The clerk was working behind the counter at Lee's Jewelry Store, 2525 E Hillsborough Ave., at 11 a.m. Tuesday when three men entered, Tampa police spokesman Joe Durkin said.

One of the men pulled a handgun and shot the clerk once in the abdomen, Durkin said. After the shooting, the three men fled in a white, four-door van, possibly a Nissan, driven by a fourth male. Durkin said the men ran before they could get anything from the store.

The four black men wore dark clothing. One wore a red ball cap and another a white T-shirt wrapped around his head like a bandana. They fled east on Hillsborough Avenue.

The clerk was taken to Tampa General Hospital, where she was listed in serious condition.

Tampa police ask anyone with information to call (813) 276-3567.

Woman charged after 43 dogs are found

PLANT CITY -- Deputies found three dead greyhounds and 43 hungry, thirsty dogs in a mobile home Tuesday and charged one woman with abusing the animals.

The investigation started about 2 p.m. Tuesday when Hillsborough sheriff's deputies were called by the Pasco County Sheriff's Office, asking for help on a case of stolen greyhound dogs.

Hillsborough deputies were led to a home at 1012 Keyesville Road in Plant City. No one was home, deputies said.

Officers and Hillsborough Animal Services authorities forced the door open and found three dead dogs inside, said sheriff's Lt. Rod Reder. They also found 43 other dogs of different breeds -- from puppies to adults -- inside.

The dogs had no food or water, Reder said. There was no electricity in the house.

Cassie M. Postlewaite, 30, was charged with three counts of felony cruelty to animals and 43 misdemeanor counts of improper care of animals.

Woman killed after crashing into bus

TAMPA -- A Clearwater woman was killed late Tuesday when her car slammed into the back of a HARTline bus stopped on Hillsborough Avenue, authorities said.

The crash happened shortly before 7 p.m. near the Hillsborough-Pinellas line.

The bus, driven by Arturo Macia, 35, was stopped in the right lane to drop off a passenger, said Sheriff's Lt. Rod Reder.

Jeanette Fakhari of 3274 Beaver Drive in Clearwater drove her 2001 Toyota into the back of the bus, said Reder. She was not wearing a seat belt, he said.

She was taken to St. Joseph's Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

The bus driver was not injured.

Tampa post office is free of anthrax

TAMPA -- Tests conducted last week at the main Tampa post office at Tampa International Airport show the facility to be free of anthrax, officials said.

The Tampa Mail Processing and Distribution Center was cleared by the Florida Department of Health, postal officials said Tuesday. Samples were collected from the facility Nov. 8 and sent to the state lab for testing. Postal officials said the tests were precautionary, and that the Tampa facility was one of 270 postal facilities to be tested across the country.

Shooting victim still in critical condition

ST. PETERSBURG -- A man shot in the Shore Acres neighborhood Monday in what police described as an argument over drugs remained in critical condition in a local hospital Tuesday.

Jeff McGee, 36, was undergoing treatment at Bayfront Medical Center for two gunshot wounds to his upper body.

The man accused of shooting him -- Herbert Wright, a 23-year-old pharmacy technician -- remained in the Pinellas County Jail in lieu of $30,000 bail. Wright is charged with possession of powder cocaine and possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine.

Wright has not been charged in the shooting. Police are investigating whether he shot McGee in self-defense.

McGee was shot Monday afternoon after he came to Wright's door at 4430 Huntington St. NE and pulled a gun on Wright, police said.

Suspect sought in fatal hit-run

TAMPA -- A 64-year-old man was killed as he walked on Causeway Boulevard this weekend, and sheriff's deputies are trying to find the driver who hit him.

Kenneth Gragg of 1701 S 20th St., Tampa, was struck in the head and thrown about 25 feet into a ditch sometime on Saturday night or Sunday morning. He was found Sunday at 7:10 a.m., Hillsborough deputies said.

Gragg was walking west along the north side of Causeway Boulevard, east of 50th Street. Deputies think he was hit by a semitrailer truck, and the vehicle may have damage to the right side mirror.

Anyone with information should call CrimeStoppers at 1-800-873-TIPS or sheriff's deputies at 247-8200.

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