Page 34 - Florida Sentinel 7-9-21

Crime
Man Fatally Wounded At Large Gathering
Detectives Arrest Football Booster For Scheme To Defraud
ELISE MINZER
SEMINOLE — The Semi- nole High School football booster club treasurer has been taken into custody.
According to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, Ms. Elise Minzer, 46, has been charged with one count of scheme to defraud.
Detectives were notified by the Seminole High School ad- ministration that approxi- mately $15,000 was missing from the booster’s bank ac- count. Several vendors were contacting the school com- plaining of bounced checks and when an audit was conducted, the money was discovered miss- ing.
During the course of the investigation, detectives learned Minzer, who served as the treasurer from 2/28/2019 until 4/30/2021, applied for and was assigned a debit card for the booster ac- count. Debit cards for booster accounts are against school policy.
Detectives discovered over 100 unauthorized transactions on the debit card for airline tickets, liquor, car repairs, cable bills, several monthly car payments, and more.
Detectives say over a pe- riod of time, Minzer stole ap- proximately $43,000 through unauthorized debit card trans- actions and wired $21,000 into the account after com- plaints of bounced checks. The booster club suffered a loss of approximately $22,000.
Investigators met with Minzer and during an inter- view she admitted to using the debit card for unauthorized personal use.
She was transported to the Pinellas County Jail.
Dealer Sentenced To 20 Years In Drug Related Death
ST. PETERSBURG — De- tectives are currently investi- gating a shooting during a large gathering that left a man dead.
According to the St. Pe- tersburg Police Department, at 3:37 a.m., Monday, they received a call about a person shot in the parking lot of Leanne’s Rental Hall, 1566 16th Street South.
When police arrived they found 27-year-old Eric Thornhill Chavis, of St. Pe- tersburg, had been shot.
The victim was trans- ported to a local hospital, where he died.
No arrests have been made although between 100- 150 were gathered at that lo-
ERIC THORNHILL CHAVIS
cation at the time of the shooting.
Detectives ask anyone with information please call St. Petersburg Police at (727) 893-7780 or text SPPD and your tip to TIP 411.
LESLIE PAGAN
Last week, a Tampa woman was sentenced to 20 years in prison for conspir- acy to distribute heroin and fentanyl, and distribution of the drugs that resulted in death. She was found guilty of the charge by a federal jury on March 24, 2021.
U. S. District Judge Thomas P. Barber also is- sued a court order for Ms. Leslie Pagan, 40, of Tampa, to forfeit $105,932, which are traceable to pro- ceeds of the offense.
Her co-conspirator, Ms. Jackylin Bonifacio, pleaded guilty on February 12, 2021, to distribution of heroin and fentanyl, result- ing in death. Her sentencing hearing is scheduled for Au- gust 31, 2021.
According to testimony presented at trial, Pagan supplied co-conspirators with heroin and fentanyl that was distributed in Hillsbor- ough County. On December 19, 2019, a Tampa woman obtained a substance con- taining fentanyl from one of Pagan’s distributors, Jack- ylin Bonifacio.
After the victim used the fentanyl, she collapsed and died.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office investigated the overdose death and iden- tified Bonifacio as the per-
JACKYLIN BONIFACIO
son who had distributed the fentanyl to the victim.
When Bonifacio was ar- rested and she had 25 bag- gies of fentanyl in her possession.
The Hillsborough County Medical Examiner’s Office conducted an autopsy and determined that the victim had died from ingestion of substances, including heroin and fentanyl. Baggies recov- ered from Bonifacio and residue from a syringe found near the victim at the time of the overdose were analyzed and identified to contain fen- tanyl. Lab analysis also de- termined that the fentanyl mixtures were all very simi- lar and, based on the circum- stances of the death and the toxicology from the autopsy, the victim’s use of the fen- tanyl caused the victim’s death.
A joint investigation led by the FBI identified Pagan as Bonifacio’s supplier. During a series of covert op- erations, Pagan distributed fentanyl and heroin to a con- fidential informant and re- ceived payments from that informant.
Pagan was arrested on September 1, 2020, and in- vestigators recovered 97 grams of fentanyl and more than $105,000 from her res- idence.
Duo Charged With Car Theft, 13 Car Burglaries
DAVENPORT — The Polk County Sheriff’s Office ar- rested Victor Antonetty, 16, and Geovanni Luis Viz- caino, 17, both from Or- lando, after they stole three vehicles and burglarized mul- tiple vehicles in the Loma Del Sol subdivision in unincorpo- rated Davenport on July 1, 2021.
According to police, around 5 a.m. last Thursday, a deputy responded to a call about a suspicious vehicle in the area. When he arrived, he observed two vehicles, one of which was later identified as being stolen, speeding from the subdivision - a white Mer- cedes Benz, the driver later identified as Victor An- tonetty and a black BMW, the driver later identified as Geovanni Vizacaino.
The deputy attempted to stop the vehicles, but the two suspects fled the area.
Antonetty reportedly ran over a concrete curb as he was exiting the subdivision, dam- aging the stolen Mercedes Benz. He got out of the vehi- cle and called for a Lyft, but deputies quickly apprehended him before the ride share driver picked him up.
Vizcaino crashed the stolen BMW near the inter- section of Ronald Reagan
VICTOR ANTONETTY
GEOVANNI LUIS VIZCAINO
Parkway and Champions Gate Boulevard and then fled the area. Detectives were able to locate and contact Viz- caino’s mother, who helped find her son.
Detectives learned An- tonetty and Vizcaino drove to Loma Del Sol in a white van, which was reported stolen in Orange County, to break into as many vehicles as they could in order to steal money.
When deputies searched the stolen white van, they found multiple credit cards and identifications related to other burglaries in Orange County.
In total, Antonetty and Vizcaino stole 3 cars and burglarized or attempted to burglarize 13 vehicles.
Both teens face multiple charges and were transported to the Juvenile Center.
FRIDAY, JULY 9, 2021 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY PAGE 21-A