Page 2 - Florida Sentinel 4-7-17

Features
Ex-Postal Worker Gets 9 Years; To Pay Nearly $3 Million Back In Social Security Check Theft
U. S. District Judge James Moody, Jr., sen- tenced a former postal em- ployee to 9 years and 1 month in prison. The Court also entered a money judg- ment of $2,085,649.50 and ordered him to pay $720,881.60 in restitution to the Social Security Ad- ministration.
Stacy Darnell Mitchell, 48, was found guilty by a federal jury on January 11, 2017.
According to evidence presented at trial, Mitchell was a mail handler at the Processing and Distribution Center, in St. Petersburg. He had worked in that posi- tion for more than 15 years.
Between January and October 2012, Mitchell took Social Security checks valued at more than $3 mil- lion from that facility. More
STACY DARNELL MITCHELL ... Ex-Postal Worker sentenced to 9 years,
1 month in prison
than 3,000 checks, all of which were earmarked for disabled or retired benefici- aries living in Pinellas County, were stolen.
Mitchell gave the checks to Richard Lee
RICHARD LEE ANDERSON ... Sentenced to 7 years in prison
Anderson, 38, of Tampa, who then sold them to a network of individuals. The individuals cashed the checks at various conven- ience stores and check cashing businesses throughout the country.
Anderson paid Mitchell a percentage of the checks’ face value.
Recently, Anderson was sentenced to serve 7 years in prison. Anderson is also facing drug and firearms charges in a sepa- rate federal case.
Four of those individu- als have been convicted on federal charges related to the same theft scheme.
Bicyclist Injured In Traffic Accident Remains
In Critical Condition
A 52-year-old Tampa bicy- clist injured in a traffic accident Monday remains in critical condition. The accident took place at Nebraska Avenue and E. Crawford Avenue at noon on Tuesday.
According to the Tampa Po- lice Department, Michael Peeples was riding his bicycle southbound on North Ne- braska Avenue, just north of E. Crawford Avenue. Peeples at- tempted to make a left turn into the Tampa Metro Clinic and was struck by a 2005 Nis- san Maxima. The unidentified driver of the Maxima was trav- eling southbound on Nebraska Avenue.
Police said Peeples sus- tained serious injuries and was transported to St. Joseph’s Hospital, where he was listed in critical condition.
Police said the vehicle sus-
MICHAEL PEEPLES
... Still in critical condition
tained extensive damage to the bumper and windshield as a re- sult of the impact.
Investigators said the driver was not charged because Peeples violated the driver’s right-of-way when he at- tempted to make the left turn into the business.
Tampa Man Gets Life In Sarasota Murder Case
A judge sentenced a man to life in prison for committing a murder. The murder took place nearly two years ago.
On Wednesday afternoon, Judge Thomas Krug sen- tenced DiAndrew Clarkson, 22, of Tampa, to life in prison. He was convicted of the mur- der of a 44-year-old Sarasota resident that took place in 2015.
According to the Sarasota Police Department, at approxi- mately 7 p.m., on September 28, 2015, officers responded to the 1500 block of 25th Street, in reference to a van crashing into a tree. The officers discovered that the victim, identified as Daniel T. Ortiz, had been shot.
Ortiz was transported to Sarasota Memorial Hospital, where he later died.
The day after the shooting a witness told police Ortiz drove to the location to purchase $35 in illegal drugs. Clarkson ap- proached the vehicle from the passenger’s side window and
DIANDREW CLARKSON ... Given life sentence
demanded that Ortiz pay him $40 from a previous drug deal. The witness positively iden- tified Clarkson as the person who shot into the van, police
said.
On September 30, 2015, the
Sarasota Police Department, the Tampa Police Department, and the U. S. Marshal’s Re- gional Fugitive Task Force ar- rested Clarkson at his Tampa residence and charged him with the murder.
PAGE 2-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, APRIL 7, 2017