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Hate crime victim to accept offers of help

A woman has set up a bank account for donations to renovate her vandalized house.

By REBECCA CATALANELLO
Published December 3, 2005

TAMPA - The exact damage estimates aren't in yet.

But the owner of a new Riverview home trashed by vandals this week has received plenty of offers from people who want to help her replace the furniture that was destroyed, the carpet that was drenched and bleached, the walls that were repeatedly kicked in and spray-painted with racial epithets.

First-time homeowner Trina Odom, 36, said she hasn't known exactly how to respond to those who want to help. The pain is still fresh, and it's hard to get past feeling victimized and exposed.

But Odom, who until now has tried to keep her name private, has set up an account at BB&T Bank for those who want to make donations to help her rebuild. She said Friday that the proceeds will cover the cost of home repairs. She will give anything she receives in excess to a church or charity of her choosing.

CrimeStoppers is offering a $1,000 reward for information about the incident, which was first reported Sunday, Nov. 27, by a neighbor who saw water running out from under the garage door.

Hillsborough sheriff's deputies and the FBI are investigating the incident as a hate crime.

"These people who did it want to hide, so we have to go find out where they're hiding," sheriff's spokesman J.D. Callaway said Friday. "They're will be arrests. We're confident. These thugs, they will not go free on this one."

Additionally, Bill Allard, a St. Petersburg real estate agent who read Odom's story in the newspaper, is seeking businesses or individuals willing to raise a $25,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction.

Allard has pledged $1,000 toward the cause because he said for a community to sit back and let people get away with a crime like this is equivalent to condoning it.

By Friday, no other businesses had matched his offer. "As of this moment, I'm standing alone," Allard said. "Everyone's busy with the holiday season. But at the holiday season, what's more important than a community that is full of diversity?"

Odom, a single African-American mother of a 12-year-old girl, excitedly bought the Tribute Drive home a month ago. On Nov. 23, she'd moved in a load of furniture, much of it new, with the expectation of relocating permanently from St. Petersburg a week later.

Instead, she ended up giving interviews to reporters and investigators. The house was similarly vandalized Oct. 21, while still under construction. Odom was in the process of buying it at the time.

Anyone with information about the Covewood subdivision incident should contact CrimeStoppers at 1-800-873-TIPS (8477) or the sheriff's office at (813) 247-8200. Tipsters do not have to give their names.

Additionally, Allard of Allard Investment Realty Inc. can be reached at his office, (727) 894-5002 or by fax (727) 894-5303. He said he is seeking only pledges.

[Last modified December 3, 2005, 01:21:14]