State Attorney honors PCSO Detective Tonya Wright

State Attorney honors PCSO Detective Tonya Wright

In keeping with the tradition set by State Attorney Brian Haas last year, three law enforcement officers were honored at our annual awards ceremony. These exceptional officers were recognized because they have gone above and beyond the call of duty to serve our community this past year.

“We are blessed in the tenth circuit to have many wonderful officers and deputies. Each day and night they put on their uniforms to protect us, not knowing if they’ll ever return home,” State Attorney Haas said. “They investigate cases and do not give up until every lead is pursued and every angle is worked.”

Polk County Sheriff’s Office Detective Tonya Wright was honored for her work on the Lenard Masten case.

Polk County Sheriff’s Office Detective Tonya Wright was honored for her work on the Lenard Masten case. At gunpoint, Masten stole $1,000 from an elderly couple and their son, attempted to destroy their cellphones, and forced them into a small closet. Masten was found guilty of three counts of robbery with a firearm, armed kidnapping, two counts of armed false imprisonment, burglary of a dwelling with an assault while armed with a firearm, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and tampering with a witness and was sentenced to life.

When Bimalkumar Trivedi went home to his elderly parents, Lenard Masten placed a gun against his head and forced his way into their home.

Trivedi’s parents were at the table eating dinner, and Masten took their phones and placed them in the sink under running water. He told Trivedi he needed money while leading him into another room at gunpoint, so Trivedi gave Masten $1,000.

Masten then decided to escort Trivedi and his parents at gunpoint to a closet and force them to lay down. After realizing he may be leaving fingerprints in the residence, Masten picked up a pair of dirty socks and placed them on his hands like gloves.

When Trivedi and his parents wouldn’t all fit in the closet, Masten led them to the garage and then to the bathroom, where he forced them to stand in the shower with the water on as he left the residence. After waiting until he was sure Masten was gone, Trivedi retrieved his phone from the sink – which was still working – and called 911.

Assistant State Attorney Michael Nutter said Detective Tonya Wright did a solid investigation.

Witnesses saw a suspicious Buick near Trivedi’s home the night of the robbery, so Wright used DAVID to pull all registered owners of older model Buicks in Polk County. One of those owners was Masten, who was on probation for robbery.

Wright went to Masten’s job and located the Buick with the damage witnesses saw and items hanging from the rearview matching the witness descriptions.   Wright searched the vehicle, where she found clothing matching the description of the robber and a white athletic sock, which he took from hamper of the house to use as gloves.

Wright pulled Google location history on Masten’s cell phone, which showed that a few weeks before the robbery, Masten followed Trivedi from his business to his home.

Through her questioning of Masten, he confessed.

Nutter said Wright spent a lot of time working with Masten and confronting him with all the evidence before he finally broke down and admitted what he did.

“Without that confession, we would not have been able to prove case,” Nutter said. The victim could not ID the defendant.  And although DNA and fingerprints were taken, nothing of forensic value came back. With the exception of the confession, it was 100 percent a circumstantial case.”

Masten, 26, was found guilty on March 17 of three counts of robbery with a firearm, armed kidnapping, two counts of armed false imprisonment, burglary of a dwelling with an assault while armed with a firearm, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and tampering with a witness. He was previously convicted of aggravated assault and robbery, which he was on probation for when he was arrested June 26, 2015.

Masten was sentenced to life in prison.

State Attorney Brian Haas said this case is a great example of hard work and dedication by a determined law enforcement officer.  It’s because of Detective Tonya Wright that a dangerous felon is now locked up for life.

“Handling big cases is not a rare occurrence for Detective Wright,” Haas said.  “She handles a lot of them, and each time, she approaches the case with the high level of work we have come to know her by.”

State Attorney honors LWPD Detective David Hernandez

State Attorney honors LWPD Detective David Hernandez

In keeping with the tradition set by State Attorney Brian Haas last year, three law enforcement officers were honored at our annual awards ceremony. These exceptional officers were recognized because they have gone above and beyond the call of duty to serve our community this past year.

“We are blessed in the tenth circuit to have many wonderful officers and deputies. Each day and night they put on their uniforms to protect us, not knowing if they’ll ever return home,” State Attorney Haas said. “They investigate cases and do not give up until every lead is pursued and every angle is worked.”

Lake Wales Police Department Detective David Hernandez was honored for his work on the Willie Watson case.

 

Lake Wales Police Department Detective David Hernandez was honored for his work on the Willie Watson case. Watson fired multiple rounds into a McDonald’s ceiling, demanded employees hand over money, and prevented terrified customers from leaving. Watson was found guilty of attempted armed robbery with a firearm, shooting into a building and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

On a peaceful Sunday morning in Lake Wales, on January 8, 2017, Willie Watson, III, brought terror to the local residents enjoying breakfast at McDonalds. Watson decided he would commit an armed robbery at McDonalds by running in, raising a gun over his head, and firing a shot into the ceiling.

He yelled commands to the employees to hand over money and prevented terrified customers from leaving.  Watson then fled the scene.

“Thankfully, Detective David Hernandez was on this case and was determined to track down the person responsible for this crime,” said State Attorney Brian Haas.

Hernandez quickly took action to secure all evidence and take crime scene photos himself.

He recovered surveillance footage of Watson exiting a minivan outside the McDonald’s wearing a dark colored hoodie and a red bandana covering his face. He was also wearing black gloves and was holding a black firearm.

A gunshot residue test was conducted on Watson after he was arrested, and residue particles were found on his hands.

A single black glove was left at the scene, and the DNA on it was a match for Watson. A shell casing was also located at the scene.

When Hernandez searched the minivan Watson was seen exiting on the surveillance footage, he found a firearm. It was a match for the casing.

Assistant State Attorney Mikaela Perry credited Hernandez’s quick and thorough actions with solving this case.

At the jury trial, Watson was convicted of attempted armed robbery with a firearm, shooting into a building, and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He was sentenced to 20 years in Florida State Prison.

State Attorney honors LPD Detective Timothy McDonald

State Attorney honors LPD Detective Timothy McDonald

In keeping with the tradition set by State Attorney Brian Haas last year, three law enforcement officers were honored at our annual awards ceremony. These exceptional officers were recognized because they have gone above and beyond the call of duty to serve our community this past year.

“We are blessed in the tenth circuit to have many wonderful officers and deputies. Each day and night they put on their uniforms to protect us, not knowing if they’ll ever return home,” State Attorney Haas said. “They investigate cases and do not give up until every lead is pursued and every angle is worked.”

Lakeland Police Department Detective Timothy McDonald was honored for his work on the Tyrone Laster case.

Lakeland Police Department Detective Timothy McDonald was honored for his work on the Tyrone Laster case. Laster shot his friend in the head over a drug deal with a $20 discrepancy, costing the victim use of his arms and legs. Laster was found guilty of attempted second-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison.

When law enforcement found Chauncey Rollins, he was lying in a pool of his own blood.

He’d been shot in the back of the head and was mumbling incoherently. There was a spent shell casing on the ground next to him.

A Lakeland Police officer crouched down next to Rollins and asked who shot him: “Tye. Tye shot me.”

Following the shooting, Rollins was in a coma for two months. As a result of his injuries, he lost the use of his arms and legs and is confined to a wheelchair.

The bullet is still lodged in his head.

The two were known to deal drugs from a drug house Laster ran, where Rollins would frequently deliver the drugs and return the profits to the house. Rollins was late bringing the latest payment to Laster because he was $20 short on the agreed price, so the two planned to meet at the drug house the evening of June 10, 2015, to square up.

Rollins received a few angry phone calls from Laster earlier in the day, where Laster threatened him. Rollins told jurors he didn’t take the threats seriously because the two were good friends.

But when Rollins arrived at the house, Laster was angry. They talked for a few minutes, and Rollins said he wasn’t afraid until Laster left the room and returned with a gun, pointing it at him.

Rollins told jurors during trial. “I didn’t think he would shoot. I thought he was going to calm down, and the next thing I know I was shot.”

When the investigation began, all detectives had was Rollins’ dying declaration that Tye shot him.

Assistant State Attorney Michael Nutter said that a lot of witnesses started pointing to leads that would never pan out, so that’s when Detective Timothy McDonald started hitting the streets to gather intel.

McDonald learned that a woman by the name of Angela Walker was a key witness to the shooting. After five days of countless interviews to figure out where Angela was and who Tye was, McDonald found her.

Walker also identified Laster as the shooter from a photo pack.

McDonald interviewed Laster, who claimed he was at Burger King in Plant City at the time of the attempted murder. But McDonald tracked down security footage to disprove Laster’s alibi, forcing him to go with an accidental discharge defense.

Nutter said that when Rollins woke up from his coma, he did not have any memory of the shooting.

“Without tracking witnesses down, we would not have had a case or known what happened,” Nutter said. “None of these people were particularly cooperative, but McDonald did a lot of hard work tracking down witnesses and getting them to talk.”

The first time this case was tried, the jury was hung. Nutter said McDonald did an excellent job testifying at both trials.

A jury found 43-year-old Tyrone Laster guilty of attempted second-degree murder. Jurors also found that during the commission of the offense Laster was in actual possession of a firearm, and he discharged the firearm, resulting in great bodily harm to Chauncey Rollins.

He was sentenced to life.

“Some may say that violence between drug dealers doesn’t matter, but that’s just not the way it is,” Haas said. “If Laster would shoot Rollins, he would shoot any of us or any other citizen.”

Haas said that Detective McDonald showed an amazing amount of determination in solving this crime. Others may have given up, but he did not.

Without his hard work and dedication, Haas said, this crime would not have been solved, and this dangerous violent felon would still be out on our streets.

“This case is not an exception for McDonald, it fits with the reputation he has earned during his career serving our citizens,” Haas said. “Timothy McDonald is a role model for other officers and for all of us.”

 

State Attorney seeking death against Highlands man who murdered deputy

State Attorney seeking death against Highlands man who murdered deputy

Joseph Ables.

A Highlands County Grand Jury indicted Joseph Ables, 69, of Lake Placid, Tuesday on charges of first-degree murder of a law enforcement officer and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

Ables was arrested May 6 and was charged with the fatal shooting of Highlands County Deputy William J. Gentry two days later.

Following today’s indictment, Tenth Circuit State Attorney Brian Haas announced he will be seeking the death penalty against Ables.