Page 3 - Florida Sentinel 7-19-16 Online Edition

Features
Grandmother Killed In Accidental Shooting
A 52-year-old Town and Country grand- mother died as the result of a gunshot on Fri- day. The death is being investigated as an accidental shooting.
According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, the shooting took place shortly after midnight. Deputies responded to 8202 Pinehurst Circle. Upon arrival, police stated that 52-year-old Carolyn Wright had died at the scene.
The investigation revealed that several peo- ple lived in the home, including a great grand- mother, Mrs. Wright, her daughter, 2 brothers, and 4 children belonging to Mrs. Wright’s daughter. The ages of the children are 8, 13, 15, and 17 years.
Police said one of the teenage children had brought a gun into the home and their mother found it and took it. She unloaded the weapon and apparently thought it was empty. How- ever, one bullet remained in the chamber, po- lice said.
The woman accidentally fired the gun and the bullet struck her mother in the upper body. Mrs. Wright died at the scene. After the shooting, one of the teenagers panicked, picked up the gun and threw it into a storm drain.
However, a spokesperson for the Hillsbor- ough County Sheriff’s Office said the teenager took them to the storm drain and they recov- ered the weapon.
The spokesperson further said they have
CAROLYN WRIGHT
... died of gunshot wound
not released the name of the daughter and the death is being investigated as an accidental shooting. The investigation is continuing.
The family has contacted Woody’s Funeral Home of Clearwater to handle arrangements.
Trial Set For Ex-Police Couple Accused
In Tax Fraud Case
ERIC HOUSTON
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
Last week, a federal judge set a trial date for two former police officers accused of par- ticipating in a tax fraud scheme. The trial date was set because both the prosecutor and defense attorneys stated they did not believe a resolu- tion to the case could be reached.
The trial of Eric and La- Joyce Houston will take place in May 2017. U. S. Dis- trict Judge Richard A. Lazzara will serve as the sit- ting judge. The trial is ex- pected to last about 3 weeks.
In Oct0ber 2015, Mrs. LaJoyce Caldwell Hous- ton, 49, and her husband, 54-year-old Eric Houston, were charged in federal court with conspiracy, theft of gov- ernment property and money laundering.
Mrs. Houston is also charged with obtaining infor- mation from a protected com- puter with the intent to defraud and aggravated iden- tity theft.
The indictment also noti- fied the Houstons that the federal government is seeking a forfeiture money judgment of at least $239,116.91, which is considered proceeds of the crime.
According to the indict- ment, as part of her duties as a Tampa Police Sergeant, Mrs. Houston had access to local, state, and federal law enforcement databases, in- cluding the State of Florida’s Driver and Vehicle Informa- tion Database, known as DAVID.
Eric Houston was for- merly assigned to the Detec- tive’s Division as a Homicide investigator.
The indictment alleges that beginning in 2010, the couple conspired to obtain personally identifiable infor- mation using various sources, including the law enforce- ment databases.
The indictment also al- leges that the couple then
LaJOYCE HOUSTON
RITA GIRVEN
gave the information to Ms. Rita Girven and others. It also alleges that the couple “knew the information was being used to commit crimes that included filing false fed- eral income tax returns, the receipt of fraudulently ob- tained tax refunds, establish- ing and using bank accounts in others’ names, and identity theft.”
The false tax returns were reportedly deposited onto re- loadable debit cards. Some of the funds were deposited di- rectly into bank accounts opened and maintained in their names and in the names of others. Some of the ac- counts were opened in the names of the victims of iden- tity theft, officials said in a press release.
The government contends that the money was used to make purchases, pay off lines of credit, purchase money or- ders, and cash was withdrawn from ATM machines.
Ms. Girven reportedly obtained information from other sources as well, includ- ing ancestry websites, and other co-conspirators, offi- cials said.
Investigators said Ms. Girven admitted to receiving funds as a result of filing the fraudulent returns. She pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and ag- gravated identity theft in March 2015.
She reportedly admitted to receiving $33,002.00 as a result of filing the false in- come tax refunds. She is cur- rently serving a sentence of 12 years in federal prison.
TUESDAY, JULY 19, 2016 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 3