Page 32 - Florida Sentinel 4-29-16 Bookstore Edition

Crime
Tampa Man Found Dead In East Tampa Home
Victim’s Vehicle
The 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt, blue in color is still missing. The vehicle ahs a tag number of X981JA. The vehicle looks like this vehicle.
JAMES SIMMONS, JR. 7/13/1967 to 4/25/2016
A 48-year-old man was found dead inside his East Tampa home on Monday evening. The Tampa Police Department is asking the community to help locate his missing vehicle and to provide information in the case.
According to police, the body of James Reche Sim- mons, Jr., 3805 E. Curtis Street, was discovered at ap-
proximately 7:48 p.m. Police have not released any addi- tional information about his death.
However, his 2005 Chevro- let Cobalt, bearing Florida Tag X981JA, is missing. The car is blue in color.
No funeral home had been selected to handle the arrangements of Mr. Sim- mons at press time.
Crime Stoppers of Tampa Bay is offering a reward of up to $3,000 for information that leads to the identification and arrest of the suspect in this case. Anyone with any infor- mation regarding their iden- tity and who wants to be eligible for a cash reward is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-873-TIPS (8477), or report anonymously online at www.crimestopperstb.com.
Mom Gets 50 Years For Scalding Baby
Mother Charged With Manslaughter After Sick Child Dies
A Tampa woman is facing a manslaughter charge after she failed to seek medical care for her sick daughter, authorities said.
Jolanda Stridiron, 39, was arrested Sunday after the investigation into the death of her 6-year-old daughter in Feb- ruary 2015.
According to the Hillsbor- ough County Sheriff’s Office, the child had previously been diagnosed with Dandy-Walker Syndrome, which caused her brain to develop abnormally.
Authorities said on February 7, 2015, the child began vomit- ing and complaining about se- vere headaches. After interviewing several witnesses, investigators with the Sheriff’s Office and the State Attorney’s Office learned that Stridiron decided not to take her daugh- ter o the emergency room be- cause she was worried about paying the insurance de- ductible, authorities said. In- stead, she planned to wait until a scheduled doctor’s appoint- ment the following week.
The child died two days later. Investigators learned that Stridiron had the training and instructions by doctors to know her daughter needed to
be treated immediately. Dandy-Walker Syndrome in-
JOLANDA STRIDIRON
volves the cerebellum, the area of the brain that coordinates movement. Symptoms often occur in early infancy and can include slow motor develop- ment and progressive enlarge- ment of the skull. In older children, increased pressure within the skull can cause irri- tability, vomiting, unsteadiness and a lack of muscle coordina- tion.
Stridiron had been em- ployed as a ticket agent for Greyhound Lines, and records show that’s where she was ar- rested.
Stridiron was jailed on a charge of aggravated manslaughter of a child, an of- fense punishable by up to life in prison. Her bail is set at $50,000.
CHEKAYLA DAMPIER
The woman who ran her 2- month-old baby under a faucet of scalding water in 2012 pleaded guilty to second-degree murder Tuesday.
Chekayla Dampier, 22, was sentenced to 50 years in state prison for the death of her infant son, Emilio Jesus Bautista. Second-degree mur- der carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Dampier reportedly told in- vestigators after the incident on April 17, 2012 that she placed her son under the hot water be- cause he wouldn’t stop crying.
Afterward, Dampier waited hours to take her son to the hos- pital, even though burns were so bad his skin peeled off when nurses tried to remove his clothes, authorities said.
Dampier was first charged with aggravated child abuse causing great bodily harm. The charge was upgraded to first-de- gree murder after Emilio died on April 28th, two months and eight days after his birth on Feb- ruary 20th.
The plea deal was made just before the trial was about to start and after a witness died. The witness had been expected to help the defense’s argument that the baby’s death was an ac- cident.
UNCLE SANDY SAYS...
The most important 3, 7, 8, 11 thing a father can do 1, 21, 24, 27 for his children 29, 33, 37, 41 is to
love their mother. 42, 48, 55, 57
FRIDAY, APRIL 29, 2016 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 23-A