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    Tampa Bay briefs

    By Times staff reports

    © St. Petersburg Times,
    published November 7, 2001


    Car is handed over in fatal hit-and-run

    SEMINOLE -- Pinellas County sheriff's officials say a driver who apparently struck and killed radio announcer Carl Metcalf on Monday has contacted them through her attorney and has turned over her car to investigators.

    Detectives have examined the vehicle for evidence and are scheduled to interview the woman today. Little other information was available Tuesday.

    "When we interview her, we'll have more details," said sheriff's spokesman Cal Dennie.

    Metcalf, 56, hosted a morning show on WKES-FM 91.1, a Christian radio station. He was riding his bicycle to work early Monday when he was killed in what deputies described as a hit-and-run accident. His body was found at 4:45 a.m. on 113th Street just south of 102nd Avenue N.

    Deputies had no leads in the case. But on Tuesday an attorney called and directed investigators to a 1999 Mitsubishi Eclipse parked in Seminole.

    The attorney, whose name was not revealed, said the Eclipse had been involved in the accident. Dennie said the attorney indicated that his client, a woman, had been behind the wheel of the car. Officials did not release her name.

    Colombians sentenced in record cocaine seizure

    TAMPA -- Two Colombian sailors convicted in June of smuggling cocaine have received lengthy prison sentences.

    U.S. District Judge Steven Merryday sentenced the boat's captain, Hemino Ruiz Ibardo, on Tuesday to almost 25 years in federal prison.

    A day earlier, the judge sentenced crewman Angel Avila Quinones to 30 years. U.S. Coast Guard and Navy personnel intercepted the Rebelde on Feb. 16, 2000, in the eastern Pacific off the coast of South America. They seized more than five tons of cocaine from a sealed compartment on the boat.

    At trial, five other men arrested with Quinones and Ibardo were found not guilty.

    The Rebelde seizure was one of the largest in U.S. history and one in a series of similar cases that ended up in federal court in Tampa.

    Guard personnel to stand watch at Tampa port

    TAMPA -- Florida National Guard soldiers should arrive Friday at the Port of Tampa for a mission that is similar to the Guard's presence at airports across the nation, officials said Tuesday.

    Soldiers will be stationed around the clock at entryways and in roving patrols to offer security at the sprawling 2,400-acre port.

    About 335 soldiers will be stationed at four Florida ports and two nuclear power plants.The soldiers at Tampa's port will be mostly from the 3rd Battalion of the 265th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, based in Sarasota.

    Public hearing on voting laws planned

    A public hearing on the state's new election laws will begin at 5 p.m. Thursday at the Tampa Port Authority building, 1101 Channelside Drive in Tampa.

    Officials at the State Division of Elections want to hear from voters with comments on the new law that bans the use of punch card voting machines and establishes standards for counting votes and determining voter intent.

    Public invited to learn about Islam

    TAMPA -- The Islamic Society of Tampa Bay Area will host an open house from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday to discuss the basic tenets of Islam.

    The public is invited to the mosque at 7326 E Sligh Ave.

    Saturday's event is intended to "get rid of misconceptions about Islam," said Imam Zia Sheikh, who is organizing the effort.

    For information, call (813) 628-0007.

    Woman killed in domestic disturbance in Plant City

    PLANT CITY -- A woman was shot and killed during a domestic dispute in a mobile home Tuesday night, authorities said.

    Hillsborough County sheriff's deputies were called to 616 E Hunter Road in Plant City shortly after 9 p.m. According to sheriff's spokesman Rod Reder, as deputies arrived at the home, they heard two gunshots and saw two flashes of light inside the home.

    Shortly afterward, Reder said, a man walked out of the home and turned himself over to deputies. The man's name was not released.

    A 42-year-old woman was killed, Reder said. Her relatives had not been notified of her death, and deputies were not releasing her name.

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