Page 35 - Florida Sentinel 12-9-16 Online Edition

Crime
‘Shots Fired’ Report Leads To Discovery Of Murder Victim
Law enforcement respond- ing to an alert of shots being fired in North Tampa discov- ered an injured man. He was transported to a local hospi- tal, but died.
According to the Hillsbor- ough County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to the area of 15th Street and Gragston Circle. While in the area, they discovered 34- year-old Antonio Lamar Bradshaw lying on the ground in the 1800 block of French Creek Road. Fire Res- cue, responded and trans- ported Bradshaw to a local hospital. He had been shot at least once, and died as a re- sult of his injuries.
During the course of the in- vestigation, police developed a “vehicle of interest” and later located it. Police had obtained a search warrant to determine if the vehicle was related to the homicide.
ANTONIO LAMAR BRADSHAW 9/13/1982 TO 12/7/2016
Larry McKinnon,
spokesperson for the Hills- borough County Sheriff’s Of- fice said this is the third or fourth time that the Shot Spotter Activation has led deputies to victims.
“Unfortunately, this victim was dead, but with at least two others, deputies arrived and were able to get them medical attention.”
He further stated that his office receives notification even before someone calls 9- 1-1. Whenever shots are fired in the area, it provides law enforcement with the exact longitude and latitude of where the shots were fired.
No one has been taken into custody. However, the inves- tigation is continuing. Tipsters may be eligible for a reward of up to $3,000 lead- ing to the arrest of an indi- vidual responsible for this murder.
Anyone with information pertaining to this homicide can contact the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office at (813) 247-8200; or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-873-TIPS, or www.crimestopperstb.com.
Man, Woman Charged After Children Locked In Bathroom
Two Injured By Police Gunfire After Drug Deal Turns Violent
TIMOTHY TUCKER SHERYL SHEPHERD
... Charged with aggravated ... Charged with child neglect
child abuse
A man and woman were taken into custody on Mon- day and charged in connec- tion with child abuse. The arrests came about as police were investigating a report of child abuse.
According to the Tampa Po- lice, during the investigation, it was learned that one of the children is autistic and the other has not been diagnosed, but has shown signs of the disorder.
Police said the boys, ages 8 and 9, were also locked in the bathroom for several hours a day as a form of punishment. Investigators also learned that Timothy W. Tucker, 39, also forced one of the boys to sleep on the floor as pun- ishment as well.
Detectives spoke with Ms.
Sheryl Shepherd, 30, who allegedly told police the chil- dren had been punished in this manner for the past two months. Ms. Shepherd is a family member admitted that she was aware the children were locked in the bathroom and that they also suffered other forms of physical abuse.
She was arrested and charged with failing to make any reasonable effort to pro- tect the children. Her bond was set at $2,000.
Tucker was taken into custody and charged with ag- gravated child abuse. His bond was set at $30,000.
They were both arrested in an apartment complex in the 2300 block of E. Sligh Av- enue, jail records showed.
Undercover deputies with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office fired their weapons after a drug trans- action went awry. Six under- cover deputies were involved in the shooting.
According to a spokesman with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, around 5 p.m., on Tuesday, the two men met the under- cover officers at the Wendy’s Restaurant, 3725 Sun City Center Blvd., to conduct a sale of cocaine. Backup deputies were nearby. The undercover deputy was also wearing an electronic wire that allowed the backup deputies to hear the transac- tion as it took place.
The men were outside their vehicle when one of them pulled a gun on a deputy. The backup deputies responded and at least one of the sus- pects began firing shots at the deputies.
The deputies returned fire and both men were wounded. The men fled the scene, but were stopped about two miles from where the shooting took place.
Deputies determined that Luis F. Gutierrez, 20, of Ruskin, had life-threatening injuries and was transported to a local hospital in critical condition. He remains hospi- talized at Tampa General Hospital.
The second suspect fled
EFREN ESPARZA LOPEZ ... Facing several charges
the scene. He later obtained a ride to Brandon Regional Hospital. He was identified as Efren Esparaza-Lopez, 19, of Ruskin.
Esparaza-Lopez was treated at Brandon Regional Hospital and charged with: 4 counts of attempted murder of a law enforcement officer; and armed robbery with a firearm.
There were also active warrants charging him with: delivery of a controlled sub- stance (methamphetamine); sale of cocaine; possession of cocaine; possession of a con- trolled substance (metham- phetamine); possession of marijuana with intent to sale;
possession of a controlled substance (marijuana); and possession of a controlled substance (alprazolam).
Col. Donna Luscyzn- ski, of the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said in a media statement, “It is important to understand there was originally no intent to arrest the suspect when he delivered the narcotics. De- tectives were attempting to identify the supplier and were going to purchase the narcotics after the introduc- tion to the supplier.
“However, it became im- mediately apparent that the suspects were committing an armed robbery, not a nar- cotics transaction. They uti- lized a firearm, pointed it at the detective and pinned his arm in the vehicle trying to steal his money. As he broke free and fled from the vehi- cle, the suspects opened fire on the cover team, which is present for every narcotics transaction, and continued to fire at the marked patrol ve- hicle as he pursued the sus- pects.”
The names of the six deputies involved in the shooting will not be released because of they are assigned to the undercover unit. All of them have been placed on Administrative leaving pend- ing the outcome of the inves- tigation, which is continuing.
PAGE 22-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2016