Page 2 - Florida Sentinel 10-24-17

Features
$25,000 Reward Offered In Seminole Heights Murders
BENJAMIN MITCHELL
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Ex- plosives is offering a $20,000 reward for informa- tion leading to the arrest and conviction of the person re- sponsible for three recent deaths in Seminole Heights. Crime Stoppers of Tampa Bay is also offering an addi- tional reward of $5,000 for the information.
Community Meeting
On Monday at 6:30 p.m.,
Tampa Mayor Bob Buck- horn and Acting Chief Brian Dugan will host a community meeting to dis- cuss the three recent mur- ders. The meeting will take place at Edison Elementary School, 1607 E. Curtis Street.
The Victims
The three murders, who police said are linked, took place on the following dates and locations:
On October 9, 2017 at ap-
MONICA HOFFA
proximately 9 p.m., Ben- jamin Edward Mitchell, 22 years of age, was waiting for a HART bus on North 15th Street at Frierson Av- enue in Tampa. While at the bus stop, Mitchell was shot by an unknown suspect and later died.
On October 13, 2017 at approximately 9:30 a.m., Ms. Monica Caridad Hoffa, 32, was found in a vacant lot in the 1000 block of New Orleans Avenue East in Tampa. She had been walking through the neigh- borhood on October 11, 2017, at approximately 8:45 p.m. headed to meet a friend. Hoffa was shot and killed.
On October 19, 2017 at
ANTHONY NAIBOA
approximately 7:57 p.m., the victim, Anthony Naiboa, 20, was walking north on 15th Street in the area of Wilder Avenue in Tampa. As he was walking, he was shot by an unknown suspect and later died as a result of the injuries he sustained.
Anyone with information about the murders is asked to contact Crime Stoppers of Tampa Bay at 1-800-873- TIPS or www.crimestopper- stb.com.
Information can be pro- vided anonymously and those providing information that leads to the identifica- tion and arrest of the suspect may be eligible for the re- ward.
Third Seminole Heights Murder Victim Identified
On Thursday night, a 20- year-old Tampa man died as a result of gunshot wounds. Police have confirmed that he is the third person killed in Seminole Heights during a 10-day period.
During a press confer- ence on Friday, Brian Dugan, Acting Tampa Po- lice Chief said, “He (An- thony Naiboa) should not have been there. He took the wrong bus.”
Chief Dugan further said that officers were in the area when Naiboa was killed near N. 15th Street and E. Conover Street. The offi- cers heard the gunshots, went to the area, and found the young man’s body.
Naiboa was a 20-year- old graduate of Middleton High School. He was em- ployed at the time of his death.
Benjamin Mitchell,
22, was the first person killed in the area. His body was found near a bus stop at the intersection of Frierson Avenue and N. 15th Street, around 9 p.m.
On Friday, October 13th, a city employee found the body of Ms. Monica Hoffa, 32, of Tampa. She was located near the inter- section of N. 15th Street and
ANTHONY TAINO NAIBOA 5/23/1997 to 10/19/2017
New Orleans. Police believe she had most likely been killed the night before.
Police said the only thing the victims have in common is that they were walking alone in the area when they encountered the gunman.
Detectives were able to obtain a video of a young person walking in the area during the time of the Mitchell murder. They would like to talk with that person to determine if he or she saw or heard anything that night.
In reaction to the mur- ders, detectives are canvass- ing the area and warning residents not to walk alone at night, turn on outdoor lights, and report any suspi- cious activity to police.
THA: $200,000 Was Not Found In Apartment At Demolition Site
Folks have been trying to find out if $200,000 cash was actually found in the attic of one of the apartments recently demolished in North Boulevard Homes.
However, according to Lillian Stringer, Director of Public Relations for the Tampa Hous- ing Authority, the story is just a rumor.
“This was investigated and we found no truth to this rumor,” she said in an email.
The rumor has circulated for the past several weeks about the money being found and people also wanted to know what happened to it.
When contacted, Mrs. Stringer had not heard the rumor, but said she would investigate. No one knew anything.
PAGE 2 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY TUESDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2017