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Man pleads guilty in two killings

By Times Staff
Published April 27, 2007

TAMPA - A second man accused of beating two homeless Tampa men to death in 1998 as part of an initiation rite has entered a plea agreement with federal authorities. Kenneth Hoover, 34 and formerly of Tampa, was arrested and pleaded guilty Jan. 31 to charges of second-degree murder and racketeering. Until Thursday his identity had not been disclosed because of an ongoing investigation, said Steve Cole, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Tampa. Another man, Charles Marovskis, 29, of Pennsylvania, was arrested on identical charges Jan. 31. According to a Justice Department report, Hoover and Marovskis belonged to Tampa Blood and Honour, a skinhead hate group "whose members espoused the belief that white persons of Aryan descent were the superior race." Group members agree to participate in a "race war," own guns and train in infantry tactics, and to "demonstrate their loyalty and dedication ... by engaging in acts of violence," the report said. Authorities say Hoover and Marovskis were among a group of Tampa Blood and Honour members who beat Alfred Williams to death with a tire iron on Sept. 31, 1998. Then, authorities said, the group used an ax to kill Richard Arsenau in a wooded lot.

Doctor faces another trafficking charge

GULFPORT - A doctor who was awaiting trial on drug trafficking charges was arrested again Thursday on a charge of trafficking in oxycodone. Craig Bammer, 55, a doctor of osteopathic medicine, was previously arrested in February. Bammer prescribed dangerous narcotics to patients without completing a medical history or physical examination, the Sheriff's Office said. On Thursday, Bammer was arrested on an unrelated civil contempt order. Authorities began their investigation in January after undercover detectives posed as patients at Bammer's clinic at 5317 Gulfport Blvd. S.

Lutz man sentenced to 15 years for porn

TAMPA - After an emotional hearing that included supportive testimony from his Army captain daughter, John Hoagland of Lutz was sentenced Thursday to 15 years in prison for possessing child pornography on his home computer. Hoagland, 62, pleaded guilty because it was in his best interest, said his attorney Rochelle Reback. The sentence will be followed by 15 years of sex offender probation. Hoagland's ex-wife and adult son died in a car accident in January as they drove from New Jersey to Tampa to visit him. His daughter, who is serving in the Middle East, has no other relatives left.

Grove owner remains in critical condition

BROOKSVILLE - Jim Oleson, the owner of Boyett's Grove and Citrus Attraction in southeastern Hernando County, remained in critical condition Thursday in St. Joseph's Hospital in Tampa after robbers shot him in the chest at the attraction. Investigators were tight-lipped about the events that led to the shooting and the hunt for the assailants. A spokeswoman for the Hernando Sheriff's Office said investigators are following a number of leads. Oleson and his wife, Kathy Boyett Oleson, have owned the 100-acre grove since 1963. It's a family business that was established just after the Civil War.

[Last modified April 27, 2007, 00:47:30]