Page 19 - Florida Sentinel 1-19-16 Edition

Crime
CDC Of Tampa Fires Man After Learning Of His Record
Grave Robbers Hit East Tampa Cemetery
Tampa Police have re- ported that grave robbers stole caskets and remains from a family’s mausoleum at the Ital- ian Cemetery in East Tampa.
According to police, the in- cident occurred sometime be- tween Veteran’s Day and last Wednesday night.
According to reports, someone visiting the cemetery noticed the lock on the Spi- cola family mausoleum had been broken. When police ar- rived, they found one coffin disturbed and two others miss- ing.
According to Charles Spi- cola, Jr., the remains be- longed to his great-grandfather, grand- mother and aunt.
Spicola, Jr. is a former Tampa City Council member and founder of the Tampa Rough Riders. Among his rela-
This mausoleum was robbed of a pair of coffins, and a third was found disturbed.
tives are a former Circuit Judge and a former state attorney.
There is a security system at the cemetery, but detectives said the thieves managed to
by-pass it.
Crime Stoppers is offering
a reward of up
$3,000 for information
that leads to an arrest.
For several years, Theron Burns, 38, worked as a coun- selor for a pair of area non- profit organizations that help people apply for home loans and mortgage assistance.
In his role, Burns had ac- cess to the social security num- bers, banking records, and credit histories of hundreds of people. However, clients might not have entrusted him with private financial information had they known of his back- ground.
Burns spent two years in state prison for grand theft and burglary. That came as a sur- prise to his current employer, CDC of Tampa who learned of his past last Wednesday.
CDC Of Tampa President, Ernest Coney, told authori- ties Burns is no longer work- ing for that organization.
THERON BURNS
In 1995 when he was 18, Burns was arrested for bur- glary, grand theft and grand theft of a motor vehicle. He was sentenced to four years in state prison and released after 25 months.
In 2008, police in Bellair Beach arrested Burns on a charge of unlawful sexual activ- ity with a minor that was later amended to child abuse.
Police Arrest Man After Theft In Smartphone Transaction
Last Tuesday, Tampa Po- lice arrested a man accused of stealing a hoverboard from a seller he met through a new smart phone app designed to match sellers and buyers.
Police said they have re- ceived several complaints from people who said they be- came victims after arranging a cash sale with an online stranger. In some cases, sell- ers were given counterfeit money and in other cases, people were robbed and threatened.
Police arrested Carlos Green, 20, on a warrant and charged him with robbery by sudden snatching. He was also
CARLOS GREEN
charged with 19 counts of vio- lation of probation from a va- riety of charges ranging from grand theft to forgery, to mak-
ing a cash deposit with intent to defraud. He is being held without bond.
According to police, Green and an unidentified hoverboard seller arranged the sale through the OfferUp app and agreed to meet in a parking lot in December to complete the cash transaction.
When the seller asked for money, Green allegedly threatened him and rode away on the hoverboard without paying for it. Police did not say whether the hoverboard was recovered.
According to a website, hoverboards sell for prices ranging from $299 to $599.
Arrest Made In Murder Of Softball Coach
Authorities have arrested a suspect in the August, 2015 murder of a Lake Alfred soft- ball coach.
According to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, James "Terry" Yelvington, 60, was shot to death August 11th in front of his home on the 700 block of South Todhunter Way.
Neighbors told detectives they heard gunshots in the early morning hours and saw a dark-colored, late 1990s to early 2000s GMC or Chevrolet SUV turning a corner, detec- tives said.
Yelvington was found dead in his driveway.
In a news conference Fri- day, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd announced that
ALFRED RANARD JENKINS
Alfred Jenkins, 54, a former co-worker of Yelvington, was arrested Thursday night and charged with first-degree mur- der, armed robbery, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and tampering with evi- dence.
Authorities have not re- leased a motive for the murder.
Gun Club Reports Theft Of 39 Guns
Uncle Sandy
says...
Love is 14, 19, 28, 38 the only force 3, 10, 40, 43 capable of transforming 12, 20, 23, 24 an enemy into friend. 18, 50, 54, 60
Triple-Murder Suspect Indicted
A man accused of killing his wife, a neighbor, and a pastor who worked with his wife has been indicted on first-degree murder charges.
A jury in Manatee County handed down the three counts against Andres Ava- los, Jr., 33, last Tuesday. A grand jury indictment is nec- essary for prosecutors to seek the death penalty in Florida. Prosecutors haven’t said if they are going to pursue the death penalty.
Detectives said Avalos fa- tally shot his wife, Amber Avalos, 33, and their neigh- bor, Denise Potter, 46, at
their Bradenton home on De- cember 4th, then made his way across town to Bayshore Baptist Church, where he shot and killed Rev. James Battle.
Avalos was arrested two days later at a mobile home park.
ANDRES AVALOS, JR.
The Manatee Gun and Archery Club reports 38 guns and an air rifle were missing from the club after an inter- nal investigation also found the club’s manager was sell- ing the club’s firearms with- out the club’s permission and violating federal gun control laws.
Gene Pitts, former club president and manager, has resigned as club manager.
Since the beginning of the in- vestigation, he has been on a leave of absence as club pres- ident pending the results of the probe into the allegations against him.
The missing guns include a shotgun, pistol and 36 as- sorted rifles .Their estimated retail value is $28,000.
The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office is looking into the case.
TUESDAY, JANUARY 19, 2016 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 19