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Dennis Joyce - Assistant metro editor
Dennis Joyce

Assistant metro editor

I am a newsman and communicator who pitches his tent at the crossroads of the community, the place you find the greatest number of ideas and the most fruitful debate. I’m a local news editor at the Tampa Bay Times, helping guide colleagues as they tell the stories of our community. It’s a role I’ve been blessed to play in half a dozen states, including two stints each in sunny Arizona and Florida. The approach I bring to the job is rooted in my family – including my wife Emilie and our two grown sons, one a world-traveling diplomat and the other a student in architecture. I’m a bicycle and transit commuter, so look for me on the bus and we’ll bat around a few ideas.

  1. Body found in Gibsonton; Hillsborough Sheriff’s Office investigating
    Nov. 29• Crime
    Check tampabay.com for the latest breaking news and updates.
    The location is the 10000 block of East Bay Road, near the Riverview 14 GDX theater complex.
  2. Dutch man rescued in Bahamas by Clearwater Coast Guard aircraft
    Nov. 23• Pinellas
    A Coast Guard Jayhawk helicopter, similar to this aircraft flying over Tampa Bay, rescued a crew member from a Dutch fishing vessel Friday during a mission in the Bahamas.
    The victim, 59, was the engineer on a fishing vessel and complained of chest pains.
  3. David Straz Jr. died with nitroglycerin pills beside him, 911 call indicates
    Nov. 22• Tampa
    David Straz, Tampa philanthropist and former mayoral candidate, had heart problems, a friend told a 911 operator Monday. Straz died during a fishing weekend in Homosassa.
    A friend who found him unresponsive said he had a heart condition. A celebration of life is scheduled Saturday.
  4. Aide killed by boyfriend was 'mother figure’ at school, authorities say
    Nov. 8• Crime
    Renee Elizabeth Williams, 55, was fatally shot about 8:30 p.m. Wednesday in the parking lot of a Brandon apartment complex where she was working, Sheriff Chad Chronister said.
    The man accused in the Brandon shooting has been the subject of at least five petitions for protection filed by women in Hillsborough County.
  5. Tractor-trailer driver cited in crash that scattered fliers across Interstate 75
    Oct. 29• Hillsborough
    A semi-trailer truck carrying advertising materials collided with a truck parked along the shoulder Monday morning on Interstate 75 near the Big Bend Road exit in Gibsonton.
    The 58-year-old North Carolina driver was seriously injured — and cited for failure to maintain a single lane, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
  6. Pedestrian killed on Bruce B. Downs is North Carolina woman
    Oct. 29• Pasco
    The incident took place early Sunday morning on northbound Bruce B. Downs Boulevard. The driver was not cited, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
  7. Pinellas sex offender confronted by woman who says he abused her when she was a child
    Oct. 29• Crime
    Romeo Wilfred Desrosiers, 69, of St. Petersburg, faces a charge of lewd and lascivious molestation on a child younger than 12, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office.
    The 69-year-old registered sex offender admitted to the assault, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office.
  8. Hurling nunchucks through SUV window lands man in jail, deputies say
    Oct. 28• Bizarre News
    A man broke out the window of an SUV by throwing nunchucks during a road rage incident at Linebaugh Avenue and Sheldon Road, deputies say.
    Leonardo Fernandez, 56, broke the window during a road-rage incident in Westchase, deputies said.
  9. Ad materials sent flying across I-75 in Gibsonton as semis collide
    Oct. 28• Hillsborough
    A semi-trailer truck carrying ad materials from a mailing company collided with a truck parked along the shoulder Monday morning on Interstate 75 near the Big Bend Road exit in Gibsonton.
    All southbound lanes were reopened around 11 a.m. The driver of the truck suffered serious injuries when he hit a semi parked on the shoulder.
  10. Teens showed off guns on Snapchat from Publix bathroom, deputies say
    Oct. 17• Crime
    Pasco County Sheriff's deputies lead three teenagers from a Wesley Chapel Publix store after responding to reports that the boys had been showing off handguns there in a Snapchat video.
    The three Pinellas boys were apprehended while they were still walking the aisles of the Wesley Chapel store.