Page 19 - Florida Sentinel 1-14-20

Crime
Man Injured In
Police Investigate 2nd Explosion Of ATM Machine
Accused Murder Suspect Extradited From Atlanta
Police-Involved
On Saturday, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office extra- dited a man wanted for murder from Atlanta. Taiwan Blandin, 30, is facing several charges in Atlanta and Polk County.
He was charged with car- jacking, escape, aggravated as- sault, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, fleeing to elude, and other charges.
Detectives from Polk County traveled to Atlanta, and returned Blandin to Polk County, where he was walked for first-degree murder, first- degree arson, armed kidnap- ping, sexual battery with a deadly weapon, armed bur- glary, grand theft of a motor ve- hicle, grand theft of a firearm, and tampering with physical evidence.
After allegedly committing the charges he is facing in Polk County, Blandin is said to have fled the scene. He was ar- rested two weeks later in At- lanta, Georgia, where he was arrested and charged with sev- eral crimes in that city.
The Atlanta Police Depart- ment notified the Polk County Sheriff’s Office of the arrest.
According to Atlanta police, Blandin allegedly carjacked a vehicle from a convenience store. Atlanta Police observed the stolen vehicle shortly after it was stolen. Blandin fled when the officers attempted to make a traffic stop. He crashed the stolen vehicle and then at- tempted to run, but was caught.
Detectives are currently in- vestigating an officer-involved shooting. The incident took place early Sunday morning.
According to a spokesper- son for the Tampa Police De- partment, officers responded to the intersection of North 40th Street and E. Osborne Avenue, in reference to shots being fired in the area. When the officers arrived, they were directed to the church parking lot at N. 42nd Street and E. Cayuga Av- enue, in reference to additional shots being fired.
At that location, officers en- countered an adult male who was reportedly armed with a handgun. The officers activated their emergency equipment and ordered the man to drop the weapon.
Instead of dropping the weapon, the man allegedly ran toward the officers, threatening them and raising the weapon toward them.
The officers fired their weapons and 34-year-old Wayne Anthony Wilson was struck by the projectiles.
The officers administered first-aid until Tampa Fire Res-
WAYNE ANTHONY WILSON
cue arrived and transported Wilson to a local hospital, where he was admitted.
Police have not identified the officers involved in the shooting. Neither of the officers were not injured. As is standard procedure, both officers have been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.
When Wilson is released from the hospital, he will be charged with 2 counts of aggra- vated assault on a law enforce- ment officer with a deadly weapon, and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. The investigation is continuing.
DAMAGED ATM MACHINE
Law Enforcement agencies are investigating an explosion at an ATM Machine. The inci- dent took place sometine Satur- day night into Sunday morning.
According to police, officers responded to the Regions Bank, 3522 Bell Shoals Road, in Val- rico, in reference to an explo- sion of the ATM Machine. When investigators arrived, they discovered that the identi- fied suspects had spray painted the lenses of the surveillance cameras in the area black. The explosion took place at the drive-up ATM Machine.
The explosion damaged the machine and exposed its inte- rior. Police are unsure how much money was taken from the machine.
This is the second explosion of an ATM Machine that is being investigated in Hillsbor- ough County. The first one took place on December 22, 2019. However, police said it is pre- mature to conclude that the two crimes are connected.
In November, the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to the BB&T Bank, 3209 Tampa Road, around 3:20 a.m. When deputies arrived, they discov- ered an explosion at the drive- thru ATM, located on the south side of the building.
The case is being investi- gated by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, the Fed- eral Bureau of Investigations (FBI), and the Alcohol, To- bacco, Firearms, and Explo- sives (ATF) Bureau.
This is an ongoing investi- gation. Anyone with informa- tion about the case is asked to contact the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office at (813) 247-8200.
TAIWAN BLANDIN
A spokesperson for the Polk County Sheriff’s Office said an unidentified white woman was in the vehicle at the time and was also arrested.
Blandin became a suspect in a crime spree in Polk County around 8 a.m., Tuesday, Octo- ber 1st, in Fort Meade. In that city, he is alleged to have sexu- ally battered and then kid- napped a woman. The victim and Blandin know each other. Blandin reportedly drove the woman to Frostproof. The woman was able to escape from his vehicle.
Blandin is accused of killing an 80-year-old woman in her home. After the murder, Blandin is alleged to have stolen the murder victim’s ve- hicle and followed the sexual battery victim back to Fort Meade. At that point, he shot at her, but did not hit her.
As he was shooting at the sexual battery victim, a stray bullet struck an 81-year-old woman in the foot. She recov- ered from her injuries, police said.
Shooting
Man Charged With Sexual Battery On 13-Year-Old Child
Police arrested a 19-year- old man and charged him with sexual battery. The incident in- volved a 13-year-old girl. The crime took place at a private residence. The victim and sus- pect are known to each other.
According to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, the vic- tim had fallen asleep in the bed- room of Alexander Fortuna the night before. Around 6 a.m., Sunday, she was awak- ened by Fortuna as he com- mitted sexual battery on her. Out of fear, she told police, she pretended to be asleep.
She also told police his breath smelled of beer and she heard what sounded like a cell phone taking pictures during the attack. Afterwards, she called police and reported the crime.
Detectives interviewed Fortuna, and he admitted to
ALEXANDER FORTUNA
sexually battering the victim. He also admitted to drinking beer and taking pictures of the victim, but said he had deleted the pictures.
Fortuna was arrested and in addition to the sexual bat- tery, was charged with violation of probation for possession of marijuana.
The investigation is contin- uing.
UNCLE SANDY
Don't focus on regrets; 2, 11, 21, 33, 45 find your inspiration in what you can do now 9, 20, 39, 51, 62.
TUESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2020 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 19