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Quarrel Between
Police Seek To Identify Suspect Who Injured Jewelry Store Employee
Roommates Leads
To Fatal Shooting
Police are asking the public to help identify a man who in- jured a jewelry store employee during a theft. The incident took place on September 6th, at the Brandon Mall.
A spokesman for the Hills- borough County Sheriff’s Of- fice said they did not have any information on the case in Pasco County at press time.
Detectives described the suspect as a Black man, ap- proximately 6’1” and between 25 and 30 years of age. He has a trimmed beard and was last seen wearing dark clothing. The vehicle connected to the offense is a silver, newer model Chevrolet Camaro.
According to police, the man entered Mirage Dia- monds & Fine Jewelry, 321 Brandon Town Center Mall. The man entered the store, stole two pieces of jewelry, a gold necklace, and bracelet, then fled the scene. The jew- elry is valued at $24,000, po- lice said.
A store employee chased the man outside, where he confronted the suspect. The employee confronted the man and jumped on top of the hood of the vehicle, police said.
The suspect drove north- bound towards Brandon Blvd.,
ter Drive.
The store employee, a 40-
year-old Tampa man was transported to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries. Officials said he remains in se- rious condition, but his condi- tion is stable.
Police are asking anyone with information about the suspect to contact Crime Stop- pers of Tampa Bay. A reward of up to $3,000 is being of- fered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the suspect.
Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office at 247-8200, or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-873-TIPS (8477), report anonymously online at www.crimestopper- stb.com.
A 59-year-old Brandon man died early Wednesday after he allegedly armed himself during an argument. Police said the incident has been referred to the Hills- borough County State Attor- ney’s Office for further investigation.
According to the Hills- borough County Sheriff’s Of- fice, the shooting took place at 1209 E. Camellia Drive, in Brandon.
When deputies arrived at the scene, they located Don- ald Eugene Woods on the kitchen floor, suffering from a gunshot. Hillsborough County Fire Rescue re- sponded to the scene and pronounced Woods de- ceased.
Deputies also met an African American man who lived at the residence. When they came in contact with him, he had his hands raised in the air and told deputies that he had fired the fatal shot.
Police obtained a search warrant after learning that the owner of the property was renting three of the bed- rooms. Two of the rooms were occupied by couples and the third by the man who identified himself as the shooter.
During the investigation police learned that Woods and his girlfriend were in- volved in a quarrel in their bedroom, the adult man
DONALD WOODS ... Pronounced dead at the scene
went to the room after hear- ing the argument.
Woods allegedly told the man to mind his own business and the argument spilled out into the common area of the home. As the ar- gument progressed, Woods allegedly went into the kitchen, armed himself with a knife, and took steps to- ward the other man.
The other man produced a handgun and fired at least one shot, striking Woods.
The case remains under investigation however, no charges have been filed. Po- lice said the names of the man who admitted shooting Woods or Woods’ girl- friend will not be released because they are considered witnesses in the case.
The couple who occupied the third bedroom of the home were not in their bed- room and were not involved in the incident, police said.
Police believe the suspect has committed a similar offense re- cently. This surveillance photo- graph was taken from a case in Pasco County.
with the employee still on the hood. The employee was thrown from the hood when it reached Brandon Boulevard West and Brandon Town Cen-
Former Coach At East Lake High Charged With Child Abuse Dies
Frederick T. Lowe, a former volunteer basketball coach at East Lake High School, who was arrested last year on charges of abusing a 16-year-old student, died Sun- day at his home. He was 57.
In December 2015, Lowe was arrested on charges of un- lawful sexual activity with a minor and possession of child pornography. He was accused of making a boy strip and wear a diaper until he urinated on himself.
According to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, a stu- dent began visiting Lowe’s home for mentoring and tu- toring. During five occasions, Lowe reportedly called the student a bad boy, and made him wear the diaper as pun-
ishment for acting out at school.
The boy told his parents and stopped going to Lowe’s house. His parents didn’t re- port it to law enforcement to avoid embarrassment, accord- ing to detectives. But, the teen went back to see Lowe, who kissed him on the mouth five times.
During his arrest, detec- tives said they found video pornography involving chil- dren as young as 9-years-old.
A basketball coach re- ported Lowe to the Sheriff’s Office after the parents of the victim told him what hap- pened. The Pinellas County School District barred Lowe from coaching and interacting with students.
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