Page 19 - Florida Sentinel 12-25-18

Local
Memoriams
Popular Gospel Playwright Passes
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OF YOU
MARGIE J. BAKER RONALD N. BAKER ADELINE V. BAKER
9/20/1959
2/8/1962
Love always and forever, Mom and family.
6/27/1963
National
Man Allegedly Used 5-Year-Old Daughter To Steal Package
GARY SMITH
It’s the holiday season so unfortunately that means packages have begun to go missing more than usual.
The Hartford County Sher- iff’s office is looking for a sus- pect who used his 5-year-old daughter to do his dirty work. The little girl was caught on camera running up to the front door of a home on Nov. 30. In the video, the girl can be seen looking back before taking a box off the porch.
The package reportedly contained a pair of boots.
When investigators re- leased the surveillance footage, someone was able to identify the girl, which led to her father. A warrant has been issued for the arrest of 46- year-old Gary Martin Smith.
Smith is reportedly facing several charges, including theft under $100, contribut- ing to the delinquency of a minor and 4th-degree bur- glary.
BY GWEN HAYES Sentinel Editor
A popular gospel play- wright passed away last week after a brief illness.
Mrs. Mary Katherine Ross Upshaw passed away last Thursday. She was 75 years old.
Mrs. Upshaw has pre- sented the community with several gospel productions dated back more than 20 years, especially during Chris- tian holidays such as Easter and Christmas. In 2017, she presented “Positive Changes On A Gospel Journey.” Other productions were: “I Know I’ve Been Changed,” “On A Mission,” and “Let’s Get Ex- cited About The Lord.”
Mrs. Upshaw, who re- tired from Delta Airlines after 26 years, told a magazine publication that her “purpose for writing plays is to educate, motivate, inspire, and help others overcome obstacles.”
Her vision was that her “ministry through drama would touch and help some- one come closer to Christ, rec- ognize the purpose and lay aside all weights of hate, mal- ice and prejudices to work to- gether toward this common goal.”
Mrs. Upshaw holds an National
MRS. MARY KATHERINE ROSS UPSHAW
Associate of Arts Degree from Hillsborough Community College, where she majored in Mass Communications. She has received several awards, certifications, honors and recognitions.
In 1985, she obeyed the di- rection of the Holy Spirit in uniting their family and friends and formed the Ross Family Reunion. It was the forerunner of powerful play, “I Know I’ve Been Changed.”
Mrs. Upshaw is survived by 2 adult children (Tommy Upshaw, Jr. and Jacque- lyn (Michael) Hines, grand and great-grandchildren and
Funeral services are in- complete at this time, how- ever, Ray Williams Funeral Home is handling the serv- ices.
DEATH LISTING
AIKENS FUNERAL HOME
Mrs. Lillie Johnson, Tampa Mr. Kendall Mack, Tampa
JACKSON FUNERAL HOME
Mr. Henry B. Londy, Jr.
INTEGRITY FUNERAL SERVICES
Mr. Andrew Grant, Tampa
RAY WILLIAMS FUNERAL HOME
Mrs. Martha Highsmith, Tampa
Mrs. Maggie Ruth Hordge, Tampa
Mrs. Mary Katherine Ross Upshaw, Tampa
WILSON FUNERAL HOME
Mrs. Dorothy M. Ashe, Tampa Mr. Arthur Barner, Tampa Arthur A. Grech (Infant), Tampa Mr. Ruben Alfred Wilson, Tampa
Kansas Man Who Blamed
Wrongful Conviction On Lookalike
Gets $1.1M Settlement
Kansas has agreed to pay $1.1 million to 42-year-old Richard Anthony Jones who spent 17 years in prison after being wrongfully con- victed of a robbery that he says was committed by someone who looks just like him.
This is the first lawsuit filed under the mistaken- conviction statute, which provides compensation to people who are wrongly im- prisoned.
Jones was released from prison last year. He was con- victed in the 1999 robbery of a woman at a Kansas, Wal- mart store. Although Jones had an alibi, he was at a birthday party at the time of the robbery and was seen by a number of people, he was found guilty anyway. In a trial, witnesses and the vic-
RICKY AMOS, LEFT, AND RICHARD JONES
tim reportedly identified Jones as the robber.
After spending many years in prison, other in- mates pointed out to Jones that he looked a lot like an- other man. After some re- search, Jones’ attorneys learned the other man, iden- tified as Ricky Lee Amos, went by the same first name as Jones and had lived much closer to the Walmart where the crime occurred.
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2018 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 19