Page 48 - Florida Sentinel 2-5-16 (2)

Crime
Arrest Made In 2015 Shooting Death
Man Runs From Traffic Stop, Commits Burglary
On Tuesday, February 2nd at 3:18 p.m., Hernando County Deputy Blake Vanderford reported that he tried to con- duct a traffic stop on the driver of a red Kia Sephia in the area of Waterfall Drive and Gibral- ter Street in Spring Hill.
Instead of stopping the Kia when Deputy Vanderford activated his siren and emer- gency lights, the driver got out and fled on foot, leaving the ve- hicle in drive. The deputy im- mediately gave commands for the driver to stop, but he con- tinued to flee.
Deputy Vanderford pur- sued the driver on foot, and when he lost sight of him a perimeter was set up and a K-9 team requested.
The K-9 team arrived and tracked the driver to 8447 Ar- alia Street. At that location, deputies noticed a porch door
JOSEPH KINCADE
slightly open. A check of the rear screened porch revealed the driver hiding in the corner.
The driver, identified as Joseph Kincade, 24, was ar- rested and charged with bur- glary of an occupied dwelling, resisting arrest without vio- lence, and driving with a sus- pended or revoked license.
Police Investigating Homicide
ELDRID MARTIN .....killed in 2015 shooting.
JAMES RODGERS .....charged in 2015 murder.
JOSE MANUEL CAZARES
On Monday night at 8:29 p. m., Plant City Police said its of- fice received a 9-1-1 reporting a disturbance between two men.
When police arrived, a His- panic male was found in the yard of a residence at 3607 West Baker Street. He was trans- ported to a local hospital and was pronounced dead a short time later.
The deceased man was iden-
On Monday, Tampa Police arrested 24-year-old James “Scoop” Rodgers, and charged him with second de- gree murder in the shooting death of Eldrid Martin, 28.
On August 8,, 2015 at 2:23 a. m., Rodgers unlawfully shot Martin during a dispute at 1515 East 139th Avenue. Rodgers was arguing with Martin about money he said Martin owed him.
During the argument, au- thorities said Rodgers snatched money out of Mar- tin’s hand and that escalated their argument. Rodgers then reportedly displayed a firearm.
Rodgers and Martin con- tinued to argue, at which time Rodgers aimed his firearm at Martin and fired one shot, striking Martin in the chest.
After Martin was shot, he pulled a gun and shot at Rodgers striking him in the neck, leg, and arm. He then fled and died as a result of the gunshot injury. Rodgers was identified as the person who shot Martin first.
Authorities determined Martin shot Rodgers in self defense.
Ms. Sheila Williams, mother of Eldrid Martin, said “Ain’t God good!” when she got the news of Rodgers’ arrest.
“I got a call Monday night from a detective, and I have a heart condition (pacemaker), and my health hasn’t been that good. But, when I got the news the man who killed my son had been charged, all I could say is Thank You Jesus!
“The young man had been bragging on social media about the incident. At the time, I for- gave him for killing my son, be- cause I thought I’d never have to see his face again.
“I really want to thank the detectives for not giving up on my son, and working so hard to make sure we got justice.”
Ms. Williams said she hopes he takes a plea in the case, because she doesn’t want to sit in a courtroom and see his face.
“I don’t think I could go through that. But I will say we all feel vindicated in our belief that Eldrid was murdered. This is proof that prayers can be answered. I just want to say, Thank You Lord!”
Deputies Seek Energy Drink Thief
Sex Offender Caught Molesting 3-Year-Old
tified as Cazares, 31.
Jose Manuel
Plant City Police say they are conducting an active investiga- tion, and anyone with informa- tion is asked to contact Detective Chad Rader at (813) 757-9200.
Suspected energy drink thief.
Burglary Suspects Arrested
Pasco County Sheriff’s deputies are asking for help in locating a person who stole hundreds of dollars of energy drinks from a Land O’ Lakes store.
On January 29th at 3:30 p. m., deputies said the suspect was seen leaving Publix, 7830 Land O’ Lakes Boulevard, with $832.41 in 5-Hour Energy and Redbull drinks without paying for them.
Deputies said the same sus- pect has hit several Publix sores through Hillsborough and Pasco Counties on January
29th and 30th, stealing similar items.
The suspect is described as a white male with short brown hair and medium build. Deputies cannot determine from surveillance photos whether the suspect is male or female.
The suspect was seen wear- ing a white tee-shirt, dark shorts, and at one store a blue tee-shirt and a dark hoodie, and jeans at another store.
Anyone with information is asked to call 1-800-706-2488.
DUSTIN M. PETERS
HARRY C. DAYMON
On Tuesday, February 2nd, members of the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, Pasco County Sheriff’s Office, Polk County Sheriff’s Office, and Lakeland Police Department executed a search warrant at 604 North Lake Avenue, Apart- ment H, in Lakeland.
The warrant was in relation to the ongoing criminal investi- gation into the series of resi- dential burglaries that have occurred over the past month.
As a result of the search war- rant, a large amount of jewelry, televisions, electronics, com- puters and other items were re- covered. A large majority of these items have been identi- fied as belonging to burglary victims. It was estimated that the recovered items may be worth well over $200,000.
Arrested and charged were Dustin M. Peters, 27, and Harry C. Daymon, 37.
Both men are facing charges of armed burglary of a dwelling, grand theft, and addi- tional charges from Pasco County.
Man Facing Multiple Weapon Charges
Caleb Spraggins, 22, of Palmetto, has been arrested and is facing several felony charges after allegedly waving a gun inside a store in front of customers and then firing it into the air Tuesday evening.
At 9:15 p. m., Sarasota Po- lice were called to Moore’s Gro- cery, 1993 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Way on a report of a man with a firearm waving it around at shoppers.
Shoppers reportedly told of- ficers Spraggins started yelling profanity and telling customers he was going to get in the front of the line. When a customer asked him to stop, police said Spraggins pulled a handgun from his pocket, and pulled the slide back.
Two customers told officers that as Spraggins left the store, he reportedly threatened to shoot them. The store owner told police as Spraggins was leaving, he fired a shot into the air while traveling south on Washington Court.
Officers spotted Spraggins a short time later running into
CALEB SPRAGGINS
an apartment in the 2400 block of Valerie Lane, He was arrested, and officers found a .45 caliber handgun in the apartment. A check of the Na- tional Crime Information Cen- ter revealed the firearm was reported stolen out of Braden- ton.
Spraggins was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession of ammunition by a convicted felon, gun theft re- sisting arrest without violence, and discharging a firearm in public.
St. Petersburg Police have reported that a 50-year-old registered sex offender has been accused of molesting the 3-year-old daughter of his girl- friend.
Bernard Jones is facing charges of capital sexual bat- tery, lewd and lascivious mo- lestation on a child younger than 12, and aggravated bat- tery.
Police said at 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, the mother walked into her daughter’s bedroom and allegedly saw Jones per- forming a sex act on her daugh- ter. She yelled out to her teenage son for help, and they wrestled Jones to the floor. Jones bit the teenage son and ran to a nearby residence, po- lice said.
BERNARD JONES
A woman inside that home called police and Jones was arrested.
Jones’ prior incident in- volved a child younger than 12 in Miami-Dade County, ac- cording to arrest records.
UNCLE SANDY SAYS...
We must never forget 13, 17, 21, 25 that Black His- tory is American History. 20, 37, 47, 50 The achieve- ments of African Americans 4, 14, 53, 58 have contributed to our nation's greatness. 9, 44, 60, 62
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2016 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 23-A