Tampa Bay briefs

By Times staff writers

© St. Petersburg Times, published March 7, 2001

First-grader brings BB gun to school

TAMPA -- A first-grader at Valrico Elementary School was sent home Tuesday after bringing an unloaded BB gun to school.

The 7-year-old boy was suspended and released to his parents pending an investigation, Hillsborough school spokesman Mark Hart said.

"Obviously, it's of concern to us," Hart said. "But the question in our minds is what was the intent, and did the child understand what was going on?"

The boy got the BB gun from a neighbor, Hillsborough sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter said. She said another student saw the boy with the gun and reported it to a teacher, who found it in the pocket of a jacket the child was wearing.

"It looked like a pistol," Carter said.

The State Attorney's Office will review the case to decide whether to charge the boy with carrying a concealed firearm on school property, a felony.

Hart said so far, there was no indication the child wanted to harm anyone.

As far as the age of the child, he said, "I don't recall anything involving a child that young with a weapon in recent history."

The situation, he said, "is a challenge."

Woman found, charged with child neglect

ST. PETERSBURG -- A woman who violated a Pinellas County court order by leaving a spouse abuse shelter with her 21/2-year-old son has been arrested and charged with felony child neglect.

On Tuesday, police found Amber McMullin, 28, with her son, Skylar, after a resident recognized her from a photograph in the Times and called authorities, said Detective Joe Dente.

McMullin left the shelter at 3:30 p.m. Friday. Her whereabouts was unknown until someone called police at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday to report McMullin walking with a stroller in the area of 93rd Avenue and Seventh Street N. She was stopped by officers at 85th Avenue and Seventh Street N.

Her son suffers from asthma and was wheezing and coughing. He was taken to a doctor for evaluation, police said.

McMullin, who suffers from schizophrenia and has a history of crack cocaine use, was booked in the Pinellas County Jail. Her son is in protective custody.

Bomb threat closes Sunshine Skyway briefly

A bomb threat closed the Sunshine Skyway bridge for 30 minutes Tuesday while law enforcement officials searched by foot and boat for suspicious objects.

Lt. Harold Frear of the Florida Highway Patrol said the threats, one to the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office and two to the Hillsborough County Sherriff's Office, were hoax phone calls. The bridge was closed at 11 a.m.

2 charged, 1 sought in bank fraud plot

TAMPA -- Federal authorities have charged two people with stealing $250,000 by opening phony bank accounts with stolen checks and making withdrawals from ATMs.

Sergey Kondratenko, 26, of 3007 S Manhattan Ave. in Tampa was arrested Tuesday in Tampa by U.S. marshals.

A second defendant, Vadim Bondarenko, address unknown, was arrested March 1 in New York City.

A third person charged in an indictment, Vitaliy Lazarev of New York City, is being sought.

According to the U.S. Justice Department, the three men stole checks and deposited them in 55 bank accounts.

Among the banks listed in the indictment are Huntington National Bank, Clearwater; AmSouth Bank, Clearwater; Mercantile Bank, Tampa; United Bank and Trust Co., St. Petersburg; Southern Exchange Bank, Indian Shores; First Union National Bank, Redington Shores; and Republic Bank in St. Petersburg.

The defendants are charged with conspiracy and bank fraud.

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