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Tampa Bay briefsBy Times staff writers © St. Petersburg Times, published August 24, 2000 Woman accused of taking $140,000TAMPA -- In just under eight months, a Brandon woman embezzled about $140,000 from her employer before getting caught, officials said Wednesday. Tamelia Ann Hon, 42, was arrested Wednesday morning and charged with third-degree grand theft and organized fraud. Detectives said Hon, an office manager in Gagel's Auto Parts store at 6071 S 78th St., prepared the daily bank deposits for the office. Since January, officials said, Hon took cash out of the bank deposits for her own use about 40 times. Hon was arrested at her home at 7710 Lithia-Pinecrest Road. She was held in Hillsborough County jail in lieu of $20,000 bail. Manatee sheriff has artery unblockedManatee County Sheriff Charlie Wells underwent an angioplasty and received a coronary stent Wednesday after tests revealed blockage in an artery leading to his heart. A doctor at Manatee Memorial Hospital did the procedure in the artery to keep it from becoming clogged. Wells went to the hospital Tuesday. He had been complaining of shortness of breath and fatigue while exercising. He is expected to be released from the hospital today and return to normal activities in two to four weeks. 390 chow down for Olympian's familyBROOKSVILLE -- It's not unusual to leave a buffet surprised at how much you were able to take in. Such was the case Monday night at the Golden Corral restaurant on U.S. 41, which saw 390 people buy tickets for a buffet dinner to help raise money for the family of Brooksville's John Capel, who will be running the 200 meters in the Olympics in Sydney, Australia, next month. The $6,115 raised from the buffet brings the total raised for the family to more than $29,000. The dinner closed a remarkable week of fundraising that garnered enough to send a third family member to Australia along with the Rev. John Capel Sr. and his wife, Virginia. "We very much appreciate everyone that came out and supported us," Capel said Wednesday. He added that he and his wife might be joined by Capel's 33-year-old brother, Tony, who lives in Bushnell. Capel's longtime girlfriend, Sandy Bullock, will not make the trip because the couple's daughter, Janya, will be younger than 2 months when the family leaves for Australia on Sept. 21. They can do so because of the kindness of people from around the Tampa Bay area -- country music radio station WRBQ-FM 104.7 held a donation drive from listeners last week that resulted in $14,000 for the Capels. County businesses donated more than $8,000 more. Sheriff in hospital after heart treatmentManatee County Sheriff Charlie Wells underwent an angioplasty and received a coronary stent Wednesday after tests revealed blockage in an artery leading to his heart. A doctor at Manatee Memorial Hospital did the procedure. Wells went to the hospital Tuesday. He is expected to be released from the hospital today. Teacher files suit against school to get job backVeronica Williams, who was not offered another contract to teach math at Gibbs High School, has filed a federal lawsuit against the Pinellas County School District. Williams, also known as Amina Camara, says in the lawsuit that she thinks her contract was not renewed because she stood up for a black student who was slapped by a white teacher in 1998, fought for an all-black charter school and criticized the district for not educating black students. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Tampa, alleges that Williams' First Amendment rights to free speech have been violated. She wants her job back, but also is seeking back pay, lost benefits, compensatory damages and legal fees. Gibbs High School principal Barbara Shorter did not give Williams a reason for not renewing her contract. By law, district officials have said, they do not have to give a reason for teachers with annual contracts who are still considered on probation.
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