Laura C. Morel, Times Staff Writer
Laura joined the Tampa Bay Times in May 2012 as a breaking news reporter working in St. Petersburg and Tampa.
Born and raised in Miami, she previously covered crime and immigration at the Bradenton Herald and has completed internships at the Dallas Morning News, the Miami Herald and the Sun Sentinel.
Phone: (813) 226-3386
Email: lmorel@tampabay.com
Twitter: @LauraCMorel
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Sligh Avenue crash injures driver, kills passenger
05/17/13AccidentsTAMPA — One man died and another is in serious condition after their car slid off Sligh Avenue Friday and crashed into a concrete abutment.
Roland Neale Colley, 63, was driving a Jeep Cherokee west on Sligh Avenue near Interstate 75 and Williams Road at 1:16 p.m. when he lost control of the car as he went around a right-hand curve in the road, Hillsborough County Sheriff's deputies said....
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Black bear darted in Tampa tree and captured
05/17/13 Public SafetyTAMPA — Eloy Perez hadn't noticed the intruder lounging under the oak tree in his back yard.
He let Summer, his golden retriever, out into the yard just before 7 a.m. Friday. She started to bark. Perez peered outside and noticed the source of Summer's fright.
A 300-pound black bear.
Perez ushered Summer inside. He called 911. When deputies arrived at Perez's house at 2817 W Broad St. near Egypt Lake, the bear had rambled up his 30-foot tree....
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Brush fire sets ablaze cars in Riverview junkyard
05/17/13FireRIVERVIEW — Firefighters were battling a brush fire that sparked in a junkyard Friday morning, Hillsborough County Fire Rescue officials said.
The fire, measuring about half an acre, was reported about 6 a.m. at 6050 Jensen Road. The fire set ablaze several cars that are stacked in piles.
Firefighters began to extinguish the flames by 7:30 a.m. Fire Rescue spokeswoman Nacole Revette said the work may take longer because firefighters are dealing with metal....
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Take hurricane evacuation orders seriously
05/17/13HurricanesThe Tampa Bay area has been lucky.
In the past seven years, hurricanes have steered clear of the region. Tropical storms have caused some problems, but widespread catastrophic damage has been averted.
Despite the region's good fortune, emergency officials across Hernando, Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties are preparing for one of their greatest challenges as a hurricane approaches:...
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Al Lopez house moves to Ybor City for new life as museum
05/16/13 Human InterestYBOR CITY — Al Lopez Jr. occasionally drives by his father's old home. The son of local baseball legend Al Lopez has fond memories of the white wood and brick home with pale blue trim.
He grew up there. He played baseball in the front yard with his father, who was always chatty with neighbors.
On Thursday, the son stood in front of the home again, only this time, the house was not at its original location at 1210 E 12th Ave....
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Detectives still investigating death of man found near Brandon storage facility
05/15/13CrimeBRANDON — Detectives were still investigating the suspicious death of a man whose body was discovered near a storage facility Tuesday morning, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said.
Wilkin Mieses Baker, 27, was found at 7:35 a.m. by a landscaping worker on a grassy patch at 707 Providence Road, deputies said. He had sustained upper-body injuries.
Sheriff's Office spokesman Larry McKinnon said Wednesday that detectives determined Baker was killed in the same area where his body was found....
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Tampa man accused of making explosives to be held until trial
05/15/13CrimeTAMPA — A man arrested last week for making explosives in his parents' home will remain in jail until his trial, a Hillsborough County judge ordered Wednesday.
"It's pretty obvious to me that you are a danger to this community," said Judge Walter Heinrich.
James Lee Minyard, 41, was hospitalized May 7 after an explosive he was carrying detonated and blew off part of two fingers on his left hand. Investigators soon discovered Minyard was making the devices at his home at 1212 E Crawford St., where he lives with his parents....
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Sheriff's dive team helps capture suspect who jumped into Tampa lake
05/14/13CrimeTAMPA — Divers were brought in Tuesday afternoon to help capture a burglary suspect who jumped into a lake to escape from deputies, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said.
Deputies responded to a home burglary in progress at 15119 Lake Magdalene Blvd. just before noon. When deputies arrived, one burglar drove off in a car. The other suspect ran and jumped into a lake, deputies said....
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Tampa man says he downloaded child porn, is arrested
05/14/13CrimeTAMPA — A 25-year-old man was arrested Monday after he went to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office and said he had downloaded child pornography, deputies said.
Derek Deen Suarez of Tampa entered the District 3 station and told deputies he had downloaded and sent the videos from his cellphone, an arrest affidavit shows.
Investigators searched the phone's data and found the videos....
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Road reopens after accident fells Tampa Electric pole
05/14/13AccidentsTAMPA — Part of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard was reopened Tuesday morning after it was closed for several hours when a Tampa Electric pole was damaged in a traffic crash, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said.
The crash involved two cars, one of which slammed into the pole on 56th Street, causing it to break and fall onto the intersection, deputies said.
Injuries were reported, but the extent and the number of people hurt was unknown Tuesday morning, deputies said....
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Man found dead outside Brandon storage facility
05/14/13CrimeBRANDON — Detectives are investigating the killing of a 27-year-old man whose body was found outside a storage facility Tuesday morning, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said.
He was identified as Wilkin Mieses Baker, whose last known address was in Brandon.
At 7:35 a.m., a landscaping worker discovered the body on a grassy patch outside a storage facility at 707 Providence Road, deputies said. It had upper-body injuries and the death is being investigated as a homicide case, said Sheriff's Office spokesman Larry McKinnon....
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Pasco man accused of bilking elderly Tampa woman of $170,000
05/13/13CrimeTAMPA — A Pasco County man is accused of exploiting an 84-year-old woman and taking $170,000 from her, police said.
Bryant D. Gattos, 46, became Agnes Claire Raymond's financial adviser in July 2011. Raymond was diagnosed with moderate dementia, Tampa police said. In December 2011, Gattos obtained her power of attorney.
The next month, he took $170,000 from her "while knowing that she lacked the capacity to consent to the transfer of funds," police said. Gattos used the money for several purchases, including a Mercedes-Benz and a Harley-Davidson, police said....
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Autopsy: Man who died in TIA elevator shaft was intoxicated
05/10/13AccidentsTAMPA — A Pennsylvania man who was found dead in a Tampa International Airport parking garage elevator shaft in March was intoxicated at the time of the accident, the Hillsborough County Medical Examiner's Office has determined.
Chad Wolfe died from a "complete dislocation" of two upper vertebrae and a spinal cord laceration caused by blunt impact to the head and neck, according to documents released Friday....
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Tampa woman accused of fracturing 4-year-old girl's arm
05/10/13CrimeTAMPA — A 29-year-old woman was arrested Thursday, accused of fracturing a 4-year-old girl's arm before dropping her off at day care, police said.
Nicole Rosetta Williams, who lives with the girl's mother, left her apartment at 2450 Hillsborough Ave. to drop the girl off at a day care center on April 17. When the girl arrived, she held her arm as she cried and screamed, an arrest affidavit shows....
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Northbound lanes of Interstate 75 reopened after dump truck overturns in Tampa
05/10/13AccidentsTAMPA — The northbound lanes of Interstate 75 were reopened Friday morning hours after a traffic crash involving a dump truck and a car closed the road, the Florida Highway Patrol said.
The crash was reported about 3:30 a.m. near Fletcher Avenue. During the impact, the dump truck, loaded with asphalt, overturned, troopers said. At least one person was hospitalized with minor injuries....
