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Week in reviewBy Times staff writer © St. Petersburg Times, published April 15, 2001 CHILD SUPPORT LAWSUIT: The guardians of the teenage daughter of Grover Freeman Jr., a lawyer gunned down in his Carrollwood home last year by his ex-wife, are suing Freeman's estate and second wife for child support. In a lawsuit filed Thursday in Hillsborough Circuit Court, guardians Kim and Jane Buchanan claim the estate has refused to pay the $1,456 in monthly child support owed, or to provide for the costs of private school tuition, insurance and future college tuition costs for Grover and Katherine Freeman's 15-year-old daughter. The suit claims the payments were part of a 1995 divorce settlement. Katherine Freeman was sentenced to life in prison March 16 for breaking into her ex-husband's home and shooting him 16 times, then attacking his second wife, Connie. Connie Freeman survived and was named representative of the estate after her husband's death. BRINK'S ROBBERS TIPPED OFF: It looked like the two thieves who hit a Brink's armored truck Monday afternoon outside an Outback Steakhouse were extremely lucky. They managed to overpower the truck's guard and steal bags loaded with cash. But Hillsborough County detectives said Thursday that the thieves were tipped off. The driver of the Brink's truck called the thieves on his cellular phone immediately before the robbery at 11618 N Dale Mabry Highway. The driver, 27-year-old Jesus M. Cruz, and two men, Omar Torres, 22, and Manuel E. Torres, 24, were charged Wednesday with armed robbery, a Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office spokewoman said. The suspects live in Tampa, but Omar Torres was arrested in Puerto Rico. Omar and Manuel Torres beat Alfonso Genco the guard, who was not involved in the robbery, and stole his gun when he opened the rear doors of the truck. Genco, 57, was treated at University Community Hospital in Carrollwood. Authorities said most of the money and the gun were recovered. NO CHARGES FOR TEENS: State Attorney Mark Ober decided Thursday not to bring charges against two Sickles High School sophomores who were overheard talking about a school bombing during a cordless phone conversation in their homes. Ober said prosecutors did not have the evidence needed to bring a case against the two teenagers, who were arrested on felony charges of making a bomb threat. "We thought the likelihood of a conviction was impossible," Ober said. The main problem was the state's only witness: Maureen Norbury, 41, who was listening to a police scanner in her home when she picked up a late-night phone conversation by a 17-year-old boy and his 15-year-old girlfriend. "She has backtracked significantly," Ober said of the witness. "She was hesitant from the very beginning." Norbury, who never expected the teens to get arrested, said Thursday that she did not change her story. She said deputies twisted her words to justify arresting the teenagers. "It's like they made a mistake, they jumped the gun, but . . . we'll blame her," she said. School officials suspended the 17-year-old boy and 15-year-old girl for 10 days and will consider re-enrolling them after an evaluation, said spokesman Mark Hart. USF PROVOST CHOSEN: University of South Florida president Judy Genshaft named David Stamps her second-in-command Monday, making him the highest-ranking black administrator in USF history. The promotion means Stamps, a sociology professor and former dean, is now provost and vice president for academic affairs. As chief academic officer, he serves as acting president in Genshaft's absence. Stamps, 63, has been USF's interim provost since July. He joined the USF faculty in 1982 and later served as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. His rise comes as USF struggles to overcome the damage caused by accusations of racism in its women's basketball program. Eight black former players have pending federal discrimination lawsuits against the school. As provost, Stamps will oversee a new Office of Diversity and Equal Opportunity Affairs, which was created to ensure accusations of discrimination are properly investigated. Genshaft selected Stamps over Carlos Santiago, the interim provost at the University at Albany, State University of New York.
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