Free Republic

ST. PETERSBURG - A 16-year-old boy was arrested Tuesday night in the slaying of a St. Petersburg police officer, ending a massive, daylong manhunt. Accompanied by his parents, Nicholas Lindsey turned himself in about 6 p.m. He was arrested on a first-degree murder charge after confessing in the fatal shooting of Officer David Crawford, police said. The Pinellas County student was transported to the county jail just after 11:30 p.m. Authorities said Lindsey has prior arrests, but none involving violence.

TAMPA - The man shot by deputies after he fired on them and held his wife at gunpoint died at St. Joseph's Hospital this morning. Hillsborough County Sheriff's deputies shot Osmar Sebasco, 39, after he fired several rounds at them late Saturday night, according to the sheriff's office. He died at 10 a.m. at the hospital. Sebasco's wife, Michele, and the three deputies weren't hurt, nor was the couple's 2-year-old daughter, who was asleep in a bedroom through the incident.

TAMPA — A woman whom police investigated for her relationship with Dontae Morris, a suspect in two police killings, was arrested after a traffic stop Sunday on charges including 81 felony gun counts. Alaina Nichole Riggins, 26, of Seffner was being held on $614,500 bail in a Hillsborough County jail. Among the charges, police filed one for each of the more than 70 bullets they said they found on her. An arrest report says a Tampa officer observed a gold Toyota she was driving make repeated turns without using a signal on E Clifton Street early Sunday. The officer turned...

T. PETERSBURG - Three law enforcement officers were shot this morning – a U.S. Marshal and two St. Petersburg police officers – in the 3700 block of 28th Avenue South, police said. A suspected gunman is barricaded in a home at 3726 28th St. S., and police are trying to negotiate with his family members. He is still shooting at police, officers said. One of the injured officers had been in the home as well, but an armored vehicle knocked down the door and the officer was evacuated. That officer has been taken to Bayfront Medical Center.

St. Petersburg Police are looking for a stolen car that was taken with a 1-year-old child in the back seat. Police said the red 2010 Dodge Charger was taken at about 4:15 p.m. from the area of 1st Avenue North and 17th Street. The car has an out-of-state license plate.

When security personnel at the MacDill Air Force Base's Dale Mabry gate detained Scott Allan Bennett in April after he seemed to be intoxicated, it appeared to be just a simple case of a service member suspected of driving under the influence. But that stop led to an investigation accusing Bennett of something far more serious – breeching security at the home of U.S. Central Command – which runs the war in Afghanistan - U.S. Special Operations Command and the 6th Air Mobility Wing. Bennett, 39, is accused of obtaining base housing under false pretenses, by pretending to be an...

MIAMI -- Five young men who police said died of carbon monoxide poisoning in a South Florida motel room were constant companions who acted like brothers and even went shoe shopping together before Christmas so they all would have the same pair, relatives said Tuesday.

VALRICO - For 48 hours, the family of David James had to cope with questions. Why was the 41-year-old Iraq war veteran gunned down in front of his 8-year-old daughter? Why was the man deputies say killed him, in a dispute over a teen skateboarding, allowed to remain free and continue working with children? Tuesday afternoon, some of those questions were answered.

Sexy red lingerie and heavy breathing have traditionally gone hand in hand. But a bra from inventor, Dr. Elena Bodnar, is designed to let people breathe easier. Her Emergency Bra is a protective device that transforms from a bra into two respiratory pace masks to filter out harmful airborne particles, such as those released by fire, explosion, terrorist, radiological, biological attack, and natural disasters.

The rough economy has made many people desperate for a job. In their eagerness for gainful employment, many people may overlook improper interview questions. Depending on how they are asked, questions about personal topics such as marital status, race and health are more than just poor manners - they are illegal under federal and some state and local laws

TAMPA - Two Tampa police officers died from injuries sustained during a shooting while they conducted a traffic stop early this morning. A massive search is under way for the suspects – a man and woman in a red 1994 Toyota Camry. Officer Jeffrey Kocab, 31, had been with the department for about 14 months and leaves behind a wife who is nine months pregnant. Officer Dave Curtis, 31, had been with the department for almost four years and has four young children.

In a move that's not likely to improve the angry relations between Gov. Charlie Crist and the Republican Party, Crist's U.S. Senate campaign announced it won't refund contributions given to the campaign before he became a no-party candidate. "People donated to a good cause, and we intend to spend their money on it," campaign spokeswoman Michelle Todd said.

TAMPA - Hillsborough County's mosquito-spraying airplane, which cost taxpayers more than $1 million to purchase and modify but was never used, may be up for sale. County officials confirmed they are considering selling the twin-engine King Air C90, as well as the county's mosquito-spraying helicopter, in a budget-cutting move. The county would then hire private contractors for aerial spraying. The Tampa Tribune reported in December that the county bought the plane for $700,000 in 2003, then spent $370,000 modifying it so chemical tanks could be mounted externally. The tanks took years to be designed, built and approved by federal authorities....

He had been stabbed in the neck, then beaten, then stabbed some more and stuffed into a duffel bag. Still, the man was alive until his attackers set him on fire. A witness heard him screaming.

A traffic stop in Lake Wales for tinted windows turned into an angry confrontation between police, deputies, state troopers and as many as 100 bystanders. Two officers and one of the two people arrested were treated for minor injuries. Police are looking for three others in the incident, which started around 2:45 p.m. Saturday, the Lake Wales Police Department said.

TAMPA - The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office will lead a full escort on Thursday for the procession carrying the casket of U.S. Army Spec. Eric Lembke, who died last month while serving in Afghanistan. Lembke was raised in Plant City and graduated from Plant City High School. He was 25. The casket will arrive at MacDill Air Force Base at around 2:30 p.m. Thursday.

10-year-old girl is brought to tears by surprise homecoming of her father. She thinks he is in Iraq! This short, 40 sec., video comes with a big time tissue alert!!

TAMPA - Unwanted nonnative pets ranging from shy hedgehogs to lumbering boa constrictors can be handed over with no questions asked this weekend at an amnesty event sponsored by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The program is offered only a few times a year in cities across the state. Saturday's event at Busch Gardens is co-sponsored by the city of Plant City.

TAMPA - One photograph shows a beautiful baby girl with a fat, happy face. Another shows a dead 5-month-old with sunken eyes. She weighed 6 pounds. Her autopsy showed no body fat. Without being told it's the same child, you'd never be able to tell. When Polk County investigators responded to a call Sunday about a baby not breathing at the Lakeland home of Tivasha Logan and Chauncey Gardner, they found more beer than baby food, Sheriff Grady Judd said. There only were about 2 ounces of formula inside the one can they saw.

TAMPA - John Agan was doubly unlucky today – he got bit by not one but two venomous snakes. Doctors think one was a coral snake and the other was a pygmy rattler. The bites happened when Agan was walking his dog at about 1:45 p.m. outside the Masters Inn at U.S. 92 and State Road 579.