Two arrested, two more wanted on drug charges

So far, 11 people have been charged in what deputies describe as a drug ring based here.

By JOHN FRANK AND AUSTIN BOGUES
Published June 19, 2007

BROOKSVILLE - Hernando deputies tracked down two more players wanted in connection with a suspected drug ring broken up by authorities last week.

Willie S. Washington, 52, of Tampa was arrested Monday in Brooksville and charged with trafficking crack cocaine. Tara Sanders, 27, of Brooksville was arrested Friday in Brooksville and charged with possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.

A multiagency task force arrested nine suspected members of a high-level trafficking organization based in Hernando County on Thursday.

Two more suspects remain at large.

Marcus Fields, a 30-year-old also known as "Raw, " is a major player in the Brooksville and Tampa area, authorities say. He is charged with being a principal to trafficking in crack cocaine.

Investigators also want to locate Xavier J. Washington, a 20-year-old Brooksville man who is also known as "CJ" or "Jamal." He is charged with selling crack cocaine and marijuana near a church. He last lived at 308 Armstrong St.

Anyone with information is asked call the Hernando County crime stoppers hotline at 352 797-8477.

Date, no; jail, yes

BROOKSVILLE - A 29-year-old Brooksville man tried to spice up a Friday night with a pre-date trip to Wal-Mart.

On Matthew Tyre's shopping list: new outfit, a 3-liter bottle of sangria and a "tankini" women's swimsuit.

But his notion of romance went awry when he walked out of the store without paying, deputies say, and was confronted by Wal-Mart security at the Cortez Boulevard location.

Tyre told deputies that he "had plans to hang out with a girl" and "wanted to impress her."

Instead, Tyre was arrested on a misdemeanor charge of shoplifting. He was later released on $250 bail.

Blamed it on alter ego

A 19-year-old Spring Hill man was arrested Friday on a charge of attempted rape after authorities say he tried to force an teenage girl to have sex at her home a day earlier.

Christian Quiles of Blossom Court told authorities he was drinking heavily and his "other personality" was responsible for the incident. Reports state Quiles stopped after two witnesses came into the home.

He was released from the Hernando County Jail on $10, 000 bail.

John Frank can be reached at jfrank@sptimes.com or 754-6114. Austin Bogues can be reached at abogues@sptimes.com or 754-6117.

[Last modified June 18, 2007, 21:26:27]