Tampa Bay briefs

By Times staff writers

© St. Petersburg Times,
published August 20, 2001

Teen drowns while swimming in pond

GIBSONTON -- A 14-year-old Wimauma boy drowned Sunday while swimming in a small pond with friends.

Jorge Alvarado, his brother and some friends were swimming in the pond just west of I-75 near Symmes Road when his companions noticed he was in distress, said Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office spokesman Lt. Rod Reder.

They pulled him to shore and summoned help from a Verizon repairman who was in the area. The man called 911 and performed CPR on the teenager until deputies arrived.

Authorities stopped traffic on the highway so that a medical helicopter could land. Jorge was flown to Tampa General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Condition of boy struck by speeding car improves

TAMPA -- A 12-year-old boy struck by a speeding car while riding his scooter was upgraded to fair condition Sunday, two days after the accident.

Omar Cabrara remained at Tampa General Hospital, where he was admitted Friday night with broken legs and a head wound.

He was riding his scooter with a friend about 10 p.m. Friday when he tried to cross Manhattan Avenue near Oklahoma Avenue. He crossed just as two southbound cars sped past, and one of the cars struck him. The Monroe Middle School seventh-grader fell in the roadway. Both vehicles drove off; the drivers have not been found.

Armed driver rapes pedestrian, police say

TAMPA -- A 21-year-old woman was sexually assaulted Sunday morning after being accosted by a passing driver at gunpoint, Tampa police said.

The victim, whose name was not released, was walking about 5 a.m. near Wallace Avenue and Sheridan Road about a half-mile west of Ballast Point when a man forced her into his car. He drove a half-mile to W Marlin Avenue, where he raped her. He fled after releasing the woman, who also sustained an eye bruise.

Suspect sought in store holdup

TAMPA -- The 65-year-old employee at Nicola's Donut Shop thought the young man who entered the store at 6:20 a.m. Sunday could not speak and wanted a cup of coffee, Tampa police said.

Instead, he pointed at the counter and told Hillsborough County resident Fannie Limoges, "Open the register, open the register." He kept his right hand in his pocket, implying he had a weapon.

After taking $140 in cash he fled east on Busch Boulevard. The suspect is described as a white man in his 20s, 120 to 130 pounds with black hair -- possibly a receding hairline. He was wearing tan or gray pants and a gray shirt with vertical stripes.

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