Florida Sentinel Bulletin

On Monday, 10 a.m., May 30th, members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 1339, in conjunction with the VFW Post 10140, the American Legion Post 167, and the Buffalo Soldiers will make their annual pilgrimage to the cemetery. The purpose of the visit is to pay tribute to those individuals who served in the military.

The tradition of honoring the dead began more than a decade ago. On Monday, the group will host their Annual Memorial Day Program. However, on Saturday, May 28th, beginning at 7:30 a.m., members and community volunteers will assemble at Rest Haven Memorial Park Cemetery, 4615 E. Hanna Avenue.

The volunteers will visit the graves of all known members of the military interred in the cemetery and place flags on those graves. This is in preparation of the Monday morning ceremony, Melvin Collins, Sr., Vice Commander of VFW Post 1339 said.

Ted Milton is the Commander of VFW Post 1339. This year, the guest speaker for the event is Elder Jamal A. Ghani, a minister and veteran of the U. S. Marine Corps.

For more information contact Commander Collins at (813) 238-5627 or (813) 293-8313.

BY LEON B. CREWS
Sentinel Staff Writer

When Ms. Laura Smith moved into Belmont Heights Estates seven years ago, she was overjoyed. She said her apartment is beautiful, and the area of 24th Avenue near 18th Street where he lives was ideal. That was then.

Ms. Smith said during the day, the area is still a nice place to be, but when the sun goes down, she along with other elderly residents are being terrorized by young people who loiter right in front of her door.

“I’m disabled and I have a lot of health problems, so I can’t get around as well as I used to. But every night, there’s fighting, cursing, gambling, drug use, drug sales, loud music, and all kinds of other things going on outside my door.

“I turn on my porch light and sometimes put my water house out to make them go away, but it does no good. They are so disrespectful, you can’t say anything to them, and the females are just as bad as the males.”

Ms. Smith said she points her finger directly at management, because they’ve done nothing about their complaints. Resident Association President, Lula Harrell, said another part of the problem is management is allowing people to move into the apartments without thoroughly checking them out.

Rev. Harry Scott, Pastor of 24th Avenue Church, said he has attended meetings and addressed the problem with the management of Belmont Heights Estates.

Rev. Scott said the police do come, and break them up, but as soon as the police leave, it starts all over again.

A call to Phase I Manager, Jim Peace, was not returned, and Tampa Housing Authority CEO, Jerome Ryans, said he’s going to look into what’s going on and the performance of the management company they’ve hired to run the complex.

Another manager at the complex said they aren’t budgeted to hire a security company to patrol the complex.

Plant City police have arrested a Lakeland man in connection with a shooting that occurred at the Sav-A-Lot warehouse located at 4003 Amberjack Boulevard.

On May 25th at 12:34 p. m., Plant City police received a 9-1-1 call in reference to a shooting at the Save-A-Lot warehouse.
Officers arrived minutes later and found a man with non-life threatening injuries had already been taken to a hospital for treatment.

It was also determined the suspect, who was later identified as 53-year-old Andrew Lee Brown was still armed, possibly setting fires, and inside the building with other employees.

Officers entered the building to locate Brown and to evacuate the remaining employees.

After a search of the building, Brown was found in a back corner of the warehouse. He was armed and ordered to surrender. He complied without incident.

Brown is the former employee of a company sub-contracted by Sav-A-Lot to transport goods from the warehouse. His motives were not known at the time of the shooting. The shooting victim was identified as Aaron Huey, 25, and he is expected to recover from his injuries.

Brown has been charged with one count of attempted first-degree murder, eight counts of aggravated assault, shooting into an occupied building, one count of aggravated battery, and one count of using a firearm in the commission of a violent felony. He is being held without bond.

BY IRIS B. HOLTON
Sentinel City Editor

A 21-year-old man was arrested and charged with the murder of his girlfriend’s infant son.  Damarcus Kirkland-Williams is being held at the jail without bond.

According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, late Wednesday night, 13-month-old Ezekiel Mathis was transported to University Community Hospital after Kirkland-Williams reportedly found him unresponsive. The child was pronounced dead.

During the police investigation, Kirkland-Williams reportedly told police that he was angry with the child’s mother and intended to throw him onto the bed.

However, the child’s stomach struck the dresser. The incident took place at an apartment in the 13700 block of N. 21st Street.

Ezekiel Mathis died Wednesday from Blunt Impact Trauma. He is shown with his mother, Swazikki Davis during happier times.

Kirkland-Williams further told police that he placed the child in the bed on his stomach. “As the victim would not stop crying, the defendant (Kirkland- Williams) intentionally struck him twice on his back,” police said.

Kirkland-Williams told police that the infant’s mother was not at home when the incident took place.

The child reportedly had multiple bruises on his face and body. An autopsy revealed that the child died of blunt impact trauma to the head and body with lacerations of the liver and spleen.

Kirkland-Williams was arrested early Thursday morning and charged with first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse.

Family Needs Help With Funeral
Ms. Davis said the family is in need of help with his funeral. She has made arrangements to hold the funeral on Saturday, May 28th, at 11 a.m., at Ministry of Spirit & Truth, 1417 E. Holland, where she has been a member for the past 8 years.

Aikens Funeral Home is in charge of handling arrangements.

“We need help and anyone who can help can contact me at (813) 384-0530,” Ms. Davis stated.

BY IRIS B. HOLTON
Sentinel City Editor

Last week, the Sentinel published an article about an incident at a local supermarket. One of the store officials contacted the Sentinel last week to apologize to the community for the incident and said he wants to make sure that it never happens again.

The Apology
During an interview last Friday, Lisandro (Lee) Diaz, Vice President of B & D Supermarket said, “This was a miscommunication that got out of hand. It never should have happened. I highly regret that this happened and I apologize on behalf of myself and the staff who works here.”

Diaz stated that he is seeking ways to “fix the problem and make sure that it never happens again. I have a lot of respect for this community. When we opened, I said that I wanted to be a part of the community and I intend to continue being a part of the community.”

Although the Sentinel has not been able to contact McNish, we have learned that he is being represented by John Bales Attorneys Law Firm.

Two members of popular families died recently. Mr. Gerald White, Sr., 64 years old, died on Monday.

A Tampa native, Mr. White was one of 7 children born to the late Mr. and Mrs. Moses (Lucille) White. He attended the public schools of Hillsborough County and graduated from Blake High School.

Mr. White continued his education at Florida A & M University, where he earned his degree. After graduating from college, with a degree in Physical Education, Mr. White returned to Tampa.

He and his son, Gerald, Jr., opened Moses White & Sons Bar-B-Que, in 1997 in Ybor City. He retired in 2004 after the business closed. Mr. White was the father of 3 children, Kevin White, Gerald White Jr., and LaTonya White.  Mr. White was married to Mrs. Bridgid White for 45 years and was the grandfather of several children.

Funeral services for Mr. White were incomplete as of press time.

ROBERT COLE JR

Mr. Robert L. Cole, Jr., the son of Tampa pioneer and businessman, Robert L. Cole, Sr. passed away Friday at his Ybor City home. He was 70 years old.

According to his wife, Leola Cole, Mr. Cole died of cardiac arrest. She said her husband attended Middleton High School and joined the Armed Forces after graduation. After his discharge, he became a Counselor. He later worked for Tampa Electric.

After his retirement from TECO, Mr. Cole helped his father operate several businesses at Tampa International Airport.

Mr. Cole is the father of five children (a daughter is deceased), and he has five siblings.

A service will be held for Mr. Cole this Saturday at 11 a.m., St. Luke A. M. E. Church. Aiken’s Funeral Home is assisting the family.

On Friday, 19-year-old Kendrick Morris was sentenced to a total of 65 years in prison for rapes he reportedly committed.

Morris gained national attention when he was charged in 2008 with the rape of a student near a Bloomingdale library. Authorities said months before that incident, he had raped a 62-year-old day care worker.

The state wanted two 60-year sentences, given back-to-back to add up to 120. The defense asked for less than 45.

With credits, Morris will not see outside of prison until after his 70th birthday.

BY IRIS B. HOLTON
Sentinel City Editor

A young man who made national news at the age of 12 was killed in a bar shooting. The shooting took place early Wednesday in the parking lot of the Interstate Lounge, 9301 N. Nebraska Avenue.

The victim of the shooting, identified as Walter J. J. Revear, 28, was not involved in the fight, but was attempting to stop it, when he was killed.

In 1995, the late Judge Diana Allen made national headlines after she refused to sentence Revear, who was 12 years-old to state prison time.

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.

Revear, who was not involved in the confrontation, was reportedly attempting to break up the fight. One of those involved in the fight identified as Jimmy Lee Cruz, allegedly went to his vehicle, took out a gun, and shot Revear. He then fled the scene in a newer model red Dodge Charger.

JIMMY LEE CRUZ

Suspect Surrenders
Tampa Police issued a warrant for Cruz, 33, in connection with the shooting. He surrendered to police and was booked in the Hillsborough County Jail at 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, after police negotiated with his attorney, Michael Gonzalez.

Cruz did not make any statements to police and was charged with second-degree murder. He is being held without bond.

Earlier on Wednesday, after receiving information, police went to 10334 Chadbourne Drive, looking for Cruz. He reportedly shared the home with his girlfriend. However, the SWAT Team entered the house and found it empty, police said.

BY GWEN HAYES
Sentinel Editor

It wasn’t what she attended Florida A&M University to study. But her involvement along the way has moved her through the ranks.

Now, Ms. Sharon Carter is Vice Chair of the Democratic Executive Committee, Democratic Party of Hillsborough County, having been elected last month.

Ms. Carter started working in politics while a student at FAMU. She was a Legislative Aide at the Capitol. “I got a chance to see how government works and that tweaked my interest,” she said.

After graduation, her first job was in Denver, Colorado.  Once she returned to Tampa, Ms. Carter became involved with the

Democratic Executive Committee, Hillsborough County Democratic Black Caucus, and Hillsborough County Hispanic Caucus. Withthese involvements, she quietly moved throughout the community encouraging and supporting others.

One project she’s immediately focused on is getting involvement for the Democratic State Convention, which will be held in Orlando in October.