Page 36 - Florida Sentinel 4-1-16 Edition

Crime
Tampa Man Imprisoned For 22 Years
Illegal Sports Operation Shut Down
Granted Clemency By President
Last Thursday, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office served four search warrants and ar- rested 25 people after an in- vestigation into illegal sports betting occurring at two storefront locations in Polk County.
According to officials, sev- eral references were made to an illegal sports betting oper- ation taking place at BW&D Check Cashing, 2407 U. S. Highway 98. Authorities dis- covered the operation during a drug trafficking investiga- tion.
While investigating that location and the operator of the illegal gambling opera- tion, Rene “Johnny” Rosado, 49, detectives found another storefront gambling location in Winter Haven at 1408 1st Street, North.
Detectives served search warrants at BW&D Check Cashing where they allege Rosado was operating an il- legal gambling operation. They also came to Rosado’s residence, as well as the home of Warren Hawthorne, 60. Hawthorne is the owner of BW&D Check Cashing and was renting space used by Rosado for the illegal gam- bling operation. He is also a school bus driver.
Undercover detectives previously completed 9 trans- actions pertaining to illegal
A Tampa man serving life for drug offenses was one of 61 drug offenders granted clemency by President Barack Obama Wednes- day.
Anthony Lee Lewis, 50, who studied to be a para- legal behind bars, prepared and submitted his own clemency petition. Lewis was incarcerated in August 1993 and will be released by March 2017 under the clemency order. He will have served more than 22 years.
Lewis is at least the third inmate from the Tampa Bay area to benefit from an ad- ministration clemency pro- gram that is part of an overall rollback of harsh drug sen- tences.
Attorney James Fel- man said Lewis did not de- serve the sentence he got and it’s extraordinarily gratifying that we have a president that has the courage to do the right thing and use the au- thority he has to do justice.
“We hope he will do so with many more because we know there are a lot more de- serving candidates out there.”
Attorneys said they could-
ANTHONY LEE LEWIS
n’t discuss the contents of Lewis’s petition because it is confidential. But they know by definition he got a sen- tence that was significantly higher than what he would get today and that he doesn’t have a history of violence of any kind.
Lewis was convicted dur- ing a trial of charges that in- clude conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute co- caine and crack cocaine; dis- tribution of crack cocaine; possession with intent to dis- tribute crack cocaine’ being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm and possession with intent to distribute co- caine.
Over the years, Lewis filed numerous petitions with
the courts seeking to have his sentence reduced. He argued that he should have the bene- fit of charges made in sen- tencing guidelines regarding crack cocaine, and also that the government had commit- ted fraud in the investigation and prosecution of his case.
Lewis describes himself as a former business owner who provided jobs and spon- sored athletic events. He’s also taken classes in Spanish, real estate, computers and business, and took a truck driving class while attending a drug program to learn more about the effect of drugs and prevention of involvement with drugs.
WARREN HAWTHORNE .....school bus driver
sports bets at the Lakeland lo- cation and 3 illegal sports bet transactions at a Winter Haven location.
Rosado was arrested and charged with keeping gam- bling houses, illegal book- making, and conspiring to illegal bookmaking.
Hawthorne was arrested and charged with renting a house for gambling purposes.
Also arrested were Alba Adams-Diaz, 22; Lidi- anela Pons, 29; Luis Fe- lipe Arias, 20, and Maribel Sanchez-Lorenzo, 48.
Detectives have not been able to locate one of the sus- pects in the investigation, and there is an outstanding arrest warrant for Monica Lugo, 29.
During the investigation, detectives arrested 25 people, seized 8 guns and seized $105,347 in currency, and $34,000 in assets linked to the illegal gambling opera- tion.
Teen Arrested
Man Stabs Himself After Crashing Car
A tanker filled with 8,500 gallons of gasoline overturned and burst into flame, killing the driver after rear ending a car driven by a 16-year-old on I-75 in Sarasota Tuesday morning.
Florida Highway Patrol troopers reported that Nicholas Hermes Cain had only a learner’s permit and fled the scene. He is facing a charge of leaving the scene of a crash with death and viola- tion of learner’s license restric- tions.
The driver of the tanker was identified as 53-year-old Robert Drewelus. The inci- dent occurred in the south- bound outside lane of I-75 just after 3 a.m.
Investigators reported that Cain was driving a 2008 Volvo S80 with a 15-year-old passenger ahead of the tanker. The truck ran into the rear of Cain’s Volvo, veered onto the west shoulder, rolled over and burst into flames. Drewelus was ejected onto the shoulder of the road and pronounced dead at the scene.
Cain kept going, but after an investigation, his vehicle was found at Gateway Lakes Apartments near Cattleman Road, not far from the crash scene.
Cain was found at his res- idence and arrested.
The incident is still under investigation.
After Tanker Driver
Dies In Crash
St. Petersburg Police re- ported that on Tuesday evening, a man crashed his car, then stabbed himself as it burned.
According to reports, at 6:47 p. m., officers were called to a parking lot near 102nd Av- enue, North and 16th Street, where a vehicle had struck a parked van. The van was not occupied.
Officers said the vehicle
caught fire after impact and bystanders used fire extin- guishers to put out the flames.
The driver of the vehicle, who was only described as a middle aged man, sat in the car as it burned. Arriving res- cue units reported seeing the man repeatedly stab himself in the abdomen with a knife.
The driver was taken to a local hospital as a trauma alert and Baker Act.
Uncle Sandy
The first sign 4, 17, 19, 38 of corruption in a society 30, 32, 59, 63 that is still alive 6, 20, 35, 40, 43 is that the end justifies the means. 8, 14, 54, 58.
FRIDAY, APRIL 1, 2016 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 23-A