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By Times staff writers
© St. Petersburg Times, published August 2, 2001
St. Petersburg man held in Pennsylvania slaying
A St. Petersburg man wanted on charges in Pinellas County has been arrested in Pennsylvania, where he is accused of raping and killing a homeless woman.
Alfred Albert Rinaldi, 32, is charged with criminal homicide, sexual assault and robbery, Gettysburg, Pa., authorities said.
Authorities say that on July 23 Rinaldi was drinking at Gettysburg bars with 26-year-old Annette Hall.
Hall, killed by a head wound, was found July 24 in a large hole dug for a building foundation. Police confronted Rinaldi, who told them Hall had fallen into the hole and was knocked unconscious. He said he had non-consensual sex with her and took her purse.
In Pinellas County, Rinaldi is wanted for failing to appear in court on charges of driving under the influence and driving with a suspended license.
A police officer in Pennsylvania pulled over Rinaldi four weeks ago and jailed him on a Pinellas County arrest warrant. But Rinaldi was released because Pinellas County authorities did not want to extradite him, said Gettysburg District Attorney Michael George.
Rinaldi's most recent St. Petersburg address was 817 Fifth St. N.
TAMPA -- A woman accused of first-degree murder for her role in the fatal shooting of a Tampa police officer entered a not guilty plea in court Wednesday.
Paula Gutierrez, 24, entered the plea before Circuit Judge Cynthia Holloway with an attorney from the Public Defender's Office at her side.
She faces murder, armed robbery and burglary charges for her role in the July 6 robbery of a Bank of America branch in south Tampa. After leaving the bank with her boyfriend, her boyfriend shot and killed Officer Lois Marrero, authorities say.
State Attorney Mark Ober must decide by Sept. 15 whether to seek the death penalty.
TAMPA -- Three local assistant U.S. attorneys have won the Justice Department's top service award for helping secure the largest corporate fraud settlement ever.
The U.S. Attorney General's Award for Exceptional Service was given to Robert Monk, Robert Mosakowski and Ernest "Tony" Peluso during a ceremony in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday.
The three prosecutors were part of a larger team that won the award for working on the investigation into HCA -- the Healthcare Co., formerly known as Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corp.
ST. PETERSBURG -- An hour before dawn Tuesday, police knocked on the door of the small concrete block apartment on Ninth Avenue N that Willie Oliver shared with his girlfriend.
Oliver, 52, surrendered quietly, protesting his innocence in confused, muted tones.
"The only thing I can say is that this has been a mistake," he said from the back of a patrol car. "I've never even been to Leon County before."
But Leon County authorities say DNA evidence links Oliver to a New Zealand tourist who was raped and left for dead near Tallahassee two decades ago. They say semen from the attack matches Oliver's DNA.
Oliver, who lives at 1113 Ninth Ave. N in St. Petersburg and had recently been staying at a Salvation Army shelter, was arrested Tuesday on a charge of sexual battery. He was transferred Wednesday from the Pinellas County Jail to the Leon County Jail.
LARGO -- A man accused of making a racially motivated threat to kill a KFC manager was arrested Wednesday afternoon on charges of violating his probation.
James M. Donahue, 47, was picked up by state corrections officials after denying that he had gone to the fast-food restaurant Saturday, said Joe Papy, regional director of the state Department of Corrections. Lying about one's whereabouts is a probation violation, Papy said.
Largo police have been looking for Donahue since Monday, when KFC employees identified him as the man who said he was going to kill the "n----- manager."
CLEARWATER -- A woman hit by a car as she walked across Gulf-to-Bay Boulevard on Tuesday was listed in fair condition Wednesday afternoon at Bayfront Medical Center, said hospital spokeswoman Cassandra Morrell.
Elizabeth Tozser, 63, was taken by helicopter to Bayfront with what rescue workers initially considered life-threatening injuries. She was in serious condition Wednesday morning, but her condition improved throughout the day.
Police spokesman Wayne Shelor said Tozser walked in front of a Chevrolet Corsica driven by Lillian Misita, 76. Tozser had just gotten off a bus and walked to the median on her way to meet her boyfriend, who stood waiting for her on the north side of Gulf-to-Bay. For some reason, she turned around and stepped back into an eastbound lane in front of the Corsica, police said.