Florida Sentinel Bulletin

A man is facing numerous charges after he crashed a police cruiser into an East Tampa home. He is also accused of battery on a police officer, and leaving the scene of an accident with injuries.

On August 31st, Tampa Police reported that at 2:30 p. m., an officer was on patrol in the area of the East Gate Motel on East Hillsborough Avenue when he saw Lorenzo Little, 48, in a verbal confrontation with a woman.

As the officer got out of his car to intervene, Little allegedly looked back and started shoving something into his mouth. The officer grabbed Little and the two struggled. During the struggle, the officer lost his balance and fell. Little escaped from the officer and got into the police cruiser and drove away.

While fleeing, Little tried to get around traffic and struck a vehicle. He then lost control of the police cruiser, crashing into a parked vehicle and a house in the 1400 block of Frierson, police said.

As Little fled, officers reported seeing him running from the police cruise. He reportedly broke into an unsuspecting resident’s home, and after he left through the rear door, officers spotted him.

Officers later lost sight of Little and established a perimeter in the area. As Little hid in an unknown location, a K-9 unit was called in. After the K-9 unit picked up Little’s track, he was ordered to surrender. Little reportedly refused.  He was treated for dog bites at a local hospital and then arrested on numerous charges.

Little was charged with battery on a law enforcement officer, 2 counts of burglary, grand theft auto, resisting arrest, aggravated fleeing to elude, hit and run with injuries, reckless driving, trafficking in drugs, driving with a suspended license, and manufacturing synthetic narcotics and battery.

Bill Tyler, a disabled Vietnam Veteran, is the owner of the truck struck on Frierson, and said the incident has left him without any transportation.

“I’ll be 67 on September 9th, and this is not what I was expecting leading up to my birthday. “My car was in my yard when this happened, and now I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

Tyler said his brother was outside when the incident occurred, and injured his knee trying to get out of the way. “One of his knees is swollen pretty bad. He was getting ready to take me to the drug store to pick up my medication.

“My entire life has been put on hold, and I’m in desperate need of help getting around to the doctor’s office and other places.”

Tyler is the father of 5 children, and served in Vietnam from 1968 through 1969.

BY IRIS B. HOLTON
Sentinel City Editor

Thousands of people will travel to Charlotte, North Carolina, for the National Democratic Convention. However, others who would like to attend won’t be able to do so.

On Thursday, September 6th, President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden will deliver their nomination acceptance speeches. One group of individuals will host a Launch Party in Tampa and is inviting the community to participate.

Marvin Knight, co-founder of Hillsborough County Concerned Citizens said, “We are going to host the Launch Party at the HOPE Center, 4814 N. 22nd Street, from 7 p.m. until 10 p.m. It is going to be a very positive event and we want others to come out and get involved.”

Knight further stated that the group will watch the nomination speeches taking place in Charlotte, while holding discussions about the upcoming election.

Knight said it is time for the community to put their differences aside and work together. “We are going to unify, we can’t sit down on something this important. We are going to discuss the latest updates on Voter Registration. There will be representatives from the Obama Campaign Office there, and we are going to have a positive event.

“There are still some things we can do here at home. We need to concentrate on helping those who want to vote, but who are not registered to get registered in time for the Presidential Election.”

Knight said if the people become unified, all types of things can be accomplished. “We want to get more people involved and get more people registered. Our kids, our families and our future is at stake.”

BY IRIS B. HOLTON
Sentinel City Editor

In July, Pastor Clarence Nathan accepted the position as Director of Security at Belmont Heights Estates. His role is to ensure the safety and security of the residents and he doesn’t take his responsibility lightly.

Recently, a shooting in the complex left four young men injured. Police have been unable to make any arrests because the victims are uncooperative.

Pastor Nathan said the shooting was the first major incident that took place since he assumed the position. A retired Tampa Police Officer, Pastor Nathan said, “I’m working closely with police and the Tampa Housing Authority to combat all unauthorized and unwanted people on the property, none of who are residents.”

Pastor Nathan said the shooting followed a fight that began during an unauthorized party. “My goal is to make this area safe and secure. People need to be able to move freely about without fears of threats of violence.”

In an effort to bring this about, the Belmont Heights Estates is in the process of establishing Crime Watch Programs so that he residents can call police if there is a problem.

Additionally, the complex plans to start an anonymous tips line to receive tips.

They recently held an emergency meeting with the residents to discuss what they perceive as problems, to provide information to them, and to obtain feedback.

“We are trying to make this complex a place where families can go and enjoy the parks and feel comfortable. We want the seniors to be able to sit on their porches or take walks in tranquility and freedom.

“The residents should be able to enjoy going outside where they live without people who are not residents causing problems, creating havoc and infringing upon their rights,” Pastor Nathan said.

Hillsborough County Sheriff’s deputies are conducting a death investigation after an incident in Brandon Sunday.

Deputies said at 3:30 p. m., they were called to the 1400 block of Scotch Pine Drive after someone dialed 9-1-1. The caller told the dispatcher that a fight involving several people had broken out and shots were fired.

When deputies arrived, they found 19-year-old Daniel S. Oliver dead inside the residence from a single gunshot wound.

The person who was identified as the shooter was interviewed by detectives. His identity as well as a motive is not being released at this time pending further investigation.

BY IRIS B. HOLTON
Sentinel City Editor

Giving up is not in the vocabulary of Mrs. Sonia Franklin, especially when it comes to her health. Having already been diagnosed with cancer twice, Mrs. Franklin said she is preparing to undergo treatment for a third time.

Mrs. Franklin said she was employed as a Membership Coordinator with BICSI, a technology company, in 2010. Mrs. Franklin said the company had great benefits.

However, on May 21, 2012, an implant was surgically removed and she was re-diagnosed with Triple Negative Cancer of the left breast. She underwent extensive surgery and was out of work for more than the 120 days allowed under the Family Medical Leave program.

Mrs. Franklin said, “I received a telephone call on August 2 that said, ‘you are released.’ That was two weeks after my surgery. This is why we need health care reform. If not for the sake of my husband having medical coverage, I would not be able to receive cancer treatments.”

However, Mrs. Franklin said she took it all in stride. She is currently preparing to undergo radiation and chemotherapy treatments following the surgery.

She was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1999. Ten years later, in 2009, she was diagnosed with Triple Negative, a very invasive type of cancer that strikes about 75% of African American women.

A Tampa native, Mrs. Franklin is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ernest (Daisy) Jenkins. She is married to Pastor Reginald Franklin and is the mother of two and grandmother to three.

Mrs. Franklin is the First Lady of First Missionary Baptist Church of Wauchula, where her husband is the senior pastor.

Mrs. Franklin said the cancer germ is prevalent on her father’s side of the family. Her paternal grandmother died of breast cancer at the age of 78. Her father’s sister, who is 75 years old, was diagnosed with breast cancer earlier this month.

Mrs. Franklin refuses to allow life’s disappointments to get her down. She continues to work with Sisters Network, Inc., to educate women about breast cancer.

BY IRIS B. HOLTON
Sentinel City Editor

Last week, a capacity crowd attended the Hillsborough County Branch NAACP meeting. Those in attendance were concerned after it became known that the voting rights of several hundred convicted felons had been restored.

Earlier during the month, the Sentinel learned that the voting rights of 17,000 Florida residents had been restored. However, the individuals didn’t have knowledge that their rights had been restored. Additionally, at least 13,000 of those individuals are not currently listed as registered voters on the state’s rolls.

Mrs. Carolyn Collins, President of the Hillsborough County Branch NAACP said, “We had a capacity crowd at the meeting. There were both men and women, young and old. Some came on behalf of their children, and some contacted us who could not come.

“The list of names we received was not broken down by county. Ms. Yvette Lewis, Hillsborough County Branch NAACP Political Chairperson, should be given a lot of credit. She sat down and went through the list to get the names of people listed in Hillsborough County. She copied the 1,816 names of people residing in Hillsborough County,” Mrs. Collins said.

She further stated that the organization has created a Petition that will be forwarded to Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi.

The petition states, “We, the undersigned, request State Attorney General Pam Bondi to study the negative impact on all Florida citizens of the decision to change the law which extended the years required for felons to have their rights restored. The large number of former felons awaiting the restoration of their rights, the extensive backlog (more than or equal to 20 years) in Florida, the lack of the prison system implementation of the automatic restoration process, coupled with the lengthy time to navigate through the Office of Executive Clemency procedures, are some of the disenfranchising concerns imposed on the civil (voting) rights of a person who made a mistake in life and paid their debt to society. This is an injustice to the civil rights of felons and those persons impacted due to their relationship with felons (i.e. children, spouses, parents…). We also encourage Governor Scott and State Attorney General Bondi to join other states in re-implementing and supporting, rather than hindering laws that will initiate a process of automatic rights restoration for all qualified released inmates when leaving the prison system.”

Some of the individuals listed were never notified because they moved and did not provide a forwarding address, which made notification impossible.

Five years ago, then Governor Charlie Crist spearheaded the rights restoration rule. The names could include anyone who applied for rights restoration prior to the election of 2010. However, since that time, the Rick Scott Administration repealed the rule.

The rule was repealed and a new rule was proposed and spearheaded by Pam Bondi within months of her becoming the Attorney General in 2010. The new rule states that if a person is on a list to have his or her rights restored without a hearing, they must wait five years before they can apply. In the instances where a hearing is warranted the person must wait seven years before he or she can apply for rights restoration.

Whether a hearing is required or not depends on the type of crime that was committed.

Ms. Lewis said, “It was brought to my attention that the Florida Parole Commission has Restoration of Civil Rights certificates of 17,604 as undeliverable.

“Through, hard work and determination I was able to get the complete list of certificates. Then, I discovered there were 1,816 Restoration of Civil Rights certificates in Hillsborough County,” Ms. Lewis said.

Anyone wishing to learn more information please contact Yvette Lewis, NAACP Political Action Chair at (813) 234-8683.

BY LEON B. CREWS
Sentinel Staff Writer

As Jesuit Head Football coach, James Harrell, prepares for his third season, he unexpectedly found himself dealing with a tragedy.

Frank Rose, Jesuit’s Assistant Coach and running backs coach, died suddenly Monday. He was 38.

Rose was a member of Leto High School’s first district championship team in 1991 as a nose guard, and well liked by players at Jesuit.

As his team prepares for their season opener this Saturday against Plant, Coach Harrell said after the announcement of Rose’s death, they had to step back and look at what’s happened over the past 48 hours.

“We got the news Tuesday, and quickly got grief counselors in place. We still have to prepare for Plant, and that has been difficult. Coach Rose’s death caught us all unprepared, and although this has been a distraction, my guys will be prepared for Plant.”

Frank Rose

Coach Harrell said Rose was a player’s coach and did a great job.

“He helped us with recruiting and made sure the kids used football as a vehicle for a better education.”

Coach Harrell said Saturday night’s game will be dedicated to Coach Rose, along with the entire season.

“We have to move on in spite of this terrible loss, because the season is just beginning. My kids are going to play hard because they want to win, and to honor Coach Rose.
“My expectations for this season haven’t changed. Our sights are set on winning our district first, then a state championship.”

Coach Harrell said because he has 19 coaches on his staff, there will be no rush to replace Coach Rose during the season.

Coach Rose was a four year starter at the University of Central Arkansas, and although he was only 5’5” tall and weighed 220 pounds, he was considered one of the strongest players on Leto’s roster in 1991.

Hillsborough County Sheriff’s deputies report that on Sunday, August 26th at 10:20 p. m., Micah Williams, 27, and Michael Cala (pictured), 49, got into an argument that turned physical.

Deputies said Cala called Williams a racial slur over and over again, then grabbed a gas can and started pouring it on Williams’ front porch while yelling more racial obscenities for him to come outside.

Cala allegedly chased Williams with the gas can and poured some of the fluid on him. Cala then began trying to ignite a lighter and continued chasing Williams in an attempt to set him on fire.

Deputies said Cala yelled more racial slurs at Williams, and reportedly repeated the statement, “die, n—–die.”

Cala was arrested and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and battery.

Spokesperson Debbie Carter said, Cala is charged with a hate crime and that enhances all charges associated with this incident.

BY IRIS B. HOLTON
Sentinel City Editor

A young Tampa mother died suddenly on Friday afternoon. She was 22-years-old and the mother of one son.

Ms. Jessica Lane was the daughter of Ms. Mincy Lane and the granddaughter Mr. Curtis and Rev. Beverly Lane.

Rev. Lane said the two were riding in her vehicle on Friday, shortly after noon, when the tragedy occurred. “We had lunch and were going shopping. We were talking and she got quiet. “I asked her didn’t she hear me talking to her and reached over and touched her. She just slumped over and that was it.”

Rev. Lane said she was crossing the Columbus Drive Bridge when the incident took place and pulled over to the side to call 9-1-1.

A Tampa native, Jessica attended the public schools of Hillsborough County. She graduated from Freedom High School and enrolled in the Pre-Medicine Program at Hillsborough Community College.

After she gave birth to her son, Bawina, she began working part-time while attending school.

Her grandfather said, “She enrolled in a program at HCC that would automatically transfer her to the medical program at USF, but she didn’t have a chance to finish.

“She was aspiring to become a doctor. That was her dream and her ambition. Her hobbies were shopping, shopping, and more shopping. She loved to shop, just like her grandmother,” he said.

Ray Williams Funeral Home is in charge of handling the arrangements. Funeral services for Jessica will take place 11 a.m. Friday at Allen Temple A. M. E. Church. The wake will be held Thursday, 6 p.m., at the funeral home.