Page 19 - Florida Sentinel 9-18-18

Crime
Woman Pleads Guilty To Bank Fraud
Armed Men
Deputy Fired After DUI Arrest
A 23-year-old woman has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud. A sen- tencing date has not been set in the case.
Ms. Jamelah Y. Mar- tinez, of Tampa, entered the plea last Thursday. She is fac- ing a maximum of 30 years in prison.
According to the plea agreement, in 2016 and 2017, while working for Suncoast Credit Union, Ms. Martinez used her access to Suncoast customer accounts to steal account information.
She then sold the infor- mation to a co-conspirator. Ms. Martinez’s co-conspir- ators used the stolen account information to fraudulently takeover the bank accounts. The conspirators deposited fraudulent checks into the victim accounts and then im- mediately transferred the fraudulently obtained funds to other co-conspirators, who maintained accounts at Sun- coast.
Once the fraudulent funds were received into the co- conspirators’ accounts, they
Robbery
A 26-year-old Pasco County deputy was fired after being arrested for DUI. The incident took place on Satur- day.
According to police, Cpl. Steven Xavier Walker was arrested by the New Port Richey Police Department. He was charged with DUI and DUI with property dam- age, but no injury.
Walker was terminated from his position as a Corpo- ral with the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office after the ar- rest.
JAMELAH Y. MARTINEZ
were extracted via ATM with- drawals and debit card trans- actions. The co-conspirators shared in the proceeds.
The loss to Suncoast re- lated to Ms. Martinez’s in- volvement in this scheme was $115,487.75.
The investigation into Ms. Martinez’s co-conspir- ators is ongoing. One co-con- spirator, Devin Williams, has pleaded guilty to conspir- acy to commit bank fraud and is scheduled to be sen- tenced on December 4, 2018.
Last Friday morning, two armed men entered the 7- Eleven Store, 10815 N. Ne- braska Avenue, shortly before 2:30 a.m. The men robbed the store at gunpoint and fled the scene.
Shortly before 5 a.m., two men matching the same de- scription reportedly entered another 7-Eleven, 4320 N. Ar- menia Avenue, and demanded money from the clerk. The clerk complied and the two men fled the scene with an undisclosed amount of money.
One of the men wore a black hoodie with a design on the back and black jeans. The other man wore a red hoodie with jeans and white tennis shoes. No one was injured in either robbery.
Detectives with the Tampa Police Department are asking anyone with information on either of the men or other in- formation to contact Crime Stoppers of Tampa Bay at 1- 800-873-TIPS, or www.crimestopperstb.com.
DEPUTY STEVEN XAVIER WALKER
Walker was released on his own recognizance Satur- day night.
Sought For
Double
Man Wanted For
Double Murders Caught In Kentucky
9 Arrested In K-2 Jail Smuggling Investigation
McKINSIE ALEXANDER LYONS
... Charged in double
murders
SAMONA RAMEY
... Charged with two counts of first- degree murder
ALEXIS MARTINEZ ... Found murdered in Ruskin home
JUANITA SOLORZANO ... Found murdered in Ruskin home
Earlier this year, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office De- tectives began investigating possible smuggling of K-2 synthetic drugs into their South County Jail near Frostproof. The investigation has culminated with the ar- rest of 9 people.
Johnny Coleman, 27; Havaii Mellisa Smith, 29; Zachary Daniel Bitner, 28; Brenda Sue Bitner, 54; Joanna Juliano, 34; Jamie Carroll Garst, II, 31, were all charged with conspiracy to introduce con- traband into a county deten- tion facility and unlawful use of a two-way communica- tion.
Cheryl Ann Cole, 56, was charged with the intro- duction of contraband into a county detention facility, conspiracy to introduce con- traband into a county deten- tion facility and 2 counts of unlawful use of a two-way communication device.
Holly Boulanger, 29,
was charged with unlawful use of a two-way communi- cation device, trafficking in synthetic cannabinoids (k-2), possession of drug parapher- nalia, and maintaining a dwelling/ conveyance for drug use/sale.
Randall William Kirby, 28, was charged with maintaining a dwelling for drug use/sale with a minor child present, possession of alprazolam (xanax), posses- sion of clonazepam, posses- sion of drug paraphernalia, trafficking in synthetic cannabinoids (k-2).
During the investigation, detectives learned inmates housed together in H dorm, along with friends and family outside of the jail, were in- volved. The investigation re- vealed that synthetic cannabinoid compounds were being sprayed on sheets of paper, and those sheets of paper were being brought into the county jail.
A total of $4,500 in trans-
actions/purchases of K-2 that either entered or were attempted to be sent into the jail. The method used to smuggle K-2 into the jail was to spray liquid K-2/synthetic cannabinoids onto paper, then dry and iron the paper, then disguise the papers by writing legal information, personal messages, and Bible verses on them.
The K-2 papers were ei- ther mailed into the jail using fictitious and/or appropri- ated law firm stationary, and in some cases, the K-2 in- fused papers were brought in during meetings with an at- torney.
Last week, law enforce-
ment officers in Carroll
County, Kentucky arrested a
man wanted for a double
murder in Ruskin. The mur-
ders took place on January 24th.
After receiving a 9-1-1 call, deputies with the Hills- borough County Sheriff’s Of- fice responded to 2611 14th Avenue, SE. When they ar- rived, they discovered that Ms. Juanita D. Solorzano, 33, and 24- year-old Alexis Martinez, were dead as a result of gun- shot wounds.
It was determined that Ms. Solorzano was preg- nant at the time of her death.
The investigation led de- tectives to Ms. Samona Louise Ramey, 33, of Wimauma, and an unidenti- fied man after surveillance video was located.
Detectives arrested Ms. Ramey on January 29th, and charged her with two counts
of first-degree murder. She is being held at the Hillsbor- ough County Jail without bond.
The investigation to iden- tify and locate the man seen in the video continued. In May, detectives identified the man in the video as 39-year- old McKinsie Alexander Lyons. A warrant was issued for his arrest on the charges of 2 counts first-degree mur- der, murder of an unborn child, burglary of a dwelling, with assault or battery, and being a felon in possession of a firearm. The U. S. Mar- shal’s Florida Regional Task Force offered a $3,000 re- ward for information leading to his arrest.
Last Wednesday, the Ken- tucky State Police arrested Lyons in Carroll County, Kentucky. The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said Lyons will be returned to stand trial for the double murder.
UNCLE SANDY
We can easily forgive 12, 14, 20, 25 a child who is afraid of the dark; 23, 30, 34, 41 the real tragedy of life is 5, 15, 45, 51 when men are afraid of the light. 1, 19, 50, 54.
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2018 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 19