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http://tboblogs.com/index.php/newswire/story/arrest-in-pasco-attacks/?imw=Y
By LISA DAVIS
The Tampa Tribune
With all three suspects in the recent Zephyrhills rapes behind bars this afternoon, Pasco Sheriff Bob White said he hopes residents will sleep a little easier.
“They won’t be terrorizing the community of Zephyrhills anymore, at least for a long time,” he said.
Since the early Tuesday morning attack, kidnapping and rape of a 68-year-old woman, deputies, Zephyrhills police officers and volunteers patrolling streets have been trying to ease residents’ fears while suspects in two home invasions remained at large.
Tuesday’s attack marked the second time in a month an elderly woman who lived alone had been beaten and raped. The women lived less than two miles apart, just outside the city limits.
Two routine traffic stops led to the arrests of three teenagers suspected in the attacks.
On March 7, six days after the first rape, a Zephyrhills police officer pulled over a vehicle with an expired tag and found marijuana and cocaine inside the car, police said. Andre Brathwaite, 17, of 34549 Smart Drive in Zephyrhills, was arrested on drug charges. A further search of the car led to the discovery of property missing from the March 1 victim’s home. He told authorities he had bought the property and was released from the juvenile detention center.
A Tuesday night traffic stop of a bicyclist pedaling down a Zephyrhills city street without a working headlight led to the arrest of Jathniel “J” McMichael, 18, of 38832 B Ave. in Zephyrhills, on a charge of marijuana possession.
Meanwhile, Pasco detectives learned that McMichael could be involved in the two attacks. Wednesday night, they interviewed McMichael for several hours; eventually he confessed and pointed the finger at two accomplices, said sheriff’s office spokesman Doug Tobin. McMichael was arrested on charges of home invasion and sexual battery in the two cases.
Brathwaite turned himself in this morning on a charge of acting as a principal in a home invasion. He’s accused of driving a getaway car in the March 1 case.
A third teen, Bobby Lee Black III, 18, 38406 Palm Grove in Zephyrhills, surrendered himself at the sheriff’s Dade City office around noon on Thursday. He now faces charges of home invasion robbery, kidnapping, armed robbery, grand theft auto and sexual battery, stemming from the March 1 and Tuesday’s attacks.
Previous stories:
http://www.bn9.com/content/36/2007/3/28/234859.html
http://www.tbo.com/news/metro/MGBUKNY8TZE.html
Disgusting.
By LISA DAVIS
The Tampa Tribune
With all three suspects in the recent Zephyrhills rapes behind bars this afternoon, Pasco Sheriff Bob White said he hopes residents will sleep a little easier.
“They won’t be terrorizing the community of Zephyrhills anymore, at least for a long time,” he said.
Since the early Tuesday morning attack, kidnapping and rape of a 68-year-old woman, deputies, Zephyrhills police officers and volunteers patrolling streets have been trying to ease residents’ fears while suspects in two home invasions remained at large.
Tuesday’s attack marked the second time in a month an elderly woman who lived alone had been beaten and raped. The women lived less than two miles apart, just outside the city limits.
Two routine traffic stops led to the arrests of three teenagers suspected in the attacks.
On March 7, six days after the first rape, a Zephyrhills police officer pulled over a vehicle with an expired tag and found marijuana and cocaine inside the car, police said. Andre Brathwaite, 17, of 34549 Smart Drive in Zephyrhills, was arrested on drug charges. A further search of the car led to the discovery of property missing from the March 1 victim’s home. He told authorities he had bought the property and was released from the juvenile detention center.
A Tuesday night traffic stop of a bicyclist pedaling down a Zephyrhills city street without a working headlight led to the arrest of Jathniel “J” McMichael, 18, of 38832 B Ave. in Zephyrhills, on a charge of marijuana possession.
Meanwhile, Pasco detectives learned that McMichael could be involved in the two attacks. Wednesday night, they interviewed McMichael for several hours; eventually he confessed and pointed the finger at two accomplices, said sheriff’s office spokesman Doug Tobin. McMichael was arrested on charges of home invasion and sexual battery in the two cases.
Brathwaite turned himself in this morning on a charge of acting as a principal in a home invasion. He’s accused of driving a getaway car in the March 1 case.
A third teen, Bobby Lee Black III, 18, 38406 Palm Grove in Zephyrhills, surrendered himself at the sheriff’s Dade City office around noon on Thursday. He now faces charges of home invasion robbery, kidnapping, armed robbery, grand theft auto and sexual battery, stemming from the March 1 and Tuesday’s attacks.
Previous stories:
http://www.bn9.com/content/36/2007/3/28/234859.html
http://www.tbo.com/news/metro/MGBUKNY8TZE.html
Disgusting.