St. Petersburg man convicted of manslaughter in death of wife

ST. PETERSBURG — A jury convicted Albert F. Crandall of manslaughter Thursday in the death of his ailing wife after a two-day trial.

Crandall was arrested last year after he told medical personnel that he smothered his wife Judith Davis, 61, with a pillow. He also slashed his wrists, but survived with minor injuries. He left a suicide note.

After he sent an email to his sister in April 2012 hinting at suicide, police were called to the couple's apartment 661 77th Ave. N. in St. Petersburg. Davis was found dead, lying in bed. Crandall was beside her, with cuts on his wrists which were not bleeding at the time....

District 4 council candidates staying busy

ST. PETERSBURG -- Candidates in the St. Petersburg District 4 City Council race have been busy – with fundraisers, endorsements and a news conference.
   St. Petersburg neurosurgeon David McKalip held a news conference near the Pier on Wednesday to discuss his proposal for redeveloping the St. Petersburg icon.
   Instead of proceeding with the proposed replacement called the Lens, which he described as “a glorified sidewalk that no one wants,” he suggested opening the process to a private developer. A private business would build a new Pier on its own, without government financing. Options might include a hotel, an entertainment complex, sports facilities, TV studios or some other venture, he said.
   The privately financed plan would then go to voters for approval.
   McKalip said the Chelsea Piers in Manhattan was developed this way, to great acclaim. And even though it went over budget, it was private developers, not the city, that paid the bills, he said.
   With this plan, he said, the city gets a nice new attraction and taxpayers would be off the hook. Also Wednesday, McKalip went to have a fundraiser – at the Pier.
    Also this week, Darden Rice gave the City Clerk’s office more than 500 petitions signed by residents of District 4 as a way of qualifying for office. She’s the only candidate in the district who did so by Tuesday’s deadline. The other candidates must pay a qualify fee of $150.
   Rice said it was important to her to gather the petitions because it shows her campaign as a solid grass-roots organization. “We wanted to walk the streets, talk to voters directly,” she said.
   She also received the endorsement of the Suncoast PBA, which she called an important show of support.
   “Ensuring the public's safety and working collaboratively with our city's police force is one of the Council's top responsibilities and we have to get it right,” Rice said in a news release.
   Meanwhile candidate Carolyn Fries, who describes herself as a “technology entrepreneur and community leader,”  has scheduled a fundraiser for 6 p.m. Wednesday at Doyle Wealth Management, 333 Third Ave. N., suite 300. Attendees are asked to RSVP to (727) 898-3063 and to make a contribution of $25 to $500.
    Host committee members are: Hope Botterbusch, Robert and Jillian Doyle, Dr. John Harrison, Chris Kelly, William R. Lane Jr., Daniel James Scott....

St. Petersburg man guilty of manslaughter for shooting his pregnant girlfriend

LARGO — After three hours of deliberation, jurors found a St. Petersburg man guilty of manslaughter Thursday in the shooting death of his pregnant girlfriend.

"I thank God they made the right decision," said Derrick Pollock, whose daughter Anastasia Boyd was 24 when she was killed.

Her mother Carolyn Boyd followed a judge's instructions to remain silent as the verdict was read, but she could not restrain herself from pumping both fists overhead. Wearing a T-shirt that commemorated her daughter's "2nd Birthday in Heaven," she later said, "Justice was served. I got justice."...

St. Petersburg man on trial in shooting of pregnant girlfriend

LARGO — Larry Jay Reed did something as a joke that did not turn out to be remotely funny, prosecutors said in a trial Tuesday.

Reed pulled out a loaded, chrome .32-caliber handgun and aimed it at the head of his pregnant girlfriend, Anastasia Boyd, while she was talking on the telephone, prosecutors said. She told Reed to get away.

The gun did not go off — that time. But some 20 minutes later, the gun was fired into Boyd's chest, killing her, said Assistant State Attorney Christie Ellis....

St. Petersburg killer pleads guilty to two murders

In a life-or-death gamble, a killer came to court Monday and pleaded guilty to two charges of first-degree murder — even though it might get him sentenced to death.

Khadafy Mullens, 29, has now admitted he killed a St. Petersburg convenience store owner and a customer, and also that he tried to kill another customer. The grisly 2008 shootings were captured on high-quality surveillance video at the Central Food Mart, 2157 Central Ave. ...

Carolyn Fries to run for St. Petersburg City Council, District 4

ST. PETERSBURG — Carolyn Fries has announced her candidacy for the District 4 City Council seat, which already has two candidates in the race.

Fries, 45, a past Crescent Lake Neighborhood Association president, will be running against civic activist Darden Rice and neurosurgeon Dr. David McKalip,

They will be seek election to the seat being vacated by councilwoman Leslie Curran, who cannot run for re-election because of term limits....