Page 39 - Florida Sentinel 1-15-21

Crime
NOTE: This year, the Sentinel is highlighting homicide statistics pro- vided by the Tampa Police Department. The Hillsbor- ough County Sheriff’s Of- fice did not provide their statistics.
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
The calendar year of 2020 was unlike any other in recent history. But the articles domi- nated the headlines were the Coronavirus and the number of murders in the City of Tampa.
In the past, law enforcement released the names of the vic- tims as well as the names of the suspects. But, the implementa- tion of Marsy’s Law, which protests the identity of the vic- tims, prevents them from releas- ing the names of the victims.
Detectives launched investi- gations into 43 murders. A breakdown shows that 27 Black men and 3 Black women were killed; 5 white men and 3 white women died; and 4 Hispanic men, 1 Hispanic woman, and 1 Oriental female met violent ends. The first murder of the year took place on January 30th. It took place in the 8100 block of N. Boulevard and remains an ac- tive case.
Five of the cases were Excep- tionally Cleared and 12 were closed with the arrest of a sus- pect. The others remain active cases.
The following are excerpts of some of the murders printed in the Sentinel in 2020.
David Lee Fogg, Jr., 36, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder and two counts of aggravated assault with a firearm. He was charged with the murder of Ellis Roun- tree, Jr., whose body was found on a bench on February 11th in the 3000 block of Ne- braska Avenue.
During the early hours of March 20th, 18-year-old Ta- lance Callins, was fatally in- jured by gunfire and his vehicle crashed into a tree. No arrests have been made and the case re- mains open.
Police arrested 45-year-old Jerry Myer Lee the day after a shooting claimed the life of a pregnant woman, who died at the scene. The murder took placed in the 1000 block of N. 25th Avenue.
Lee was charged with first- degree murder; the killing of an unborn child, shooting into an occupied vehicle, and being a
Violent Deaths Claim More Than 40 Lives
Man Faces Manslaughter
DAVID LEE FOGG, JR.
... Charged with murder
JERRY MYER LEE
... Charged with
murder
TALANCE CALLINS ... Died after being shot
ANDY ADONAY FLORES TELLO ... Charged with murder
ZAKIERA GRANDBERRY ... Died after
being shot
MARQUEAS WILLIAMS
... Died November 2, 2020
A 22-year-old man was ar- rested last Wednesday and charged in connection with a deadly shooting. The incident took place on December 2nd in an apartment complex.
Deputies responded to re- ports of shots fired at The Palms at Ashely Oaks Apartment Com- plex, 1701 E. 131st Avenue. When deputies arrived at the complex shortly before 9:30 p.m., they located an adult man who was suffering from gunshot wounds. The victim was transported to Advent Health Hospital, where he was pronounced deceased.
Following leads gathered from witnesses at the scene, de- tectives developed Carl Feltus, Jr., as a suspect in the shooting. Last Wednesday, the Hillsbor- ough County Sheriff’s Office is- sued a warrant for Carl Feltus for charges of manslaughter with a firearm, 2 counts of tam- pering with physical evidence, and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
According to police, Feltus and the adult victim had been involved in a verbal altercation on December 2nd. Feltus is ac-
CARL FELTUS, JR. ... Charged with manslaughter
cused of shooting the man and fleeing the scene.
Feltus was located Wednesday night at his residence and taken into cus- tody without incident.
Hillsborough County Sher- iff Chad Chronister said, “With the closure of any homi- cide investigation, we are able to bring relief to the victim’s family knowing the person who took their loved one’s life is now off of our streets. With this arrest, the process can now begin to en- sure that justice is served.”
felon in possession of a firearm. He was arrested on May 6th on unrelated charges. Ms. Zakiera Grandberry died at the scene.
Andy Adonay Flores Tello, 20, was charged in the fatal stabbing of a man on Octo- ber 3, 2020. The fatal stabbing took place in the 2500 block of W. St. John Street. The 35-year- old victim died at the scene.
On the morning of No- vember 2, 2020, officers re- sponded to a shooting at the 2800 block of N. 29th Street. When officers arrived at the scene, they discovered 17-year- old Marqueas “Papi” Williams had been shot. He died at the scene. No arrests
have been made in the case. Mayor Jane Castor said, “The increase in shooting deaths in our community is tragic and senseless. In a time when we should be coming together and lifting up our neighbors, we’ve seen a spike in bloodshed and needless violence — this has to stop. Our officers work hard to keep our community safe and in- vestigate violent crimes to
achieve justice for the victims. “But we cannot normalize gun violence in our city. If you see something suspicious going on in your neighborhood, or if you hear something alarming, say something. We have zero tol- erance for gun violence and we will continue working with our community to prevent these ter-
rible crimes and create a safer city for all.”
Tampa Police Chief Brian Dugan said, “The gun violence on our streets is a major concern for us, but it has to be more than the police who are concerned. Gunfire is happening far too often in our neighborhoods, with victims killed and injured, and we are doing everything we can to stop it.
“We need help from the com- munity to tell us what’s going on in their neighborhoods. Tell us where the guns are, how they are transported, and how the bad guys are getting them. We know some people might be scared to come forward. If they don’t want to get directly involved, there are ways to get information to us anonymously. I ask anyone who might know where these guns are to call us, call Crime Stop- pers, call anyone who will let us know. We need to work together to end the gun violence. This has got to stop.”
Anyone with information pertaining to the investigations is asked to contact Crime Stop- pers of Tampa Bay at 1-800-873- TIPS; or online at www.crimestopperstb.com.
The Sentinel requested the yearly homicide statistics from the Hillsborough County Sher- iff’s Office on December 23, 2020. However the request had not been honored as of press time.
Charge In Shooting
UNCLE SANDY
The harder you work for something, 3, 14, 29, 47, 55, the greater you’ll feel when you achieve it, 8, 19, 32, 44, 61.
FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2021 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY PAGE 21-A