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By Times staff reports
© St. Petersburg Times, published February 9, 2002
Man suspected in teen's abduction turns self in
ST. PETERSBURG -- A 22-year-old man wanted on charges of kidnapping his ex-girlfriend surrendered to authorities Friday night.
Orthia Tyrone Porter turned himself in at the Pinellas County Jail. Police charged him with kidnapping, armed burglary, battery on the elderly, domestic battery and felony battery. Porter was being held in jail in lieu of $215,000 bail.
Police say Porter abducted his ex-girlfriend, 19-year-old Nga Tran, two times, and that he beat her and held her prisoner for days each time.
Detectives say Porter held Tran against her will in his St. Petersburg apartment on Jan. 28 and 29 before she escaped through a window. Then, on Feb. 1, he abducted Tran outside her St. Petersburg home, struck an elderly woman who tried to intervene, and then drove Tran around Orlando for two days before releasing her in St. Petersburg.
ST. PETERSBURG -- A chiropractor was arrested Friday on charges that he molested a 12-year-old girl, police said.
Timothy E. Johnson, 40, who has a practice at 4021 Central Ave., was charged with sexual battery and lewd and lascivious molestation, detectives said.
Police say Johnson molested a 12-year-old friend of his daughter sometime between last August and November at Johnson's home at 7841 Third Ave. S.
Johnson was held in the Pinellas County Jail on Friday in lieu of $200,000 bail.
ST. PETERSBURG -- Police are searching for a woman who robbed a First Union Bank at 3131 66th St. N on Friday morning.
According to police spokesman George Kajtsa, a white female entered First Union at 9:30 a.m. with a handgun and demanded that the manager take her to the bank's vault.
The woman was wearing a shoulder-length black wig, black sunglasses with silver frames, and a black, wool overcoat. She took an undisclosed amount of money from the bank, police said.
The woman is thought to be between 45 and 50 years old, 5 feet 4, and about 125 pounds. Witnesses told police she fled north from the bank and then east.
No one was injured. Police made no arrests Friday.
The St. Petersburg City Council approved a contract Thursday with the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach to run the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. The first race in what is planned as an annual series will be held on the city waterfront near the Bayfront Center, probably on Feb. 22-23, 2003.
TAMPA -- A college fair with representatives from more than 150 schools will be held Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Tampa Convention Center.
Thousands of middle and high school students are expected to attend the event, sponsored by the National Association of College Admission Counseling. This is Tampa's first college fair of this size and scope.
Most Florida schools will be represented. In addition to information booths, counselors will answer questions on entrance exams and financial aid.
TAMPA -- Gov. Jeb Bush appointed Charles E. Bergmann, a Tampa civil trial attorney, to the Hillsborough circuit bench Friday.
Bergmann, a solo practitioner who specializes in civil litigation, will replace Circuit Judge Dick Greco Jr., who resigned to enter private practice.
"It kind of feels like my Super Bowl today," said Bergmann, who has been nominated for vacant seats on the bench five times. "All I can tell you is I am on cloud nine."
Bergmann, 57, has lived in Tampa since 1947 and has practiced law here for about 30 years. He is a board-certified civil trial lawyer and has earned the highest rating for legal skills from the Martindale-Hubbell lawyer rating agency.
Bergmann earned his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Florida. Born in Honduras, Bergmann has been married for more than 30 years and has three grown daughters. He has also served as past president of Christ Our Redeemer Lutheran Church.
TAMPA -- The mother of a toddler who drowned two weeks ago in a backyard swimming pool was charged Friday with child abuse and neglect resulting in great bodily harm, police said.
William Bazemore died Jan. 25 after he wandered outside and fell into the pool at 10936 N Lantana Ave. His mother, 17-year-old Patience Owens, called police after she noticed he was missing.
Police said the mother left the 22-month-old unattended for several minutes. They also found numerous safety infractions that contributed to the child's death, including unlocked doors, missing screens and inadequate gates.
Owens was arrested and taken to the Juvenile Assessment Center. She faces up to 15 years in prison for the second-degree felony charge.
TAMPA -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has presented Hillsborough Commissioner Jan Platt and another county employee with an award recognizing efforts to prevent global warming.
Platt and Randy Klindworth, the county's energy manager, were presented with the "Local Protection Award" on Friday from the EPA's Office of State and Local Outreach.
TAMPA -- Six weeks and more than $2-million later, the section of the Veterans Expressway damaged in a fiery gasoline spill Dec. 28 reopened Friday afternoon.
Cars began traveling the southbound Veterans bridge over Independence Parkway about 12:30 p.m. after road workers finished dismantling the barricades that had rerouted traffic during the reconstruction.
Christa Deason, a DOT spokeswoman, predicted a collective sigh of relief from the 40,000 drivers who were forced to find alternate routes.
"Traffic is moving along like it never happened," Deason said shortly after the reopening.
The State Road 60 exit and the Memorial Highway ramp also reopened Friday. Independence Parkway northbound remains closed while crews repair its damaged asphalt.
The road damage occurred Dec. 28 when an gasoline tanker overturned on a 90-degree turn on Independence Parkway. The spilled gasoline caught fire and the heat melted concrete and steel in the Veterans bridge above.
TAMPA -- A college fair with representatives from more than 150 schools will be held Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Tampa Convention Center.
Thousands of middle and high school students are expected to attend the event, sponsored by the National Association of College Admission Counseling. This is Tampa's first college fair of this size and scope.
Most Florida schools will be represented. In addition to information booths, counselors will answer questions on entrance exams and financial aid.
ST. PETERSBURG -- A chiropractor was arrested Friday on charges that he molested a 12-year-old girl, police said.
Timothy E. Johnson, 40, who has a practice at 4021 Central Ave., was charged with sexual battery and lewd and lascivious molestation, detectives said.
Police say Johnson molested a 12-year-old friend of his daughter sometime between last August and November at Johnson's home at 7841 Third Ave. S.
Johnson was held in the Pinellas County Jail on Friday in lieu of $200,000 bail.