Page 19 - 5-5-15 Tuesday's Edition

Crime
Arrest Made In Shootings
Plant City Men Arrested On Drug Charges
Outside Sunoco Station
Hillsborough County deputies arrested two men on drug charges after drugs and guns were found in their home.
Thomas Robinson, 24, and Robert Thompson, 33, were arrested on April 24th with Robinson facing charges of possession of co- caine with intent to distrib- ute and possession of more than 20 grams of marijuana. Thompson was charged with possession of cocaine and possession of metham- phetamine (Molly).
Tampa Police have ar- rested a man for allegedly shooting two people outside a Sunoco Station late Thursday night.
Police said Roger Gar- den, Jr., 26, was arrested and has been charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, being a felon in possession of a firearm, and fleeing to elude.
Undercover officers in the area at the time of the shoot- ing followed Garden from the station on Hillsborough Avenue and 34th Street. They reported seeing him toss a handgun from the window as they pulled over the vehicle he was driving. Inside the car, the officers found bullet cas- ings, and they also recovered
ROGER GARDEN, JR.
the handgun.
Clarence Jones, 22, and
Zachary Green, 26, were both hospitalized, one with serious injuries and the other with minor injuries.
Investigators said the mo- tive for the shooting was a long running dispute Gar- den has with both victims.
THOMAS ROBINSON
Deputies were assisting the Florida Department of Corrections at the home at 5541 Joe King Road when they saw drug paraphernalia.
ROBERT THOMPSON
After obtaining a search warrant, deputies found five guns, 18.7 grams of crack co- caine, 88.3 grams of mari- juana and $2,416.
Alert Neighbor’s
Man Stands Trial In Home Invasion Murder
Call Results
In Arrests
Investigators reported that four armed men claim- ing to be police officers rushed into the home of Richard Shaw early in the morning of June 19, 2012, demanded money and drugs, and shot him in the back.
Christopher Rober- son, 33, wasn’t charged in the shooting for more than 3 years, but is now standing trial on a first-degree murder charge.
Prosecutors say Rober- son helped plan the home invasion and shot Shaw. Roberson’s attorney said his client was not at the resi- dence at the time of the shooting.
If Roberson is con- victed, he could be looking at life in prison.
For Burglars
Police Arrest Three In Sulphur Springs Drive-By Shooting
ANTHONY GROOVER
Winter
Haven Police
arrested three
men for bur-
glary Friday
at three loca-
tions when an
alert neigh-
bor called
and reported suspicious activ- ity at a residence.
OnMay1st at3p.m.,a9-1- 1 call was received regarding a burglary in progress at 999 14th Street. The neighbor wit- nessed a vehicle in the drive- way of the victim’s residence, and also reported seeing a Black male go to the front door and knock several times with- out an answer.
The witness then reported they saw two additional Black males getting out of the vehi- cle, and walk to the rear of the home, entering an en- closed fenced in area.
After the 9-1-1 call was made, police arrived and said one of the men, Keith Samuel, 20, saw the patrol car and got back into the sus- pect vehicle in an attempt to flee. He was quickly stopped by a K-9 officer.
Samuel was held by an- other officer until the other two suspects were located.
The K-9 officer found 19- year-old Anthony Groover inside of a shed, and 20-year- old Austin Benton was found hiding in a large area of bushes in the area. All three were charged with burglary of an unoccupied structure and transported to the Polk County Jail.
CHRISTOPHER ROBERSON
Maurice Hart and Charles C. Stone were ar- rested in the months follow- ing the shooting. Stone identified Roberson as being involved and is expected to testify in the trial in exchange for having his charges dropped from first-degree murder with a life prison sen- tence to second degree mur- der with a 25-year term.
RONALD SWABY
May 2nd at 4:09 p.m., Tampa Police officers were called to a report of shots fired in the area of 18th Street and Waters Avenue. Officers later discovered the shooting occurred at 8404 18th Street where shooting victim Lamalcodel D. Freeman, 18, was not cooperative.
A description of the vehi- cle was sent out, and officers looked for a small black In- finiti SUV. About 30 minutes later, another call came in for shots fired, but this time a person was found shot in the area of 17th Street and Idell Street.
Several units arrived on the scene and began an inves- tigation. An officer heard the description of the suspect ve- hicle on his way to the scene, and spotted it. The officer fol- lowed the vehicle to the area of 40th Street and Hillsbor- ough where he had sufficient units to conduct a traffic stop. Everyone inside the car was detained.
Officers were able to con- firm that the vehicle was in- volved in the shooting based on evidence at the scene.
Ronald Swaby, 20, was
CHRISTOPHER CUSTODIO
found to be the one that fired shots from the moving vehi- cle and into a crowd where Stefon Johnson, 21 was struck. He was transported to a local hospital with minor in- juries.
During the traffic stop, of- ficers seized two firearms they found under the driver and passenger seat.
Charged in the incident was Swaby with aggravated battery with great bodily harm-firearm possession, ag- gravated battery great bodily harm firearm-discharging firearm from a vehicle, carry- ing a concealed firearm, ag- gravated assault with a firearm discharge, and pos- session of a firearm with al- tered serial number.
Christopher Custodio, 18, was charged with aggra- vated battery great bodily harm possession of a firearm, aggravated battery great bod- ily harm firearm discharging, and discharging of a firearm from a vehicle.
Alex Robinson, 17, was charged with carrying a con- cealed firearm, and being a minor in possession of a firearm.
Two other men, Justin
Detectives Investigating Murder
KEITH SAMUEL
AUSTIN BENTON
CHRISTOPHER MACKEY
Detectives with the St. Petersburg Police Depart- ment report that on April 1, 2015, an investigation was initiated into the death of Christopher Mackey, 27, that occurred in the 1000 block of Melrose Avenue, South.
Detectives said Mackey and Melvin Benjamin, 60, were involved in a heated ar- gument when Benjamin
MELVIN BENJAMIN shot Mackey in the upper
body. Mackey was trans- ported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Benjamin was identified as the shooter by a witness and arrested without inci- dent on a charge of second- degree murder.
Police said the reason the two men were arguing is un- known at this time.
Uncle Sandy
For many, graduation marks 3, 7, 10, 12 the end of formal student life 23, 29, 33, 39 the end of long spring breaks 4, 14, 40, 50 and thinking that a 10 a. m. class is far too early. 1, 43, 51, 60.
TUESDAY, MAY 5, 2015 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 19