Thursday, February 21, 2013
Jefferson Jean Pierre, 10, had been missing since 7:30 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 21.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office announced that the missing Gibsonton boy has been found unharmed and is being returned to his parents. The sheriff's office spent the evening conducting a search for a missing 10-year-old Gibsonton boy. According to the sheriff's office, Jefferson Jean Pierre of 6312 Cherry Blossom Trail, Gibsonton, was last seen at 7:30 a.m. when his mother dropped him off at the school bus stop. When his father arrived at Corr Elementary School at about 4:30 p.m., he was told his son had not been in school on Thursday. Deputies conducted a neighborhood search, door-to-door surveys, reverse 911, and K9 and a helicopter searches.
Saturday, February 9, 2013
Benny Ray Looney died in the hospital after his car went off Gibsonton Road, sideswipped two utility poles, vaulted over a ditch and came to rest next to a house.
Benny Ray Looney was driving a 2005 Chevrolet Monte-Carlo westbound on Gibsonton Dr. on Friday night when the car went off the road just before Mathog Road, according to Hillsborough County Sheriff’s deputies. The car sideswiped two utility poles and vaulted across a wide ditch, according to a press release. It came to rest next to a home at 9622 Hagadorn Rd. It did not damage the home. Looney, 66, of Gibsonton, was as taken to General Hospital, where he died several hours later. Authorities suspect alcohol played a role in the incident. Looney was not wearing a seatbelt. The incident remains under investigation.
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Residents can trade their old, unwanted firearms for cold, hard cash from the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.
Have an unwanted gun collecting dust in your home you’d like to get rid of? Hillsborough County Sheriff David Gee has an offer he’s hoping you won’t refuse. Just bring that firearm down to one of five drop-off locations on Saturday, Feb. 2, and the sheriff’s office will give you a two-pack of tickets to a Tampa Bay Lightning game and two tickets to a Tampa Bay Rays game. Plus, you’ll get $75 per firearm for your troubles. “I think it’s a fantastic package,” said Capt. Chad Chronister, who is helping head up the gun swap this Saturday. The gun buyback is something the sheriff’s office had on its schedule, but moved up in light of the recent tragedy in Newtown, Conn., Chronister said. With 147 armed burglaries in Hillsborough County last …
Thursday, January 24, 2013
The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said it could be several more weeks before investigators issue their report.
It could be several more weeks before Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office traffic investigators issue a final report on the cause of the crash that killed Bloomingdale High School student Zach McCarthy. Detective Larry McKinnon, spokesman for the sheriff's office, said investigators are looking at all possible causes for the Jan. 2 crash on Natures Way. "They're looking at what was going on inside the car at the time of the crash as well as what was occurring outside," said McKinnon. The investigation will include interviews with passenger Michaela Faessler, 15, who was not injured in the crash, an assessment of the car's speed at the time of the crash, whether any other vehicle was involved and anything that may have distracted McCarthy …
Each spring a group of "gypsies and travelers" comes to the area offering home improvement services, deputies say.
Beware of gypsies bearing offers that are too good to be true. That's the word from the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office. Every spring, the Tampa area sees an increase in gypsy and traveler scams, according sheriff's office officials. To law enforcement agencies, the word "gypsy" refers to people who travel in small groups across the country perpetrating crimes of theft, burglary and fraud, according to a media release issued by the sheriff's office. "They know this is a very large popular part of the country where seniors come to from up North," said Detective Larry McKinnon, sheriff's office spokesman. "They prey on seniors." Normally their scams involve offering home improvement work including roofing and driveway repaving. They …
Thursday, January 17, 2013
The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office will host a bike registration event and bike light giveaway Jan. 19.
As more and more people purchase bicycles for exercise, recreation and low-cost transportation, the United States has seen a dramatic increase in the number of bike thefts. In the United States between 1992 and 2006, bicycle sales increased from 15.3 million to 18.2 million per year (an increase of roughly 20 percent), according to the Center for Problem-Solving Policing. The National Bike Registry estimates that 1.5 million of those bicycles will be stolen each year. Hillsborough County is no exception when it comes to the increasing popularity of cycling. Between 1990 and 2011, there was a 67 percent increase in bicycle commuting Hillsborough County, and Tampa was ranked No. 15 among the nation’s Bicycle-Friendly Communities by the …
Friday, January 4, 2013
In the wake of the Newtown, Conn., tragedy, Hillsborough County officials have decided to keep beefed up security in place at local elementary schools.
As elementary school students throughout Bloomingdale and Riverview prepare to go back to class on Monday, they aren’t alone. Hillsborough County sheriff’s deputies will also return in time for that first bell – and they’ll stick around throughout the rest of the school year. “School safety is the utmost priority,” explained Lt. Chad Chronister of the sheriff’s office’s community outreach division. With 91 elementary schools in unincorporated Hillsborough County alone, Chronister said the sheriff’s office will have its work cut out for it, but it’s up to the challenge. “We have a great sheriff,” he said. “He doesn’t care what it costs … just get it done. We’re going to do whatever it takes.” Let Patch save you time. Get local stories like …
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Homicide detectives are investigating the deaths of a man and woman on Coulter Road.
Homicide detectives are investigating the deaths of a man and woman, found in a home at 506 Coulter Rd., off Bryan Road in Brandon. Deputies responded around 7:15 p.m. after family members returned home and discovered the bodies. Preliminary evidence indicates this was a domestic situation and there is no active hunt for an outside suspect.
The vigil will take place at 9:30 p.m. tonight at the site of the car crash that killed Zachary McCarthy Jan. 2. Prior to the vigil, teens are invited to share their grief from 5 to 9 p.m. at St. Stephen Catholic Church in Valrico.
Bloomingdale High School students are planning a candlelight vigil tonight at 9:30 p.m. to remember a 16-year-old student killed in a car crash on Natures Way Jan. 2. Already, a memorial is being set up next to the tree at Natures Way and Golf Meadow Boulevard where the Bloomingdale student lost control of his car at 9:25 p.m. and tributes are pouring in on a RIP Zach McCarthy Facebook page, which has more than 1,500 "likes." In addition to the candlelight vigil at the crash site, teens are invited to gather at the ROC Center at St. Stephen Catholic Church, 5049 Bell Shoals Rd., Valrico, from 5 to 9 p.m., to mourn together. A prayer service for the family is scheduled at the McCarthy family's church, Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 12404 …
Zachary McCarthy, 16, died following an accident last night in the area of Natures Way and Golf Meadow Boulevard.
A 16-year-old Bloomingale High School student is dead following a Jan. 2 traffic accident. According to a Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office media release, Zachary McCarthy of Valrico was traveling westbound near the intersection of Natures Way and Golf Meadow boulevards last night around 9:25 when he lost control of his 2000 Pontiac Grand Am for "an unknown reason." The car then spun out and its driver’s side door of the car struck a tree. McCarthy was taken to Tampa General Hospital where he later died, the release said. McCarthy’s passenger, Michaela Faessler, 15, was not injured.
Jen Frost
10:35 am on Friday, January 25, 2013
It's sad that we've lost yet another youth in a vehicular accident. Speeding through residential neighborhoods, main road or not, is beyond frustrating to me. How much time is someone going to save by going five, ten, or 20 m.p.h. over the limit? A few seconds? And at what potential cost are some drivers willing to save a few seconds? A squirrel? A pedestrian or child? Their own life? All while … more ›