Page 2 - 4-28-15 Tuesday's Edition

Features
Court Overturns Sentence Of Man Convicted Of Killing Officer
Woman Pleads Guilty To $41,476 Tax Fraud
Last week, the Florida Supreme Court overturned the sentence of a man con- victed of killing a Tampa Po- lice Cpl. Mike Roberts. Humberto Delgado, Jr., had been sentenced to death.
However, the justices were unanimous in their decision to reduce Delgado’s sentence to life in prison.
In August 2009, Delgado, who was homeless and had a history of mental problems, encountered Cpl. Roberts, who was on patrol in the Sul- phur Springs area. The two men became involved in a struggle and Delgado was ar-
HUMBERTO DELGADO, JR. ... Sentenced to life in prison
rested and charged with his murder.
During his trial in 2011, de-
fense attorneys focused on the fact that Delgado had a his- tory of mental issues. How- ever, the jury that convicted him voted 8-4 in favor of the death penalty.
In response to the court rul- ing, Tampa Police Chief Jane Castor said, “We re- spect the justice system and those who have to make tough decisions. Regardless of the conclusion, it doesn't bring Mike back and it doesn't re- lieve the pain that his wife, son and his TPD family feel. His life sentence will still ensure he is held accountable for his actions.”
A 46-year-old Tampa woman has pleaded guilty to collecting more than $40,000 in false income tax returns. She is facing a maximum of 10 years in federal prison.
According to court docu- ments, on December 5, 2012, 3 U. S. Treasury tax refund checks were deposited into the personal checking account of Ms. Jaqueline Renee Wimbush.
All of the checks were in the names of deceased individuals. All three of the victims had died in October 2012. Addi- tionally, none of the 3 victims were Florida residents, and none of them lived in the same state.
Officials said Ms. Wim- bush spent the money by withdrawing large sums from the Seminole Hard Rock Casino. She received and spent $24,228 in revenue received by using the names and infor- mation of the 3 deceased vic- tims.
Officials said she received an additional $17,248 on other dates using the names and
JACQUELINE WIMBUSH
... Charged with theft of gov-
ernment funds
personal information of at least 9 other people.
Additionally, officials said Ms. Wimbush filed two fraudulent tax returns in 2011 and 2012 in her own name. Ms. Wimbush is a recipient of Social Security disability benefits. She was successful in received $4,094 in 2011 for fil- ing the fraudulent tax return in her own name.
In the plea agreement, Ms. Wimbush agreed to a money judgment of $41,476, report- edly traceable to the offense. A court date for Ms. Wimbush has not been set.
Police Search For Girl Missing From Kissimmee
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office is currently attempting to locate a missing 12-year-old girl. She has been missing since Friday.
According to police, Mor- gan Girdhari was last seen by her family Friday night at her home on Michigan Court, in Kissimmee.
On Saturday, Girdhari was observed on video in the com- pany of an African American male at a local Wal-Mart.
MORGAN GIRDHARI ... Reported Missing
However, police said, she was observed walking alone on Sunday. Police believe she is traveling alone and was last seen around 11 p.m., Saturday.
Police are asking anyone with information about Mor- gan Girdhari, the missing adolescent, to contact the Polk County Sheriff’s Office at (863) 298-6200, or Heartland Crime Stoppers at 1 (800) 226-TIPS.
Organizations Call On Mayor To End Bicycle Citation Program
A group of civil rights groups and faith leaders are calling on Tampa Mayor Bob Buck- horn and the City of Tampa to stop issuing bicycle citations until the program has been re- viewed by the U. S. Depart- ment of Justice.
A recent report by the Tampa Bay Times analyzed 12 years of data on citations for bicycle of- fenses by the Tampa Police De- partment, finding that 79% of police citations for bicycle of- fenses were given to Blacks even though blacks comprise only a quarter of the city’s pop- ulation.
Last week, Mayor Buck- horn stated that he would welcome a review of the pro- gram by the U. S. Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing.
A letter sent to Mayor Buckhorn by several local, state, and national faith lead- ers and civil rights groups called on the mayor to end the program of bicycle offense en- forcement until the DOJ’s re- view is complete and to make addressing racial disparities in policing a priority for the in- coming police chief.
“While we applaud the Mayor’s decision to ask the U. S. Dept. of Justice for an inde- pendent analysis of the impact of the police bicycle stop pro- gram that has taken place largely in minority communi- ties, we are calling on the city to suspend that program im- mediately,” stated Joyce Hamilton Henry, Director of Advocacy for the ACLU of Florida.
“Until there is a thorough
analysis of the impact of the program on the constitutional rights of the people of Tampa as well as the costs of the pro- gram, which includes commu- nity distrust and alienation from the police, and the num- ber of young Black males who now needlessly have a criminal record, these citations must stop.”
The letter sent to Mayor Buckhorn also called for col- lection of data on police-civil- ian encounters to ensure that individuals’ constitutional rights are being respected in interactions with Tampa Po- lice, and requests a meeting with the mayor and incoming police chief to discuss the is- sues raised in the investiga- tion. From the letter:
“While the data is disturbing, we hope that you see its publi- cation as an opportunity for your office and the incoming Chief of Police to work in part- nership with us to begin to proactively address the experi- ences and perception of the community regarding law en- forcement and Tampa Police Department.
The letter is signed by: ACLU’s Racial Justice Pro- gram; ACLU of Florida; ACLU of Florida Greater Tampa Chapter; Amnesty Interna- tional USA, Tampa Bay; CAIR Florida; Dream Defenders; LatinoJustice PRLDEF; LULAC of Florida; Mi Familia Vota; Rev. Dr. Russell Myer, of St. Paul Lutheran Church; NAACP, Hillsborough Branch; Pastors on Patrol; Rainbow- PUSH Florida; and Tampa Bay Academy of Hope, Inc.
PAGE 2 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY TUESDAY, APRIL 28, 2015