Collision near crime scene hurts 2

By Times staff writers

© St. Petersburg Times, published June 9, 2000

ST. PETERSBURG -- A station wagon collided with a Pinellas County sheriff's patrol car that was trying to stop traffic in a busy intersection Thursday night.

A sheriff's deputy was clearing the intersection of 38th Avenue N and 34th Street as other officers chased two men fleeing from a nearby drug deal that had been set up by undercover detectives, authorities said.

The station wagon that hit the patrol car was not involved in the drug deal. The driver, a woman, was taken to Bayfront Medical Center for treatment after the 8:30 p.m. crash. The deputy in the patrol car was treated at Northside Community Hospital.

Undercover detectives were buying crack cocaine from two men in a car in a parking lot when the men decided to flee, said sheriff's spokeswoman Marianne Pasha. The driver hit two unmarked sheriff's cars and crossed 34th Street before hitting a palm tree.

The two men got out of their car and ran. A deputy stopped his patrol car in the middle of the intersection, flashing his emergency lights and blowing his horn to stop traffic so other officers could converge on the scene, Pasha said.

The alleged drug dealers eventually were caught.

Boyfriend charged in rape, beating

GULFPORT -- A Gulfport man was arrested Thursday after his live-in girlfriend told police he beat her, handcuffed her to a bed and raped her.

Scott Erik Windham, 27, was charged with kidnapping, sexual battery and aggravated assault. He and the woman live in a house between 49th and 58th streets and between Seventh and 15th avenues S, said Gulfport police Lt. Larry Tosi Jr.

About 8:30 a.m., the 24-year-old woman ran to a neighbor's house and asked them to call the police. She told officers an argument with her boyfriend had turned violent.

Police searched the area and found Windham a few blocks from the home. The injured woman was taken to Bayfront Medical Center, treated and released. Windham was being held without bail in the Pinellas County Jail.

Deliberations begin in murder trial

LARGO -- Jurors began deliberating Thursday in the first-degree murder trial of Walter Lee Morris, a 28-year-old man accused of beating a toddler to death in 1997.

Prosecutors say Morris punched 2-year-old Dustin Gee in the head and stomach and poured hot sauce in his mouth. Dustin died two days laters from the injuries.

If convicted, Morris could face the death penalty.

Jurors are expected to resume deliberating today.

Man robs SouthTrust Bank branch

ST. PETERSBURG -- The SouthTrust Bank at 2350 34th St. N was robbed about 3 p.m. Thursday by a man who handed a teller a threatening note, police said. No one was hurt. The robber walked out with an undisclosed amount of money. Police did not have a detailed description of him.

Voters to decide on term limits

TAMPA -- Tampa voters will get to decide separately in November whether eight is enough for the mayor and City Council. Council members narrowly approved referendums Thursday lifting restrictions that keep the city's elected officials from serving more than two consecutive four-year terms. Voters overwhelmingly approved amending the city charter to include term limits in 1983.

The original push for overturning term limits came from people who want to open the door for Mayor Dick Greco to run for a third term in 2003. Greco has said he doesn't know whether he'll run for mayor again if he can.

Clinton nominates Tampa native

WASHINGTON -- Francisco J. Sanchez, a Tampa native, was nominated Thursday by President Clinton as assistant secretary for aviation and international affairs at the Transportation Department.

Sanchez currently serves as special assistant to the president's special envoy to the Americas, former Florida Lt. Gov. Buddy MacKay. He is a graduate of Florida State University, where he received a law degree. He also has a master's degree in public administration from Harvard University.

Before joining MacKay's office last year, he was a senior consultant for Conflict Management Inc. and managing director of CMI International Group, both in Cambridge, Mass.

Sanchez's nomination requires confirmation by the Senate.

Judge nominated for federal bench

President Clinton on Thursday nominated Hillsborough Circuit Judge James S. Moody Jr. for a federal judgeship.

Moody, 53, a Plant City native, said he was excited by the news, adding, "It feels great to reach this particular official step."

The U.S. Senate must confirm the appointment. Moody has been a circuit judge for five years. He attended college and law school at the University of Florida. In 1987, he served as president of the Hillsborough County Bar Association.

Other candidates nominated this week by the president for new positions in Central Florida's busy federal courts include Orlando area lawyer Gregory A. Presnell and John E. Steele, a federal magistrate in Jacksonville.

The first man confirmed by the Senate is expected to occupy a new judgeship in Fort Myers. The others would occupy new positions in Tampa, Orlando and Jacksonville.

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