Brandon man charged with running motorist off the road

BRANDON -- A Brandon man forced a woman he knows off the road after an argument this morning, according to Hillsborough County sheriff's deputies.

Deputies arrested Jimmie Lee England, 43, of 207 Bryan Road, and booked him into the county jail on one count of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

At about 6:50 a.m., England was waiting outside the home of Nicole Costanzos near Magnolia Pointe Court and N Parsons Avenue and started an argument with her, according to an arrest report. When she became afraid and tried to drive away, he used his own vehicle to force her off the road twice, then struck her car from behind while she was inside, deputies said.

England, who is unemployed, was released from the Orient Road Jail this afternoon after posting $11,500 bail.

Richard Danielson, Times Staff Writer

Two men charged in Tampa armed robbery

TAMPA -- Police have charged two Tampa men with using a pistol to rob a Metro PCS telephone store Friday afternoon.

Melvin McQuay, 21, and Byron Jamal Brown, 22, were arrested Saturday night and were each booked in to the Hillsborough County jail on one count of armed robbery.

Police say the men went into the store, at 2100 Main St., Friday afternoon, brandished a black handgun at the clerk, then reached over the counter and grabbed $590 from the register before running out.

The robbery was captured on surveillance video, according to police, and both men were identified from photos. McQuay, of 1502 A Walnut Trail, and Brown, of 1720 W Arch St., were each being held without bail at the Orient Road jail today.

-- Richard Danielson, Times Staff Writer

West Tampa house fire called suspicious

TAMPA — Authorities say a fire that damaged a vacant home in West Tampa Saturday night is suspicious.

A passer-by called firefighters to the 3300 block of W Spruce Street at 9:19 p.m. They arrived within four minutes to find flames coming from the back of a single-story home near McFarlane Park. Firefighters brought the fire under control within 10 minutes, limiting the damage to a single room.

No one was hurt. Firefighters on the scene thought the cause of the fire was suspicious, authorities say, so they called in an arson investigator from the Tampa Fire Marshall’s Office.

Fire officials described the damage to the property as moderate but did not have an estimate to value of the loss.

-- Richard Danielson, Times Staff Writer

Hillsborough auditor will no longer do audits

Hillsborough County will now have an internal performance auditor who does no audits.

County commissioners voted unanimously today to have the clerk of the circuit court hire private consulting firms to do performance audits for the county. The clerk already has an office that does financial audits for the county.

Financial audits analyze whether county government programs properly account for the money they receive and dole out. Performance audits generally are deeper, sometimes more nuanced inquiries into whether a business or government entity effectively spends its money.

Hillsborough voters approved creation of the internal performance auditor position, but past St. Petersburg Times stories found that the office has completed few audits. The stories showed that Internal Performance Auditor Jim Barnes is often dispatched by commissioners to investigate pet causes.

With the commission vote, Barnes will be in charge of ensuring that audit recommendations are carried out. He will still serve as a budget analyst for county commissioners.

"It gives me clearer direction with what this office needs to do," said Barnes, who will soon see his staff of four cut in half. "I have no problem with it."

Bill Varian, Times staff writer

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Walker Middle students charged as adults in sexual battery case

TAMPA -- Four juveniles accused of sexually battering a 13-year-old classmate at Walker Middle School will face charges as adults, the Hillsborough State Attorney's Office said today.

"All four defendants are charged with multiple incidents on different dates involving the same victim," said Hillsborough state attorney spokeswoman Pam Bondi. "Because of the severity of the offenses, all four have been charged as adults."

Deputies arrested Lee Louis Myers, 14, Raymond A. Price-Murray, 14, Randall John Moye, 14, and Diemente J. Roberts, 15, on May 6, eight days after an alleged attack with a broom handle and a hockey stick in a locker room.

Last week, Hillsborough Circuit Judge Christopher Sabella released the juveniles from home detention and electronic monitoring.

The teens have been removed from Walker Middle.

Stay with tampabay.com for updates.

Kevin Graham, Times staff writer

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Ex-DCF worker gets probation for lying to child porn investigators

TAMPA -- Michael Hernandez says he lied to authorities investigating the former Florida Department of Children and Families spokesman on child porn charges because he considered him his "best friend."

He later admitted to destroying files on Al Zimmerman's computer and tried to help federal officials build their case against Zimmerman.

But his cooperation came too late, and prosecutors charged him with making false statements to law enforcement.

U.S. District Judge Susan C. Bucklew sentenced Hernandez today to two years' probation for pleading guilty to the offense.

Man gets 15 years for explicit photos of relative

TAMPA -- A Valrico man was sentenced today to 15 years in prison for taking sexually explicit photographs of a relative.

"I don't even like waking up anymore," Robert D. Paige, 37, said in federal court, apologizing for what he called the "stupidity" that landed him behind bars. "If I was told by a doctor that I wouldn't live anymore, I wouldn't care."

Former USF administrator completes community service in bike theft

TAMPA -- The former University of South Florida administrator who was accused of stealing a graduate student's bike will not be charged.

Instead, Abdul Rao agreed with the Hillsborough County State Attorney's Office to complete at least 16 hours of community service and pay $195 in fines to cover the cost of his prosecution and investigation, documents show.

Suspect identified in St. Petersburg man's murder

Authorities have identified a suspect in the murder of Cedric Green, a St. Petersburg man found dead Thursday in Tampa. He is Maurice Tajuan Allen, and witnesses told police they saw him kidnap Green at gunpoint in St. Petersburg hours before the victim turned up dead across the bay.

Brandon man beat ex-girlfriend, stole car, deputies say

BRANDON -- A Brandon man faces numerous charges after Hillsborough sheriff's deputies say he entered his ex-girlfriend's empty house, called her to alert her he was there, then beat her when she arrived.

Joshua David Ouzts, 35, of 722 Green Cove Drive., began arguing with the woman after he entered the home around 3:30 p.m. He then threw a bag of chips at her, punched her in the face and began choking her until she lost consciousness, according to an arrest report.