Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Trust built up, now disbelief

At Alonso High, educators are shocked over the arrest of Joshua Rosa.

By JEFFREY S. SOLOCHEK
Published January 10, 2006

	[Times photo: Mike Pease]
	Glory Rivera, left, and Nick Valdez look over a memorial in Logan Gate Park for Stephen Tomlinson. The cross was moved Monday to where the boy's body was found. Rivera said she attended Ben Hill Middle School with Josua Rosa.

TAMPA - Accusations that 19-year-old Joshua Rosa strangled and killed his 13-year-old neighbor Stephen Tomlinson last month surprised educators at Alonso High School, where Rosa graduated in 2004.

Principal Sandy Bunkin said she had only good memories of Rosa as a "great cadet" on the school drill team and in the ROTC program. He seemed well adjusted and was a good student, she said.

ROTC leaders agreed.

"He was one of the best kids I've ever worked with in 12 years," said Sgt. Maj. Rodney Williamson, one of the school's ROTC leaders. "I find this very hard to believe."

Rosa was arrested on a murder charge late Friday at the Sports Authority on E Fowler Avenue, where he worked. He had previously been questioned on Dec. 8, the night Stephen's body was found in Logan Gate Park.

Rosa, who was on suicide watch at the Orient Road Jail without bail, even impressed his neighbors in the Logan Gate subdivision of Carrollwood. He attended church regularly, taking a leadership role in youth activities, which led adults, including Stephen Tomlinson's father, to trust him around their children.

"My brother felt safe with him because they were churchgoing people," said Patsy Driggers, Stephen's aunt.

She said Rosa's family was taking the arrest hard.

"The kid's mother (Raquel Rosa) was a sweet person. I know his family is broken up. Both families are heartbroken," Driggers said.

The family, which lived across the street from the Tomlinson home for about 15 years, could not be reached for comment. They put their home, now vacant, up for sale a week ago and disconnected their phone.

Juan Rivera, who lives across the street from Logan Gate Park, said he often saw Rosa jog through the neighborhood. Rosa was known to be athletic, winning the beginner's division in fencing at the spring 2002 Sunshine State Games in Lakeland.

After graduating from Alonso, Rosa attended Hillsborough Community College, most recently this past fall.

In the Logan Gate neighborhood, friends of the Tomlinson family celebrated Rosa's arrest with a Sunday barbecue. They remain convinced of Rosa's guilt, just as they were before his formal arrest.

Stephen's father, Ron, also had no doubts. "There's just too much DNA evidence," he said.

--Staff writer Amber Mobley contributed to this report. Jeffrey S. Solochek can be reached at 813 269-5304 or solochek@sptimes.com

[Last modified January 10, 2006, 01:51:15]