 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
Police arrest man in hospital attack
By PATRICK COOPER © St. Petersburg Times, published February 9, 2001 ST. PETERSBURG -- Police have arrested a man with an extensive criminal history in connection with last week's attack on a female employee at St. Anthony's Hospital. Jimmy Lee Smiley, 47, was arrested Wednesday night in Tampa. He was charged with attempted homicide, attempted sexual battery and robbery. About 7:30 a.m. Feb. 2, a man robbed the woman in an office area of the hospital, attempted to sexually assault her and then choked her until she passed out, police said. Fingerprints at the scene led police to Smiley. "We're really tremendously relieved to know the suspect is in custody," said Ford Kyes, the hospital's chief operating officer. He said the hospital staff was elated Thursday. Smiley is on probation for a 1998 sexual battery. He was released from prison in November, after serving a little more than two years of a 10-year sentence. State records show previous convictions for robbery, check fraud, grand theft, battery, solicitation and drug offenses. He was charged with sexual assault in 1984 but convicted of a lesser charge. St. Petersburg police said they used the national Automated Fingerprint Information System to identify prints found at the hospital. They then learned from Smiley's probation officer that Smiley was being treated at Tampa General Hospital for seizures. Tampa police officers made the arrest as Smiley left the hospital about 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. The attack shook St. Anthony's staff and prompted hospital officials to begin reviewing security. An extra guard was added to the 24-hour security force, and St. Petersburg police officers discussed personal security at an employee meeting. Kyes said employees welcomed the talk: "It just was reassuring for them to know that the police cared enough to come and spend some time with them." The woman who was attacked was in good condition and good spirits, Kyes said. Police spokesman Rick Stelljes said the fingerprint system was crucial in making the arrest. As St. Petersburg police arrest suspects, their fingerprints are classified and entered into a nationwide data base, he said. When clear prints are found after a crime, they are matched against the system. "It does it in a matter of seconds, compared to the hours and hours and weeks it used to take when we did this manually," he said. "It's a very important piece of technology for law enforcement and certainly assisted us in breaking this case." In an interview Thursday evening, the suspect's mother, Lessie Lee Smiley, said her son was a smart man, but she said she worried about him. "I don't know what to think," she said. "He needs a lot of help." She said he worked in construction and in nursing, including at Bayfront Medical Center. According to a Bayfront official, Jimmy Lee Smiley worked at Bayfront from August 1974 to February 1977, first as an orderly and later as a technician. He earned his license as a nurse assistant in 1985. He was held without bail in the Hillsborough County Jail.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111 
|
From the Times South Pinellas desks |
