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DADE CITY -- The Pasco County Sheriff's Office is responding to a reported shooting involving two victims whose conditions are unknown.
The incident took place late Friday near Porter Street and Hutchinson Street in the Tommy Town area of Dade City, according to spokesman Doug Tobin.
--Stephanie Garry, Times Staff Writer
[Melissa Lyttle | Times]
Traffic on I-275 was clogged up for several hours Thursday afternoon as Pasco Sheriff’s Deputies searched for three men who bailed out of a stolen Nissan Maxima after they flipped it just south of the Pasco County line.
Deputies attempted to pull over the Nissan on I-75 near State Road 56 around noon. The southbound car had a stolen tag, they said, and matched the description of one seen at several residential burglaries in Pasco and possibly surrounding counties.
The Nissan took off and led deputies on a three-minute chase southbound on I-75. Deputies followed it when it merged onto I-275. The pursuit ended when the Nissan hit a guardrail near mile marker 58 and landed on its roof in the northbound lanes of I-275.
Three men scrambled from the car into the woods to the east and west of the interstate. Deputies said at least one was hobbling. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission helped Pasco deputies search the marshy woods surrounding the interstate. Officials from the Florida Highway Patrol, the Hernando and Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Offices and the Tampa Police Department were also involved in the search.
Tampa officers caught up with two of the suspects, Quinton Washington, 22 and Nathaniel Jones, 20 when they emerged from the woods near Bruce B. Downs Boulevard, east of the accident site.
There was no report if they had any injuries.
The Pasco Sheriff’s Office urged drivers not to pick up any hitch-hikers near the I-275 and I-75 junction. They consider the third suspect, still on the loose as of Thursday, as armed and dangerous. Deputies said he is a black man wearing black shorts and a white T-shirt.
Deputies said they found several stolen items, including a safe, inside the car, which was stolen out of Manatee County. They could not confirm if the jewelry that littered the ground near the site of the crash was among the stolen goods.
Traffic was slowed for about five hours as officials investigated the scene.
Both Washington and Jones have been arrested in the past for burglary and vehicle theft, among other charges. They are at the Orient Road Jail facing grand theft auto charges. Bail information was not available Thursday evening. The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating the crash.
-- Helen Anne Travis, Times Staff Writer
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
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
HUDSON -- Pasco County Sheriff's deputies are investigating a shooting that injured one man.
According to dispatchers, two neighbors got in a dispute and one was shot about 10:15 p.m. He was flown to Bayfront Medical Center. Dispatchers did not release the names of the victim or suspect.
The shooting happened at 18224 Thomas Boulevard.
--Stephanie Garry, Times Staff Writer
Check back with tampabay.com for more details.
TAMPA -– U.S. District Judge Steven Merryday sentenced former NFL running back Troy Hambrick to five years in federal prison for distributing crack cocaine last year in his hometown of Dade City.
"I have confidence you can regain your place in the community," the judge said. "But nonetheless you committed an offense that is serious."
Troy Hambrick is one half of the most famous brotherly duo in Pasco County football history. He and older brother Darren Hambrick led the Pasco High School Pirates to the 1992 Class 3A state football championship, then both went on to NFL careers.
But both have been out of the league for years now. Troy Hambrick, 31, was indicted in December and reached a plea agreement with federal prosecutors in February. In exchange for pleading guilty to one count of knowingly and intentionally distributing 50 or more grams of crack cocaine, the federal government dropped two more counts.
The judge did show a bit of leniency, sparing Hambrick from a guideline sentence of six to seven years. He also sentenced Hambrick to four years of federal probation after his release, ordered substance abuse counseling and wanted Hambrick placed in a prison nearest his family in east Pasco.
Hambrick was attempting a comeback with the Arena Football League but was cut within hours of the indictment.
Jamal Thalji, Times Staff Writer
HOLIDAY -- A pedestrian was killed after being struck by a vehicle at the intersection of U.S. 19 and Flora Avenue around 11:30 p.m., Florida Highway Patrol officials said.
FHP officials have not released the victim's name or details of the accident.
Please watch This Just In for updates.
-- Casey Cora, Times staff writer
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
LAND O’LAKES — Pine View Middle School went into lockdown for about an hour Friday after a man commtited suicide at one of the school’s bus stops.
The incident happened shortly after 8 a.m. near the Chelsea Woods apartments, at 4453 Alpine Road.
Pasco deputies say a 19-year-old man shot himself in the head while sitting on a wooden bench that had a roof over it. The structure was used by Pine View students waiting for the bus.
Deputies say the man, who has not yet been identified, had the word “temporary” written on the front of his neck in black magic marker, which was found next to him.
He had also written on the bench, something to the effect that his body was only temporary in this world.
Two cans of Natural Ice beer next to him — one opened, one sealed. Deputies found another empty on ground behind the bench.
Pine View Middle principal Kim Anderson said the school went into lockdown for the first 30 minutes of the day. Pine View Elementary and Sanders Elementary also went into lockdown as a precautionary measure.
“We didn’t know at the time if he had shot himself, or if he was shot by someone else, or how he died,” Anderson said.
After the Sheriff’s Office determined the case to be a suicide, the lockdown was lifted.
-- Times Staff
DADE CITY - Authorities arrested a Wesley Chapel man accused of shooting and killing his neighbor last month over an argument about a missing PlayStation 3.
Edward Keith Stoddard Jr., 28, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder. He surrendered without incident just before 9 p.m. Wednesday after the Pasco Sheriff's Office SWAT team surrounded a Dade City home where he was staying. Authorities say they had gotten a tip that Stoddard was at the residence at 38540 Burger Lane.
Stoddard is accused of killing Douglas F. Abrams, Stoddard's neighbor, on Mangrove Drive in Wesley Chapel. Neighbors said Stoddard thought Abrams, 26, stole a PlayStation 3 and television from his mobile home in March.
Witnesses helped deputies identify Stoddard as the man who fled the scene of in the shooting. Authorities had considered Stoddard to be armed and dangerous.
Stoddard is expected to make his first court appearance at 1 p.m. today.
Previous coverage: Dispute between Wesley Chapel neighbors turns deadly
- Jodie Tillman, Times Staff Writer
[Lance Aram Rothstein | Times]
NEW PORT RICHEY -- The Florida Highway Patrol says a Pasco sheriff's deputy driving on U.S. 19 shortly before noon today crashed into the back of a station wagon, pushing it into the back of a stopped county bus.
At least eight people were sent to area hospitals with minor injuries, including all three drivers.
The accident happened on U.S. 19 at Limit Drive, just south of the bridge over the Pithlachascotee River. Southbound traffic could only move through one lane, creating a bottleneck for drivers.
The Highway Patrol said Deputy James Dattoma was behind a white Daewoo station wagon in the outside lane. The Daewoo, driven by Cynthia Young of Hudson, was stopped behind a bus that was letting off passengers.
Dattoma failed to stop, triggering the crash, FHP said. Spokesman Larry Coggins said charges against Dattoma would depend on whether he was responding to a call when the accident happened, because such incidents can be chalked up to "the cost of doing business in law enforcement."
Sheriff's spokesman Doug Tobin said Dattoma was, in fact, responding to a call: a report of a man with a gun. He did not have his lights and sirens activated.
“We’ll have our own internal investigation into this, which would be common when a deputy is involved in a crash,” Tobin said.
Dattoma, 22, complained of a hand injury and injuries from an air bag being deployed, Tobin said. He joined the Sheriff's Office in April 2007.
Young and six people on the bus, including driver Cynthia Loving, were also transported.
Linda Smith saw the crash from the front yard of her mobile home. She said Dattoma appeared shaken up.
"At first I thought he was here to help," said Smith, 51. "But then I saw him limping and we told him he better sit down."
-- Molly Moorhead, Times Staff Writer
Continue reading "Deputy, 7 Others Injured in U.S. 19 Crash" »
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
Justin George, Times staff writer
Continue reading "20-year veteran of Tampa police is laid to rest" »
LAND O'LAKES - The Pasco County Sheriff's Office has released the name of a suspect wanted for questioning in the murder of a Land O'Lakes woman on Saturday.
Detectives want to question Gusto Arturo Moreno-Gonzales, 45, of 1311 Hwy. 92, Lot 11 in Auburndale (pictured at left), about the murder of Diane Yeager-Lombard, 51, of 9665 Bahia Loop in Land O'Lakes. She was found shot to death by neighbors on the front porch of her home Sunday morning.
Moreno-Gonzales is an illegal alien from Mexico who may be driving a blue or gray 2002 Toyota Tundra X-cab truck, authorities say. He was working in the area at Integrated Drainage Solutions in Bradenton when he met Yeager-Lombard, authorities say.
Moreno-Gonzales should be considered armed and dangerous. Anyone with information on his whereabouts should call the sherriff's office at 1-800-854-2862.
Camille C. Spencer, Times Staff Writer
PORT RICHEY -- Fire rescue officials have reopened a stretch of U.S. 19 after a gas leak at a miniature golf course this afternoon.
The highway was shut down in both directions from Jasmine Boulevard to Coventry Drive for about an hour after the leak was reported at Congo River Golf, 10555 U.S. 19, south of State Road 52. Officials also evacuated the Holiday Inn Express next door.
By 6 p.m., traffic was moving again on U.S. 19 and the hotel was back open.
--Times staff writer
WILL VRAGOVIC | Times
Julia Mathes, 24 year old widow of Sgt. Marcus Mathes, cries as she receives the flag that had covered her husband's coffin during the burial ceremony at the Florida National Cemetery Tuesday afternoon, May 7, 2008. Mathes, 26, was killed April 28 near Baghdad, Iraq. The Zephyrhills High School graduate died along with two fellow soldiers when his base was hit in a rocket attack.
WILL VRAGOVIC | Times
A long line of mourners follow the casket containing the remains of Sgt. Marcus Mathes for his burial ceremony at the Florida National Cemetery Tuesday afternoon.
See our special report Our Casualties of War.
Read the original story about Sgt. Mathes' death.
The Pasco County Sheriff's Office has released two pictures taken from surveillance video showing two people walking into a Wal-Mart at U.S. 19 and Ridge Road in Port Richey and using a credit card stolen from a woman last month.
The two people -- identified as "persons of interest" -- can be seen using credit card stolen from a 47-year old woman in a robbery that on the morning of April 13 at the RaceTrac gas station at 4431 U.S. 19 in New Port Richey. The surveillance video was shot around 11:30 p.m. April 13.
Continue reading "Photos show 'persons of interest' in New Port Richey robbery" »
PORT RICHEY - Pasco Sheriff's detectives say they have arrested the man who allegedly ran over a deputy Monday morning after a traffic stop.
Brian Patrick Mitchell, 27, faces a charge of attempted homicide, plus other warrant-related charges. He was arrested at Park Place Apartments, at 9310 Valley View, the same complex where the traffic stop and battery occurred.
Deputies say that early Monday morning Mitchell was driving a rented GMC Envoy SUV over the speed limit on U.S. 19. Deputy William Orndorff pulled him over in front of Park Place Apartments, near Embassy Boulevard. Mitchell went for Orndorff's gun, the Sheriff's Office said. The two fought and struggled, officials said, until Mitchell drove off, running over Orndorff and dragging him about 30 feet.
Orndorff, 26, was treated Monday at a local hospital for a sprained ankle and bruises, Doll said, and is expected to recover fully.
Authorities say they received information that Mitchell was going to be at the complex today. A deputy arrested him just after 11 a.m.
[Pasco County Sheriff's Office]
Christine Bonilla, a single mother of five, cries as she holds the keys Warrick Dunn handed her this morning to her Habitat for Humanity house in Dade City. [MIKE PEASE | Times
DADE CITY -- At first, the family didn't recognize the soft-spoken young man in a brown T-shirt and blue jeans.
"Do you know who I am?" he asked as he greeted Christine Bonilla, her mother and five children outside the beige four-bedroom home that they were set to move into.
It wasn't until he removed his shades that 20-year-old Julio Bonilla started to figure things out.
"I recognized him as somebody on TV," he said. "I said, 'That's somebody famous.'"
Continue reading "Warrick Dunn dedicates first charity home after returning to Buccaneers" »
MASARYKTOWN -- One person was killed and another seriously injured when they were struck trying to cross U.S. 41 at Bowman Road late Monday, Florida Highway Patrol officials said.
The pair was crossing the road at 11:07 p.m. when they were struck by a 2007 Chevrolet Impala headed north on U.S. 41, according to an FHP report.
Investigators said Jessica Redfern, 22, of 4150 Las Vegas Drive in New Port Richey was pronounced dead at the scene. Brian J. Stover, 21, of 5410 Trouble Creek Road was taken to St. Joseph's Hospital, where he was listed in fair condition early this morning.
Charges against the Impala's driver, Andre Storr, 29, Spring Hill, have not been filed.
Casey Cora, Times staff writer
WESLEY CHAPEL - Two girls were killed in a single car crash on Monday afternoon, according to Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Larry Coggins.
Around 1 p.m., Tabitha Pastrana, 18, of Wesley Chapel, and Kristin Gaskin, 17, of San Antonio, were driving north on I-75 just north of State Road 54 in a 2002 Mitsubishi Eclipse when Pastrana lost control, Coggins said. The vehicle entered the east shoulder of the highway, ran into some trees and overturned, resting on its roof, Coggins said.
Pastrana died on the scene. She was not wearing a seatbelt. Gaskin was wearing one, Coggins said. She was flown to St. Joseph's Hospital in Tampa, where she died, Coggins said.
The cause of the crash is unknown.
--Camille C. Spencer, Times Staff Writer
PORT RICHEY -- A Pasco County Sheriff's deputy is recovering this morning after he was dragged underneath a rented SUV following a fight during a traffic stop.
Meanwhile, authorities continue their search for the driver they say ran him over.
Deputy William Orndorff stopped a silver GMC Envoy outside the Park Place Apartments, located at the intersection of Embassy Boulevard and Jarman Lane, just east of U.S. 19, around 4:19 a.m., sheriff's spokesman Kevin Doll said.
The SUV's driver, identified as Brian Patrick Mitchell, 27 (left), had been speeding, authorities said.
During the stop, the SUV's driver reached for Orndorff's gun, Doll said. The two began fighting and Mitchell took off, running the deputy over as he drove away. Doll said Orndorff was dragged about 30 feet.
Orndorff sprained an ankle and is bruised and sore, but the four year Sheriff's Office veteran is expected to make a full recovery after being released today from a local hospital.
Monday wasn't the first time Orndorff, 26, was injured while on duty. In Sept. 2005, Orndorff was kicked in the groin and mouth while disrupt a fight between a Hudson couple.
Authorities said Mitchell's last known address is his mother's New Port Richey home, 11630 Baywood Meadows Drive. He was last seen wearing a white T-shirt and blue jean shorts.
Pasco sheriff's officials said Mitchell has previous arrests on drug and traffic charges stemming back to 1999.
Doll said records show the SUV, a 2008 model with tinted windows, was rented in Tampa from an Enterprise facility. The license tag is 403LCC.
Authorities ask anyone with information to call their local law enforcement office.
Casey Cora, Times staff writer
LAND O’LAKES –- The Pasco County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the death of a 51-year-old Pasco woman who was found lying on her porch Sunday morning.
The woman, who lived at 9665 Bahia Loop in a rural part of Land O'Lakes, was apparently killed by a gunshot wound.
Neighbors said they heard shots Saturday evening and noticed the woman lying on the porch of her home . They thought nothing of it until this morning when she was still in the same place.
The Sheriff's Office received the call from neighbors at 11:22 a.m.
Authorities said they are investigating the case as a homicide.
The woman's name has not been released.
According to neighbors, the woman lived alone with a college-age daughter. She owned three horses.
Joel Anderson, Times staff writer
TAMPA -- Volunteers will be collecting canned goods tonight in exchange for free tickets to see the Disney on Ice "Princess Wishes" show for free this weekend.
The exchange benefits the "critically bare shelves" of America's Second Harvest of Tampa Bay, organizers said. Donations of non-perishable food items will be accepted tonight from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. today outside the McDonald's Box Office outside the St. Pete Times Forum.
Ten cans are required per ticket, with a limit of four tickets per family. Organizers say the tickets are good for the best available seats on any performance tonight through Sunday. Here are this weekend's showtimes:
Casey Cora, Times staff writer
TAMPA -- A 20-year veteran Tampa police officer and father of six was killed in a motorcycle accident in Pasco County today. Master Patrol Officer Victor Guerrero, 47, (left) was killed while riding his motorcycle on U.S. 41 about a mile and a half north of State Road 52.
Tampa police officials say he was airlifted to St. Joseph's Hospital where he died from his injuries. He was married and had three children and three stepchildren. He worked as a patrol officer in TPD's District 3.
The accident occurred about 12:50 p.m., when a Pasco County government truck, driving north, made a left-turn in front of Guerrero's 2008 Harley Davidson motorcycle, which was headed south, the Florida Highway Patrol reported. Guerrero, who was not wearing a helmet, hit the side of the truck and was ejected from his bike. His body crossed the northbound lane and landed on the east shoulder.
FHP spokesman Larry Coggins said charges are pending against the driver of the county truck, Daniel Whipple.
"This is a horrible case of a violation of right of way," Coggins said.
Whipple, 53, was on duty when the accident occurred. The truck was impounded at the scene, and Whipple submitted to a drug test, said Michele Baker, Pasco's chief assistant county administrator.
"We're obviously very sorry, and our condolences go out to the officer's family," Baker said. "But at this point, we have to wait for the results of FHP's investigation."
The motorcycle debris from the accident hit a third vehicle, a Ford van driven by Bruce Brick, 55, which had been driving north on U.S. 41 behind the Pasco County truck. The two-lane road was closed in both directions for two hours, Coggins said.
Rosario Fierro, who was working on his property when the accident happened, said he never heard a scream, just the clash of metal. He ran to the scene, but said there wasn't anything anyone could do to help.
"He was just lying there," Fierro said of Guerrero.
Fierro said the county truck driver was very upset and kept saying, "I didn't see him! Did you guys see him? I didn't see him!"
Nearby, a crew of female inmates from the county jail was picking up trash. A detention deputy called 911 and paramedics arrived quickly, Fierro said. The inmates were crying and visibly shaken, he said.
"It was terrible to see," he said.
That sorrow spread this afternoon as officials learned of Guerrero's death.
"This is a sad day in the Tampa Police Department," Tampa Police Chief Steve Hogue said at a news conference this afternoon.
Mayor Pam Iorio praised Guerrero as an officer who performed his duties with dignity and pride, a loving father and husband, a man who was well regarded by everyone.
"I would just ask that everyone keep his wife and his children and all of his family in your prayers," Iorio said.
Sign guest book for Officer Guerrero.
-- Times Staff Writers
NEW PORT RICHEY -- Hit by a dramatic plunge in revenue from building permits, Pasco County laid off 14 people Wednesday, the first time in 26 years it's done so.
Twenty-two positions were cut from the county's building inspections and central permitting divisions, but eight were already vacant posts. The 14 who lost their jobs were building inspectors, electrical inspectors, a clerk, permitting and development technicians and storekeepers.
The laid off positions were funded by sharply falling building permit revenues, which went from $12.3-million last fiscal year to a projected $5.3-million in the year ahead.
County personnel director Barbara DeSimone said the county would try to help those laid off to find new jobs in other county departments with current open positions, such as the utilities department.
-- Chuin-Wei Yap, Times staff writer
WESLEY CHAPEL -- The Pasco Sheriff's Office has decided not to file any charges against a Seven Oaks Elementary teacher and a paraprofessional who were accused last week of taping students' mouths shut. Sheriff's Office spokesman Kevin Doll issued an alert this morning saying the department had "unfounded" the child abuse case.
Doll did not release any additional information. He referred all calls to the school district.
Pasco schools assistant superintendent Renalia DuBose said the district will conduct its own investigation before allowing either the teacher or the paraprofessional, who had been accused by a parent of taping children's mouths shut, back into the classroom.
"Because they have not decided to prosecute does not mean that there is no case or that nothing happened," DuBose said. "We are going to talk to the superintendent and see what her recommendation will be to the board. ... Our level of expectation regarding what it takes to be employed to us, we have a higher standard."
DuBose stressed that she had not reviewed the case, and she was not implying that the employees did anything wrong. But she wanted the opportunity to see whether their statements or actions violated the state's code of ethics for educators before making a determination. She expected a recommendation to go to the School Board by Tuesday.
Jeff Solochek, Times staff writer
Marcus Mathes was killed Monday in Iraq. he is shown hugging his wife Julia upon his return from Afghanistan in 2007. [Special to the Times (2007)]
ZEPHYRHILLS -- The inspiration came from a country music song, though his father doesn't remember which one. Three years ago, Marcus Mathes made an announcement.
"He said, 'I was listening to the radio the other day, to Toby Keith, and I decided to join the army,' " his father, Ralph Mathes said Tuesday. "I said, 'couldn't you change the damn station?' "
Marcus Mathes, a Zephyrhills High School graduate, died Monday near Baghdad, his family said Tuesday. Mathes, 26, was at his base working on a truck when he and two buddies were killed by rocket fire, his father said.
The defense department could not be reached for comment Tuesday night.
Despite deep cuts in spending, the state budget the Florida Legislature is expected to approve this week includes funding for some projects around the Tampa Bay area. Here is a quick look at some of them, by
PINELLAS
Pinellas County health clinic: $10-million
St. Petersburg College Government Institute: $2.5-million
Dunedin Gateway redevelopment project: $1.3-million
Willa Carson human resource center: $50,000
HILLSBOROUGH
USF student wellness/nutrition center: $14.9-million
Hillsborough County health clinic: $4.5-million
Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority: $2-million
Tampa Bay restoration $1-million
Hillsborough County drainage improvements: $700,000
Plant City Eastside canal stormwater plan: $500,000
Hillsborough County stormwater utility pilot project: $400,000
North Tampa water management: $300,000
Tampa Drew Park drainage repair: $100,000
PASCO
Pasco regional hurricane shelter: $2-million
Pasco Association of Retarded center: $678,209
HERNANDO
Hernando County health clinic: $14.2-million
Hernando shelter for disabled: $1.1-million
Brooksville water improvements: $190,000
Steve Bousquet, Times staff writer
WESLEY CHAPEL — The Pasco school district removed two Seven Oaks Elementary School employees from the classroom Friday during an investigation into a parent accusation regarding what officials deemed "classroom management." District officials and Pasco Sheriff's Office deputies spent much of the day at the school interviewing students and employees regarding the allegations, about which neither agency would offer specifics. "We are trying to find out what exactly is going on," assistant superintendent Renalia DuBose said.
They jumped into action after receiving word from a Tampa Tribune reporter that a parent was alleging that a substitute teacher had put tape over the mouths of first-grade children who were talking when they were supposed to be reading. Neither DuBose nor sheriff's spokesman Doug Tobin would comment on the details of their investigation. DuBose said the district would provide support, including counseling, to students "throughout this situation."
NEW PORT RICHEY -- A jury decided at 5:30 p.m. that David Andrew White is guilty of second-degree murder in the 2005 death of his wife Andrea.
"I didn't kill my wife," White told the jury while testifying on his own behalf this morning.
White, 40 faces life in prison. Circuit Judge Thane Covert ordered him taken into custody pending sentencing on June 6.
The state has conceded there is no physical evidence linking White to her July 11, 2005 death and the case against him was circumstantial.
Andrea White's body was found dressed for bed and submerged in a pond miles from home, state witnesses told the jury, while the husband never reported her missing and even moved away on the day she was found.
But medical experts testified this week that she did not die a natural death. They surmised from the circumstances of her death -- she was barefoot, without her purse or the insulin she needs for her diabetes -- that she was murdered in another location and her body dumped in the water where it was found on July 14.
Jamal Thalji, Times staff writer
Bill Haggerty, who lives in the house with his wife and two kids, said, "It looks like she actually caught air, because the front half of the car made it across the pool."
PORT RICHEY -- The crash outside their bedroom sprang Bill and Laura Haggerty instantly out of their bed Wednesday night.
Laura called 911. Bill went outside to see what happened.
He found an SUV with its back end submerged in his swimming pool. The driver, Nicole Renee Carlin, 36, left, who appeared unharmed, opened her door and promptly fell into the water.
Haggerty helped the woman out and asked if she was okay. She stank of alcohol, he said, and had a glazed look in her eyes.
And after just a moment, she wanted to leave.
"I said, 'ma'am, you can’t leave, your truck is in my pool,'" Haggerty, 39, said. "She said, 'I can get it out!'"
But then she got up and bolted through the sliding glass doors into Haggerty's house on Water Oak Drive, he said.
Overnight crashes in Pinellas and Pasco killed two people, one of them a woman whose car slammed into the back of a forklift being driven without lights or flashers near Seminole, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
The woman's name has not been released because troopers are still trying to find her family. She was driving a 2005 Kia north in the left lane of Seminole Boulevard when the collision took place about 12:38 a.m. near 106th Avenue N.
Paul M. Mallory, 30, of Delray Beach was driving the forklift in the left lane. Highway patrol Cpl. Anthony Palese said in a news release that Mallory was operating the forklift "without any sort of lighting/warning equipment."
The woman was taken to Largo Medical Center, where she died. Mallory was not hurt. An investigation is continuing and charges are pending, according to the highway patrol.
A second fatal crash occurred around 2:10 a.m. at Country Club Road and Old Pasco Road in Wesley Chapel. Troopers said Marci Netherly, 38, Wesley Chapel, was driving a 2007 Ford Mustang along Country Club Road when she lost control and overcorrected her steering to gain it back.
The Mustang then drove into a ditch, struck a cable box and overturned. Netherly, 6134 Angus Valley Dr., was ejected, trooper said. She died at the scene.
Casey Cora, Times staff writer
[KERI WIGINTON | Times]
Brenda Keller, left, hugs her daughter Karissa Shultz at the scene of a shooting in the Angus Valley area of Wesley Chapel. Initial reports say that two neighbors were arguing when one shot the other several times. Keller said her daughter lives with the suspected shooter. "We were just on the phone talking," said Keller. "Then she started crying hysterically."
WESLEY CHAPEL -- A dispute between two neighbors that may have begun over a missing Playstation 3 ended Wednesday with one man dead and the other running from the law.
Edward Stoddard Jr, 28, shot Douglas Abrams, 26 in the driveway of a neighbor’s house Wednesday, according to the Pasco County Sheriff’s office.
Abrams was airlifted to a Hillsborough County hospital. Emergency personnel did chest compressions on Abrams as he was moved from an ambulance into a Bayflight helicopter.
He eventually succumbed to his injuries. Deputies did not have a time of death.
As of late Wednesday, Stoddard had not been caught. Deputies believe he is armed, dangerous and on the run in a green 2003 Dodge Ram truck.
Neighbors said Stoddard thought Abrams stole a Playstation 3 and television from his mobile home in March.
“Eddie thought Dougie had broken into his house,” said Donna Powers, 26, a neighbor and long-time friend of Abrams’.
She didn’t believe Abrams stole the goods.
The two grew up together. Abrams was short, thin and everyone called him “little Dougie,” she said.
They used to go to mud holes together and purposefully drive in deep enough to get stuck. When they were kids, they threw firecrackers at cars on the Fourth of July.
Most 16-year-olds do stupid stuff,” Powers said.
She had heard through the neighborhood grapevine that Stoddard might beat someone up, but she never believed he would shoot someone.
"I knew he was crazy, but not that crazy,” she said.
Continue reading "Suspect identified in Wesley Chapel shooting" »
PORT RICHEY - City Council on Tuesday voted 3-2 in favor of ousting City Attorney James Mathieu because of his ties with former council members.
Mathieu, who was appointed city attorney in July 2006, is the live-in boyfriend of former council member Nancy Britton. He also owns an investment property with former council member Dale Massad. Britton and Massad lost their council seats during the election earlier this month.
Council member Mark Hashim brought the issue to the council on Tuesday. He said Mathieu had done an excellent job as city attorney, but said he felt "it would be in Mr. Mathieu's best interest to step down."
Hashim and newly-elected council members Perry Bean and Phil Abts voted in favor of removing Mathieu from his post. Mayor Richard Rober and Council member Steven O'Neill dissented.
Mathieu will remain with the city for 30 days until a new city attorney is hired.
--Camille C. Spencer, Times Staff Writer
DADE CITY -- Lawrence Joey Smith, once convicted and sentenced to death in a gruesome central Pasco killing nearly a decade ago, won a major victory in court Tuesday.
Instead of death row, he will spend the rest of his life in prison.
Smith's death sentence was overturned in 2004 because of judicial error. Circuit Judge Lynn Tepper presided over his second penalty phase earlier this year. Smith represented himself with the help of a court-appointed lawyer. He showed impressive legal acumen, but jurors in that phase still recommended by a 7-5 vote that he should die.
But Tepper, who by law must give great weight to the jury's recommendation, ruled that the mitigators in Smith's case -- including drug addiction, the lack of a positive role model and his conduct in prison -- outweighed the aggravating factors.
In September 1999, authorities said Smith and a drug dealer named Faunce Pearce took Robert Crawford, who was 17, and Stephen Tuttle, then 16, to a remote stretch of State Road 54 in Land O'Lakes after the teens lost $1,200 in drug money.
Smith shot Tuttle in the back of the head. He and Pearce drove on, not knowing that Tuttle had survived because the bullet hit his fingers before entering his brain.
Crawford was killed as he pleaded for his life.
Crawford's mother attended the hearing Tuesday but left without speaking to reporters.
Stephen Tuttle, now 24, said he was disappointed in the sentence.
"I'm a little aggravated about it," he said. "Rob didn't get a second chance.
"I really believe (Smith) should have gotten the death penalty," Tuttle added. "But you know, I can go on with my life and he can't really."
But Tuttle has been handicapped by the shooting, which happened a week after his 16th birthday. Because of short-term memory loss, he can't keep a job. He would like to finish high school.
Pearce's conviction and death sentence were overturned in 2006 because of lawyer error. He awaits retrial on charges of first-degree murder and attempted murder. Pearce, 45, will again face the death penalty.
Keith Hammond, the attorney who assisted Smith, credited him for the work he did on his own case -- exhaustive research and authoring of motions in the prison library -- which, in effect, spared his life.
"He is phenomenal. He's not the same person he was," Hammond said. "He understands capital law as well as any capital attorney. He could teach it."
--Molly Moorhead, Times staff writer
[Agustin De Jesus counts the day's receipts today while his son Lorenzo De Jesus watches from behind the counter. Photo by Mike Pease | Times]
LUTZ -- Agustin De Jesus was sleeping on a cot in his restaurant early Monday when he heard an intruder. He saw a man going through the cash register, and fearing for his life, ran out the door.
In the parking lot, according to Pasco sheriff's officials, De Jesus, 47, found a black Ford pickup with its engine running. He had no other transportation, so he got in and headed for his house in Tampa.
Once there, De Jesus called authorities to report the burglary at his restaurant, Rosa's Cafe on Foggy 
Ridge Parkway.
About the same time, the Sheriff's Office received a call of a stolen pickup. Specifically, a black Ford Ranger.
De Jesus came back to the scene and identified the burglar. Authorities arrested Leonard Levy, a 55-year-old with a long string of felony convictions, several for burglary in central Pasco.
"That's when Levy said, 'Well, that's the guy who stole my truck,'" sheriff's spokesman Doug Tobin said.
De Jesus was not arrested. "He's the victim," Tobin said.
Levy, shown on right, faces numerous burglary and theft charges. He is being held in the Pasco County Jail in Land O'Lakes with bail set at $75,500.
Molly Moorhead, Times staff writer
[Levy's booking photo provided by Pasco County Sheriff Office]
ZEPHYRHILLS -– Just before 9:30 this morning, a man in a blond wig and pink pants robbed the First National Bank of Pasco, 4518 Gall Blvd.
The Pasco County Sheriff's Office said he gave a teller a note saying he had a gun, although no gun was seen. The teller gave him an undisclosed amount of money and the man left on foot. No one was injured.
He is described as white in his early to mid 20s, about 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighing 125 pounds and wearing pink pants, glasses, a sweatshirt and a blond wig. He was last seen on Alston Avenue heading in the direction of Sixth Street.
Deputies ask anyone with information to call the sheriff's office at (800) 854-2862.
Erin Sullivan, Times staff writer
NEW PORT RICHEY -- The ads were posted on escort service Web sites and Craigslist. But authorities say the services they promised were hardly of the legal variety.
Which is why their latest customers were deputies from the Pasco County Sheriff's Office vice/narcotics unit.
This morning, Sheriff's officials announced four women were arrested Thursday night on misdemeanor charges of prostitution and felony charges of unlicensed practice of a health care professional.
Deputies targeted women who said they were in Pasco County and posted their services on Craigslist and escort service Web sites. Calls were made and appointments set up to rendezvous at a local motel.
The women arrested were:
The women's vehicles were also seized, sheriff's officials said, because they were used in the commission of a felony.
Jamal Thalji, Times staff writer
PORT RICHEY -- Sheriff's deputies located a 78-year-old Alzheimer's patient who had wandered away from his Port Richey home just before 9 a.m. today. Authorities believe he had been wandering all night.
The Pasco County Sheriff's Office informed about 8,000 residents in the area that Alfonso Russo of 8720 Wabash Lane was missing using reverse 911 calls.
Stephanie Garry and Casey Cora, Times staff writers
Tired of all that cool weather we've been having lately? It's almost over, and just in time for the weekend, says Bay News 9 Chief Meteorologist Mike Clay.
"After several days of unseasonably cool weather, a big warm up is ahead this weekend,'' Clay said. "There's only a slight chance of showers as a weak cool front passes to our north."
Before long you can start complaining about how hot it is.
Here are the details:
Friday
Sunny and warmer
Rain 0%
Low 58
High 82
Saturday
Partly sunny, an isolated shower possible.
Rain 10%
Low 65
High 83
Sunday
Partly sunny and warm, an isolated shower possible.
Rain 10%
Low 69
High 84
TAMPA -- Former Florida Department of Children and Families spokesman Al Zimmerman has been indicted on federal charges of production of child pornography, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced today.
Zimmerman, 41, was arrested Feb. 1 on similar state charges and fired from his job. A federal complaint followed on Feb. 8.
Federal investigators accuse him of offering at least two teenage boys money to pose for nude photographs that would be sold in Germany. Zimmerman met one of the boys, a foster child, through his job, investigators said.
If convicted on the federal charge, Zimmerman would get a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison. In the state case, he faces eight charges and could get up to 120 years in convicted.
Zimmerman is accused of committing the crimes between October 2004 and December 2007 in Hillsborough and Orange counties. He's being held without bail in a Citrus County jail.
-Kevin Graham, Times staff writer
NEW PORT RICHEY -- Joshua Coggins, (left) tried to intervene in a pre-dawn argument a between a woman and her boyfriend and ended up dead with two bullet wounds in his back.
Now authorities have arrested the boyfriend, 17-year-old Jason Brian Waterhouse,(right) on a manslaughter charge.
His arrest affidavit, released by the Pasco County Sheriff's Office this afternoon, describes a chaotic scene erupting about 3:30 a.m. Sunday in the Griffin Park neighborhood. Samantha Acosta told investigators she was arguing with Waterhouse in a yard on Altoona Avenue, the street where she and Waterhouse live.
Coggins, 22, stepped in. Acosta told detectives she began arguing with Coggins, who pulled a knife and threatened her with it.
Waterhouse then flashed a revolver, the report says. He pulled the trigger three times but it misfired.
Friends of Coggins apparently began to gather. Pasco authorities have said they believe he may have been involved in gang activity.
Waterhouse took off running, with Coggins chasing after him. Witnesses reported seeing someone pick up Waterhouse in a green Mustang and drive him home.
Then, witnesses said, they heard three shots. Coggins, who lived nearby on Teak Street, was found lying in a yard on Rye Street. He was flown to Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg, where he died later Sunday.
Waterhouse was seen throwing the gun out of the car window, the report says. He told one witness that "something went wrong."
Waterhouse and Acosta both were picked up Monday night in Hillsborough County. Waterhouse, who has an extensive criminal record, was taken in by a bail bondsman on four unrelated charges, Pasco sheriff's spokesman Kevin Doll said. Acosta, 18, was arrested and charged with possession of marijuana and later released from jail in Hillsborough.
Waterhouse was booked into the Land O' Lakes jail about midnight last night. A Pasco detective interviewed him this morning.
Doll said the charge against Waterhouse -- manslaughter, not murder -- appeared to be based on witness statements the victim had been threatening Acosta with a knife.
"Maybe that was part of the reasoning for the manslaughter charge and not a murder charge,” Doll said, adding that prosecutors can always increase the charges.
--Molly Moorhead, Times staff writer
The family of Nancy McGhee, the woman who choked to death last spring during a 911 call, is filing a notice of intent to sue Pasco County's Emergency Services on Wednesday.
Clearwater attorney Tom Carey, who is representing McGhee's family, said it will be six months before the lawsuit is filed. McGhee's family is seeking compensation and adequate training for the county's 911 dispatchers, Carey said.
On March 24, McGhee was at her boyfriend's house in Land O'Lakes when she choked on a piece of steak. Chris Cooper, McGhee's boyfriend, didn't know how to do the Heimlich maneuver, so he called 911. The dispatcher he spoke with, Jennie Montanino, wasn't certified in emergency medical dispatch, and couldn't talk Cooper through it.
Montanino asked three times for a dispatcher to help, records show. Several co-workers heard dispatcher supervisor David Cook say, "I am not getting on with a hysterical caller."
Later, Cook picked up the phone and talked Cooper through the Heimlich maneuver. It didn't work. When paramedics arrived, McGhee, 37, was dead.
Click here to listen to audio from the 911 call.
Camille C. Spencer, Times staff writer
NEW PORT RICHEY -- Pasco sheriff’s investigators are searching for two people to question in this weekend’s fatal shooting of 22-year-old Joshua G. Coggins. He died early Sunday after being shot in the back three times in a house at 9106 Rye St., in the Griffin Park area.
Detectives want to talk to Jason Brian Waterhouse (left), 17, 11550 Altoona Ave., and his girlfriend, 18-year-old Samantha Rose Acosta, a sheriff’s spokesman said.
Both have previous arrests in Florida. Waterhouse has been arrested at least 10 times and adjudicated a juvenile delinquent, according to state records.
Anyone who has seen these people or has additional information about this case should call Detective Chris Beaman at 1-800-854-2862, ext. 7841.
--Molly Moorhead, Times staff writer
ZEPHYRHILLS -- Florida Highway Patrol officials are reporting a fatality after a vehicle crashed into a pole at County Road 54 and Chancey Road early this morning.
The crash took place about 3:55 a.m., authorities said. Few other details were available.
Check "This Just In" for updates as they become available.
Casey Cora, Times staff writer
NEW PORT RICHEY - A 22-year-old New Port Richey man died Sunday afternoon after he was shot three times in the back outside a Griffin Park mobile home.
Joshua Gene Coggins was shot near the rear of a mobile home at 9106 Rye Street around 3:30 a.m. Sunday, according to the Pasco County Sheriff's Office. Coggins was airlifted to a local hospital where he later died from his injuries.
Pasco deputies want to question two people about the shooting: Jason Brian Waterhouse, 17, and Samantha Rose Acosta, 18, both of 11550 Altoona Avenue in New Port Richey.
The Sheriff's Office has asked that anyone with any information about the case or the whereabouts of Waterhouse and Acosta to call Detective Chris Beaman at 1-800-854-2862.
NEW PORT RICHEY - Pasco Sheriff's deputies are searching for a gunman they believe shot a 22-year-old man three times in his back outside a New Port Richey home early Sunday morning.
Joshua Coggins was shot in the back of a Griffin Park residence at 9106 Rye Street around 3:30 a.m. Sunday, according to the Sheriff's Office.
Deputies arrived on the scene and surrounded a nearby mobile home where witnesses suggested the suspect had taken refuge. Hours later, deputies found that no one was in the home. Deputies have no information about the suspect to release.
"We have conflicting witness statements," said Kevin Doll, a spokesman for the Sheriff's Office. "Right now, we're just following up on a number of leads."
Coggins, of 9424 Teak Street in New Port Richey, was airlifted to a local hospital in critical condition.
"He was in pretty bad shape," Doll said.
Hillsborough County Sheriff's deputies found the Ruskin boy who was apparently abducted by his father after the man had a fight with the boy's mother.
The father, Jason Davis, has been charged with domestic violence and interferring with child custody. He is being held in the Palm Beach County Jail, Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Debbie Carter said.
An Amber Alert was issued this morning for Jacob Wyett Davis, pictured at far left, a one-year, three-month old boy, and his father, Jason Travis Davis, also pictured.
They were found in Palm Beach County just before 1 p.m. today during a traffic stop, Carter said. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement had issued an alert for Davis' Mercury Mountaineer.
Jason Davis and the boy's mother, Cecilia Guerra, got into an argument this morning that led to a physical fight. Guerra left the home the three share at 217 Sixth Ave. SW in Ruskin, at 3:20 a.m. and went to a store to use a phone to report the altercation. Upon her return, she discovered the boy and his father missing.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement issued the Amber Alert because Jason Davis threatened during the altercation that he would take his son and harm him.
This is the second time that Jason Davis has abducted his son. Just over a year ago, he took with his son and was later apprehended after being spotted by state troopers on Interstate 10 in Tallahassee.
Ken Walker, Times staff writer
HUDSON -- A 37-year-old Pasco man was flown to Tampa General Hospital today after accidentally lighting himself on fire.
Pasco Fire Rescue said he was trying to burn some debris in a pit with gasoline, and the fire flashed when he lit it. He suffered second- and third-degree burns on 30 percent of his body, including his arms, legs and face, said battalion chief Randy Mortellaro.
It happened on Minnieola Drive near Hudson about 10 a.m.
--Stephanie Garry, Times Staff Writer
Enjoy the warm weather while you can; a cold front is coming. Highs are expected to be in the 80s today, but Sunday temperatures are expected to dip to the 60s with a high in the mid 70s, said Bay News 9 Chief Meteorologist Mike Clay. The cooler weather will continue next week, Clay said -- temperatures Monday might not reach the 60s until afternoon.
One bright spot: There's not much rain in the forecast.
Here's the latest detailed breakdown:
DADE CITY -- One person was killed this morning in a vehicle crash at Frazee Hill Road just south of Power Line Road, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. The accident was reported just after 7:30 a.m.
Please return to tampabay.com for updates.
-- Casey Cora, Times staff writer
NEW PORT RICHEY -- Jessica Lee Clukey rear-ended a car on Madison Street on Wednesday evening. No one was seriously injured in the crash, authorities said, but the 29-year-old had a toddler in the car with her and was driving under the influence.
Clukey, 29, of 4840 Trafford Road in Holiday, was charged with DUI, DUI with property damage and child neglect. Authorities did not disclose her relationship to the child. A man named Larry Zaccagnini, who has the same address as Clukey, took the little girl after Clukey's arrest, according to an incident report.
Clukey went to the hospital for a cut on her chin. While there, she told a deputy she had consumed two or three Sparks, a caffeinated alcoholic drink, and two anti-anxiety Xanax pills because she felt depressed. The report says she failed field sobriety tests but registered zero in a Breathalyzer test.
She remains in the Pasco County jail in Land O'Lakes today in lieu of $5,750.
--Molly Moorhead, Times staff writer
WESLEY CHAPEL -- Inspectors who visited the Cypress Creek Town Center site this week after reports of more muddy water being released into the creek found no problems in the area in question. However, they found problems in a new area and will investigate further.
The inspectors from the Southwest Florida Water Management District found muddy water running into culverts under Interstate 75 on the east side of the 510-acre mall site, spokeswoman Robyn Felix said today.
"It went into the culverts and went out," she said. Previous problems were reported on the west side, but inspectors looked and found no evidence of discharge there.
Inspectors will return to take samples of the water on the east side. The findings could affect a consent order proposing a $41,456 fine for the developers, Felix said.
Last week, developers indefinitely halted construction on the mall, one of the largest proposed retail projects in the Tampa Bay area, putting at risk more than $150-million in financial commitments and thousands of promised jobs.
Beset by problems with an environmental permit, the Richard E. Jacobs Group, developer of the 1-million-square-foot project, and its prospective tenants agreed to suspend construction at the site on Interstate 75 and State Road 56.
The Army Corps of Engineers also visited the site earlier this week but had not returned phone calls for comment today.
-- Lisa Buie, Times staff writer
WESLEY CHAPEL – The day Gail Przybylski buried his oldest son, he also bought a lottery ticket.
And it won him a $9-million jackpot.
Przybylski's son Roy Hawkins, 30, passed away at home March 1. Przybylski, 52, did not wish to give the details, but said the death of his son — a musician who was trying to start a band — was unexpected.
The family laid Hawkins to rest the afternoon of March 6. On their way home from the Oakside Cemetery, they stopped at the Time Saver Food & General Store in Zephyrhills for soda.
Przybylski also bought $10 worth of lottery tickets for the March 26 drawing.
"I just happened to grab them because we stopped," Przybylski said Monday, saying he "usually" picks up some lottery tickets whenever he's at the store.
He randomly picked the numbers himself. And yes, he believes his son played a part in the winnings.
"We figured maybe he was just looking after us," Przybylski said.
Przybylski, who works at a contractor's supply store, decided to take a lump sum payment of more than $5-million. He said he plans to split the money with his wife Teresa, son David and daughter Crystal Schmitt.
If Hawkins was alive, he would get part of the share too. Hawkins sometimes played the lottery, but he never told his father what he would do if he won millions.
Przybylski plans to start a college fund for his son's two daughters and invest the rest.
He's heard the truisms that money can't buy love, and money doesn't solve problems.
Przybylski understands those words too well.
"I know you're supposed to be happy when you win it, but I'll tell you it's not no big thing," he said.
"I'd rather have my son than my money."
-- Helen Anne Travis, Times staff writer
WESLEY CHAPEL -- The black Honda was stopped about 10:30 a.m. Sunday on northbound Interstate 75 by an off-duty police officer.
When a Florida Highway Patrol trooper arrived, the driver got out of the car and was unsteady on his feet and shaking, the FHP report said. His eyes were bloodshot.
The driver was Andrew J. Martin, better known to professional wrestling fans as "Test." Born in Canada, he has a listed address on Channelside Walkway in Tampa.
According to the report, Martin, 33, failed several field sobriety tests -- including standing on one leg and stepping heel-to-toe -- and was arrested on charges of driving under the influence and driving with a suspended license.
He repeatedly fell asleep in the trooper's patrol car, the report says.
He was released from the Pasco County jail about 8 p.m. Sunday after posting $500 bail.
According to online biographies, the 6-foot-7, 275-pound Martin began wrestling in Canada under names including Martin Kane and T.J. Thunder. He broke into the World Wrestling Federation in 1998 under the ring name Test. Ending matches with the flying elbow drop, he has held the WWF European and Hardcore titles.
Last year, he debuted in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, introducing himself to fans as "The Punisher" Andrew Martin.
--Molly Moorhead, Times staff writer
