Page 37 - Florida Sentinel 9-2-22

Crime
Man Gets 25 Years For Selling And Disposing Of A Body
Tampa Police Still
Investigating
Shooting On
A U. S. District Judge William F. Jung sen- tenced a Clearwater man Sherman Michael Puck- ett to more than 25 years in federal prison. He is accused of conspiring to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl, 10 grams or more of fentanyl analogues, 5 grams or more of methamphetamine, and heroin; and obstructing of justice.
Puckett had pleaded guilty on March 14, 2022.
According to court docu- ments and evidence pre- sented at the sentencing hearing, from at least July 23, 2018, through September 17, 2019, Puckett conspired with others to distribute over 255 grams of fentanyl, over 37 grams of fentanyl analogues, over 28 grams of cocaine, and over 17 grams of metham- phetamine, among other drugs.
During this time, Puckett mixed heroin and fentanyl to-
As Puckett put it to one wit- ness, “if they [his customers] can survive the high, I will al- ways have a paycheck.”
Puckett, 25, maintained a rotating series of hotel rooms and short-stay rentals for the purpose of storing his drugs and selling them to oth- ers. In order to evade law en- forcement, Puckett moved every few days or weeks.
Puckett also trafficked women, whom he paid and kept loyal with drugs. One woman (S.C.) whom Puck- ett had supplied with drugs died of an overdose in one of Puckett’s hotel rooms. In an attempt to hide the evidence and escape re- sponsibility, Puckett ob- structed justice by stripping her body naked, wrapping it in plastic, and dumping it at the base of the Howard Fran- kland Bridge – on the St. Pe- tersburg side, where it was found the next morning by a local fisherman.
50th Street
The Tampa Police De- partment is still investigating a shooting that occurred last Wednesday night (August 24th) in the vicinity of a gas station on 50th Street and Melburne blvd., on the edge of the Highland Pines com- munity.
The officers received the call shortly before midnight, around 11:43 p. m. However, police do not believe this was a random shooting.
Upon arrival at the scene, the officers found a man who appeared to be shot. He was taken to a local hospital where he was later pro- nounced deceased.
According to Facebook, that person has been identi- fied as Fred Young.
The Police Dept. has not released any additional infor- mation as the investigation continues.
Police are asking for the public’s help in solving this crime and finding the person or people responsible. Any- one with information on the shooting is asked to con- tact Crimestoppers of Tampa Bay at 1-800-873-TIPS.
SHERMAN MICHAEL PUCKET
gether in his own “recipe,” which he told unwitting cus- tomers was heroin alone. As a result of not knowing the con- tents of what they were in- gesting, Puckett’s customers sometimes accidentally over- dosed. Puckett was respon- sible for an unknown number of non-fatal overdoses, which he regarded as an acceptable cost of his business model.
The users who survived became addicted to fentanyl and became loyal customers.
Human Trafficking Squad Nets More Than 360 In First Year
PAUL
TUROVSK MORE THAN 360 HUMAN TRAFFICKING ARRESTS
FRED YOUNG ...Facebook friends identi- fied him as the victim in the shooting.
Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronis- ter is crediting the newly formed Human Traffick- ing Squad for ar- resting hundreds of suspects in vari- ous sex crimes and saving several vic- tims from a life of exploitation.
Since the for-
mation of the Human Traf- ficking Squad on June 14, 2021, the deputies assigned have worked tirelessly to in- vestigate, arrest, and stop the use of people for various criminal activities. A large portion of the cases they work on include the prostitu- tion of victims for sex. To date, 360 people have been arrested, with a total of 8 vic- tims rescued.
Sheriff Chronister
said, “When I became Sheriff — I made a commitment to fight illegal prostitution and
to protect the citizens of Hillsborough County from being victimized by predators in our midst.
“The Human Trafficking Squad has been given all the resources they need to save the victims, who often find themselves in a dark and dangerous life with no way out.”
Starting in April, through various stings and operations focused on stopping the de- mand for prostitution, HCSO deputies arrested 176 men who went looking to commit
illegal acts of prostitution — some of them with minors.
Most of the men arrested are facing charges related to solicitation of prostitution. These men made contact with our detectives in their attempts to purchase sex.
While on his honeymoon, one suspect, Paul Tur- ovsky, 34-years-old, made arrangements to meet an un- dercover detective and pay for sex. Leaving his new wife in their hotel room, he trav- eled to meet the undercover detective and was arrested.
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