Page 33 - Florida Sentinel 7-20-18

Crime
Clerk Charged After Shooting Man Over Theft Of Beer
Nearly $3,000 In Merchandise Taken By Shoplifters
A clerk was arrested Wednesday after he shot a man who allegedly stole beer from his store. The victim is listed in critical condition.
According to police, the incident took place around 11:40 p.m., Tuesday night. A man, later identified as Ren- nie Defoe, Jr., 43, of Plant City, entered the Shell Gas Station, 125 Combee Road, North in Lakeland.
Defoe is alleged to have taken 3 18-packs of Natural Ice beer, and then walked out of the store without paying for it. The beer was valued at $36.
Mehedeun Hasan, 22, co-owner of the business, re- portedly picked up a 9 mm handgun from the store office and ran after Defoe to con- front him.
Defoe is said to have thrown the beer into his vehi- cle, a 2005 white Toyota Camry, in the store’s parking lot. Hasan then caught up with Defoe, pointed the gun
Man Indicted For First-Degree Murder
MEHEDEUN HASAN ... Facing charges
at him while he was in the driver’s seat. At some point, Hasan shot Defoe as he was leaving the business, po- lice said.
Defoe drove off and then crashed his vehicle at the in- tersection of East Main Street and Fish Hatchery Road, in Lakeland. Defoe was trans- ported to Lakeland Regional Health, where he was listed in critical condition. He suf- fered a single gunshot to the left arm and chest area.
As a result of their investi-
RENNIE DEFOE, JR. ... In critical condition
gation, detectives arrested Hasan and charged him with shooting into an occu- pied vehicle and attempted second-degree murder. He has no prior arrests, police said.
Police said Defoe has a long history of arrests. He had been sentenced to prison four times and was most re- cently released on June 12, 2018.
He has 12 prior felony charges and nine prior mis- demeanor charges.
WALMART WOMAN
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office is asking for help to identify two shoplifters. The two suspects took nearly $3,000 in mer- chandise from the store.
The first incident took place at the Walmart, 9205 Gibsonton, Drive, shortly after 6 a.m., on Tuesday.
A Black man and a Black woman are seen in surveil- lance photographs. The man is between 55 and 60 years old, and has a dark complex- ion. The woman fits the same description, and has curly hair.
According to police, they
WALMART MAN
entered the store, took more than $1,200 in vacuum cleaners and left without pay- ing for the items. Then at ap- proximately 9:44 a.m., the same day, they returned to the store and removed alco- holic beverages valued at more than $1,700.
They fled the store in both incidents in a 2014 gray Kia Optima that has been re- ported stolen.
Anyone with information about the identity of the sus- pects is asked to contact Crime Stoppers of Tampa Bay at 1-800-873-TIPS or www.crimestopperstb.com.
More Than 30
Cars Damaged
In Riverview
UNCLE SANDY
Choosing to be positive 12, 14, 22, 28 and having a grateful attitude 30, 35, 41 50 is going to determine 25, 44, 51, 52 how you're going to live your life. 1, 5, 9, 19.
RAMON TURNER
... Charged with first-degree murder
A 28-year-old man was charged with firs-degree murder earlier this week. He was indicted for the murder while he was in jail in another county.
Ramon Turner, of Lakeland, was served with the indictment while being held in the Putnam County jail on unrelated charges.
According to police, dur- ing the early morning hours of April 6, 2018, officers re- sponded to a complaint of shots being fired. When they arrived at 1668 Crystal Park Circle, officers discovered
MICHAEL ROBERT GUTHRIDGE
... Died April 6, 2018
Michael Robert Guthridge. He was lying in the parking lot and was unre- sponsive.
Emergency Medical Serv- ices arrived and pronounced Guthridge dead. He had suffered a gunshot wound.
At the time of the shoot- ing, police said Guthridge frequented the area to visit friends.
Based on information gathered during the investi- gation, police identified Ramon Turner as the al- leged shooter. He is being held without bond.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office is searching for two suspects who damaged more than 3o cars in Riverview. The incident took place early Monday.
Two light-skinned teenagers or young adults are being sought in connection with the crime. They were pos- sibly driving a silver, four- door sedan.
According to police, at ap- proximately 6:15 a. m., Mon- day residents in the 11000 block of Misty Isle Lane and the 13000 block of Evening Sunset Lane, reported the windows on their vehicles had been smashed in. One of the vehicles damaged was a Hills- borough County Sheriff’s Of- fice vehicle.
Police said the suspects ap- parently used blunt objects, similar to a baseball bat and solid objects, similar to ma- sonry bricks to cause the dam- age.
Anyone with information about the crime or the sus- pects is asked to contact Crime Stoppers of Tampa Bay at 1- 800-873-TIPS, or visit the website at www.crimestopper- stb.com.
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