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Community unites behind a life worth rooting for
© St. Petersburg Times, Even if you don't know Vincent Starkes, you might have seen him if you went to Ybor City in the '90s. He ran Vinnie's Back Alley BarBQ, located in the open-air market at Seventh Avenue and 17th Street. I say "ran," because Vincent Starkes is back in state prison after 16 years of freedom. It was a 16-year stretch in which he married, built a business and became a neighborhood fixture. He was done in by a parole violation. The interesting thing is who is speaking up for him. That list includes two members of the Florida House of Representatives, two officers of the Tampa Police Department and various business owners. My colleague Mary Jo Melone wrote a wonderful column about Starkes back in 1996. This is how she described him: "He is a gentle bear of a guy, in jeans and hiking boots and a Rastafarian tricolor snug on his head. His father is Haitian, his mother is a Gullah from South Carolina's low country, and he considers himself a Jew ... a perfect addition to Ybor City's crazy stew." Art Hushen is a Tampa police officer who used to work Ybor City. "There were several instances," he writes in support of Starkes, "when Vincent came to our aid during large disturbances. He always maintained a calm demeanor when dealing with the public." Another officer, Michael D. DeMott, writes: "I always found him to be helpful toward me and the police in general. On numerous occasions, Mr. Starkes told me information about suspicious persons in the area." Two Tampa lawmakers, Arthenia Joyner and Sara Romeo, have written letters. Says Romeo: "He is a quiet, generous and helpful man. He was always mindful of homeless people and would quietly provide them with food. Many business owners were grateful to Vincent because he kept a watchful eye ... on the street." In 1979, at the age of 17, Starkes was sentenced to a term of up to life in prison for multiple armed robberies. He was paroled after 61/2 years. Starting anew as a street vendor, he expanded to Vinnie's Back Alley BarBQ and a hot-dog cart business. He got married. His wife,Sharon, who manages the Ybor open-air market, is now his biggest advocate. He turns 40 on Sept. 27. Would you like me to tell you that his 16 years of freedom were perfect? I can't. In 1992, Vincent and Sharon had an argument and, she tells me, he smashed her windshield. The police arrested him. In 1996, he argued with police as they made an arrest on the street. He was charged with obstructing an officer without violence. Both times, a formal finding of guilt was withheld, and he stayed on parole. Things really started going sour at the end of 1998. Business was bad, and Starkes was forced to give it up. He was stressed and depressed and, frankly, he lost it. He left Sharon, his wife of 13 years, and wandered about. He stopped reporting to his parole officer. Ultimately the police found him. Starkes' parole hearing officer, citing the community support, recommended a quick release. But two of the three members of the Florida Parole Commission thought differently. When they met on July 11, they looked at Starkes' file and saw a felon, paroled from a life sentence, who had amassed a subsequent history of arrests and who then disappeared. On paper, you have to admit, this does not look so good. Starkes' new parole date: Nov. 23, 2013. Twelve years away. The commission did leave a glimmer of hope. It scheduled Starkes for a new parole interview this December, even though he could have sat on ice for up to two years. By December, who knows how many more testimonials Sharon will have lined up, or from how high they'll come? My own thinking is, there are guys who need to be in prison worse than Vincent Starkes does. - You can reach Howard Troxler at (727) 893-8505 or at troxler@sptimes.com.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
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Times columns today Howard Troxler Jan Glidewell Robert Trigaux From the Times Metro desk |
