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Tony Marrero - Hillsborough Law Enforcement Reporter
Tony Marrero

Hillsborough Law Enforcement Reporter

A Baltimore native, I've lived in the Tampa Bay area since 1998 and have been a reporter here for nearly that long. I joined the Times in 2009 and have covered beats ranging from from education to criminal courts. I now cover breaking news and general assignment stories in the Tampa bureau, which means I never know exactly what will come my way on any given day. I like that variety and enjoy digging to tell readers more about the big stories of the day.

  1. Court documents shed light on evidence against Ybor City shooting suspects
    Dec. 8• Crime
    A street sweeper and city crews cleans Seventh Avenue in Ybor City as Tampa police investigators collect evidence at the scene of a shooting on Oct. 29 that left two dead and 15 injured by gunfire. Two suspects charged this week in the shooting were with the 14-year-old boy who was fatally shot that night, and both suspects fired back at the man accused of shooting the teen, records show.
  2. St. Petersburg police officer arrested on battery charge in Hillsborough
    Dec. 7• Crime
    A St. Petersburg police officer was arrested Wednesday in Hillsborough County on a battery charge after he pushed a woman during an argument, records show.
  3. Tampa Bay police agencies expect policy changes after Marsy’s Law ruling
    Dec. 1• The Buzz on Florida Politics
    Tampa police investigate on East Cluster Avenue in November 2019 after two officers fired at and fatally wounded a man who police said pointed a gun at them. The department is among law enforcement agencies in Tampa Bay and across the state that are grappling with how to amend their policies and procedures in the wake of Thursday’s sweeping Florida Supreme Court ruling on the victim rights measure known as Marsy’s Law.
  5. Sunshine Skyway suicide ends remarkable 19-month run without one
    Nov. 30• Transportation
    Traffic streams southbound over the Sunshine Skyway bridge in July 2021, shortly after suicide prevention fencing was completed. The Skyway on Tuesday saw its first suicide in 19 months, a remarkable stretch for a bridge that had averaged about one suicide per month before the fencing was erected.
  6. Supervisor at Hillsborough home construction site fatally stabbed during robbery, deputies say
    Nov. 29• Crime
    The Easthaven residential development off Harney Road east of Tampa is pictured in a Google image from February. A Thonotosassa man, Ja’Quan Javontae Glymp, was arrested Sunday on a first-degree murder charge in connection to the fatal stabbing and suspected robbery of a worker at a townhome under construction in the neighborhood Saturday morning. records show.
  7. Pasco resident fatally shoots intruder who was armed with hatchet, deputies say
    Nov. 21• Crime
    The Trinity Palms at Seven Springs in New Port Richey is seen in this Google Earth image from July 2023. A resident inside an apartment at the complex fatally shot a man who was armed with a hatchet as he tried to break into the unit on Tuesday, deputies said.
  8. Man pleads guilty in 1984 Hillsborough murder, gets 50 years in prison
    Nov. 16• Crime
    Donald Santini is led into a Tampa courtroom on Thursday, moments before pleading guilty in the 1984 slaying of 33-year-old Cynthia “Cindy” Ruth Wood. Judge Samantha Ward sentenced Santini to 50 years in prison as part of a negotiated plea agreement.
  9. Lawyers seek mental exam for man jailed in attack on Hillsborough deputies
    Nov. 14• Crime
    Hillsborough County Sheriff investigators on the scene of an incident where two deputies were hit by a man behind the wheel of a car. Defense lawyers for the man say they believe he is not currently competent to proceed in court.
  10. A St. Petersburg man died shielding grandkids from bullets. Now, a murder charge.
    Nov. 14• Crime
    In this screenshot of a GoFundMe page, Antwann Evans is pictured in a hospital bed after he was shot in a St. Petersburg home on Oct. 9. Evans died on Oct. 18. Police arrested James Otis Bingham on a charge of first-degree murder in the case.
  11. Teen killed in Tampa drive-by shooting, police say
    Nov. 11• Crime
    A 17-year-old boy was killed Saturday in a drive-by shooting in Tampa's Rainbow Heights neighborhood, police said.
  12. 2 Hillsborough deputies hit, seriously hurt by driver during call in Brandon, sheriff says
    Nov. 9• Hillsborough
    Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office investigators on the scene of an incident where two deputies were struck by a vehicle while on a call for service Thursday in Brandon.
  13. Tampa police investigate death of teen girl in Hyde Park
    Nov. 7• Tampa
    Tampa police are investigating the death of a teen girl who was found Monday lying on the ground near a Hyde Park intersection.
  14. Prosecutors file murder charge against Ybor City shooting suspect
    Nov. 6• Crime
    Tyrell Phillips, right, in the green smock and handcuffs, makes his first appearance in court via video from the Hillsborough County jail on Oct. 30 after he was arrested on a charge of second-degree murder with a firearm in connection to a shooting in Ybor City a day earlier. Prosecutors on Friday formally filed the charge.
  15. ‘I got shot!’: Friends wounded in Ybor City shooting recall harrowing scene
    Nov. 4• Crime
    Emily Perez, 18, poses for a portrait at the Chipotle on South Howard Avenue in Tampa where she works as a kitchen manager. Perez and her friend Kila Ryker, 20, were two of 17 people shot in Ybor City on Sunday. They say the ordeal has strengthened their new friendship, and that they won't ever go back to Ybor.
  16. Thieves used semis, forklifts in $1.6 million liquor theft, Hillsborough deputies say
    Oct. 27• Crime
    A photo released by the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office on Friday shows some of the roughly $1.6 million in liquor stolen from a Gibsonton distribution center on July 8. One suspect, Miguel Angel Artiles Rivas, has been arrested in connection to the heist, and detectives have obtained an arrest warrant for another suspect.
  17. 911 calls for evacuation in Pinellas during Hurricane Idalia convey fear, regret
    Oct. 26• Hurricane
    A St. Petersburg Fire Rescue crew loads a boat onto a trailer in Shore Acres on Aug. 30 after responding to calls in the neighborhood flooded by Hurricane Idalia. Pinellas County's 911 center received dozens of calls that day from people seeking help evacuating from flooded homes and neighborhoods.
  18. Woman arrested in Tampa hit-and-run crash that killed bicyclist
    Oct. 26• Crime
    Bellina Reina Rossie, 29, is pictured in a Hillsborough County booking photo after she was arrested Wednesday on a charge of leaving the scene of a crash involving the death of a vulnerable road user. Tampa police say Rossie struck Elvin Ocasio as he rode his bicycle along Causeway Boulevard on Oct. 16. Rossie did not stop after the crash, according to police.
  19. A woman died 2 days after Tampa domestic violence. Her abuser is charged, police say.
    Oct. 20• Crime
    Freddie Lee Adams Jr. is facing a manslaughter charge in connection with a woman's death during a domestic violence incident.
  20. Man fatally shoots self on Farnell Middle School campus in Tampa, deputies say
    Oct. 20• News
    Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office vehicles are seen at Farnell Middle School in Tampa on Friday after a man was found dead on the campus.
  21. Girl, 3, critically injured in fall from 4th-story window, Tampa police say
    Oct. 16• Tampa
    The Mosaic Westshore Apartments at 110 S Hoover Blvd. in Tampa is pictured in a Google image from September 2023. A 3-year-old girl was critically injured when she fell from a fourth story window of the building on Sunday, police said.
  22. Hillsborough Sheriff Chad Chronister and wife Nikki DeBartolo sell Tampa mansion
    Oct. 6• Real Estate
    Hillsborough Sheriff Chad Chronister and his wife, Nikki DeBartolo, recently sold this waterfront home at 5138 W. Longfellow Ave. in Tampa's Sunset Park neighborhood. The buyers also purchased the vacant lot at right, which had been combined with the property and features a boathouse and dock.
  23. Tampa police sergeant suspended for not documenting use of force, submitting evidence
    Oct. 5• Tampa
    In a screenshot from a video released by the Tampa Police Department on Thursday, Sgt. Stephen Drabiniak is seen placing his hand on the neck of a man while trying to take him into custody during a call at MacDinton's Irish Pub in South Tampa on June 11, 2022. The department released the video along with a news release reporting that Drabiniak had been suspended for three days for violating department policies.
  24. Friends mourn loss of man found dead in St. Petersburg house fire
    Oct. 3• St. Petersburg
    Joel Leasure is pictured in a 2019 family photo. Firefighters who responded on Sept. 24 to a fire at Leasure's home on the 1200 block of 48th Street North in St. Petersburg's Central Oak Park neighborhood found him dead inside.