Page 3 - Florida Sentinel 12-8-17

Feature
Judge Rules Parents Of Accused Serial Killer Must Testify
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
The parents of accused Seminole Heights murder suspect Howell Donald- son, III, appeared before Judge Margaret Taylor. Last week, the couple was subpoenaed, but refused to answer questions about their son’s background.
On Thursday, Judge Tay- lor granted the state’s mo- tion for the parents to show cause as to why they are not cooperating with the State. Mr. and Mrs. Donaldson are being represented by At- torney Ralph Hernan- dez.
After hearing arguments from both sides, Judge Tay- lor set a court date of Janu- ary 5th, at 10 a.m., for Mr. and Mrs. Donaldson to appear before her. At that time, they will present evi- dence as to why they should not be compelled to answer questions about their son asked by the Hillsborough County State Attorney’s Of- fice.
Their son, Howell Don- aldson, III, was arrested on November 28th. He was charged with all four of the homicides committed in the Seminole Heights area that began October 9th, and
National
ended on November 14th.
Suspect Waives Bond Hearing
A bond hearing had been set for Howell Donaldson, III, for Tuesday, December 5th, at 10 a.m. However, through his legal representa- tives, he waived his right to a bond hearing.
As a result of this action, Donaldson will remain in jail without a bond until he goes to trial.
Donaldson is accused of killing four people during a 51-day period. No other homicides have taken place in Seminole Heights since Donaldson’s arrest.
He was taken into custody after he went to the McDon- ald’s Restaurant in Ybor City, where he worked. He report- edly gave a bag to the man- ager and told her not to open. He reportedly stated that he would return after obtaining a cash advance from a local business.
Donaldson walked from the restaurant, leaving his ve- hicle in the parking lot.
Upon examination of the bag, the manager saw a gun inside it. She then notified a female Tampa Police officer who was in the restaurant at the time. Other officers ar- rived and Donaldson was taken into custody without incident when he returned to
the restaurant.
The Investigation
Police had reportedly de- termined through latent in- vestigation that all four victims were killed with the same weapon. Latent investi- gations proved the gun Don- aldson gave to the manager was the murder weapon.
The Victims Benjamin Mitchell was
shot 4 times on October 9th, while he was at the intersec- tion N. 15th Street and E. Frierson Avenue. A video at a
business captured the image of the hooded culprit that took place around 9 p.m.
Four days later, the body of Ms. Monica Caridad Hoffa was found in a vacant lot near E. New Orleans Av- enue and N. 11th Street. Po- lice believe she was killed on the night of October 11th as she was walking to meet a friend.
Officers also responded to 9-1-1 calls of shots being fire in the area near N. 11th Street and East New Orleans Av-
enue, shortly before 9 p.m. She had been shot 3 times.
At 7:57 p.m., on October 19th, Anthony Naiboa was shot once after he mistakenly got off the bus and was walk- ing in the 5100 block of N. 15th Street.
The suspect did not strike again for 26 days. At 4:50 a.m., on November 14th, shots rang out again. This time, the victim was Ronald Felton, who was killed near the intersection of E. Caracas and N. Nebraska Avenue.
HOWELL DONALDSON, III Facing four first-degree murder charges
MR. AND MRS. HOWELL (ROSITA) DONALDSON, JR., Parents of the suspect.
Keisha Lance Bottoms Is New Mayor Of Atlanta; Opponent Wants Recount
Keisha Lance Bottoms was declared the winner on Wednesday morning over her opponent May Norwood.
Atlanta voters delivered a near tie in the city's mayoral contest on Tuesday, making the runoff race too close to call.
Candidate Keisha Bot- toms, 47, a Democrat, de- clared herself the winner of the race early Wednesday morning, while her oppo- nent, Mary Norwood, an independent, requested a re- count.
Both candidates are mem-
bers of Atlanta’s City Council. "It's not over yet," Nor- wood told supporters, not- ing that she trailed Bottoms by just 759 votes. "We will be
asking for a recount.
"We will be here until every
vote is counted and we know what happens," she added.
Meanwhile, Bottoms cele- brated a victory alongside outgoing Mayor Kasim Reed — who backed her run — as she spoke to supporters.
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2017 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 3-A