Page 20 - 8-4-15 Tuesday's Edition Updated

Crime
Jury Recommends Death Sentence For Man In 4th Murder Conviction
Suspects Captured After Shots Fired Into Home
BRITTNEY DINKINS
DEVETRIUS JONES
Clearwater Police report that on Sunday at 6:10 a. m., their of- fice received several calls about shots being fired in the 400 block of North Lincoln Avenue.
The victim, Nadrea Battle, also called police and reported that Brittney Dinkins, 26, had shot up her house and that she was in a dark colored Buick Verano.
Officers arrived on the scene quickly and determined that shots were fired through the window of Battle’s apartment where 2-year-old Tracy Dixon was also residing.
Two different shell casings were found in the street in front of the apartment complex. Offi- cers went to 1806 East Drive, the known address for Dink- ins. As officers approached, they saw a vehicle at the location with Florida tag number 476XQY.
As officers approached the Buick Verano, it fled east on Sunset Point Road. It continued to travel east in a reckless man- ner, and because of the haz- ardous road conditions attributed to the rain, police ter- minated their pursuit, and an advisory was released on the ve- hicle.
Pinellas County Sheriff’s deputies began pursuing the ve- hicle at 6:53 a. m. They reported the driver, Devetrius Jones, 22, was speeding when he lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a concrete barrier at East Lake Road and Keystone
RoadA. fter impact the vehicle caught fire. Deputies were able to remove Jones and Dinkins from the car.
Jones reportedly suffered non-life threatening injuries, and Dinkins was airlifted to a local hospital with life threaten- ing injuries.
Both will be charged with flee- ing and eluding, and Dinkins will be charged with shooting into an occupied dwelling.
National News
Ebola Vaccine Proven To Be 100% Effective
... Penalty
Recommends
Death
Jury
DONTAE MORRIS
DEREK ANDERSON ...Killed May 18, 2010
legedly stalked Anderson and shot him in the back. Morris has also been charged with killing four other people. He has been convicted in three of those cases.
Morris has been found guilty of the murder of Rod- ney Jones. Jones, 41, was shot outside of the Cotton Club in West Tampa on May 31, 2010. He was given a life sen- tence in that murder.
He (Morris) was given the death penalty for the murders of Tampa Police Officers David Curtis and Jeffery Kocab, both 31 years of age. On June 29, 2010, the mur- ders of the officers took place on June 29, 2010 during a traffic stop. Both officers were shot when they attempted to arrest Morris on out-of- county warrants. The murders were captured on the officers’ dash cam.
Morris has also been charged with the shooting death of 25-year-old Harold Wright. Wright was shot and killed on June 8, 2010. No trial date has been set in that case.
Morris was the subject of the largest manhunt ever launched in Tampa, The re- ward for his capture after the murder of the two officers reached more than $100,000. He surrendered to police on July 10, 2010 and has been in jail since that time.
GUINEA, WEST AFRICA -- A vaccine for the highly conta- gious and deadly Ebola virus has proved to be 100 percent effective, the World Health Or- ganization announced Friday.
Tests show that a single dose of the newly developed vaccine, VSV-EBOV, is highly effective. Scientists hope the vaccine will prevent the spread of the virus, the latest of which swept over three West African nations in what was the largest outbreak in re- cent history. Trials for the vac- cine began in March in Guinea.
In a statement, the WHO confirmed that more than 4,000 close contacts of Ebola
Baby receives Ebola vaccine.
patients have participated in the trial. Additionally, the vac- cine has been given to more than 1,000 health workers, members of burial teams and cleaning staff.
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
Last week, a Hillsborough County jury found a Tampa man guilty of first-degree mur- der. The panel also recom- mended the death sentence for the defendant.
The jury voted 10-2 in favor of the death penalty for Don- tae Rashawn Morris, 29, for the murder of 21-year-old Derek Anderson.
The jury found Morris guilty of murder. However, the jury did not find Morris guilty of having a weapon. An- derson was shot in the back, the State Attorney’s Office said during the trial.
This is the third time a jury has recommended the death penalty for Morris. However, Hillsborough Circuit Judge William Fuente will make the final decision on whether Morris will be handed down another death sentence or life in prison without the possibil- ity of parole. A sentencing date has not been set.
Anderson was shot and killed in front of his mother’s apartment in East Tampa on May 18, 2010. His death was the first linked to Morris after Morris’ release from Florida State Prison on April 10, 2010. According to court documents, Morris and Anderson be- came engaged in an altercation earlier in the day. Morris al-
N.J. State Troop Fires Shots After Teens Knock On His Door By Mistake
SPARTA, N.J.--- An off-duty New Jersey state trooper is under review after firing at three unarmed teenagers who mistakenly knocked on the door of his Sparta home Sun- day, believing it to be their friend’s house.
The trooper, identified as Kissinger Barreau, told in- vestigators he thought the teenagers were trying to break into his home. Jesse Bark- horn, John Marasco, and another teenager who has not been identified were looking for their friend, who lived next door to Barreau.
Barreau claims he identi- fied himself as a police officer during the chase, but the teens
Kissinger Barreau’s home.
deny that ever happened.
He remains on active duty while a team of investigators compiled by the New Jersey Attorney General’s office re-
view the case.
Robbery Suspect Caught When Deputy Walks Into Store
MEMPHIS, TN --- Mem- phis police identified 29-year- old Tremaine Wilburn as the suspect in a weekend shooting of an officer. Wilburn is at large and con- sidered armed and dangerous, Memphis Police Director Toney Armstrong told re- porters late Sunday.
Officer Sean Bolton, 33, was shot multiple times Satur- day night. He was taken to a hospital in critical condition but later pronounced dead.
Armstrong provided a po- lice account of Bolton's fatal encounter:
The officer saw a car that was illegally parked and pulled in front of it, illuminating the vehicle with his spotlight. Bolton then approached the car and was confronted by a passenger.
A struggle ensued, Arm- strong said, ending when the passenger shot Bolton multi-
A Pasco County Sheriff’s deputy was in the right place at the right time early Monday to catch a robbery suspect in Hudson.
At 2:30 a. m., a deputy went to an Exxon-Mobil Station, 13842 Little Road, to buy a drink. The clerk told the deputy the store had just been robbed and pointed out the suspect who was fleeing in a vehicle.
The deputy called in a de- scription of the vehicle that was spotted by patrol cars and pulled over after a pursuit.
Kristopher M. Nettles, 29 was charged with robbery, flee- ing to elude, driving with a sus-
KRISTOPHER NETTLES
pended license, possession of drugs with intent to distribute, and three out-of-county war- rants. He is being held on $25,150 bail.
OFFICER SEAN BOLTON
ple times. Both the driver and the suspect fled.
"It was found that Officer Bolton apparently inter- rupted some sort of drug transaction. A digital scene and a small baggie of mari- juana ... were located inside of the vehicle," Armstrong said.
The vehicle's driver later turned himself into police and was released without charge.
Memphis Officer Fatally Shot After Interrupting Drug Transaction
PAGE 20 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY TUESDAY, AUGUST 4, 2015