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Girlfriend accused in shooting

By Rodney Thrash and Casey Cora, Times Staff Writers
In print: Thursday, August 14, 2008

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TAMPA — When 23-year-old Henry Chriss III arranged to meet his little tenderoni last month, he thought he was going to collect a $150 debt.

Holly Ann Courcelle, a self-employed stripper, had another kind of payback in mind. And it had nothing to do with cash or lap dances.

According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, Courcelle wanted her boyfriend gone.

Dead.

Kaput.

Deputies say the 18-year-old woman confessed as much on Tuesday after being arrested and hauled her off to the Orient Road Jail on an attempted first-degree murder charge.

A criminal arrest affidavit tells the rest of the story:

On July 6, Courcelle called Chriss 20 times "in attempt to arrange a location to meet the victim for the purpose of killing him." They agreed to catch up at Sligh Avenue, east of Harney Road.

Once there, an unidentified gunman fired 13 to 15 rounds into the boyfriend's 1999 Ford Explorer. The gunman has not been caught.

Chriss of Lakeland was hit in the left hip and spinal column, the affidavit says. He was taken to St. Joseph's Hospital.

Chriss' condition was unknown Wednesday, sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter said. But he was alive.

Florida Department of Law Enforcement records show he has been arrested nine times since August 2005, and is on probation until May.

He was arrested June 24 on one felony count of possession of cannabis, one misdemeanor count of possession of drug paraphernalia and one misdemeanor count of driving with a canceled, suspended or revoked license. Jail records show he was released from jail six days later.

It is unclear what led to Courcelle's arrest at her residence, 5413 U.S. 92 W in Plant City, at 1 p.m. Tuesday. Prior to this, she had no criminal record.

On a Web site she maintains on iamonmtv.com, she describes herself as "kinda short" and says she loves "to party and have a good time." Under favorite shows, she typed this: a shot at love 1 and 2.

Times researcher John Martin contributed to this report.