Page 19 - Florida Sentinel 5-23-17

CrimeMan Pleads Guilty In $300,000 Tax Fraud Scheme
Teenager Charged With Double Murder
DEVON ARTHURS ... Facing two counts of murder
The Tampa Police Depart- ment arrested an 18-year-old and charged him with two counts of first-degree murder. He was also charged with armed kidnapping.
According to police, at ap- proximately 5:28 p.m., Friday, police responded to a call re- garding a suspicious man who was possibly armed. When of- ficers arrived at the Green Planet Smoke Shop, 15325 Amberly Drive, they learned a man was inside the shop with a gun and wouldn’t allow three people inside to leave.
The officers convinced the man to allow the two cus- tomers and an employee in the shop to leave. He also dropped his weapon and was arrested without further incident.
Police identified him as Devon Arthurs, of Tampa.
After being taken into cus- tody, Arthurs reportedly made comments about having killed two people. He directed the officers to a home inside The Hamptons Condomini- ums at 15350 Amberly Drive.
When the officers entered the residence, they discovered two dead men. Both appeared to have been shot.
The victims have been iden- tified as Jeremy Himmel- man, 22, and 18-year-old Andrew Oneschuk, both of 15350 Amberly Drive.
As a result of concerns about possible explosives, the Tampa Police Bomb Squad and the Tampa Fire Rescue Hazmet Team responded to the scene to ensure it was safe to enter the condominium.
Police said the victims and Arthurs knew each other and appeared to be residing to- gether. They also said it ap- pears to be an isolated incident.
What took place prior to the shooting has not been re- leased. The investigation into the shooting is continuing.
‘Person Of Interest’ Sought In Murder Case
A 48-year-old Tampa man is facing up to 12 years in prison for receipt of stolen govern- ment property and aggravated identity theft. He entered a guilty plea to the charges last Friday.
According to the plea agree- ment, Xavier Williams ob- tained a number of federal tax refund checks belonging to tax- payers who were victims of identity theft. He then sold or attempted to sell the checks to others.
The checks, issued by the U. S. Department of Treasury, ranged in amounts from $4,000 to over $128,000, with an aggregate value of over $297,000.
No sentencing date has been
XAVIER WILLIAMS
scheduled for Williams.
CURTIS THOMAS
Detectives with the Tampa Police Department are cur- rently searching for a person of interest in connection with a murder. The murder took place on April 27th.
During the investigation, de- tectives have identified 29- year-old Anthony Bridgeman, a.k.a. “Meego,” as a “person of interest” in the murder of Curtis Thomas.
Thomas, 38, was discovered in the parking lot of Lake Av- enue Liquors, 2309 E. Lake Av- enue. He had been shot, police said, and died at the scene as a result of his injuries.
Bridgeman is described as having gold teeth and some upper teeth missing. Detectives would like to talk with him. Po- lice said there is also an active warrant for Bridgeman for vi-
MICHAEL ANTHONY BRIDGEMAN, aka “Meego” ... Person of Interest
SUSPECT IN HOMICIDE
olation of probation.
Anyone with information on
the whereabouts of Bridge- man is asked to contact the Tampa Police Department at (813) 231-6130.
Man Pleads Guilty To ID Theft, Selling Stolen Refund Checks
A 34-year-old Tampa man is facing up to 10 years in federal prison for theft of government property, and an additional mandatory two years in prison for aggravated identity theft. He entered a guilty plea to the charges last Thursday.
According to the plea agree- ment, using the name “Anwar,” Giday Kidane sold and offered to sell stolen U. S. Treasury checks to a Con- fidential Informant (CI). In ex- change, Kidane would receive half of the face value of the
checks.
Kidane pleaded guilty to
presenting two stolen checks to the CI. One check was valued at $4,583, and a second check for $20,679.
The two agreed that the CI would pay Kidane $7,200 for both checks, plus an additional amount after the larger check had been successfully de- posited.
The theft took place between November 2016 and January 2017. No sentencing date has been scheduled for Kidane.
UNCLE SANDY SAYS...
There is nothing 15, 27, 29, 31 wrong with
America 3, 10, 12, 19 that cannot be cured 14, 20, 38, 41 with what is right in America. 1, 44, 50, 54
Convicted Felon Gets 17 Years For Having Firearm
A St. Petersburg man was sentenced to more than 17 years in prison for possessing a gun as a convicted felon. He was also ordered to forfeit the firearm traceable to the of- fense.
According to court docu- ments, 31-year-old Jamal Smith pleaded guilty on Feb- ruary 27, 2017. U. S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday sentenced him to 17 years and 6 months in prison.
According to court records, on September 1, 2015, an offi- cer stopped the vehicle Smith was driving on a traffic infrac- tion. Smith initially fled the scene in his vehicle, but later stopped and ran from the offi- cer.
During the chase, Smith cir- cled back to the vehicle and reached into the passenger side. The officer took Smith into custody. When the vehicle was searched, police found a
JAMAL SMITH
.45 caliber pistol in the glove box.
At the time of the offense, Smith had been previously convicted of a felony and is not allowed to have a gun. Officials said that because Smith had been convicted of a felony sev- eral times, including a violent felony or serious drug offenses, he qualified for an increased penalty as an Armed Career Criminal.
TUESDAY, MAY 23, 2017 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 19