Crime Journal

By Times Staff Writer
Published December 18, 2007

TEMPLE TERRACE

Officials say Woman left boy, 3, alone

Police have accused a 22-year-old woman of leaving a 3-year-old boy home alone in a locked apartment. Jean N. Ruth of 5410 Strathmore Lane, Apt. 256, faces charges of child neglect and giving a false report to law enforcement. At 9:15 p.m. Sunday, Ruth's neighbors called police, saying they heard a child crying. When officers arrived, they saw a child staring out the window of the apartment, said police spokesman Michael Dunn. The boy was left alone less than an hour and was not hurt, Dunn said. It's up to the discretion of investigators to determine whether a child is being neglected in such a situation, he said. Ruth remained in the Hillsborough County Jail Monday, held in lieu of $8,000 bail.

BROOKSVILLE 

Couple accused of bilking woman, 88

A Brooksville couple are behind bars after, authorities say, they bilked an 88-year-old woman in their care out of about $25,000. Heather Ungood, 26, and Louis Crews, 43, face charges of exploitation of the elderly and neglect of an elderly person, Sheriff's Office arrest reports state. Ungood, her 3-year-old daughter and her boyfriend, Crews, lived with the elderly Brooksville woman while Ungood was the primary caregiver. The Sheriff's Office began to investigate them in early November after the elderly woman's bank tipped off a Florida Department of Children and Families officer about questionable withdrawals from the woman's account. The couple fled to Pennsylvania, abandoning the woman with just water and crackers for at least a day before she was found by a neighbor, reports state. Ungood and Crews were caught Nov. 19.

DADE CITY 

Abduction suspect has history of crime

Dade City police pulled him over when he was 18 and charged him with driving under the influence. At 24, he was sentenced to more than a decade in prison for murdering a migrant worker. Now he faces aggravated assault and kidnapping charges. Domingo Zamora, 39, was arrested Wednesday after deputies say he forced his ex-girlfriend, Angela Roberts, 23, and her mother into his Lincoln Towncar and held them at gunpoint. He allegedly choked Roberts and shot the gun into the floorboard of the car. Deputies say he let the two women go after Roberts' mother fainted.

[Last modified December 18, 2007, 02:36:16]