Page 31 - Florida Sentinel 7-14-17

Crime Tampa Trio Arrested In Home
Six Charged With Impersonating Federal Agents And Wire Fraud
Depot Robbery
Six people in the Orlando area are facing a 25-count in- dictment as part of a criminal organization that demanded money from victims. The six defendants claimed to be agents with Homeland Secu- rity.
According to the indict- ment, John Pierre Mack, III, 25, of Kissimmee, Ron- nie Rolland Mont- gomery, 28, of Orlando, David Augusta Jones, III, 26, of Orlando, Dillion Mc- Dowell, 26, of Orlando, Amaryllis Pagan, 19, of Kissimmee, and Ashley Ferrell, 26, of Orlando, were all indicted. Each was charged with 1 count of con- spiracy to commit wire fraud and multiple counts of wire fraud.
Mack, a former member of the Florida National Guard, Montgomery, and Jones, are each charged with 24 counts of wire fraud. Ms. Ferrell is charged with 13 counts of wire fraud, Ms. Pagan is charged with 4 counts of wire fraud, and McDowell is charged with 9 counts of wire fraud.
According to the indict- ment, from August 1, 2015 through July 6, 2017, the de- fendants claimed to be Homeland Security and
Deputies Search For Two Armed Robbery Suspects
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office is searching for two men who robbed a restau- rant early Thursday. No in- juries were reported and no shots were fired.
According to a spokesper- son for the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, the robbery took place at 3:07 a.m. The two Black men en- tered the Waffle House, 6502 N. Highway 301, dressed in hoods and gloves. There were three employees in the busi- ness at the time of the rob- bery.
One of the suspects was armed with a long rifle. The suspects took money from the register and left the store on foot. However, police said they may have had a vehicle nearby.
The Sheriff’s Aviation Unit and K-9 Units searched the area, but were unable to locate the men. The investigation is continuing.
OMAR McCRAE
Three Tampa transgender women have been taken into custody in connection with a strong armed robbery. One of the suspects is accused of bat- tering an elderly clerk.
According to police, the in- cident took place last Thursday at the Home Depot in Winter Haven. The trio went into the store. When they reached the self checkout counter, police said Omar McCrae, 18, of Tampa, put the 69-year-old clerk in a chokehold while an- other of the suspects scanned and activated gift cards.
Police arrested McCrae and 19-year-old Malik Tay- lor in connection with the crime. Both have been trans- ported to the Polk County Jail and charged.
The third person has been identified as 20-year-old Ex- avier Ellis Walker, also of Tampa. He was charged with felony petite theft, resisting an officer without violence, and 2 counts of violation of proba- tion. He also had an outstand-
MALIK TAYLOR
EXAVIER WALKER
ing warrant for his arrest from another county.
He is currently being held at the Hillsborough County Jail without bond.
Police did not reveal the value of the gift cards taken. However, they did say that this was not the first time the three had attempted to obtain gift cards in this manner.
They were not successful when they attempted to obtain gift cards from a Lakeland Home Depot on June 22. They were confronted by a 73-year- old clerk and fled without tak- ing anything.
Cyber Crimes Center agents. The victims in the case had responded to an online dating post and engaged in a conversation and exchanged photographs with a woman they believed was an adult. The victims were later con- tacted by the defendants pos- ing as “agents,” who alleged the female was under the age
of 18.
The victims were told
there was an arrest warrant for soliciting a minor and then directed to make pay- ments for fines and penalties in lieu of being arrested.
Officials said the suspects sent paperwork to the victims that displayed the Depart- ment of Homeland Security seal, the name of a judge, and
legal terms related to child exploitation.
They also used email ad- dresses that contained “child exploitation” and “cyber crimes center” in their corre- spondence.
The victims were then di- rected to locations where they were to wire money to pay the fines and the defen- dants took turns picking up the money, the indictment stated. They also traded the victim’s information with others to obtain more money.
The victims, many of whom were members of the military or elderly sent mul- tiple payments ranging from $200 to $1,900 per transac- tion to avoid being arrested, the indictment stated.
RONNIE MONTGOMERY
DAVID JONES, III
DILLION McDOWELL
Police Seek Man Who Took Credit Card Processor
Investigators with the Tampa Police Department are currently searching for a man who removed property from a store. The incident took place Tuesday morning.
According to police, the unidentified man entered the Boost Mobile Store, 10910 N. 30th Street, shortly after 11:30 a.m., and became involved in a verbal dispute with a store em- ployee.
Before leaving the store, the man is alleged to have re- moved a credit card processor from the counter and walked out of the store towards the Ashford Place Apartment Complex.
Anyone with information about the incident or the iden-
THEFT SUSPECT
tity of the suspect is asked to contact Crime Stoppers of Tampa Bay at 1-800-873-TIPS or www.crimestopperstb.com.
Callers may be eligible for a cash reward of up to $3,000 for information leading to his identity, arrest, and convic- tion.
UNCLE SANDY
I'm a dreamer. 2, 18, 30, 37 I have to dream and reach for the stars, 12, 15, 44, 52 and if I miss a star 4, 14, 28, 31 then I grab a handful of clouds. 1, 8, 10, 55.
FRIDAY, JULY 14, 2017 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 23-A