Page 35 - Florida Sentinel 10-12-18

Crime
13 Men Arrested In Undercover Child Sex Sting
Seminole Heights Murders:
Donaldson Case Moves Slowly Through Courts
HOWELL EMANUEL DONALDSON, III
... charged with 4 counts of first-degree murder
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
On Friday, attorneys repre- senting Howell Emanuel Donaldson, III, will be in court. The attorneys requested the hearing before Hillsbor- ough Circuit Judge Mark Wolfe on Motions to Compel Discovery. One of the motions pertained to the gun confis- cated by police.
Donaldson has waived his right to be present at the 9 a. m. hearing.
A disposition hearing for Donaldson has been set for October 30th. However, no trial date has been scheduled.
Now 25, Donaldson has been held without bond in the Hillsborough County Jail for the past 318 days. He is ac- cused of killing four people during a 51-day period that began on October 9th and ended on November 14th.
The killing spree began with the murder of Benjamin Mitchell on October 9th. The murder of the 22-year-old did- n’t draw too much attention.
Mitchell was walking near N. 15th Street and E. Frierson, when he was shot. He died at a local hospital.
Four days later, on October 13th, a city employee discovered the body of Ms. Monica Hoffa, 32, of Tampa. Her body was found in a vacant lot in the 1000 block of East New Orleans Avenue. She had last been seen walking through the neighborhood on October 11th, en route to meet a friend.
It was after her murder that
BENJAMIN MITCHELL Died October 9th
MONICA HOFFA Died October 11th
Undercover detectives with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office conducted a six-day undercover “traveler” operation from Octo- ber 2 through October 7, 2018. Detectives posed as girls and boys online — on social media platforms and on-line dating sites — to investigate those who prey upon and travel to meet children for unlawful sexual ac- tivity.
The suspects communicated with and solicited who they thought were children between the ages of 13 and 14 for sex acts. They all showed up to a lo- cation in Polk County at sepa- rate times to meet who they thought were children, many of them bringing condoms and lu- bricant, but instead were greeted by detectives.
Thirteen individuals were taken into custody, including one man who said he knew he was HIV positive and solicited a boy who he thought was 14 to engage in unprotected sex. Oth- ers arrested include a former military police officer, who had been previously arrested, con- victed, and is on federal proba- tion for lewd/lascivious molestation of a child; a Lake Mary man who was arrested in
Seminole County in November 2017 for obscene communica- tion with a minor, a man who brought a new I-Phone 8+ as a gift along with sex toys, con- doms, lubricant, and male en- hancement pills; and a cook at a Disney resort.
Those arrested include men in their twenties, thirties and fifties.
Christian Labarca Mor- les, 28, of Kissimmee; Richard Victor Hicks, 29, of Montverde (Lake County); Justin Brandon Kinard, 24, of Lake Mary; Robert Gras- sano-Mazeika of Davenport; and 28-year-old Abraham Vafan Dukuly, of Winter Haven.
Police also arrested, 26- year-old Thien Nguyen of Or- lando; 24-year-old Timo Townsend, of Davenport; Antonio Linares, 28, of Or- lando; Joseph Mujica, 54, of Orlando; Alexander Chinea- Ortiz, 34, of Orlando; Geor- gios Kiragiannis, 39, of Orlando; Carlos Agasta Llanos, 34, of Orlando; and 29-year-old Frank Otero of Holiday.
ANTHONY NAIBOA Died October 19th
Mayor Bob Buckhorn and Police Chief Brian Duggan notified the city of a possible serial killer in the area.
Anthony Naiboa, a young adult with Autism, had gotten off the bus at the wrong stop. He was walking north on 15th Street in the area of Wilder Avenue when he was killed on October 19th.
The suspect waited for nearly a month before he took the life of 60-year-old Ronald Felton. Felton was near the intersection of N. Nebraska Avenue and E. Caracas. Fel- ton was approached from be- hind. His death is unique in that the killer struck at 4:50 a.m., instead of at night as he had in the previous cases.
The Arrest
On November 28, 2017,
Howell Emanuel Donald- son, III, reportedly walked into the McDonald’s Restau- rant in Ybor City. He is said to have given a bag to the man-
RONALD FELTON Died November 14th
ager and advised her not to look in the bag. He allegedly left the restaurant and re- turned a short time later.
During his absence, the manager, later identified as Ms. Delanda Walker, told an officer inside the restaurant about the gun. When Donald- son returned, he was taken into custody.
Records show that Don- aldson purchased the gun linked to the murders. He took possession of it on October 7th, two days before the first mur- der took place.
Forensic evidence linked the gun in Donaldson’s pos- session to the murders. Police also retrieved clothing that ap- peared to have blood stains on them from his vehicle and his cell phone records showed that he was in the area when three of the four murders took place.
Donaldson, who has not confessed to committing the murders, was ruled competent to stand trial in July 2018.
Deputies Arrest Man Who Ran Over Friend
Deputies with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office have ar- rested a man and charged him with attempted murder. He is accused of running over his friend.
Deputies said Larry Washington, 49, and 32- year-old Herminio Rivera are friends and live on the same property. The two had report- edly spent the day riding around, smoking marijuana and drinking.
Deputies said the two went to a park at 2901 Dudley Drive, in Bartow, where they became engaged in an argument over money.
Rivera allegedly hit Washington with a metal rod and began to run away.
LARRY WASHINGTON
During an interview with detectives, Washington reportedly ad- mitted that he ran over Rivera with his truck and said when he gets out of jail he is going to
kill Rivera. He added that the only reason he did not kill Rivera on Tuesday night was because his truck got caught on a fence, police said.
Rivera was admitted to a local hospital in stable condi- tion. Washington was charged with attempted sec- ond-degree murder.
UNCLE SANDY
Write it 7, 23, 57, 45 on your heart 30, 42, 22, 18 that every day 4, 8, 1, 20 is the best day in the year. 39, 44, 24, 60.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2018 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 23-A