Tyrone Dudley, victim in I-275 car chase wreck, dies

ST. PETERSBURG — A passenger in a Cadillac that crashed on Interstate 275 Tuesday night has died.

Authorities say the driver of the car, Tommy K. Walls, 24, sped away from St. Petersburg police officers who tried to pull him over about 8:30 p.m., then lost control of the car near the Fifth Avenue N exit.

Walls was on probation, had lost his driver's license, had several outstanding arrest warrants and had crack cocaine in his car, authorities said....

Obama nominee for drug czar is former St. Petersburg officer Gil Kerlikowske

ST. PETERSBURG — A former St. Petersburg police officer who once was passed over as the city's police chief is now President Obama's choice to be leader of the nation's drug policy.

Gil Kerlikowske's name made it onto the national stage this month when Obama administration officials leaked his name as the president's choice as the so-called drug czar.

The 59-year-old head of the Seattle Police Department began his police career in St. Petersburg in 1972. He worked as a city officer for 15 years, including stints as a patrol officer, an undercover narcotics detective and the lieutenant of criminal investigations. ...

Fatal shooting by St. Petersburg police shows complex factors officers face

ST. PETERSBURG — When officers responded to the little house on Second Avenue last week, the stakes were already high.

Dispatchers had received a 911 call, then overheard a struggle on the open line.

Moments later, officers forced their way inside to find a terrible scene — a woman on top of another, holding a large sharp utensil to the woman's neck.

Police haven't released all the details of what led two officers to shoot and kill Julie Goodson, 42, but law enforcement officials say a number of factors made the Feb. 10 shooting unusually complex. ...

Sex sting suspect rams cruiser

Deputies have arrested a man they say believed he was going to have sex with children ages 6 and 9 in Hernando County Saturday.

Adam Daniel Shepherd, 25, of Jacksonville went to a vacant house on Curtiss Lane where he believed he had arranged to meet the children. No children were ever there, officials said.

When deputies tried to stop him, he rammed his Ford F150 truck into a deputy's vehicle and hit another vehicle and continued on. Hernando deputies stopped their pursuit and issued a statewide warning for officers to look out for the truck. ...

Pinellas artist Sharon Pascarelli loved to paint Florida scenes

REDINGTON BEACH — Sharon Pascarelli was beautiful, movie-star gorgeous, and she saw beauty in the world.

An artist, she dragged friends from the blue-collar suburbs of Boston to the museums, explaining Cezanne, Picasso, Van Gogh.

"I'd look at it and say, 'You've got to be kidding me, Sharon!' … It looks like the kids did it!' " said her lifelong friend Ginger Kelley, 64, of St. Petersburg....

In reversal, St. Petersburg police chief faces cameras

ST. PETERSBURG — Police Chief Chuck Harmon stood before a cadre of cameras Tuesday afternoon. He sounded determined.

"We need to get this … man off the street," Harmon said about a serial robber police call Zorro the Bandit.

The news conference was an unusual move for Harmon, who has been criticized for being too muted and uninspiring during violent crime waves.

Harmon acknowledged Tuesday that he must be more visible to the public when violent crime grips the city. The news conference about Zorro the Bandit was a first step....

For Ruth Bader Ginsburg, hopeful signs in grim news about pancreatic cancer

Odds are, Ruth Bader Ginsburg will not survive pancreatic cancer.

The Supreme Court announced that the only female justice had surgery Thursday for the deadly disease, which kills nearly as many Americans as it inflicts.

The news raised the possibility that the liberal jurist might have to curtail her work or even step down before she had planned.

Because after decades of research, scientists have just begun to put a dent in the fourth-deadliest cancer, a rare but aggressive disease that strikes at random....

Hillsborough GOP official rebuked for racial e-mail joke

TAMPA — Florida Republican chairman Jim Greer said Wednesday that longtime Hillsborough state committeewoman Carol Carter may lose her position because of the racial joke she forwarded in an e-mail.

"Carol Carter has been a hard-working, loyal Republican for many years, but this action I have no tolerance for, regardless of the circumstances or intent," a furious Greer said of Carter's e-mail. ...

Teens charged in Pinellas arsons face more accusations

ST. PETERSBURG — Deputies say five teens already facing charges in connection with 15 arsons Sunday also are responsible for four incidents of vandalism and attempted arson in Pinellas County jurisdiction.

Mathew Pineda Kiernan 16; Francis Huy Du, 16; Alain Nguyenj, 18; Tan Minh Tran, 16; and Quoc Tan Lam, 17, already face felony arson charges in connection with the St. Petersburg fires....

Burned body found in St. Pete alley

ST. PETERSBURG — Firefighters called to battle a blaze in a Dumpster outside a house at 1024 Ninth Ave. S made a grisly discovery — a charred body.

The call came in at about 11:10 p.m. Saturday.

When firefighters arrived, they found the man’s body. It was not known if the body was inside the Dumpster. Later that night, the body was covered with a plastic...

Jabil Circuit to cut 3,000 jobs worldwide

ST. PETERSBURG — Electronics manufacturer Jabil Circuit announced Wednesday that it is cutting 3,000 jobs worldwide, but none will be lost at its headquarters in St. Petersburg.

The company's reductions, forced by slumping demand for its products during a recession, amount to about 3.5 percent of a workforce of about 85,000.

Jabil officials said Wednesday that about 10 of its global plant sites will be affected, and about 10 percent of the cuts will take place in the United States. The company employs people in 20 countries....