Page 31 - Florida Sentinel 9-20-19

Crime
Police Seek Help In Death Of
Defendant’s Mother To Testify In Murder Of 9-Year-Old Tampa Girl
Tampa Man
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
Police are seeking help from the community in the murder investigation of a Tampa man. The murder took place Sunday night in East Tampa.
According to the Tampa Po- lice, Donta Allen, 33, was dropped off at the NetPark Tampa Bay, in the 5700 block of E. Hillsborough Avenue, around 8:40 p.m. Twenty min- utes later, he was found wounded near the intersection of E. Palifox and N. 44th Street.
Allen was transported to Tampa General Hospital, where he later died. Police said he suffered from upper body trauma.
Detectives are asking any- one who may have seen Allen getting into a car at NetPark or in the company of someone at
DONTA ALLEN
that location to contact the po- lice department. They do not believe it was a random attack.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Tampa Po- lice Department at (813) 231- 6130; or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-873-TIPS, or online at www.crimestopperstb.com.
The mother of the man ac- cused of killing a 9-year-old Tampa girl is slated to testify during the trial. The mother of Granville T. Ritchie was slated to testify Wednesday, but didn’t appear in court.
So far, jurors have heard from Felecia Demerson, mother of the victim, Felecia Williams, Eboni Wiley, who took the child with her on the day she disappeared, and police officers involved in the investigation.
Health Care Worker Faces Sexual Battery Charges
FELECIA WILLIAMS
Jurors also reviewed the video involving Ritchie dur- ing his interview with police. The trial is in its second week.
The jury of 9 women and 6 men will determine Ritchie’s fate in the death penalty trial. Ritchie has been in jail since his arrest May 21, 2014.
Five years ago, 9-year-old
Felecia Nicole Williams
had gotten permission from her mother to accompany Eboni Wiley. Wiley, now 28, was one of the last people to have seen the child alive.
Wiley gave police differ- ent accounts of what happened to the child. In one of her sto- ries, she said she left Felecia
GRANVILLE T. RITCHIE
with Ritchie for about 35 minutes while she went to buy marijuana.
She further said Ritchie called her and allegedly said he had given the child some money to buy candy from a CVS. She reportedly drove to the store, but returned to the apartment upon Ritchie’s re- quest. She told police they con- sumed alcohol and had sex before Ritchie took her home.
The child’s body was found the following day in the bay off Courtney Campbell Causeway.
Hillsborough County Cir- cuit Judge Michelle Sisco, Thirteenth Judicial Circuit, is overseeing the trial.
High School Fights Lead To Arrest Of 10 Students
A 32-year- old Certified Nursing Assis- tant has been arrested for sexual battery. Three addi- tional charges were filed against him Thursday.
During a two-day pe- riod, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office has made 10 arrests at a local high school. The ar- rests followed a series of fights that took place at the school.
According to a spokesman for the Hills- borough County Sheriff’s Office, the arrests involved stu- dents attending Lennard High School, 2342 Shell Point Road E.
All of the juveniles arrested were charged with misde- meanors. She further said that the Sheriff’s Office, as well as School Security has increased its presence at the school to keep the children safe.
“We need parents to be our partners and talk to their chil-
FALO KANE
On Patients
Lennard High School
dren and let them know that no fight is worth being charged with a crime. If kids are having issues, they can reach out for help without resorting to vio- lence.”
A spokesperson for the Hillsborough County School District said the fights have nothing to do with the school. The fights concern issues be- tween the students that they are bringing to school.
Falo Kane, of Clearwater, was initially arrested and charged with four counts of sex- ual battery. Two of the incidents took place in 2016 and two oth- ers earlier this year. All of those cases involved older women who were patients at various health care facilities. One of the victims was 80-years-old and another was a disabled stroke victim.
Kane reportedly admitted to committing the crimes during an interview with detectives Mon- day.
On Wednesday, detectives filed three additional charges against Kane. These cases stem from incidents at Advanced Care Center, 401 Fairwood Avenue.
The investigation is continu- ing and detectives are asking anyone with information on Kane or other potential cases to contact them at (727) 562-4242.
Kane is currently being held at the Pinellas County Jail on 7 counts of sexual battery and a charge of violation of probation.
UNCLE SANDY
Every next level of your life 2, 19, 22, 35, 60 will de- mand a different version of you 6, 14, 29, 40, 55.
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