Florida Sentinel Bulletin

The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office initiative to get guns off the street, “Operation Gun Swap,” will begin Saturday at 9 a. m. and end at 2 p. m.

Anyone who wants to exchange a firearm for cash and a Tampa Bay “Fan Pack,” will have a choice of 5 locations. Those locations are:

Sheriff’s Operations Center, 2003 East 8^th Avenue. 

13501 North Nebraska Avenue (site of closed Sunoco Gas Station).

IGA Grocery Store, 14720 East Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard.

Sheriff’s Town ‘N Country Substation, 7519 West Waters.

Sheriff’s Progress Village Substation, 7935 Flower Avenue.

The rules of the gun swap are:

Any firearm will be accepted

Each firearm will earn you $75 and a Tampa Bay Fan Pack with ticket vouchers for a Lightning and Rays game 

Firearms must arrive unloaded

Transport in your vehicle’s trunk, or place securely in a box or bag

Do not remove firearms from your vehicle. A deputy will take possession of the firearm upon your arrival at the collection location

Unwanted ammunition will be accepted but cannot be exchanged for cash

No BB Guns, pellet guns or paint ball guns (but will be accepted for destruction)

All firearms and ammunition collected will be destroyed.

Spokesperson, Capt. Chad Chronister, said it’s normal to see if any weapon turned in has been used in an offense.

“It may be stolen, and in that case it can be returned to its owner. There are a lot of benefits to collecting he guns, and we want people to understand they do this anonymously.

“Contrary to popular belief, this isn’t a crime reduction method, because we don’t expect criminals to arrive and turn in their weapons.”

Capt. Chronister said they expect the Gun Swap to be an overwhelming success, and they believe there are people out there who just don’t want to have anything to do with guns.

“Although this isn’t crime reduction related, we still understand gun violence is rising, and removing guns that aren’t wanted can play a role in reducing that violence.

“We’ve received calls from people who had guns left to them in wills or by dead relatives, and they don’t want them. One man said a relative had left him 44 guns, and he didn’t want any of them.”

Capt. Chronister said when a surrendered weapon is found to have played a role in an ongoing investigation, it’s a plus for the detectives.

“What we discover will have no bearing on the person turning the gun in, because the way the system is set up, no one has to identify themselves, or show any identification.”

Pictured: On January 14^th, detectives concluded a month-long investigation when they raided a consignment store across the street from Gibsonton Elementary School, and recovered these weapons. 

BY IRIS B. HOLTON

Sentinel City Editor

Mayor Bob Buckhorn said the 51 homes slated for demolition in Sulphur Springs were not on any futuristic list of improvements. However, they are uninhabitable, devalue the neighborhoods, and are structures used for criminal intent.

Tuesday, the first of those 51 homes was demolished at 8615 N. 16^th Street, as residents cheered the move. Mayor Buckhorn said, “We want to make the quality of life better for the residents of Sulphur Springs. These homes have been used for prostitution, gang activity, and drugs. They are firetraps and people shouldn’t have to live next to them.”

Mayor Buckhorn said he has named the project the Nehemiah Project, “because it took 52 days for Nehemiah to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem.”

He further stated that it would take about six months to complete the first phase of the project. “Most will be demolished before that time, but some may have asbestos issues and we have to comply with all regulations.”

He said the demolition also ties in with the installation of street lights throughout the city.

Forty-five of the homes are located in Sulphur Springs and an additional 6 are located north of Busch Blvd. The cost of each demolition is $5,500. Each of the former residences have multiple code violations and none are historic.

Once the structures have been demolished, the Clean City Division will maintain the properties. The City will also dedicate three full-time code enforcement officers to the Sulphur Springs neighborhood to help continue revitalizing the area.

The funds for the demolition will be taken from the City’s General Fund.

Pictured: Mayor Bob Buckhorn is shown with Sulphur Springs resident Reeshemah McCoy-Green and her daughter, Legacy who live in a property adjacent to the one that was demolished Tuesday morning. 

Tampa Fire Rescue units were called out to a fire at 1582 Nuccio Parkway at 8:57 p. m. Tuesday night.

When units arrived, they found smoke and flames coming from a ground floor apartment at the Tampa Park Apartments complex.

TFR spokesperson, Debra Warshefski, said the apartment was the home of Melaina Hall, (pictured), 23, and her two children.

“Ms. Hall had to go to a store, and asked an adult friend of hers to watch the children. The adult friend also brought a child over.

“At some point, the three children were in a rear bedroom playing, when one of them set the mattress on fire. The frightened children ran from the rear bedroom, at which time the detectors went off, and the adult smelled the smoke.”

The adult and the three children were able to escape without injury, and Hall returned minutes later shocked at what she saw, but relieved no one was hurt.

Fire officials said the apartment sustained $10,000 in damage, and firefighters were successful in containing the fire to the one apartment.

Officials at the complex said Hall and her two children moved into their apartment in June 2012.

The 6-year-old who started the fire has been referred to the Firestarters Program, and was identified as Hall’s daughter, Jaiela.

TFR is not conducting a investigation at this time, and Tampa Police said they were at the scene for safety purposes only, and also don’t intend to initiate an investigation.

Ms. Hall said her first concern was for the safety of her children.

“When I came back from the store, I was just in a state of shock. A friend stopped by to visit with her child, and I just stepped out for a few minutes to go to the store. Thank God the smoke detectors were working.”

Ms. Hall said she talks to her daughters, Jaiela, and Jada, 4, all the time about fires, and they hear it at school as well.

“They know they shouldn’t even have a lighter in the first place.

“After the fire, I stood outside my apartment most of the night waiting for someone from Red Cross to come, but they never arrived.”

Ms. Hall said they lost everything in the fire, and she didn’t have any insurance.

“I do have some family members around, but they have children of their own, so we definitely need our own place.

“I talked to the people at the complex, and I was told I would have to cover the damage to the apartment before I could move back. I don’t have that kind of money, so I guess we will just have to start over.”

On February 12, 2012 at 11:44 a. m., the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office reported that Nancy Grooms, 52, had been found dead in the bedroom of her residence at 920 122^nd Avenue. The Medical Examiner’s Office later determined Grooms died as a result of several stab wounds.

Detectives viewed video surveillance footage from a couple of convenience stores and they showed Grooms in the company of an unknown Black male. She was wearing the same clothing in the videos she was found dead in. The unknown male was later identified as Otano Leggett, 24.

Through interviews, detectives learned Leggett was seen leaving Grooms’ apartment. She had not been seen or heard from again until she was found dead. DNA evidence was gathered and it linked Leggett to Grooms prior to her death.

On January 25, 2013, detectives charged Leggett with first-degree murder with a weapon. He is currently serving a 2 year sentence in Florida State Prison on drug charges after his conviction in August 2012.

Grooms was the mother of one child, Rosealee Hoffman, of Texas. She was born at the Naval Air Station in Jacksonville, Florida, and attended schools in five states and in Italy while her father served in the Navy.

Grooms was a 1992 graduate of the University of South Florida, and had been living in Tampa for several years.

BY LEON B. CREWS

Sentinel Staff Writer

Thanks to an award of $234,281 from the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) Innovative Transit Workforce Development Program, a recruitment and training partnership was formed.

Now, the Corporation to Develop Communities of Tampa, Inc. (CDC of Tampa) and HART have joined to implement “Meeting Today’s and Tomorrow’s Job Needs in Mass Transit.”

The CDC of Tampa was the direct recipient of the grant.

CDC of Tampa CEO, Ernest Coney, said they are hoping this partnership will become a long term relationship.

“The partnership will also result in livable wage jobs ad career paths that will transform the area into a vibrant and strong community.

Coney said the project will recruit, train and employ up to 30 people in the transit industry, including operations and maintenance.

“The criteria for eligibility is still being established as far as potential applicants are concerned. Sometime within the first quarter of this year, we’ll be ready to roll out the program.

“We envision the funding will start a formal partnership to help provide training for those who need it, and not just with HART.”

HART said they will soon begin using new technologies and advances practices, such as transit signal priority and compressed natural gas vehicles, to keep their local public transit system modern and environmentally sustainable.

The CDC of Tampa will provide enrolled candidates with certification based transit training, job placement services, and case management services.

BY IRIS B. HOLTON

Sentinel City Editor

A Hillsborough County educator recently learned that she is a finalist for a national award. She will compete against 51 others for the coveted title.

Mrs. Tempress “Tee” Solomon is Assistant Principal for Student Affairs at Hillsborough High School. She was recently named “2013 Florida Assistant Principal of the Year by the Florida Association of School Administrators.

Mrs. Solomon will compete with 51 other APs for the National Association of Secondary School Principals and Virco National Assistant Principal of the Year award.

Mrs. Solomon said she is honored to be the recipient of FASA’s state “AP of the Year Award.” The award is sponsored by NASSP (the National Association of Secondary Principals) and Virco.

“Of the various awards I have received throughout the years, this one is dear to my heart because it recognizes the depth of the work I have done with students and teachers over the years.

“In the spring, I will participate in a Forum in Washington, D. C. with 51 other state award winners, visit legislators, and attend a formal banquet. Our pictures will be posted on the Wall of Honor,” she said.

All state winners are eligible for the next level of competition: National AP of the Year. The three finalists will be named in February.

A native of Florida, Mrs. Solomon has been an educator for more than 20 years. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Language Arts from the University of South Florida and her Master’s in Educational Leadership from Nova Southeastern University.

Mrs. Solomon is the daughter of James Gavin and the late Mrs. Edna Gavin. She is the mother of 3 adult children and one grandson.

She is actively involved with several organizations including Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Hillsborough Association of School administrators, the FL Association of Assistant Principals, the National Council of Negro Women (current President), and College Hill Church of God in Christ. She is the recipient of several civic and professional awards.

The cover-up of an error in death-benefit payments has cost two employees their jobs, and now the city is suing the recipient of the benefits.

One high paid administrator was fired and another resigned after it was discovered that the city had paid more than $140,500 to the widow of a former water department technician.

The widow, Emma Winters, is being sued by the city, who received the benefits after her husband, Jerry Winters (pictured), passed.

City officials said City Pension Supervisor, Andrea Noriega, and her boss, Accounting Operations Manager, Marlene Herrera, kept the mistake to themselves for five months, after the error had been discovered. They allege that Mrs. Winters cashed the checks that were sent to her by mistake after her husband’s death.

The city filed the lawsuit January 11^th in an effort to force Mrs. Winters to pay back the money. According to city officials, Mrs. Winters said she can’t repay the money.

Jerry Winters had been a 17-year employee of the city. At the time of his death, he was vice president of Local 1464 for the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU), which represents city workers other than police and fire department employees.

According to reports, Winters was set to be named president before he died in his sleep on September 11, 2011.

The city’s contract with the union guaranteed Mrs. Emma Winters a one-time death benefit payment equal to her husband’s annual salary of $53,851, after taxes. She was also guaranteed a monthly pension benefit.

Mrs. Winters said since receiving news about the lawsuit, she has not been able to find an attorney to help her.

“As far as the checks are concerned, I didn’t know what my husband was earning, and when I got the checks, I thought they were mine. I really think it was the city that made the mistake, and they are trying to make me pay for their mistake.”

Mrs. Winters said she and her husband were married for 24 years, and both had children from previous relationships.

“I barely had time to grieve when they started sending me the checks. Jerry passed in September, and I got the first check in December.

“No one with the city has talked to me about arranging to pay the money back in any way.  I keep telling them I don’t have it, and that I used it to cover medical bills, help out some family members, and change some things in my house, because there were too many memories of my husband still there. I knew if I was going to stay in that house, some things had to change.”

Mrs. Winters said she has worked as a custodian at a local school for 23 years, and she’s considering retiring soon.

ATU Local 1464 President, Effrem Green, said Mrs. Winters broke off communication with them some time ago.

“We did provide her some financial relief at the time, and a package from the national ATU office.

“As far as Mr. Winters was concerned, he was a great guy, especially when it came to international and lobbying procedures. He is well missed, and was so knowledgeable when it came to the way a union operates.

“He would have been president, and I would have been vice president.”

City Finance Director, Sonya Little, said part of their effort was to have Mrs. Winters contact them to arrange a way to get the funds back.

“This is not a step we wanted to take, but we were obligated because of the nature of the funds to get them back.

“We aren’t being insensitive to Mrs. Winters. This is just a step we are obligated to pursue. We are still willing to negotiate with her on a payment plan to recover the money.”

BY IRIS B. HOLTON

Sentinel City Editor

The Hillsborough County State Attorney’s Office has planned to begin the trial of man accused of killing another man at a bar in May 2011. The trial of Jimmy Cruz is set to begin on April 15^th.

On May 18, 2011, Walter J. J. Revear (pictured), was in the parking lot o the Interstate Lounge, 9301 N. Nebraska Avenue, when a fight started. Revear, 28, was not involved in the fight, but was attempting to stop it, when another patron began shooting.

According to police, officers received a 9-1-1 call pertaining to a shooting shortly after 1 a.m., Tuesday. Upon arrival, they discovered Revear lying in the parking lot with a gunshot wound to his upper body. Fire Rescue pronounced him dead at the scene.

Police said an argument took place at the bar after someone threw a drink on another patron. The individuals continued the fight in the parking lot.

Witnesses told police that Jimmy Lee Cruz, 33, who was involved in the altercation, allegedly went to his vehicle, took out a gun, and allegedly shot Revear. He then fled the scene in a newer model red Dodge Charger.

Cruz surrendered to police through his attorney and was charged with 2^nd degree murder. He is being held without bond.

A Troubled Life

Known as “J. J.,” Revear was last arrested January 6, 2009, but was determined incompetent to stand trial. He was sent to the Florida State Hospital in Chattahoochee, March 1, 2010, after serving 498 days in jail. He was released from the hospital on probation April 22, 2011, records show.

Revear first drew national attention with his arrest on February 15, 1995. He became known as Hillsborough County’s youngest defendant facing adult prison. Then 12-years-old, he was charged with 15 counts of grand theft auto, 4 counts of robbery with a firearm, and one count of escaping from a juvenile facility.

The Hillsborough County State Attorney’s Office took the case before a Grand Jury. The jury took 36 minutes to convict Revear. However, the late Hillsborough County Judge Diane Allen refused to send the pre-teenager to adult prison.

Instead, he was ordered to serve probation with numerous stipulations. In 1997, two years later, at age 14, Revear violated his probation and was sentenced to 5 years in prison with credit for time served in the Hillsborough County Jail.

Julius D. Davis has reached another milestone in his life. Governor Rick Scott recently appointed him to the Enterprise Florida, Inc. Board of Directors.

Enterprise Florida, Inc. is the state’s economic development organization.

Davis, who just celebrated a birthday on January 9th, succeeds Frederick W. Leonhardt on the board. His term ends in July 2016. The Florida Senate has to confirm the appointment.

A professional engineer, Davis, 43, is the President and CEO of VoltAir Consulting Engineers, Corp. This minority-owned engineering company provides mechanical, electrical, plumbing and fire protection design.

He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of South Florida.

He is a member of the University of Tampa’s Fellows Council and the City of Tampa Planning Arts Committee. He is also on the board of directors for Hillsborough Community College Foundation.