Page 30 - Florida Sentinel 8-2-19

Crime
Man Gets 5 Years; Must Pay $450,000 In Tax Fraud Case
Two Men Charged With Human Trafficking
Police Investigate Burglary Of Businesses
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office is investigating two overnight burglaries. Elec- tronics were taken from both businesses.
In the first burglary, deputies responded to an alarm at T-Mobile, 10610 New East Bay Road, around 3 a.m. Thurs- day. When deputies arrived, they discovered the front door had been shattered. An unde- termined amount of cell phone equipment and electronics had been taken from the business.
About an hour later, a deputy on routine patrol discov- ered the front door of the Metro PCS Store, 11200 E. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Blvd., had been shattered. Electronics and cell phone equipment had also been taken from the store.
The investigation is contin- uing and no description of a suspect had been released.
A 30-year-old Tampa man was sentenced to prison ear- lier this week. He entered a guilty plea to charges filed against him on April 17, 2019. U. S. Judge Charlene Honeywell sentenced Aaron Troupe, of Tampa, to serve 5 years and 1 month in federal prison. The court also ordered him to pay $449,529.97 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service. Troupe pleaded guilty to theft of government property and aggravated identity theft, stemming from filing fraudu- lent income tax returns.
According to court docu- ments, from 2012 through 2018, Troupe, who was a member of the “Manche Boy Mafia” or “MBM” gang, en- gaged in stolen identity re- fund fraud (SIRF) and credit card fraud. In August 2016, a property cleaning service un- earthed a laptop, notebooks containing personally identi- fiable information, and firearms from the backyard of a rental property in Tampa that had been abandoned by the most recent tenants.
The cleaning service turned the abandoned prop- erty over to the Tampa Police
AARON TROUPE
Department. Further investi- gation determined that one of the ledgers contained infor- mation, including finger- prints and addresses, linked to Troupe.
Troupe also had debit cards issued in his name that had been loaded with fraudu- lently obtained federal in- come tax refunds.
The Internal Revenue Service discovered that be- tween 2011 and 2013, fraud- ulent tax returns associated with Troupe were filed claiming refunds totaling $1,295,583, which resulted in the IRS paying out refunds totaling approximately $449,529.97.
Man Injured In Police-Involved Shooting Recovering
JEREMY JOHNSON ZOLIA WILLIAMS
Two men have been taken into custody and charged with human trafficking. They are also facing several other charges.
According to the Sarasota Police Department, during the month of July 2019, de- tectives conducted several drug investigations and learned that Jeremy John- son was possibly involved in sex trafficking activities.
Detectives began a separate investigation into Johnson. On Tuesday. police conducted an operation to develop prob- able cause to arrest John- son. Detectives arranged for Johnson to bring a female to a location for the purposes of prostitution. When he ar- rived, he was accompanied by the female and Zolia Williams.
Johnson and Williams allegedly provided illicit street drugs for an additional undisclosed amount of cur- rency, for the sole purpose of having the victim consume drugs while performing sex- ual acts.
During a search of the ve- hicle Williams and John- son arrived in, police found several pills, hidden in a flashlight, including clon- azepam, which is a sedative that can treat seizures, panic disorder and anxiety.
Officers also found a Krazy glue container with 11 pieces of crack cocaine on Johnson and a Glock 36 firearm in the back-hatch area of the vehi- cle.
Williams was charged with human trafficking (felony); two counts of pos- session of a controlled sub- stance (felony); and violation of probation.
Johnson was charged with human trafficking (felony); possession of co- caine (felony); possession of a firearm by a convicted felon (felony); and use of a weapon during a criminal offense (felony).
Johnson and Williams were both transported to the Sarasota County Jail. The case remains an active and ongoing investigation.
A 20-year-old man is recover- ing in a local hospital after being shot by police. The shooting took place during a standoff on Mon- day.
According to the Pinellas Park Police Department, around 10:30 a.m., police responded to a call of an armed man inside a res- idence at 6665 100th Avenue, N. A SWAT Team responded after it was determined the man was not responding to officers to surren- der.
For several hours, police at- tempted to communicate with the man. At one point, the man said if he came outside he was going to “shoot an officer,” police said.
Around 4;30 p.m., SWAT Team members entered the resi- dence using an armored vehicle. The man left the residence, but went back inside. He was ob- served to have a gun in his hand. At one point, he came outside with the gun in his hand, raised it, and fired in the direction of the officers. At that point, a SWAT Sniper shot him one time.
The man, later identified as Anthony Tyler Jones, was transported to Bayfront Health St. Petersburg, where he is recov- ering from his injuries. He was charged with two counts of armed burglary, and two counts of aggravated assault with a firearm.
The officer has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation. Several other investigations are ongoing as well.
Armed Robbery Suspect Surrenders To Police
After more than 8 hours, a man accused of robbing a business was taken into cus- tody. He was charged with armed robbery and at- tempted murder.
According to police, the incident began around 10:15 p.m., Tuesday, when med suspect entered the Family Dollar Store, 1701 4th Av- enue, Street, South, in St. Pe- tersburg. The man robbed the business and shot the clerk before fleeing the scene.
Police responded to the scene and concentrated on an area of 4th Street South, be- tween 15th and 18th Avenue, South, where they believed the man was hiding.
After more than 8 hours, police located 29-year-old Terrian Javon Knight. In- vestigators said he spent
TERRIAN JAVON KNIGHT
most of the time hiding in a retention pond. He was taken into custody and charged.
Police said the unidenti- fied victim was treated at a local hospital and released.
UNCLE SANDY SAYS
Love is 14, 19, 28, 38 the only force 3, 10, 40, 43 ca- pable of transforming 12, 20, 23, 24 an enemy into friend. 18, 50, 54, 60
FRIDAY, AUGUST 2, 2019 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 23-A