CRIME & SAFETY

Cops in California have nabbed a fugitive who managed to avoid capture for nearly 40 years in connection with a murder on the other side of the country. Authorities arrested Donald Michael Santini in connection with the 1984 killing of Cynthia Ruth, a 33-year-old woman whose body was found in a watery ditch after she’d been strangled in Florida. After police in the state got a warrant to arrest Santini for his alleged involvement in the killing, he fled—and he didn’t turn up again until Wednesday. After California authorities took him into custody, police from Florida traveled to San Diego to interview the captured Santini. “This arrest allows us to reexamine evidence collected in 1984 using the technology of today, as the case is now considered open once again,” a spokesperson for the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.Read it at Tampa Bay Times

A homicide investigation is underway after a man was found dead in a car near Sterling Heights Park in Thonotosassa on Sunday afternoon.

A 31-year-old Tampa man was killed Friday in a two-vehicle accident on Interstate 75 at State Road 64. At approximately 9:10 a.m., a pickup truck driven by the Tampa man swerved from the southbound interstate lane to the exit ramp for S.R. 64. The truck hit the guardrail separating the interstate lanes from the exit lane and overturned.

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A death investigation is underway in Tampa after police said a man was possibly struck by a train. The Tampa Police Department said it is conducting a death investigation at Waters Avenue near Rowlett Park. Officers said it appears the man was struck and killed...

TAMPA — Joshua Sutphin was a son, a grandson, a brother. He liked to fish and hunt. He had an 8-year-old daughter named Alexis. He was engaged to be married and had plans to move to West Virginia to help his grandmother care for his ailing grandfather. On July...

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. (WSVN) – A Florida mother is speaking out about the terrifying moments when she and her five children were trapped inside their SUV after they were involved in a rollover wreck. Mindy Bosshart said she is grateful to be sharing her story after she and her...

This video is either unavailable or not supported in this browser. No compatible source was found for this media. Session ID: 2023-06-10:6c6a9160e03ecf3d571935b6 Player Element ID: 6329109775112. A family was rescued from a rollover crash, and the frightening aftermath was caught on body camera video by a responding sergeant. Five children...

  RIVERVIEW, Fla. – The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office is seeking the public’s help locating...

A Florida man had to undergo emergency surgery to address a potentially deadly flesh-eating bacterial infection which developed as a result of him being bitten by a relative, according to a report. Donnie Adams, 52, of Riverview, first developed a small, painful bump on his left thigh two days after he’d been bitten as he attempted to intervene in a tussle between two of his family members. In February, Adams was barely able to walk and had to be taken to the hospital for emergency surgery, where surgeons had to cut out around 70 percent of Adams’ thigh to save his leg, and possibly his life. Doctors at HCA Florida Northside Hospital say they’d never before seen a case of the flesh-eating bacteria—known as necrotizing fasciitis—caused by a human bite. Speaking of the relatives involved in the fracas he broke up, Adams said: “The parties involved are very sorrowful.” Read it at Orlando Sentinel

LITHIA, Fla. (WFLA) — Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister wants parents to know he and his deputies have your children’s safety on the top of their minds. “We are ready and we are prepared,” Chronister said. Hillsborough County School resource deputies are continuing their intense training on how to deal with active shooters. “We want […]

Robert DuBoise is innocent, but that fact would not come to light until he wrongfully served 37 years behind bars, three of those on death row.

A Hillsborough County deputy and good Samaritans jumped into action to help rescue a mother and five children after a crash on Tuesday.

A 31-year-old woman from Tampa died Friday morning from the impact of a severe traffic accident on Interstate 75. The woman was driving a Ram work truck on the outside southbound lane of I-75 at about 9:10 a.m. on Monday morning when she attempted to change lanes to the State Road 64 exit ramp last second. Her vehicle struck the guardrail separating the interstate travel lanes and the off-ramp travel lanes head-on and overturned, according to Florida Highway Patrol.

The Bradenton Police Department is still looking for the shooter.

The TikToker imitated Steve Irwin.

A Tampa jury is now weighing whether Jason Hartness is a machete-wielding killer or a man who was simply defending his life. Prosecutors said he stabbed a man to death for no reason two years ago, but the defense claimed it was self-defense.

After about 5 hours of deliberation a Hillsborough County jury found Adam Montgomery guilty on six felony weapons charges yesterday. Montgomery showed no emotion when the verdict was read. The two counts of being an armed career criminal carry a minimum sentence of 10 years in prison. Montgomery will be sentenced in about five weeks. He has separately been charged with killing his daughter, Harmony Montgomery – that trial is expected to begin in late November.

The wife of a Tarpon Springs Police Officer made an emotional tribute to him for First Responder Friday this week. Christina told us about her husband, Blake. Blake has been a police officer for almost a year. Before that, he was in the military as a reservist in the Air Force.

MANATEE COUNTY, Fla. — A 31-year-old Tampa man died after his pickup truck collided with an interstate guardrail and overturned on its roof in Manatee County. According to the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP), the crash happened Friday morning around 9:10 on I-75 near State Road 64. The man was...

A McDonald's employee, and formerly registered sex offender, was arrested Monday for alleged sexual harassment against an underage co-worker in Broward County, according to NBC affiliate WTVJ.