Dexter Alonzo Levingston, 25, was arrested last month after he barricaded himself in the house at 4217 Lakewood Drive with a gun. Sheriff's deputies had to fire tear gas to get him to give up. Once inside, they found the bodies of five people, including Levingston's grandmother. They appeared to have been killed methodically. Three of the bodies were in the garage, and two were in the home. The grand jury met until late Wednesday, but the indictments did not become official until Thursday. If found guilty, Levingston could face the death penalty.

Bayway bridge stuck up for two hours

ST. PETERSBURG -- The Pinellas Bayway bridge leading to Tierra Verde was stuck in the up position for more than two hours Thursday night, stranding hundreds of drivers trying to get off the island.

The bridge is Tierra Verde's only connection to the mainland.

The bridge malfunctioned shortly before 8 p.m., according to the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office. The Florida Department of Transportation sent a repair crew, but workers were not able to get the bridge to go down until about 10:10 p.m.

Traffic backed up on Tierra Verde, with several witnesses estimating that hundreds of vehicles were waiting.

Tot in critical condition after nearly drowning

VALRICO -- A 2-year-old girl nearly drowned Thursday morning in her back yard, officials said.

Peggy Asbury found her daughter, Chantell, floating in her family's swimming pool about 8:30 a.m. The little girl was not breathing. Deputies went to the home at 504 Elna Drive and performed CPR until an ambulance arrived.

Chantell was taken to Tampa General Hospital, where she was in critical condition late Thursday night.

SPJC plans to build job-training center

St. Petersburg Junior College has announced plans to build a $22-million job-training center in mid Pinellas County.

The school projects that 20,000 students a year will be trained to use the latest computer programs and learn innovative ways to manage employees. They will be taught in a three-story, 80,000-square-foot building scheduled to open across from St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport in 2003.

SPJC has secured $6-million from the state for the building, and the county has tossed in another $8-million from its capital projects budget. The school is hoping it will be able to get the rest of the money, $8-million, from state grants.

Pedestrian struck, killed by car

ST. PETERSBURG -- A woman was hit and killed by a car Thursday night on Dr. M. L. King (Ninth) Street N at 15th Avenue N, police said.

The pedestrian was struck about 8:25 p.m. by a southbound car on Ninth Street, officers said. Her body ended up in the street at least 100 feet from where she had been hit.

Police cordoned off several blocks of Ninth Street for hours while they investigated. The names of the pedestrian and driver were not available.

Wife's suit blames hospital in spouse's death

NEW PORT RICHEY -- The wife of a 46-year-old man who fell to his death at Regional Medical Center Bayonet Point while trying to climb out of a third-story window has sued the hospital, claiming the staff failed to monitor her husband after a hernia operation.

The wrongful death lawsuit, filed this week in Pasco Circuit Court on behalf of the estate of James Davis Jr., asks for a jury trial and more than $15,000 in damages.

Davis, an architect, was admitted to the hospital on June 1, 1998, for a hernia operation. Four days later, he was found dead on the second floor roof.

Police reports said Davis dismantled the window's safety device and was lowering himself down on a bedsheet when he fell about 25 feet.

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