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Tony Marrero - Day Cops, Hillsborough Sheriff, Tampa Police Department Reporter
Tony Marrero

Day Cops, Hillsborough Sheriff, Tampa Police Department 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. “No quería morir”. La víctima era inmigrante mexicano y querido patriarca en Plant City.
    Feb. 19• CENTRO
    Cirila Díaz sostiene fotos de su esposo Agustín Pardo. Pardo recibió un disparo mortal en Plant City el 14 de enero mientras conducía por Colson Road, no lejos de su casa. Su familia describió al trabajador agrícola retirado como cuidadoso y trabajador.
  2. ‘He didn’t want to die.’ Plant City rampage victim was Mexican immigrant, beloved patriarch
    Feb. 19• Hillsborough
    Cirila Diaz holds photos of her husband Agustin Pardo on Feb. 6. Pardo was fatally shot in Plant City on Jan. 14 while driving on Colson Road, not far from his home. His family described the retired farmworker as caring and hard-working.
  3. Family of teen hit-and-run victim calls for intersection improvements, insurance reform
    Feb. 13• Hillsborough
    Ana Hernandez-Diaz, holding the microphone, speaks during a news conference Thursday in Tampa. Hernandez-Diaz's daughter, Asucena "Susie" Gomez- Hernandez, was taken off life support on Feb. 6, about a week after she was struck by a hit-and-run driver in Tampa. Also pictured are Susie's aunt, Lucia Hernandez-Diaz, left, and Susie's two sisters, Erika and Griselda.
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  5. Hillsborough Sheriff’s Office employee charged with burglary, theft of pills
    Feb. 11• Hillsborough
    Christopher Livernois, a 36-year-old property control specialist at the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, was arrested Monday after he admitted to breaking into a the Brandon home of a woman he knows to steal prescription medication, deputies said.
  6. Teen victim in Tampa hit-and-run crash dies
    Feb. 10• Hillsborough
    These surveillance images show Nakeeba Ryan show Nakeeba Ryan's SUV on the night she struck a 14-year-old girl on 15th Street in Tampa, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office. The girl, identified in an arrest report as Asucena Gomez Hernandez, died on Feb. 4 and Ryan now faces an upgraded charge of leaving the scene of a crash involving death.
  7. Hillsborough sheriff’s statement on teen shooting at Tampa cop’s house sends message
    Feb. 7• Hillsborough
    Friends and family of Bradley Hulett, 15 gathered for a vigil at Park Square Plaza in Lithia on Dec. 16, three days after he was fatally shot at the home of a Tampa police officer. The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office on Thursday presented the results of its investigation to the Hillsborough State Attorney's Office, which will now decide if anyone will be criminally charged.
  8. Florida cops who use force keep names secret with Marsy’s Law
    Feb. 6• News
    Tampa police investigate at the scene of an officer-involved shooting on East Cluster Avenue in November. Police Chief Brian Dugan says he has no choice but to withhold the names of officers who become crime victims in the line of duty unless they waive their rights under state constitutional amendment known as Marsy's Law. In this shooting that resulted in the death of a man who police say pointed a gun at officers, the two officers involved gave Dugan permission to release their names.
  9. Victims named in wrong-way crash near Tampa International Airport
    Feb. 6• Hillsborough
    William "Billy" Holzapfel, right, attended Gasparilla during a visit to Tampa last month with friends Byron Downen, left, and Sean Hallin, center. On his way to catch a flight home to Illinois early the next day, Holzapfel was killed in a wrong way crash near Tampa International Airport.
  10. Unlicensed contractor sting in Hillsborough nets 118 arrests, 9 repeat offenders
    Feb. 4• Hillsborough
    Troy Massey, 47, gives undercover sheriff's detectives a remodeling estimate in this screen capture from a video shot by a hidden camera. Massey was one of 118 unlicensed contractors arrested in sting that started in March and ended in December, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.
  11. Charter bus, trolley car collide in downtown Tampa
    Feb. 3• Tampa
    A TECO streetcar and charter bus collided Monday on South Franklin Street and Channelside Drive in front of the Tampa Convention Center.
  12. The driver of an SUV fled after hitting a child in Hillsborough. Now she’s in jail, deputies say.
    Jan. 31• Crime
    Nakeeba Ryan, 24, was arrested Friday morning and charged with leaving in the scene of a crash involving injury. Deputies say she struck a teenage girl with her SUV on 15th Street in Tampa Thursday evening and didn't stop to help or report the crash.
  13. For family of teen shot at Tampa cop’s home, anger and unanswered questions
    Jan. 29• Hillsborough
    Brad Hulett holds a basketball signed by teammates and friends of his son while describing the recent shooting death of 15-year-old Bradley Hulett in Fishhawk Ranch December 13, 2019. Photo taken Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2020 in Lithia, FL.
  14. Tampa Bay burglars dressed up like construction workers, stole $1 million in valuables, deputies say
    Jan. 28• Crime
    Authorities say these six suspects are responsible for at least two dozen home burglaries in unincorporated Hillsborough and Pasco counties and the city of Tampa. Top row, from left: Arleys Bonet Mustelier; Alain Rodriguez Roig and Ernesto Hinojosa. Bottom row, from left: Yarisley Cuervo Reyes; Yuniel Hinojosa-Gallardo and Yasmani Hernandez Rodriguez.
  15. Oficiales de Hillsborough dicen que una niña desaparecida de 5 años está en peligro
    Jan. 28• CENTRO
    Lesly Mendoza, de 5 años, está desaparecida y en peligro basados en acusaciones de abuso. Foto: Oficina del alguacil del Condado de Hillsborough
  16. Victims in wrong way crash at Tampa International Airport were in a ride share car, police say
    Jan. 27• Crime
    Alexander Bradford Jacobson, of Land O Lakes, smelled like marijuana and had a blood alcohol level just over the legal limit when he caused a wrong-way crash near the Tampa International Airport on Sunday, records show.
  17. Hillsborough deputies say missing 5-year-old girl is endangered
    Jan. 24• Hillsborough
    Hillsborough deputies say Lesly Mendoza, 5, is missing and endangered because of allegations of abuse.
  18. Two die in fiery I-275 crash after fleeing from St. Petersburg officers
    Jan. 21• Pinellas
    The northbound lanes of I-275 were closed for more than four hours early Tuesday morning as troopers investigated a deadly crash.
  19. Former detective sues Hillsborough Sheriff’s Office, claims discrimination for attention deficit disorder
    Jan. 17• Hillsborough
    Former Hillsborough sheriff's Corporal Demetrius Dixon, inset, filed a lawsuit against the Sheriff's Office on Jan. 7 claiming he was the target of discrimination because of his attention deficit disorder.
  20. Tampa man burned teen with lit cigar during Santería ceremony, police say
    Jan. 16• Crime
    Jaime Javier Amoguea Fonseca, 32, of Tampa was arrested and charged with aggravated child abuse after he pressed a lit cigar against the bare back of a boy during a Santería ceremony in a Tampa home early Sunday, police said. Amoguea Fonseca told police the burn was an accident that happened while he was possessed by spirits, an arrest report says.
  21. Suspect in Plant City ‘rampage’ faces murder charge after shooting victim dies
    Jan. 15• Hillsborough
    Jefferey Darnell Thomas, 27, seen here in a previous booking photo, went on a shooting rampage in Plant City on Tuesday, firing a handgun at multiple cars and hitting a motorist, who later died, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office. Thomas was then shot by a Plant City police officer and taken to a local hospital. He faces multiple charges including first degree murder, deputies said.
  22. ATMs are exploding in Tampa Bay. Investigators think the cases are connected.
    Jan. 13• Crime
    Pinellas County deputies and other law enforcement agencies investigate the scene of an ATM explosion at a BB&T bank branch in Oldsmar on Nov. 4. Investigators belief the case is connected to two ATM explosions in Hillsborough County.
  23. El puente Sunshine Skyway contará con barrera de prevención del suicidio
    Jan. 9• CENTRO
    La red de prevención del suicidio prevista para el Skyway se extenderá aproximadamente una milla y media a ambos lados del puente. [Cortesía del Departamento de Transporte de Florida]
  24. Sunshine Skyway bridge to get suicide prevention barrier
    Jan. 9• News
    This rendering from the Florida Department of Transportation shows the eight foot tall steel netting that will be added to the Sunshine Skyway later this year to deter suicidal people from jumping from the iconic span.