TAMPA -- An internal investigation into whether former Tampa police Deputy Chief Ken Taylor fudged his resume apparently was quietly dropped by the department before it began.

Capt. Jake Slater said the case against Taylor, who retired last year after news reports revealed that his resume listed a four-year degree he did not have, was inactive.

"It was never given an official internal affairs number," Slater said. "It was more of an inquiry. He retired."

Chief Bennie Holder said he saw no need to go further.

"Why go after him?" he said. "The man left under a cloud. He put in 35 years. I'm not vindictive."

In September, at the time Taylor retired, Holder said he could not comment on that aspect of his department's investigation.

"We'll gather all the facts and see what we can prove or disprove," the chief said at the time. "If I had known he didn't (have a degree), I never would have promoted him."

The day he left, Taylor told reporters someone else compiled his resumes and that he never claimed to have the degree in education listed on his resume.

Man charged after child suffers burns

TAMPA -- A 28-year-old Tampa man was accused Wednesday of failing to get help for a 2-year-old boy who suffered severe burns over three-quarters of this body.

"Basically, for 24 hours this kid was racked with pain, and the guy doesn't even get help," said Hillsborough sheriff's Lt. Rod Reder. "So we put him in jail."

The child ultimately was taken to Shriner's Hospital in Cincinnati, Reder said.

Gerald Mitchell, 28, of 6010 Williams Road in Seffner was taking care of the boy about 7:30 p.m. Thursday when the child was severely burned, Reder said.

Reder would not say how the burns occurred. Mitchell's relationship with the child was not disclosed to protect the toddler's identity.

Reder said Mitchell did not call a doctor or ambulance. A neighbor called deputies Friday evening to report the boy's condition, he said.

Mitchell was charged with child neglect and remains in jail in lieu of $10,000 bail.

Driver found guilty in woman's death

TAMPA -- The theory was that it all started with a stolen garage door opener.

Prosecutors charged that George Ira Smiley stole a $49 garage door opener from Home Depot on N Florida Avenue, then drove through a red light as he fled police and killed a 23-year-old mother.

On Wednesday, a jury found Smiley guilty of vehicular homicide but innocent of stealing the garage door opener.

Prosecutors will ask Circuit Judge Ralph Stoddard to sentence Smiley, 38, to 15 years in prison.

Assistant State Attorney Art McNeil said he wasn't bothered by the jury's split verdict. He had argued that what happened during the police chase wasn't central to the case. Prosecutors only needed to show that Smiley drove recklessly as he ran a red light at Nebraska and Waters avenues.

"The main issue is: Did he run the red light? Was he speeding?" McNeil said. "That is what I tried to make the case about."

A pending civil lawsuit by the family of Svetlana Belyakova, who died in the crash, will focus on the Tampa Police Department's chase policy, which was implemented under Mayor Dick Greco.

Police say 2 die in murder-suicide

PLANT CITY -- A Plant City man murdered his girlfriend and then killed himself hours later as police tried to enter their home, officials said.

Plant City police Chief Bill McDaniel said the incident happened Wednesday shortly after 9 a.m. at 1012 Nancy Terrace Drive.

McDaniel said the woman, 59-year-old Carolyn Collins, did not show up for work as a teacher's aide at Bryan Alternative School on Wednesday morning.

Co-workers called police, who arrived at the home but were not allowed inside by the man, Ellis Clark Chaney, 54.

Chaney told police different stories on the phone about Collins' whereabouts, McDaniel said, and when none proved true, they prepared to enter the home.

At that point, the officers heard a single shot, McDaniel said, and entered the home to find that the man had shot himself in the head.

Collins' body was found on the kitchen floor, McDaniel said, and she appeared to have been stabbed to death.

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