Northpinellas: Man thrown from hotel balcony

By DEMORRIS A. LEE and ABBIE VANSICKLE, Times Staff Writers
Published September 13, 2007

CLEARWATER - A member of the U.S. Air Force was accused of trying to kill his brother-in-law by throwing him from a third-floor balcony early Wednesday at the Sea Stone Resort on Clearwater Beach.

Airman First Class William Donahue, 21, who lives at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia, was charged with the attempted murder of Joshua Goodin, 25, of Tampa, Clearwater police said.

Goodin was taken to Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg where he is listed in critical condition.

Donahue and Goodin were staying at the Sea Stone Resort on SGulfview Boulevard with family and friends.

"The two of them had several arguments throughout the day," said Elizabeth Daly-Watts, Clearwater's public safety spokesperson.

Donahue threw Goodin over the railing of a third-floor breezeway about 4:10 a.m., Daly-Watts said. Goodin landed on concrete. Alcohol was a factor in the incident, officials said.

Lt. Rachel Sherburne, a public affairs officer at Langley AFB said Donahue is assigned to the First Communications Squad, where his job is communications cable antennae system apprentice. Sherburne said he was on military leave at the time of the incident.

Donahue joined the Air Force on Nov. 1, 2006, and Langley was his first duty station.

No one answered the door at Joshua Goodin's home at 9301 N 19th St., a beige, one-story home just off Busch Boulevard.

In 1999 and 2000, Goodin was arrested on charges of grand theft, according to state records.

Share your thoughts on this story

Read our guidelines for comments

Comments on this article

by Deborah	11/02/07 10:54 AM
Even Joshua's close family members agree, this was an accident. You are not always aware of your surroundings when you are engaged in a drag out fight, as these two boys were! Billy made a spontaneous move to free himself from a head lock. ACCIDENT.

by rebecca	09/19/07 04:34 AM
josh and billy were good friends. please pray for billy and chantel and tonya. this is a terrible family accident but this family will always stay together no matter what.

by Brett	09/16/07 02:28 PM
Airman Donahue - we know your Dad. Love him, love YOU and yours! You have good council, everyone is praying for you and all concerned. Pray hard buddy! We are too! God Bless You!

by Shari	09/16/07 02:24 PM
Billy, never forget there are folks out here that love you and your Dad and are doing all we can to help you. Stay strong my friend! God Bless You & Yours!!

by Joyce	09/16/07 02:23 PM
God Bless both families involved. Very unfortunate accident. Billy we love you and yours, hang in there and be strong. Everyone is behind you and your Dad to get resolution.

by Cody	09/16/07 02:15 PM
Airman Donahue is an exceptional person. Please let justice be done and free this man from charges he does not deserve. Unfortunate accident, unfortunate circumstances. God Bless Airman Donahue & all concerned!

by Sue	09/16/07 02:11 PM
I pray that Billy Donahue is freed from the charges of this ACCIDENT. Too many holes in the story. Somebody please step up and help this fine young man who has NEVER been in trouble. Record shows he's an outstanding, credible airman with the USAF.

by family member	09/15/07 12:49 AM
Billy waited for representation before making a statement. He did not have the opportunity as the others to leave the scene.

by family member	09/15/07 12:42 AM
re Miltida and Angel: He has legal representation and Donahue's friends and family are not listening to the false statements provided by the media to my understanding the media are journilist NOT judges, they do not have a law degree.

by family member	09/15/07 12:37 AM
re: k and it is people like you that gives bad reporting a place in the media and to think this man is protecting your rights in the U.S. Airforce

by family member	09/15/07 12:35 AM
re:by K there are two victims Donahue is 21 yrs old NEVER been arrested, honor student, college background, college soccer player, provided for wife and child during college and is presumed innocent until proven guilty

by Annette	09/14/07 03:59 PM
I have been following this story in the news and after reading the comment by Fred, I agree, I hope Donahue has a good attorney!! something smell's rotten in Denmark!! sounds like the Goodin family has it out for him and has for a long time.

by polar	09/14/07 02:41 PM
The big question is why do people go to Clearwater Beach anymore, maybe it was the round about that got to him??

by Mellisa	09/14/07 01:29 PM
Also, the perpitrator has no prior history to report, he is a good honest guy.

by Mellisa	09/14/07 01:25 PM
Billy is a great guy and knowing him and his family the way I do, I cannot see Billy doing this intentionally! I agree THROWING is not the right term either. If you know Billy,you know his stature, he couldn't physically throw someone.

by Billy Bob	09/14/07 10:47 AM
Boy, I'll bet their family Xmas party is gonna be rough this year.

by Brittany	09/14/07 09:45 AM
not relevant, but i also feel that the term "throwing" is not the appropriate term to use here. Both stories use this term, but to me, it suggests that he physical grabbed him and threw him off the balcony, which is not what happened.

by Brittany	09/14/07 09:43 AM
I read another article on this, and someone(not the writer) felt the need to bring Josh's criminal record, and i feel that it isnt important to this case. Billy is married to Josh's sister, in laws dont always get along. So not only do i think that..

by Angel	09/14/07 08:53 AM
Knowing Billy I think this was an accident. However, I'd like to know where his legal representative is what they are doing. As of this morning noone had met with him. What's up with that!!! Everyone deserves to have the best representation poss.

by L	09/14/07 08:49 AM
My question is why did the people present allow the arguments to continue? If this wasn't an accident I think more should be charged. Also, has anyone reported Donahue statement? How do you base a case on witneses that were intoxicated?

by Barb	09/14/07 08:00 AM
Mister! I was SOBER and saw it all!!why didn't you stop it and take one of them home, to me you are should be held accountable as well.. After ALL YOU ARE YOUR BROTHER'S, ISN'T THAT WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS!!

by Norton	09/14/07 01:11 AM
I can only hope and pray that someone will come to the aid of Airman First Class William Donahue with a good attorney to prove he is not guilty as charged. As a servant of our country he deserves a fair trial,someone please step up and help him.

by FRED	09/14/07 12:54 AM
Its hard to believe Airman First Class William Donahue at5'6" 165lbs threw Joshua at6'1" 225lbs over the balcony unless he was fearing for his life. Airman Donahue had been taking a beating by the three men and reacted in self defense. God help Him!

by ratt_king	09/14/07 12:06 AM
billy and josh are the only ones that know the truth behind this story i know bily and i kno better i believe hes innocent

by ratt_king	09/14/07 12:03 AM
prior records do matter its so you can see what kind of person he is and if it was an accident or not and it was an accident theres got to be more to the story then everyone else knows cause there two witnesses and it said alcohol was involved

by dc	09/13/07 08:07 PM
I wonder if they're trained to victimize the victim by looking up and reporting their criminal history. It definitely happens too often with this paper. Is that just filler for those who can't think of anything else to write?

by Mitilda	09/13/07 04:44 PM
I feel his arrest record is IMPORTANT!! AND WHAT IS JOSHUA'S TEMPER LIKE!! And most counties don't all allow people to leave the scene of the accident with out first interviewing every one there!! boy was that F up..Where are Donahue's friends??

by Ida	09/13/07 04:26 PM
One question... How does Ms.Daly-Watts know what conspired on that morning if Airman First Class William Donahue has not spoken to anyone?

by Baby	09/13/07 02:17 PM
I don't think there was any reason why you should put his record with this story. Josh is a great guy so if you wanted to say more about him well then just know he is the sweetest guy I know & he has the nicest eyes along with a great smile.

by K	09/13/07 01:59 PM
PRIOR ARRESTS/HISTORY OF VICTIM IS NOT RELEVANT!!!!! Why don't you investigate perpetrator's history, as that would be most relevant!

by mary	09/13/07 09:42 AM
why was the injured mans prior arrest recordc necessary in this article.....the media needs to report just the news not the history of the person, it wasn't relevent at all to this article.

by Susie	09/13/07 08:32 AM
Why are you revealing arrest charges from 8 years ago on the "victim"? First of all, arrest is not the same as conviction. This has no relevance to this incident - just another type of sensational reporting to sell newspapers. Shame on you.

by Sue	09/13/07 07:41 AM
nger management issue, or just a bit too much happy juice???

by Dee	09/13/07 06:56 AM
WHO CARES WHAT GOODIN WAS ARRESTED FOR WHY WOULD YOU PUT THAT IN THIS STORY

Man thrown from hotel balcony

The victim and his brother-in-law apparently had been arguing all day before the incident.