Published Oct. 30, 1996|Updated Sept. 16, 2005
Authorities have arrested a suspect in the Oct. 20 shooting of a man in the parking lot of co*cktails Bar and charged him with attempted murder.
Lorin Maurice "Scoop" Morgan, 27, was arrested by Brooksville police Sunday afternoon on a Pasco County warrant. Pasco sheriff's spokesman Jon Powers said the lead detective on the case, Allen Proctor, learned after Morgan could not be found in Dade City that he might have been staying with friends or relatives in Brooksville.
Proctor gave Brooksville police two addresses about noon, and officers arrested him about 1:15 p.m., Powers said. Morgan was being held without bail Tuesday at the Hernando County Jail.
The victim, James Earl Sampson Jr., 23, remained in guarded condition at St. Joseph's Hospital in Tampa, recovering from gunshot wounds in the chest, neck and abdomen. Sampson identified Morgan from a series of photographs as the person who shot him, Powers said. Another witness also identified Morgan as the person who fired the shots.
co*cktails Bar, formerly known as the Cow Palace, has been the site of other violent incidents over the years. It took some time for any witness to come forward, Powers said.
Neighbor arrested in break-in
and assault on two youths
ZEPHYRHILLS _ A 38-year-old man was arrested Monday and accused of breaking into a neighbor's home and battering two boys inside because he thought they had stolen his son's compact disc.
Brian Curtis Wansor of Transue Drive was charged with residential burglary and two counts of child abuse, according to a Pasco County Sheriff's Office report. He was booked into the county jail in Land O'Lakes in lieu of $20,000 bail.
Neither of the boys, a 12-year-old and a 15-year-old, was seriously injured in the attack.
The incident happened about 5:45 p.m. Monday, according to the deputy's report: Wansor entered the mobile home, uninvited, and confronted the two boys. "While (the older boy) was drinking from a cup, (Wansor) punched the cup, causing it to hit (him) in the mouth," the report states.
The younger boy ran to his father's bedroom, got out a .22-caliber rifle, and ordered Wansor to leave. Wansor "grabbed the rifle, and hit him in the mouth with the scope," the deputy wrote. Wansor then "pinned (the boy) against the wall, by placing the rifle across his throat."
Wansor left the home with the rifle and the compact disc, the report states. The 12-year-old paged his father, who came home and fought with Wansor in the street briefly. Wansor later was arrested at his home.
Man sought after Dade City store
on U.S. 301 is robbed
DADE CITY _ Police are looking for a man who robbed the Dollar General Store on U.S. 301 about 6:30 p.m. Monday.
The man entered the store and started to pay for merchandise. As a clerk opened the cash register, the man said he had a gun, announced a robbery and stole an undetermined amount of money, police Chief Phil Thompson said.
No gun was displayed, and no one was injured.
The man fled east. He was described as black, about 5 feet 8, 130 to 140 pounds. He was wearing a cotton pullover and a short-sleeve shirt with broad green, gold and brown stripes. He also wore black denim pants and black tennis shoes.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Dade City Police Department at 521-5604.
Day care worker arrested, jailed,
in violation of marijuana probation
NEW PORT RICHEY _ A teacher's aide at a local day care center was arrested there Monday and accused of violating her probation on an earlier marijuana charge, according to Sheriff's Office reports.
Angela Christina Eaton, 26, of Montana Avenue was being held Tuesday at the county jail in Land O'Lakes in lieu of $5,000 bail.
"She is no longer employed here," said Etta Gelmi, owner of Baby Care Day Care on Evans Avenue. Eaton worked there for about a month, Gelmi said.
The woman first had been arrested June 28 and charged with misdemeanor marijuana possession. On Aug. 9, she pleaded no contest and judgment was withheld before trial.
She was ordered to serve six months' probation, undergo drug evaluation and counseling, and submit to three random drug tests, according to court records.
An affidavit was filed Thursday, charging that Eaton had violated her probation. The nature of that violation could not be determined Tuesday.
Man arrested in New Port Richey
on Virginia manslaughter warrant
NEW PORT RICHEY _ A Virginia man was arrested early Monday on a warrant charging him with manslaughter after two April boating deaths in Chesapeake, Va.
Patrick Ronald Cassidy, 41, was charged as a fugitive from justice, according to a Pasco County Sheriff's Office report. He was being held without bail Tuesday at the county jail in Land O'Lakes, and Virginia authorities expect to return him to their state for trial.
Cassidy, who listed his occupation as a tree surgeon with a Pasco tree service, was arrested about 3:35 a.m. Monday at an address on Poppy Street. Whether he was living there at the time, or how long he had been in Florida, could not be determined Tuesday.
According to articles published in the Virginian-Pilot newspaper, Cassidy was injured in an April 13 accident that killed a woman when the boat they were in smashed into a tugboat. The woman's husband was badly hurt and died the next day.
Four youths rob taxicab driver
at gunpoint, sheriff's office says
DADE CITY _ A taxicab driver was robbed in his cab at gunpoint about 10:15 p.m. Monday by four boys, ages 10 to 14, according to Sheriff's Office reports.
The driver for Paradise Taxi was waiting for a fare near Dixie Drive and Center Street when the boys got into his cab, wrote Deputy Chris Starnes in his report. One boy, 12 or 13 years old, "pulled out a .22-caliber or .25-caliber handgun automatic," Starnes wrote.
The boy demanded money from the driver, and the driver gave him an undisclosed amount of cash. "The four suspects got out of the taxi and fled on foot north on Center Street, heading toward Wilson," the deputy wrote.
Only the boy with the gun could be described in any detail: He is black, about 5 feet 6, 145 pounds, and was wearing a black or navy blue ski mask, light blue knee-length jean shorts and a white T-shirt.
