Mason was arrested in April, seven months after Susan Cox, 39, was beaten to death in her apartment at 9606 N 46th St. Mason's fingerprint was found in the apartment, but prosecutors could not establish that the print was left during the killing. They did not have any other substantial evidence. Circuit Judge Daniel Perry agreed with a motion from the Public Defender's Office that the case should be dismissed.

Police seek help in rape case

On Thursday, police were in that neighborhood, passing out fliers with a new composite drawing of the rapist. The fliers, which offer a $1,000 reward for information, also have a photo of the kind of bicycle the rapist is believed to have been riding

Police officers canvassed several blocks around 18th Avenue S and 16th Street, hoping to get some tips.

On Aug. 16, a 14-year-old girl and her 18-year-old friend were filling newspaper boxes with copies of the St. Petersburg Times. A man on a bicycle approached them about 3 a.m., stole their van at gunpoint and took them on a 30-minute ride.

At one point, the gunman stopped the van, raped the girl and began driving again.

When he stopped the van the girl lunged at him and grabbed his gun, which jammed.

The rapist got away. He was a slender, 5-foot-7-inch black man, 16-20 years old. Anyone with information is asked to call St. Petersburg police Detectives Donald Crotty at 893-4093 or Terry McWade at 893-7047.

Man convicted of killing woman

LARGO -- An appeals court gave Michael Milburn a second chance to prove that he was insane when he took a knife and killed his best friend's ex-wife.

Two different juries have now come to the same conclusion: Milburn was a sane and calculating killer during the 1993 attack.

A jury deliberated for about three hours on Thursday before convicting Milburn of first-degree murder for the stabbing death of Anna Carter, whose last act was saving her daughter from Milburn's attack.

Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge Lauren Laughlin immediately sentenced Milburn to life in prison without the possibility of parole for 25 years, the maximum sentence at the time of the attack.

In 1996, another jury convicted Milburn of the same charge and attempted first-degree murder for an attack on Carter's 8-year-old daughter, Tina. An appeals court reversed because of prosecutors' missteps.

Students' autographs lead to vandalism charges

TAMPA -- Eight middle-schoolers learned an important lesson Thursday: when using stolen cans of spray paint to vandalize school property, one should not paint one's name on the property.

Unfortunately for them, the students learned that lesson by being arrested Wednesday and Thursday. The seven girls and one boy, ages 12 to 15, were charged with criminal mischief, burglary and trespassing. Four of them also were charged with burglary and grand theft.

Sheriff's deputies said the group, students at Eisenhower Middle School in Gibsonton, climbed over a chain-link fence at Eastbay High School's football stadium Tuesday night. There, officials said, they broke into a shed and stole several cans of spray paint and golf carts. They sprayed their names on property and then crashed the golf carts into poles, causing $1,200 damage.

The next night, after deputies said the kids realized the spray-painted names linked them to the crime, they broke into the high school again and tried to paint over their names. The cover-up attempt failed. Four students were arrested Wednesday and the remaining four were arrested Thursday after being interviewed by Eisenhower's school resource deputy.

The Times is not naming the students because of their ages.

Pancake restaurant robbed by armed men

TAMPA -- Early morning breakfast at an International House of Pancakes was interrupted Thursday by two armed bandits.

Tampa police said two young men wearing shirts wrapped around their heads burst into the restaurant at 3501 E Busch Blvd. and waved silver-colored handguns. They told the 10 customers and two waitresses to get down on the floor. One of the gunmen took the money from the register and fled with his accomplice, police said.

Witnesses told police the suspects were driving a four-door SUV, possibly a Jeep Cherokee, with a Tampa Bay Buccaneers license tag. No one was injured.

Railroad work complete; Bearss Avenue reopens

LUTZ -- Bearss Avenue, a major commuter route closed last week so workers could replace a railroad crossing, is open again.

The work was completed at 8 p.m. Tuesday, a day and a half early.

"The guys really busted their butts to get it open," said Steve Valdez, Hillsborough County community relations manager.

That meant a section of Bearss east of Nebraska Avenue was closed for five days instead of seven. During the closure, CSX Transportation Inc. replaced its tracks and a section of rubber between them, Valdez said. The 13-year-old equipment had been worn down by up to 60,000 vehicles a day passing over it.

Unload your unwanted weapons at buyback

TAMPA -- Maybe it's grandpa's old rifle, dusty and unused in the back of the closet. Or maybe it's the handgun you bought years ago.

Cease Fire Tampa Bay wants you to gather up unwanted guns and take them to law enforcement substations Saturday in exchange for $50 gift certificates to Beall's or Winn-Dixie stores.

The annual gun buyback started in Hillsborough in 1998 and has grown every year. In 1999, Manatee, Sarasota and Pasco counties joined the effort. This year, Pinellas and Polk counties are following suit.

Call (813) 253-4861 for buyback locations and information. Buyback locations are open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.

Judge questions own jurisdiction in lawsuit

TAMPA -- U.S. District Judge Richard A. Lazzara said in a hearing Thursday that he didn't understand why he was asked to handle a government records lawsuit filed by the St. Petersburg Times and a police officers union, the Pinellas County Police Benevolent Association Inc.

The suit was filed against the city of St. Petersburg. The lawsuit seeks records of an investigation of police Lt. Donnie Williams, who was accused of dealing drugs in 1998.

"Why do I have jurisdiction in this case?" Lazzara asked lawyers for the city and the U.S. Attorney's Office, which is working with city police on a drug investigation.

Lazzara said he wanted to hear the legal reasoning on why government lawyers transferred the case from a state court in Pinellas County last week, shortly before a trial was set to begin. Lazzara said he will accept written argument from both sides and will hold another hearing Sept. 22.

Police find missing woman living in store parking lot

TAMPA -- When police finally found Tammy Jo Martin, she was in the parking lot where she had slept the past nine nights.

"I wasn't hiding," she said. "I was out in the open."

The 42-year-old woman disappeared from a Northdale home on the evening of Sept. 5 and had been missing until Thursday morning. An off-duty police officer saw her outside the 24-hour Wal-Mart at 1505 N Dale Mabry Highway, where she worked as a cashier.

For nine nights, Martin said, she lived in her 1996 Jeep Cherokee with Mimi, her 5-year-old Rottweiler. During the day, they played in a park next to Booker Elementary School in Brandon. She survived on apples, oranges, peanut butter and crackers, stretching the $90 she had to live on until her next paycheck arrived.

Family members say Martin took off because of financial difficulties that forced her to move in with in-laws. Her husband said she did not want to expose her mother-in-law to her dog.

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