Tampa police arrest man in Hyde Park slaying

By Times staff writer

© St. Petersburg Times, published April 29, 2000

TAMPA -- Police have arrested a suspect in the April 22 shooting death of Hyde Park resident Michael R. Foley.

David M. Kitt, 22, has been charged with first-degree murder, two counts of car theft and a count of attempted armed robbery. Detectives identified him as the suspect through fingerprints and interviews, said police spokesman Joseph Durkin. He was arrested Friday at the intersection of Dale Mabry Highway and Interbay Boulevard.

Foley had spent the evening of April 22 with friends at the 42nd Street Bistro on Howard Avenue, then drove with them to their condominium on DeLeon Street. He declined their invitation to come inside, choosing instead to walk to his home at 710 S. Rome Ave. It was about 1 a.m.

A resident in the 2000 block of DeLeon Street heard a shot about that time, looked outside and saw Foley running west down DeLeon Street. A few seconds later, Foley fell to the ground. He died while witnesses tried to revive him.

According to police, Kitt had been driving around the area in a stolen 1995 Jeep Cherokee, looking for someone to rob. He happened upon Foley. Pointing a gun at Foley, Kitt demanded he "give it up," police said. Foley instead turned and ran.

He was shot in the upper body.

Durkin said Kitt abandoned the stolen Jeep in Palma Ceia and soon stole a gray Chevy Astro van. That was found abandoned later near the intersection of West Gandy Boulevard and South Westshore Boulevard.

Foley is listed in public records as the president of Dalton/Wyman Cos. Inc.

Ex-officer loses fight to have charges dropped

TAMPA -- A former Tampa police officer accused of falsifying a police report lost a legal battle Friday to have the charges thrown out on the grounds that the prosecutor failed to introduce the written report as evidence.

Hillsborough Circuit Judge Ralph Steinberg told Melodie Delgado and her attorney David Dee that the report was not essential to the prosecution's case, although he added that he would have preferred to see the report introduced. Steinberg said the wording of the report is not in dispute; it's whether the contents are true that matters.

Delgado is accused of falsifying the report after the police cruiser she was driving July 1 collided with a suspect's car. She claimed the suspect had backed into her cruiser. Several Tampa police officers, including her partner, claimed that Delgado had slid the cruiser into the suspect's car.

Delgado went to trial last month on a public corruption charge. A jury deadlocked 4-2 in favor of finding her guilty, and the judge declared a mistrial.

Friday's decision left Delgado with two options: appeal or take her chances at another trial, scheduled for next month.

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