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By TIMES WIRES
Published August 29, 2006

Man arrested in robbery of a Pinellas Park store

A Tampa man suspected of robbing an auto insurance store in Pinellas Park was arrested Monday morning after fleeing Pinellas County sheriff's deputies and crashing into another car.

Authorities arrested Jack Mac Kenzie Carson, 31, on a charge of aggravated fleeing and eluding. They also recovered a handgun from inside his vehicle.

Authorities said Carson robbed Cash Register Auto Insurance, 4702 Park Blvd., Pinellas Park, about 10:20 a.m. He then fled toward Tampa on Gandy Boulevard in a tan Ford Ranger pickup.

The suspect crossed the Gandy Bridge before losing control of his vehicle near West Shore Boulevard and West Paul Avenue. Authorities said his truck crossed into the oncoming lanes and struck a silver 2000 Chevrolet Impala. The driver, Justin Morgan, 24, of Tampa was not injured.

Smoking in bed blamed in fire that killed Largo man

LARGO - Smoking in bed had already caused a small fire for Daniel Wagner, a hospice patient who needed oxygen to help him breathe.

And it was a good warning, said Joellen Wagner, 72, his wife of 31 years, "but it just wasn't enough."

On Saturday, Wagner, 75, a Korean War veteran and a retired high school principal, likely died as a result of a fire started by ashes that fell from his cigarette onto his bed, family and Largo fire officials said.

Oxygen escaping from one of two tanks as the fire burned through the equipment helped fuel the fire that destroyed Wagner's room, said Largo Fire Marshall Jim Warman.

The fire at the house in the 1300 block of Kennywood Drive resulted in Largo's first fire death this year.

On Saturday, Mrs. Wagner and her 10-year-old granddaughter, Kendra Hometchko, were playing a card game in the living room when they heard Wagner call for help.

Mrs. Wagner said the first time she ran into the room, Wagner's back was on fire and she smothered it. She ran in and out twice more, thinking she was making progress putting the fire out.

But when she returned the third time, she could not reach her husband because the fire was out of control and the smoke was too thick. Despite being almost blind, Wagner made it to the bathroom, she said.

About 25 firefighters rushed to the scene, Warman said. Wagner was pronounced dead at Suncoast Hospital.

Woman, dog die in blaze at Tampa mobile home

TAMPA - Lew Green was signing on to the Internet on Sunday night when he heard the banging of aluminum. Thinking someone was trying to break into his garden shed, he stuck his head outside his door, ready for a confrontation. But instead of an intruder, he saw flames shooting from the front window of his neighbor's mobile home across the street.

Green, 42, dialed 911 while running to the burning structure and screaming "Fire!" he said Monday. He banged on the side of the mobile home, in case someone was inside.

His neighbors - a man, a woman and their two dogs - had moved about a month ago into lot No. 18 at Lake Rose Village, off 19th Street N near 148th Avenue. He opened the door, and smoke poured out.

"I never heard dogs bark, I never heard screams, I never heard a smoke detector," Green said. "I didn't hear a thing."

Firefighters arrived 6 minutes after the first 911 call was made at 9:23 p.m. and took about 20 minutes to control the blaze, said Hillsborough County Fire Rescue Capt. Ray Yeakley. The park did not have fire hydrants, leaving firefighters to use water from trucks, Yeakley said.

Five minutes after arrival, they found the body of a woman toward the rear of the mobile home, Yeakley said. One of her dogs was dead about 5 feet away.

"There was pretty extensive damage," he said.

Neighbors said the couple had two dogs; Yeakley said they did not find a second dog, but investigators still needed time to comb the charred shell. The cause of the fire was still under investigation.

The dead woman had not yet been positively identified Monday afternoon pending an autopsy, said Hillsborough County sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter.

The man was not home at the time of the fire.

Residents in this cluster of roughly 20 mobile homes stood outside the yellow police tape whispering Monday afternoon. They did not know whether the couple were married and knew very little about them.

[Last modified August 29, 2006, 00:57:41]