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Highlands Today

HIGHLANDS COUNTY COURT BRIEFS

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By Gary Pinnell | Highlands Today

Published: May 23, 2008

T.K. Hill Trial Put Off
SEBRING — The trial date has been continued again for former Avon Park High School quarterback Travis "T.K." Hill, 18, who has been charged with DUI vehicular homicide.

"Because there are so many complicated issues in this case, it's way too soon to tell when a trial will take place," Hill's attorney, Richard S. Pipkin said last year. "There are a number of things we have to take into account before we'll be ready – things like blood alcohol analysis and expert witnesses."

Hill was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs and negligent vehicular manslaughter after the Dec. 30, 2006 death of Kristin Marie Dessingue, 16, of Coconut Creek. She was a passenger in Hill's pickup truck when he lost control while traveling north on County Road 621. The Ford flipped several times, and both Hill and Dessingue were ejected.

Hill sustained neck and back injuries, while another passenger, Jake R. Dressel, 18, had minor injuries.
At the hospital where Hill was taken, a blood alcohol sample registered .179. The legal limit for a person 21 or older is .08. Florida Highway Patrol officers located 47 cans beer around the accident scene.

Hill was the starting quarterback in his junior and senior seasons. He is out of jail on a $102,000 bond.

Landfill Baby'sMother Sentenced
SEBRING — Silvia Zanchez, 24, of Lake Placid, has been found guilty to identity theft and unauthorized possession of an identification card, said Assistant State's Attorney Steve Houchin.

She is also charged with child abuse and the first degree murder in the death of her infant daughter. A roommate reported Zanchez delivered the baby in her bedroom on the night of Nov. 22, 2007. But Zanchez disposed of sheets and bedding that were collected by the garbage truck on Nov. 23. Zanchez later admitted to delivering a live infant, which was later placed in a bag.

At Highlands County Landfill, cadaver-detecting dogs and law enforcement officers from several counties searched through garbage for days before finally recovering the girl's body.

Zanchez was employed by Lake County Farms in Lake Placid at the time of her initial arrest. She provided a Social Security card and Residential Alien Card to her employer as identification. Detectives learned through investigation that the Social Security number she provided was assigned to another person and the Residential Alien Card was fraudulent.

Pope's Murderer Convicted
SEBRING — Albert Stevens, who was charged with the Dec. 5, 2005 murder of Quinton Pope, last week entered a guilty plea to second degree murder in Polk County and was sentenced to 30 years.

Pope struggled with an armed robber who had stolen from a group of people he stood with in Highway Park, and a gunshot killed him.

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