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Features
Hit And Run Victim Came To Tampa To Help His Sick Father
Police Investigate Death Of Child Left In Car For 5 Hours
JATHA ROYAL, JR. 10/8/1980 to 2/26/2017
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
During the early morning hours of Sunday, February 26th, a 36-year-old man was hit and killed in Ybor City. The driver of the vehicle fled the scene.
The Tampa Police Depart- ment has identified the victim as Jatha Royal, Jr., of Tampa.
According to police, Royal was at the intersection of E. 15th Avenue and N. 15th Street, when he was struck by a pickup truck. Royal died as a result of his injuries.
The truck is described as being a late model 1990s to early 2000s Ford truck. The driver is described as being a white or Hispanic man with dark hair.
Family Needs Help Ms. Cormelia Royal, a resident of Goldsboro, North Carolina said her brother moved to Tampa in Novem- ber of last year to care for their father who is ill. “I live in Goldsboro and I had been coming down to take care of our father. It was a big relief to me to know that my brother was here. He came to help and now I don’t have my
brother.”
Jatha, Jr., was the mid-
dle child and only son of of Jatha Royal, Sr., and the late Mrs. Maxine Royal. He has two sisters, Shalanda and Cormelia.
The family lives in Golds- boro, where Jatha, Jr., at-
Police have released this photograph of the vehicle be- lieved to have struck a 36-year-old Tampa man and fled the scene early Sunday.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office is conducting an investigation into the death of a 2-year-old child, who was left inside a car for 5 hours on Tuesday.
According to police, Jacob Manchego was discovered inside a locked car at Lumsden Road and Kings Avenue, around 2:30 p.m. Paramedics transported the child to Bran- don Regional Hospital, where he later died.
Police learned that at ap- proximately 9:30 a.m., his sis- ter, Ms. Fiorella V. Silva-Tello, 21, arrived at work at the BFF Kidz Child Care Center, 733 W. Lumsden Road with the child. She went inside the building and left the child unattended in the car.
When she returned to the car that afternoon, she discov- ered the child unconscious. She removed him from the ve- hicle and carried him to a dial-
JACOB MANCHEGO ... Died after being left in a locked car for 5 hours
ysis center, where first aid was administered until Fire Rescue arrived.
Detectives have inter- viewed Ms. Silva-Tello and are potential witnesses. Once their investigation is complete, detectives will confer with the Hillsborough County State At- torney’s Office to determine if charges will be filed against her, a spokesman for the Hills- borough County Sheriff’s Of- fice said.
tended school. After graduat- ing from Goldsboro High School, he continued his edu- cation at Wayne Community College.
After graduating, Ms. Royal said her brother began to travel throughout the United States. He was in Cali- fornia when his father became ill and he decided to relocate.
After moving to Tampa and having an entrepreneur- ial spirit, Jatha, Jr., was a vendor who sold refreshments at venues that attracted large crowds such as football games, parades, and events held in Ybor City. He was on his way home from an event in Ybor City when the acci- dent happened.
“We are asking whoever did this to please turn them- selves in. He was a good per- son, he was a kind and hardworking person,” his family said.
Jatha, Jr., wasn’t mar- ried and didn’t have any chil- dren, but he loved his nieces and nephew and spending time with his family. When time allowed, he loved going fishing with his father, read- ing, and watching basketball and football games on televi- sion.
His family is trying to raise enough money to carry his body back to Goldsboro for burial. The have selected Hamilton Funeral Home, 423 S. James Street, in Goldsboro, NC 27530 (919-734-0621), is in charge of handling arrange- ments.
The family has established
a gofundme account to raise the necessary funds needed.
Anyone wishing to make a donation can visit the account at www.gofundme.com/in- memory-of-jatha-royal-jr.
Reward Offered
The Tampa Police Depart- ment is currently asking any- one in the community with information about the hit and run to come forward.
Crime Stoppers of Tampa Bay is offering a reward of up to $3,000 for information that leads to the identification and arrest of the suspect in this case. Anyone with infor- mation is asked to contact the Tampa Police Department or Crime Stoppers of Tampa Bay at 1-800-873-TIPS (8477), or crimestopperstb.com.
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