Page 42 - Florida Sentinel 10-22-21

Crime
Man Pleads Guilty To Murder, Armed Robbery
Brothers Face 304
A St. Petersburg man has pleaded guilty to crimes com- mitted four years apart. The first crime, armed robbery, took place in 2014, and the murder occurred in 2018.
Last week, Corey Small 43, of St. Petersburg, pleaded guilty to robbery and to using and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of vio- lence, conspiring to distribute cocaine and cocaine base, possessing a firearm after being convicted of a felony of- fense, and possessing, bran- dishing, and discharging a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, caus- ing death by murder.
In reference to the rob- bery and the use and bran- dishing offenses, according to
offenses, which are unrelated to the 2014 crimes, court doc- uments show that in 2018, Small conspired with an em- ployee of a night club to sell cocaine for him.
Later that year, the victim, who was a friend of the night- club employee, attempted to persuade the employee to leave the club and stop selling drugs for Small. In response to this attempted interference with his drug business, Small argued with the victim and then shot him four times, killing him.
Small, a previously con- victed felon, was later ar- rested and found to be in possession of a firearm. A sentencing date for Small has not been set.
Charges Linked To Rash Of Car Burglaries
COREY SMALL
court documents, in 2014 Small robbed a dry-cleaning business in St. Petersburg. During the robbery, he pointed a gun at the clerk and stole $51.41.
Regarding the three other
MALACHI THOMPSON, ADARIUS VALDEZ, and HASACHI THOMPSON
Man Charged With Random Shootings That Left 1 Dead; 1 Injured
Earlier this month, police arrested three teenaged broth- ers. They have been charged with more than 300 crimes linked to a rash of car burgla- ries in Lakeland.
The brothers are: 14-year- old Adarius Valdez, of Wauchula, 15-year-old Hasachi Thompson, of Bartow, and 18-year-old Malachi Thompson, of Bar- tow.
The charges are for numer- ous burglaries in unincorpo- rated Lakeland.
Three firearms and several
State News
other items were stolen. According to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, Adar- ius Valdez and Malachi Thompson are prolific juve- nile offenders, and at the time of the burglaries, they were on
probation.
Malachi Thompson was
on probation for vehicle bur- glary and Adarius Valdez was on probation for grand theft.
The three have been ar- rested and charged with a total of 304 crimes for the burglary crime spree.
Police have arrested a 20- year-old man and charged him with murder. Additional charged were added to his case last Friday.
Elijah Iziah Dera’us McCray has been charged with a murder that took place last Wednesday.
According to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, at ap- proximately 9:52 p.m. on Thursday, October 7, 2021, deputies responded to the 8300 block of 75th Place, North in Seminole after reports of shots fired.
When deputies arrived, they discovered that a 40- year-old man had been shot several times. The victims’ in- juries were non-life threaten- ing and he was transported to the hospital for treatment. The suspect, who was not known, fled the scene.
On Wednesday, October 13, 2021, at approximately 8:36 p.m., deputies were dis- patched to the 8400 Block of 75th Avenue, North in Semi- nole after reports of
shootings and the suspect have no relation and this was a random act.
Sheriff Bob Gualtieri
said, “This was a true public safety nightmare that was getting ready to unfold, but thanks to good old fashioned police work, technology, sci- ence, and good partnerships and cooperation through in- formation between citizens and law enforcement, a mur- derer is off the street.”
McCray was arrested and charged with resisting an of- ficer without violence, and at- tempted first-degree.
Last Friday, October 15, 2021, detectives have been able to confirm that, after firearm ballistics analysis, the firearm that was located in McCray’s bed matched a projectile fragment that was removed from Hoskins’ body.
Detectives have charged McCray with first-degree murder and two counts of delinquent in possession of a firearm.
Nikolas Cruz Pleads Guilty To Parkland School Shooting
ELIJAH IZIAH DERA’US MCCRAY
shots fired.
When deputies arrived
they found the victim, 55- year-old Eddie Hoskins, Jr., had been shot multiple times. Hoskins was pro- nounced deceased at the scene.
Through various inves- tigative techniques, the sus- pect was identified and located in the same neighbor- hood at 8305 76th Avenue, North.
Detectives determined that the victims from both
Nikolas Cruz on Wednesday pleaded guilty on all counts for conducting the 2018 shooting at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL. The crime left seventeen people dead, including fourteen stu- dents and three staff mem- bers.
Cruz, 23, entered his pleas in a courtroom attended by a dozen relatives of victims after answering an extensive list of questions from Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer. The questions were meant to ensure his mental compe- tency.
He was charged with sev- enteen counts of murder and seventeen counts of at- tempted first-degree murder
NIKOLAS CRUZ
for those wounded in the Feb. 14, 2018, attack at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, located just outside Fort Lauderdale.
A penalty trial in January will determine if Cruz will re- ceive a sentence of death or life in prison without parole.
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