mrs. Guerrero a folded American flag while a Marine presented a second folded flag to Guerrero's oldest son, Michael.

Read about the accident that killed Guerrero: Officer killed in crash

View, sign guestbook

Justin George, Times staff writer

Firefighters contain brush fire in New Tampa

TAMPA -- Firefighters from Tampa have contained a sizeable brush fire in the area of Cory Lake Isles in New Tampa.

Tampa Fire Rescue spokesman Jace Kohan said the fire, first described as being the size of a football field, was contained by 10 p.m. without any homes being threatened.

"At this time of year, it's so dry, you have to get out and jump on it quickly," Kohan said.

Two TFR engine companies and two brush trucks worked the scene after being first alerted about the blaze around 8:30 p.m. By 10 p.m., the only one brush truck was needed and Pasco County firefighters who had been called out for assistance earlier in the night were canceled.

Kohan said firefighters had a little bit of trouble accessing the blaze at first. But by 10 p.m., they were just mopping up the hot spots.

- Rebecca Catalanello, Times staff writer

Man found guilty of harassing a flight attendant

TAMPA — A 53-year-old Chicago man has been found guilty of interfering with a flight attendant on a Southwest Airlines flight to Tampa.

Gene R. Komosa was arrested and taken to jail on Jan. 18, accused of assaulting a flight attendant as his airplane approached Tampa International Airport.

According to an FBI report, Komosa made sexual remarks and racial slurs and hit a flight attendant in the face aboard Southwest Airlines flight 3238, which originated from Chicago Midway Airport. About 20 minutes before the airplane landed, Komosa stood up and refused multiple commands by a flight attendant to sit down. He was “flailing his arms around uncontrollably” then hit the flight attendant in the face, the FBI report said.

An off-duty officer on the airplane heard Komosa yell words to the effect of, “I’m going to blow the plane up,” the FBI reported. A federal jury found Komosa guilty just one day after the trial began. He is expected to be sentenced within 60 days. The crime carries a maximum penalty of 20 years, said U.S. Attorney spokesman Steve Cole.

- Kevin Graham and Rebecca Catalanello, Times staff writers

Bomb squad called to sheriff's office in Largo

Officers from the Hillsborough County Bomb Squad examine and remove explosive ordnance today from a container at the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office headquarters on Ulmerton Road in Largo. [SCOTT KEELER | Times]

Shirley Widlack was cleaning out her late father's home in Seminole about 9:30 this morning when she found three items of concern: a 3-inch-long cartridge, what looked like the hollowed-out head of a mortar shell and a pipe.

Mrs. Widlak's f