Man ditches monitoring device, disappears

This is the 13th time this year someone removed a surveillance bracelet while awaiting trial.

By MICHAEL A. MOHAMMED, Times Staff Writer
Published August 7, 2007

ADVERTISEMENT Travis Jerome Riley could face a charge of grand theft if the monitoring device can't be recovered.

GIBSONTON - Hillsborough sheriff's deputies are searching for a 24-year-old man they say removed a monitoring device and vanished Saturday.

Travis Jerome Riley of 1689 Kracker Ave. was awaiting trial on assault and battery charges. He is accused of attacking Jeffrey Price, 31, on Dec. 29, 2006.

Price stabbed Riley in self-defense, deputies say, and Riley lost a lung.

Richard Morse Jr., 18, and a teenager also were charged in the attack.

About a month later, deputies say, Riley's friends found Price and stabbed him to death while Riley waited in a nearby car.

Morse, Ralph Woods, 25, and Raymond Sample, 27, face charges of first-degree murder.

Riley was ordered to wear the ankle bracelet after he was released from jail in February to await trial.

The device alerted deputies it had been removed about 6 p.m. Saturday, said sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter.

Riley was the 13th person this year to remove a surveillance bracelet while awaiting trial, Carter said.

If deputies can't recover the device, he may face an additional charge of grand theft.

Deputies are asking anyone with information on Riley to contact the Sheriff's Office at 813 247-8200 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-873-TIPS (8477).

Michael A. Mohammed can be reached at mmohammed@sptimes.com or (813) 226-3404.

[Last modified August 7, 2007, 00:32:00]