TAMPA - A 25-year-old man illegally went to his former girlfriend's home, pulled a gun on her husband and fired one shot, killing him as he made a 911 call asking for help, a jury determined today. ...more

May 22, 2008

SEBRING — A St. Petersburg woman was sentenced Monday afternoon to three and a half years in prison for attempting to pass counterfeit checks at area businesses last fall. Jessica Elena Garcia, 22, who entered a guilty plea last May to charges of grand theft, possession of counterfeit payment instruments and forgery, received the three-year sentence after prosecutors told Judge Peter Estrada that she was willing to cooperate with them if her co-defendant's case would've gone to trial. Michael Anthony Rosales, of Zolfo Springs, and Garcia were arrested last November after Sebring Police Cpl. Vivian Buck questioned them. Rosales allegedly supplied Garcia with a counterfeit check for $465 to cash at L & M Food Store, located at 1411 Roseland Ave. Garcia was previously in prison on grand theft and burglary charges in Hardee County, and had only been free for 28 days before her arrest with Rosales. Because of parole violations following her Sebring arrest, Garcia received a 44-month prison sentence in Hardee, which Estrada used to sentence her consecutively for the bogus check charges. Because of Garcia's willingness to cooperate with state attorneys, Rosales entered a guilty plea last week at the Highlands County Courthouse and received a 10-year prison sentence from Estrada. ...more

October 30, 2007