Page 3 - Florida Sentinel 4-21-17

Features
Citizens Help Officer In Fight With Suspect
The Tampa Police De- partment is calling two citi- zens heroes because they helped an officer Wednes- day. The officer was involved in a struggle with a suspect when the two assisted him.
According to police, offi- cers responded to the Econo Lodge on N. Dale Mabry in reference to a disturbance around 1:30 p.m., Wednes- day. The caller said a young man was wandering around and had taken a key ring from a manager.
Officer Michael Collins attempted to speak with the man and was met with resistance. Officer Collins ordered the man, Luis Manual Vila, 18, to stop resisting, but the man became even more combat- ive. The man struck Officer Collins and he attempted to restrain him. When the offi- cer deployed his taser, it had little affect on the suspect.
LUIS MANUAL VILA ... Facing several charges
As the two men contin- ued to struggle, both went to the ground. At some point, Ray Freeman, a taxi driver, observed the struggle and went to assist Officer Collins. Freeman was also struck by the suspect. At that point, Ms. Dolores Lyle was making a delivery nearby. She observed the
fight and decided to help as well.
Ms. Lyle grabbed the suspect’s feet to keep him from standing up and then sat on his legs.
With the assistance pro- vided, Officer Collins was able to handcuff the suspect.
Officer Collins is a 27- year veteran of the depart- ment. He was taken to a local hospital for observation.
Chief Eric Ward said, “It is gratifying to see citizens willing to get involved. It’s a miracle that no one was seri- ously injured. This could have ended tragically. Offi- cer Collins showed tremen- dous restraint, and I can’t say enough about the two cit- izens who aided one of our officers. They were not afraid to get involved. This is a true example of law enforcement and the community working together to keep our city safe.”
Tax Fraud Case:
Businesswoman Gets 27 Months, Must Pay $90,000 To IRS
A 36-year-old Tampa busi- ness owner was sentenced to prison for conspiracy to com- mit theft of government prop- erty and aggravated identity theft. She pleaded guilty on November 1, 2016.
On Monday, U. S. District
Judge James S. Moody, Jr., sentenced Ms. Melissa Hayes, owner of Auntie’s Restaurant to 27 months in federal prison. She was also court-ordered to pay $89,803.02 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service.
According to court docu- ments, Ms. Hayes and others conspired to cash U. S. Treas- ury checks by depositing the checks into her restaurant business bank account. The checks were generated by using the stolen personal in- formation of other people. When the checks were cashed, they were endorsed with the name of the intended recipi- ent and deposited into Ms. Hayes’ business account, Auntie’s Soul Food, 1006 E. Hillsborough Avenue.
She then withdrew the money the same day or the following day spending the money to make purchases or
MELISSA HAYES
... Sentenced to 27 months in federal prison
transferring it to her personal bank account.
Officials said the 22 fraud- ulent government and tax re- fund checks were obtained by using stolen personal infor- mation of other people. The checks were valued at $160,671.
Officials further said that the names of four of the peo- ple used were deceased.
According to court docu- ments, the offenses took place between January and June 2012. She also admitted to sharing the ill gotten gains with her co-conspirators.
FRIDAY, APRIL 21, 2017 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 3-A