Digest

Crime Journal

By Times Staff Writer
Published September 15, 2007

Brooksville

Ex-guard to get a taste of jail for abuse case

A fired Hernando County jail guard will go to jail for his role in the abuse of two inmates last year, a judge ruled Friday. Nick Ferrio, a 41-year-old former Corrections Corporation of American employee, pleaded no contest to two misdemeanor charges of battery, stemming from an incident at the privately run jail on Sept. 6, 2006. The open plea left his fate with County Judge Donald Scaglione, who sentenced Ferrio to 10 days in county jail, one year of probation and 100 hours of community service. Also, it's likely his license as a corrections officer will get suspended by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, which certifies jail guards, said Assistant State Attorney Bill Gladsen. Prosecutors asked for a tougher punishment - 30 days in jail - but the judge settled in the middle with defense attorney Peyton Hyslop requesting no time behind bars. Brent Fiddler, an inmate under Ferrio's watch, outlined in court the abuse he suffered in emotional testimony. Court documents say Ferrio held Fiddler down while another jail guard, Chris Pursell, elbowed and kicked him. Then Ferrio allegedly poured a gallon of head lice solution over Fiddler's head. It is typically applied with a spray bottle.

Clearwater

Ex-Largo officer sentenced for porn

A former Largo police officer who pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography has been sentenced to five years in prison by a federal judge. Jamie Bogdan, 33, was a Largo police officer for 2 1/2 years. He resigned Oct. 17, the same day agents confronted him at his home. An undercover operation online had led them to Bogdan. He now lives in Fort Myers Beach. Bogdan entered a plea of guilty to one count of possession of child pornography in June, just before he was scheduled to go on trial in U.S. District Court in Tampa. According to authorities, Bogdan downloaded more than 1,700 images of child pornography. The victims' ages ranged from 6 months to 13 years old. He had deleted most of the files from his Dell computer by the time agents contacted him. Bogdan faced a maximum possible penalty of 10 years in prison.

Riverview

Missing woman likely burned in van

At 5:30 Thursday morning, Cuc Thu Tran, 50, left her Seffner home to go on her morning jog. She never returned. At 6:50 a.m., Hillsborough County sheriff's deputies found a van ablaze in an empty lot off Bullfrog Court in Gibsonton. Inside was the body of a woman. Now, deputies say they think that woman was Tran. They're calling the death a homicide. Tran's son reported her missing at 4 p.m. on Thursday, said Maj. Harold Winsett. Evidence found near her home at 5212 Cantata Court North, and an examination of the body, both indicate that she was the woman in the van, Winsett said, although investigators aren't certain. "The odds are greater at this point that it is than it isn't," Winsett said. The van was a blue 1993 Dodge that was stolen sometime between Wednesday and Thursday from Advance Discount Auto, 11850 Martin Luther King Blvd. in Seffner, where it had been displayed for sale by owner, Winsett said. Winsett asked for anyone with information in the case to contact the Sheriff's Office.

[Last modified September 14, 2007, 23:30:18]