Page 35 - Florida Sentinel 12-7-18

Crime
Man Charged In 30-Year-Old Murder Case
Man Charged
Student Arrested
MS. JUDITH ELAINE DOHERTY
DAVID L. STEPHENS ... Age 32
DAVID L. STEPHENS ... Age 62
WADE WEST, JR.
The Pasco County Sheriff’s Office arrested a 23-year-old man and charged him with taking a woman’s purse. His victim was a 72-year-old woman.
According to police, Wade West, Jr., left his home at 5708 Andrea Drive, in Holi- day. As he walked down the street, he observed an elderly woman using a walker.
Police said West walked up to the woman, snatched her purse and then ran back inside his residence. A witness reportedly observed the inci- dent.
The purse, along with all of its contents, was located in- side West’s home, police said.
Deputies also located a surveillance video that cap- tured the crime. West was charged with robbery by sud- den snatching.
A 17-year-old student was arrested Wednesday and charged with several crimes. Among the charges he is fac- ing is having a firearm on campus.
According to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, po- lice learned about the gun on the George Jenkins High School campus through a tip. The School Resource Office responded to where the stu- dent, Luis Manuel Escalona was located. When the officer searched his backpack, the officer dis- covered a 9mm handgun in the backpack. He also had an extra loaded magazine, po- lice said.
Escalona told police that he had found the gun re- cently off school grounds. He was charged with possession of a firearm on campus, pos- session of a firearm with an altered serial number, pos- session of a firearm by a ju- venile, and disruption of a
LUIS MANUEL ESCALONA
school function. He was transported to the Juvenile Assessment Center, where he was processed.
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said, “We have an absolute zero tolerance for weapons of any kind at school. I thank the tipster who alerted the school to the gun and commend the school personnel and our deputy for acting quickly and deci- sively.”
A 62-year-old man was charged Tuesday with mur- der in connection with a 30- year-old case. He was connected to the crime through DNA testing.
David L. Stephens, 62, of Sarasota, is already serving a 70-year sentence in prison. In August 1989, a judge handed down the sentence for armed sexual battery and burglary in connection with a crime that took place in Feb- ruary 1989. He was slated for release on those charges in July 2021.
However, using new tech- nology, police have linked him to a crime that took place several months before that
crime.
According to the Sarasota
Police Department, on July 31, 1988, a jogger discovered a woman’s body in a field at Booker High School, 3201 North Orange Avenue.
When the officers arrived, they discovered the body of Ms. Judith Elaine Do- herty, a 23-year-old Sara- sota, resident. The investigation determined that Ms. Doherty was the victim of a homicide.
On Tuesday, detectives served an arrest warrant on Stephens at the DeSoto Cor- rectional Institution. He was charged with murder and sexual battery.
With Robbing Elderly Woman On Walker
For Having Gun
On Campus
UNCLE SANDY
Teenager Charged With Posting School Threats
Everything that happens, happens as it should, 7, 21, 38, 46, 52 and if you observe carefully, you will find this to be so 2, 17, 31, 44, 63
An 18-year-old woman was arrested early Monday after she allegedly posted a threat on Snapchat. She was charged with one count of threatening communication or threats of mass shootings.
According to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, Ms. Hanlin M. Majewski was arrested at her St. Petersburg home.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, a citizen contacted po- lice about 11:10 p.m. Sunday and informed them of the photograph posted on a per- sonal Snapchat account.
Detectives launched their investigation and saw a pho- tograph of a male in a black tactical vest pointing a black handgun at the camera. The caption read, “don’t come to school tomorrow.”
HANLIN M. MAJEWSKI
Detectives determined that the photograph was posted on Ms. Majewski’s account. The investigators made contact with Ms. Ma- jewski at her home and she reportedly admitted that she had taken the photograph on her phone that evening and typed the words in the caption before posting it. She told
deputies that she had not meant any harm by posting the photograph, police said.
She further identified the male in the photograph as her boyfriend’s 17-year-old brother and said he was hold- ing a fake gun.
Detectives contacted the parents of the teenager. They recovered a black tactical vest and the black airsoft BB gun that was shown in the photo- graph. The parents told police their son did not have access to any weapons or firearms.
Detectives said neither Ms. Majewski or the teenager attend Pinellas County Schools. Ms. Majew- ski was a student at Gibbs High School until last year. Currently she is a student at Florida Virtual School. The teenager is home schooled.
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2018 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 23-A