Natalie WeberPinellas Criminal Justice Reporter
As the Pinellas County criminal justice reporter, my goal is to inform readers about our local legal system and the major players shaping criminal justice on this side of Tampa Bay. When I’m not puzzling over the perfect lede for my story, you can find me experimenting with a new recipe or with my nose in a book. Have a tip or think there's something we should cover? Don't hesitate to reach out.
/s3.amazonaws.com/arc-authors/tbt/75a845f2-5ea0-4cff-8b66-4b1b99726440.png "Natalie Weber - Pinellas Criminal Justice Reporter")
![Flags during the St. Pete Pride Parade on Saturday, June 25, 2022 in St. Petersburg.](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 562 316"/%3E "Flags during the St. Pete Pride Parade on Saturday, June 25, 2022 in St. Petersburg.")
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/TJFWFFHGINFJBB4WDROVPX6KZQ.jpg "Flags during the St. Pete Pride Parade on Saturday, June 25, 2022 in St. Petersburg.")
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/4XJQVQWFPUI6TORZIBWI6S7HAY.jpg "The Pinellas County Jail has extended its coronavirus lockdown through July 5.")
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/XQY2P7UJEZHFTAJBG7LZ3X2UIA.JPG "In this Sept. 11, 20201, photo, Rod Wave arrives on stage during his SoulFly tour concert at the MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre in Tampa. The domestic battery charge against St. Petersburg rapper Rod Wave, whose legal name is Rodarius Marcell Green, has been dropped, according to a filing from the the state attorney's office in the 9th judicial circuit.")
:format(webP)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/QMX4DYA7KVAR3PMWOOVYAFVNBQ.jfif "Pinellas County Deputy Shelby Coniglio was fired Tuesday after she was arrested on a drunk driving charge.")
:focal(214x207:224x197):format(webP)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/6JX4LGJL6BGTZKLIYXGULLDLTA.jpg "Levi Stock, 11, second from left, was struck by lightning Thursday while out boating with his family near Williams Park in Riverview, according to the family’s pastor, Daniel Butson. The force of the strike pushed Levi off the boat, causing his father, Derek Stock, to jump in after him, according to Butson.")
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/3EFQKD2OXBGYJDMQUMJGQFQ4OY.jpg "Dana Hiers, 54, of Largo, back, holds her cellphone while Pinellas County deputies and forensics dig through an empty lot Wednesday in Largo. Hiers mother, Retha Hiers, disappeared in 1982.")
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/Q5HTI3NFMFAXVJSM7QJIHLKSDE.png "A motorcyclist died Tuesday after crashing into the back of a semitrailer on Ulmerton Road, police said.")
:format(webP)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/LLSKILTK3RAX7KGYFATHXQADQI.jfif "Prosecutors will seek the death penalty against Johnny Carnegie, who is accused of randomly shooting to death two people in St. Petersburg.")
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/JNWVW7UG4JDJPBT2G5WXKIJ2BM.JPG "People attend the PRIDE OUTside Festival held in St. Petersburg's Vinoy Park in 2021. The St. Petersburg Police Department is gearing up for an “all hands on deck” effort to provide security during this weekend’s Pride festivities, Chief Anthony Holloway said Thursday.")
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/RRBNGP3BBZDVFCMRPY4VM53QJU.png "Detectives were investigating a fatal shooting Tuesday on the 1600 block of Flagler Driver in Clearwater, police said.")
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/H4BULGXRPNDCLFU4SHTXCTGEFI.jpg "Ryan Cairel, left, and Michael Lopergalo, both 18, were arrested Saturday in connection to a shooting outside a Tropical Smoothie Cafe in Lutz on Wednesday, according to the Pasco County Sheriff's Office.")
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/SHSK5OOKJBEZNJBUYSYUOLEVTU.JPG "This photo from May 2020 shows a Clearwater police SUV on Clearwater Beach. Law enforcement officers have three times run over sunbathers on Pinellas beaches over the last two years. Some experts say driving SUVs on the beach is a risk and departments should consider switching to all-terrain vehicles.")
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/WSPLXCZVPVD2JNWWXDVBLOL4DI.jpg "Kyle Peter and Sidney Green, both 22, were together for more than four years after meeting in high school. This photo was taken just hours before Green's death on May 8.")
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/AKQZONM23BDCTGMPM2ZYOJTIG4.JPG "Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers are pictured by the lake in John S. Taylor Park, where a man was found dead Tuesday morning. Police believe he may have been wading into the water to retrieve lost flying discs. Investigators are still trying to determine whether he was bitten by an alligator.")
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/TMRPULWERQI6TKTRIBWI6S7HAY.jpg "Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri was appointed to lead a statewide commission to investigate what led to the 2018 Parkland shooting and make recommendations to improve campus safety in Florida.")
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/SM3XKTJF55ERBGPP2DMNUYKGII.webp "Randy Peterson Jr. faces charges of vehicular homicide and leaving the scene of a crash involving a death in connection to a hit-and-run crash that happened May 16 on 34th Street in St. Petersburg.")
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/Q3Q2PAGIXMI6TIRQPAY4DVT77I.jpg "The entrance to the Pinellas County Jail complex in Clearwater, which is on lockdown until June 6 due to a coronavirus outbreak.")
![Steve Kistlentz, de 55 años, profesor de la Universidad Saint Leo y Director de escritura creativa fue arrestado por cargos de pornografía infantil, fue arrestado por múltiples cargos de pornografía infantil. [Cortesía de la Oficina del Alguacil del Condado de Pinellas]](https://www.tampabay.com/resizer//A5O57aHeY7kPcfluoV3AXpcT3KU=/fit-in/200x112/filters:fill(333):format(webP)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/F3D3TSO7YNFDVA6GF4PKV72LNY.jpeg "Steve Kistlentz, de 55 años, profesor de la Universidad Saint Leo y Director de escritura creativa fue arrestado por cargos de pornografía infantil, fue arrestado por múltiples cargos de pornografía infantil. [Cortesía de la Oficina del Alguacil del Condado de Pinellas]")
:format(webP)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/F6H3NUWKVQI6TODGIBWI6S7HAY.jpg "George S. Georgiou is charged with two counts of first-degree murder and a single charge of first-degree arson.")
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/MH4VUAMKUFENVJXCYY6PFBRG3E.JPG "Pinellas Sheriff Bob Gualtieri announces the arrest of Andrea Wagner, 39, an investigator for the Pinellas County Construction Licensing Board.")
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/VOR25N6G7XXLMGVQVLQC2NL74E.jpg "After a November ruling by the Florida Supreme Court, Florida State Attorney's Office are now grappling with how to apply Marsy's Law -- much like law enforcement agencies have been for the last several years.")
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/3IQ2TAWQZFDP7MQLPVZLZ4HYNU.png "One of the defendants after a robbery on March 30, 2021 in Zephyrhills.")
