Page 41 - Florida Sentinel 12-18-20

Crime
Gang-Related Racketeering Scheme Nets 6 Arrests
Detective Charged With Tampering With Evidence
TYRONE RIVERS
HOLLINS MILLS
JAMES LODIE
On Monday afternoon, Tampa Police Chief Brian Dugan announced the arrest of a Tampa Police detective. The detective has since been released on bond.
Detective Jarda Brad- ford is accused of tampering with evidence and forging the signature of a witness. The case came to light after five of her co-workers reported the inci- dent.
According to police, the in- cident occurred in October per- taining to an attempted murder case. Detective Bradford composed a photo lineup. One of the individuals in the lineup was wearing ear- rings. Department policy states the pictures to be uniform and the earrings be covered up in line with the other photos.
Detective Bradford re- portedly did not cover them at the time she showed the photo lineup to a witness. She is ac- cused of realizing the mistake and covering the earrings be- fore placing it back into evi- dence. She is also accused of failing to get the signature of the witness and forging it on the new photo lineup, police said.
Chief Dugan said, “You hear a lot about officers having
DETECTIVE JARDA BRADFORD
a duty to intervene when they see wrongdoing. This informa- tion was brought forth by fel- low detectives. If we, as law enforcement, want the com- munity to trust us, they have to know that when we find cops who do wrong that we are going to hold them account- able.”
State Attorney Andrew Warren said, “Tampering with evidence corru0pts our ju- dicial process. And when a law enforcement officer betrays the badge, it erodes trust in the in- tegrity of our entire system.
“It doesn’t matter who you are whether you wear a badge or not, if you break the law, you must be held accountable.”
Detective Bradford, 38, initially suspended without pay. Chief Dugan said he ex- pects her to be terminated.
JAQUEZ SMITH
Last week, officers with the Orlando Police Depart- ment arrested the last of six men identified by the agency as belonging to a local gang.
The gang members report- edly participated in a string of burglaries and thefts across Florida, an Orlando Police Department spokesperson said.
The suspects have been identified as Darrion Mont- gomery, 18, Jabari Davis, 19, James Lodie, 18, Jaquez Smith, 21, Tyrone Rivers, 19, and 20-year-old Hollins Mills.
DARRION MONTGOMERY Mills was the last suspect
arrested over a nine-month investigation dubbed “Oper- ation Hotwheels.”
The men face charges of racketeering, conspiracy to commit racketeering and sev- eral counts of grand theft greater than $20,000, the spokesman said.
Over two years, the six men allegedly stole around $1.9 million in property, in- cluding 59 cars and 19 firearms, and caused $43,600 in damage to various proper- ties, OPD said.
They are also alleged to
JABARI DAVIS
have stolen cars from Orlando neighborhoods and used them to commit other crimes, like stealing additional vehicles, burglarizing businesses and cars, according to the agency.
The men are all members of an unnamed gang “from the Mercy Drive corridor,” po- lice said.
Twenty-five local, state and national law enforcement agencies, including the Or- ange County Sheriff’s Office, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the United States Marshals Serv- ice, investigated the case.
Man Arrested In 22-Year-Old Rape Case
Last week, a 60-year-old man was arrested in connection with a 22-year-old rape case. He was taken into custody based on genetic genealogy to develop new leads and probable cause.
The combined dedicated ef- forts of the Tampa Police De- partment, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Hillsbor-
ough County State Attorney’s Office, and United States Marshals Serv- ice led to the successful ap- prehension of James Byrd.
JAMES BYRD Byrd was arrested in
Marion County last Wednesday morning and charged with armed kidnapping and sexual battery. At the time the crime was committed, the victim was a 22-year-old female.
Tampa Police Chief Brian Dugan said, “As is clear in this case, we have never considered an investigation as a cold case’ and we work every case until each one can be successfully solved.
The genetic genealogy infor- mation that provided new leads for investigators was accom- plished as a direct result of the FDLE’s partnership with Parabon NanoLabs.
PAGE 22-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY FRIDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2020