Page 38 - Florida Sentinel 9-24-21

Crime
Two Arrested For Pointing Laser
GERALD PEREZ
Two men have been ar- rested in separate incidents after they allegedly pointed lasers at law enforcement hel- icopter pilots and commercial aviation pilots.
The first incident took place last Friday. Arrests were made in both cases. At approximately 10:08 p.m., Tampa Police Helicopter pilots were flying over the I-4 /I-275 interchange, when they were targeted by a green laser.
They quickly changed their flight path to protect their vi- sion. The laser was coming from the downtown area. Officers aimed the cam- era to the location where they believed the laser was coming from and within sec- onds, they were again targeted with the green laser.
The pilots notified Tampa Air Traffic Control tower, Tampa Police Dispatch, and officers on the ground. The subject holding the laser tar- geted the helicopter several times, for several sec- onds each time, which made it difficult to maintain normal flight altitude.
The suspect was sitting in Curtis Hixon Park, 600 Ashley Dr., next to another subject. Pilots could clearly see the suspect, later identified as 21-year-old Gerald Perez, was the only one who targeted them with the laser.
Perez continued to point the laser at the helicopter as
12-Year-Old
DHANESHWAR SAHADEO
ground units worked to locate him. Perez was located and taken into custody.
The second incident took place the following day on Sat- urday. At around 10 p.m., Tampa Air Traffic Control tower advised all aircraft in the area to beware of someone pointing a laser.
Air traffic control advised a Cessna that flew over the air- port, had just been targeted by a green laser.
Air traffic control directed the law enforcement helicop- ter pilots to the area and within minutes, they were targeted by a green laser from a residential neighborhood.
Officers captured the inci- dent on camera and began recording. They zoomed in the camera and were able to pin- point which house the laser came from.
Officers saw a subject in front of the house, sometimes standing, and sometimes sit- ting on a chair, just outside the garage. The subject, later iden- tified as 33-year-old Dhaneshwar Sahadeo, pointed the laser at the helicopter several times.
Officers directed Hillsbor- ough County Sheriff’s Office patrol units to the house on 6807 Burke St.
Deputies made contact with Sahadeo and took him into custody.
Both cases remain under investigation.
A 12-year-old student was taken into custody Tuesday af- ternoon after police say the child arrived at school with a loaded gun.
Tampa police said the stu- dent attended AMI Kids. Au- thorities were first alerted after a classmate provided a tip. Investigators have not de- termined if the child will be charged. The investigation is continuing.
Brings
Loaded Gun
To School
Entertainment
Sarah Dash, Singer And
Co-Founder Of Labelle,
Sarah Dash, the singer and co-founder of the all-fe- male singing group Labelle, best known for their 1974 hit "Lady Marmalade," died Monday at the age of 76.
Dash's bandmate Patti LaBelle announced her long- time friend's death on social media.
"We were just onstage to- gether on Saturday and it was such a powerful and special moment!" LaBelle said on Twitter. "Sarah Dash was an awesomely talented, beautiful and loving soul who blessed my life and the lives of so many others in more ways than I can say. And I could al- ways count on her to have my back! That's who Sarah was ... a loyal friend and a voice for
LABELLE: NONA HENDRYX, SARAH DASH AND PATTI LABELLE
those who didn't have one." Nona Hendryx rounded out the Labelle trio. Hendryx shared on Insta- gram of the passing of her for- mer bandmate, "Words are inadequate so I will use few. We spoke a musical language, music says it best. Singing
brought us together..."
Dies At Age 76
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