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Arrest in attack may ease fears

The first assault on area boys was six months ago..

By ABHI RAGHUNATHAN
Published March 22, 2007

ST. PETERSBURG - For six months, parents and children near Lakewood High School lived with fear: A bulky man had attacked boys while they walked home from school.

An eerily similar attack occurred Tuesday, but this time bystanders chased down the attacker and sat on him until police arrived.

The suspect, Travonti DeBose, 19, may be responsible for all three attacks, police said.

He was being held on charges of sexual battery and strong-arm robbery in connection with Tuesday's incident.

DeBose, 6 feet and 240 pounds, lives at Queensmark Apartments, several blocks from Lakewood and about 20 feet from Bay Point Elementary's playing fields.

DeBose, who jail records say works in a warehouse, was arrested Tuesday after a maintenance worker at the Reserve at Lake Pointe Apartments came out of a unit and saw a man assaulting an 18-year-old Lakewood High student, police said. The youth had been listening to his iPod when the attacker punched him in the face, knocked him down and pulled down his pants, police said.

When the attacker ran, other maintenance workers and a postal employee chased him, catching him about a block away from his apartment. They held him until police arrived.

"We're relieved," said police spokesman Bill Proffitt. "We don't normally advocate that citizens get involved, but we're pleased that the workers took action because it allowed us to catch this guy."

In September, a man matching DeBose's description raped a boy as he walked home from Lakewood, police said. A maintenance worker interrupted another similar attack in the area that same month.

In addition, police said, a man matching DeBose's description attacked a high school student near Ninth Avenue N and 72nd Street in January.

DeBose has not been charged in those attacks, but police continue to investigate.

There is no indication that DeBose is related to Virgil DeBose, who authorities recently arrested and say could be responsible for raping elderly women in Pinellas County.

Five years ago, Travonti DeBose was arrested on charges of lewd and lascivious action and simple battery when he attended John Hopkins Middle School, records show. He fondled a student, pulled him into the restroom and kissed him on the lips, according to a police report. That student told police that he was reluctant to tell anyone because he was scared of DeBose.

The outcome of that case is unclear because DeBose was a juvenile at the time of the arrest.

As word spread Tuesday of DeBose's arrest, residents of the neighborhood surrounding Lakewood cheered.

John Robinson, 16, a Lakewood High student who walks home, said teachers and administrators had warned them for months to stay alert and walk in groups while heading home.

"I'm glad they got him," Robinson said. "A guy like that shouldn't have been walking around on the streets in the first place."

Helen Kiefat, 57, who lives a few doors down from DeBose, described him as a large and imposing man who mostly kept to himself. She said she was concerned about the safety of her 16-year-old granddaughter, who lives with her.

"I moved here because it was so quiet," Kiefat said. "I didn't expect something like this."

Times researcher Carolyn Edds contributed to this report. Abhi Raghunathan can be reached at araghunathan@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8472.

[Last modified March 22, 2007, 06:47:36]