Page 34 - Florida Sentinel 7-19-19

Crime
Three Teenagers Charged With Car Burglaries
Police Officer Injured In Crash With Stolen Car
Three teenagers have been taken into custody in connec- tion with several car burgla- ries. The burglaries took place in the Brandon area.
According to the Hillsbor- ough County Sheriff’s Office, around 3 a.m., on July 16th, deputies responded to the 2300 block of Camden View Drive in reference to a prowler. The caller told police she observed two Black males attempting to open her vehicle door while she was inside.
Deputies in the area ob- served a vehicle leaving the area. When a deputy at- tempted to conduct a traffic stop, the vehicle fled north- bound on York Drive. It came to rest at the dead end.
At that point, the occu- pants jumped out of the vehi- cle and fled. The vehicle had been reported stolen to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.
A search of the stolen car produced property stolen from other car burglaries, po-
MARCUS MALONE
RAYMOND TROTMAN
ARMARIO GILBERT
A St. Petersburg Police of- ficer is recovering after being involved in a traffic accident. The accident took place at 18th Avenue, South and 7th Street, South, late Monday.
According to police, the police vehicle driven by an unidentified sergeant was traveling eastbound on 18th Avenue, South. As he ap- proached the intersection, a blue Toyota Camry, traveling at a high rate of speed, north- bound on 7th Street, S., ran the stop sign. The two vehicles crashed at the intersection.
At the time of the crash,
police discovered that the Toyota had been reported stolen. The police sergeant as well as three occupants of the Toyota were transported to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries. They were all treated and released. A fourth passenger in the stolen car was listed in serious condition, police said.
Detectives said a 15-year- old male was driving the car at the time of the crash. He was arrested on outstanding war- rants. Charges against him in connection with the accident are pending.
lice said.
Police attempted to locate
the suspects, but were unsuc- cessful.
Around 4:30 a.m., deputies were called to the 1700 block of Orange Hill Drive, in reference to a bur- glary that had just occurred. The caller told police three Black males were observed entering vehicles.
When police arrived, the suspects fled on foot.
Deputies searched the area and located Marcus Mal-
one, 16, hiding in the back- yard of a nearby residence. Malone had six pickup or- ders for burglary and grand theft crimes.
The other two teenagers, identified as 15-year-old Ray- mond Trotman, and 18- year-old Armario Gilbert were located with the assis- tance of the Aviation and K-9 Units.
All three teenagers are charged with 9 counts of bur- glary as well as several other charges, police said.
Mother, Son Plead Guilty To Drug Charges
Brothers Charged With Shooting Man Outside Store
Two brothers have been arrested in connection with a shooting outside a conven- ience store.
The shooting that took place Sunday evening left a 31-year-old man in critical condition.
According to the St. Pe- tersburg Police Department, Darrell Simmons, Jr., was shot outside the Food Max, 1400 18th Avenue, South. The shooting was captured on video.
When officers arrived, they discovered that Sim- mons was suffering from gunshot wounds and had life- threatening injuries.
He was transported to a local hospital, where he was listed in critical, but stable condition.
Leads gathered during the investigation led police to Antonio Ruffin, 38, and his 36-year-old brother, Eric
ANTONIO RUFFIN
... Charged with attempted murder
ERIC RUFFIN
... Charged with attempted murder
JEFFREY LUIS RODRIGUEZ
A Tampa woman and her son entered a guilty plea on drug charges in federal court. Each faces a mandatory penalty of life in prison.
Earlier this week, Jeffrey Luis Rodriguez, 34, pleaded guilty to one count of conspir- acy to distribute a mixture and substance containing a de- tectable amount of fentanyl and heroin, causing serious bodily harm. He also pleaded guilty to one count of distrib- uting heroin, causing serious bodily harm, and six counts of aiding and abetting the distri- bution of heroin and fentanyl.
His mother, 62-year-old
Mary Bell Rodriguez,
pleaded guilty to three counts of aiding and abetting the dis- tribution of heroin and fen- tanyl.
According to court docu-
MARY BELL RODRIGUEZ
ments, from at least March 2017 and continuing through May 2018, Jeffrey Ro- driguez and Ms. Rodriguez were members of a conspiracy that distributed fentanyl and heroin, from their vehicle, around the Town and Country area of Hillsborough County.
During the span of the con- spiracy, the fentanyl that they had distributed led to many overdoses, including the seri- ous bodily injury overdose of D.C.H.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office had also launched an investigation of members of the conspiracy. Between January and May 2018, undercover law enforce- ment officers purchased nar- cotics from Rodriguez and his mother on various occa- sions.
DARRELL SIMMONS, JR. ... Recovering from his injuries
Ruffin.
Detectives believe that Antonio Ruffin fired the shots that struck Simmons. Both men were taken into
custody and charged with at- tempted murder.
Simmons is continuing to recover from his injuries, police said.
UNCLE SANDY
Sometimes we’re tested not to show our weaknesses, 4, 18, 29, 34, 53, but to discover our strengths, 8, 19, 32, 44, 64.
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