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School policy changes after abduction
By RYAN MALDONADO ST. PETERSBURG -- Sixteen-year-old Dean Marshlack is aware that the flashy custom rims and tires on his Ford Expedition stand out. There are only a few sets spinning on SUVs in the whole county. He also knew he was late for school. What he didn't know was that thieves wanted the $9,000 worth of Neeper Monsta 22-inch rims wrapped by Pirelli Scorpion tires, and they didn't want him to call the police. When he pulled into the parking lot at St. Petersburg Catholic High School, two men pulled a gun on him and forced him on a crazy hours-long ride around the city last month. When it was over, he was safe. But the school is a different place now. School officials have hired city police to patrol the parking lot before and after school. And students are absolutely forbidden from being in the parking lot during the school day. Students who break those rules will be kicked out of school, because the principal, the Rev. Louis Molinelli -- known as Father Lou -- takes his students' safety very seriously. In fact, Father Lou usually greets everyone coming to school in the morning and had returned to his office only seconds before the carjacking occurred in the parking lot. Dean drove to St. Petersburg Catholic High School, 6333 Ninth Ave. N, about 8 a.m., 15 minutes after the late bell, on Jan. 18. As Marshlack was exiting his 2001 Ford Expedition, two men approached him, one with a gun, and told him to get back into his truck. Marshlack, realizing they wanted his vehicle, offered up the keys, but to no avail. "They said if they took the car, he would be able to call the police," said Dean's father, David Marshlack, owner of Candid Hosting, which hosts company Web sites and whose business ventures also include Voyeur Dorm. "If they had him at gunpoint with the car, he couldn't call." The two suspects would spend the next 2 1/2 hours searching for a tire service in St. Petersburg that would remove the chrome rims and tires. One of the suspects led the way in his own car while the other sat in the Expedition with Marshlack, wielding a gun and making threats on the teen's life. "I tried not to think about the worst to get the situation done with so they could leave me alone," Marshlack said. "It wasn't really worth (my life) for some metal things." The two kidnappers went from place to place requesting to have the tires of the truck removed, but they were denied each time because they couldn't provide the factory wheels to replace the ones being taken off. They ended up at Rubber City, 2590 34th St. S, whose owners said they weren't aware of what was going on. "After we had gone to all these other places, and had been turned down, I started to see that they were starting to get angry," Marshlack said. "I might be (killed), so I went in with them." Rubber City owner Cesar Grajales said his wife was the one who helped the three. He said Marshlack told her the factory wheels were on their way and that he was selling his customs to the men, and she agreed to do the job. "Sometimes they trade and sell them," Grajales said. "It wasn't at all suspicious -- she wouldn't have done it." While the transaction was being made, one of the men stood at the door with the gun stored in his pocket, Marshlack said. When it was over, the two men fled with the wheels in their truck, leaving Marshlack's Ford jacked up at Rubber City. "They're 22-inch rims worth thousands and thousands of dollars," Grajales said. "The last couple years, the thought has been the bigger the better -- and the more expensive." By the time Marshlack phoned his father with the news about 10:30 a.m., the two thieves had made way with the tires and rims, his driver's license, a gold necklace and bracelet -- a loss totaling more than $10,000. Officials at St. Petersburg Catholic were notified immediately and responded by putting the school on lockdown, securing each classroom and searching the school grounds for other possible suspects. Since that Friday, Father Lou has resorted to stricter rules on safety. A St. Petersburg Police officer now patrols the school from 7:15 to 8:30 in the morning and from 2:30 to 4 in the afternoon. "This is my family. I care for them very much," Molinelli said. "When one of my family members is kidnapped, that's my son who's kidnapped." In addition to the hired officer, the school is enforcing new regulations, including barring adults, even parents, from entering school grounds without permission. Molinelli has also decided to immediately withdraw any student found in the parking lot unaccompanied by an administrator. "I told them, "I'm responsible for you and your safety. I need to trust that you're going to follow the rules,' " Molinelli said. " "If I can't trust you to follow the rules, then you can't stay here.' " Students and parents at St. Petersburg Catholic have responded positively to Father Lou's plan. Although some parents were shocked by the news, the feeling now is that an incident like this can happen anywhere. "I was not overwhelmingly shocked. . . . It's something that does happen today," said Bill Tapp, a St. Petersburg resident with two children enrolled at the Catholic school. "It shows that no area or institution is totally isolated from that happening." Three days after the kidnapping occurred, a St. Petersburg Police officer spotted a pickup with suspicious-looking rims at a traffic stop on the 1300 block of 19th Street S, said George Kajtsa, a police spokesman. The suspect, identified as 22-year-old Tyrone T. Singletary, fled from police and eventually was chased down on foot near the 5100 block of 20th Street N. Singletary, who police said was the one who held the gun to Marshlack during the abduction, has been charged with kidnapping and several other offenses, including grand theft and possession of cocaine. Kajtsa said the rims on Singletary's Ford F-150 were similar to Marshlack's. Singletary, of 2443 Auburn St. S, had a stolen tag on his truck, but Kajtsa said he could not confirm whether the car was stolen. Police still consider the case an ongoing investigation and could not provide a description of the other suspect. David Marshlack said Singletary's arrest has helped put his family at rest. He said he's proud of his son, a lineman for the high school football team and an academically strong student, for handling the situation the way he did. "It's one of those crazy things that happen," he said. "If my son does everything he's supposed to do, I'll give him everything I can."
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