Advertisement
Tony Marrero - Breaking News Reporter — Tampa Police and Hillsborough Sheriff
Tony Marrero

Breaking News Reporter — Tampa Police and Hillsborough Sheriff

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. Holiday man, 46, fatally struck while crossing U.S. 19, troopers say
    Yesterday• Pasco
    A 46-year-old man was killed Wednesday when he was struck by a pickup while trying to cross U.S. 19 in Holiday, troopers said.
  2. Florida turns the other way as demand rises for police transparency
    Yesterday• Florida
    Charles Fowler and Doris Floyd visit the grave of their biological son Dominique Mulkey, 26, who was shot to death Oct. 20 by two Tampa police officers. The names of the officers have not been made public. A recent Florida appeals court in an unrelated case said they don't have to be under provisions of Marsy's Law, a voter-approved amendment to the Florida Constitution.
  3. DeSantis signed ‘anti-riot’ bill flanked by sheriffs. Where was Chad Chronister?
    Apr. 21• The Buzz on Florida Politics
    Gov. Ron DeSantis shows off his signed "anti-riot" bill at a news conference at the Polk County Sheriff's Office in Winter Haven on Monday. At least five Florida sheriffs stood behind DeSantis during the event, but the governor's office did not invite the sheriff from the county next door, Hillsborough's Chad Chronister.
  5. Motorcyclist, 19, killed in crash on U.S. 41 in Ruskin, troopers say
    Apr. 16• Hillsborough
    A 19-year-old motorcyclist was killed Friday morning in crash on U.S. 41 in Ruskin, troopers said.
  6. Pickup driver was impaired when he ran over Tampa motorcyclist, deputies say
    Apr. 15• Tampa
    Laramie VanTreeck, 30, faces a charge of DUI manslaughter, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.
  7. Pastor, girls’ basketball coach among 79 arrested in Hillsborough sex sting
    Apr. 15• Hillsborough
    Hillsborough Sheriff Chad Chronister announces the results of Operation Takedown, a weeklong undercover sex crime sting that netted 79 arrests, in this screen shot of a news conference streamed live Thursday on the Sheriff's Office's Facebook page.
  8. Westbound Gandy Boulevard near bridge in St. Petersburg reopens after fatal crash
    Apr. 15• Pinellas
    Authorities closed the westbound lanes of Gandy Boulevard near 4th Street in St. Petersburg on Thursday morning after a fatal crash.
  9. Orlando man dies when pickup overturns on I-4
    Apr. 15• Hillsborough
    A 36-year-old Orlando man died Wednesday when his truck overturned on Interstate 4 in the Thonotosassa area, troopers said.
  10. Missing girl, 11, found in Tampa; suspect arrested on child sex abuse charges
    Apr. 13• Pasco
    An 11-year-old Pasco County girl who had gone missing on Monday was found safe early Tuesday in Tampa, Two teens have been arrested in connection with her disappearance.
  11. Gunman gets 55 years in prison for fatal shooting at South Tampa hookah lounge
    Apr. 9• Crime
    Gary Omar Montanez Rivera, right, stands with his attorney, Assistant Public Defender Carolyn Schlemmer, in a Tampa courtroom on Friday. Circuit Judge Samantha Ward sentenced Rivera to 55 years in state prison for opening fire on a group of people standing outside the Palace Lounge in Tampa in 2017, killing 34-year-old Mike Franck and wounding five others.
  12. Hillsborough, Pasco vaccinating jail inmates. Pinellas says it’s next.
    Apr. 9• Health
    Falkenburg Road jail inmate Matthew Clay, 40, receives the COVID-19 vaccine from an unidentified health care worker in this screengrab from a video released by the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office on Tuesday, the first day the agency started vaccinating inmates at its two jail facilities.
  13. Troopers search for driver in hit-and-run crash that killed bicyclist in Tampa
    Apr. 8• Hillsborough
    Troopers were searching Thursday for the driver of an SUV that struck and killed a bicyclist on Dale Mabry Highway in Carrollwood on Wednesday.
  14. Riverview man left threatening messages about Piney Point failure on FDEP line, authorities say
    Apr. 6• Crime
    This screen grab of a leaking holding pond at the old Piney Point phosphate plant was taken from a drone feed to the Manatee County Emergency Operations Center on Saturday. That same day, authorities say, 35-year-old Chad Lynch of Riverview left several threatening voicemail messages regarding the "Piney Point failure" for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, prompting authorities to evacuate an FDEP office in Temple Terrace. Lynch was arrested on Monday on three charges including making a false report of a bomb, explosive device or weapon of mass destruction.
  15. Super Bowl brawl in Tampa led to 14-year-old’s death, murder charge, deputies say
    Apr. 6• Hillsborough
    Jose Miguel Ortiz, 29, was arrested Monday on murder and attempted murder charges in connection to the death of a 14-year-old boy who was fatally struck by a car at a Carrollwood apartment complex on Feb. 7. Deputies say Ortiz shot a woman who was driving the car at The Place at Carrollwood apartments, causing the car to strike the teen.
  16. Police identify woman killed in St. Petersburg shooting that injured two others
    Apr. 5• St. Petersburg
    A woman was killed and two other people were injured in a shooting in the area of Wildwood Park in St. Petersburg late Sunday, police said.
  17. Activists call for reforms to reduce Hillsborough’s juvenile arrests
    Apr. 5• Hillsborough
    Teenagers listen to a guest speaker at the Hillsborough County Juvenile Detention Center East. A group called Hillsborough Organization for Progress and Equality is pushing county officials to create a secondary review process to divert more eligible juveniles into the county's arrest avoidance program.
  18. ‘Fearless Four’ Tampa police officers who took on discrimination honored
    Apr. 2• Tampa
    These Tampa police officers became known as the Fearless Four after they sued the city of Tampa and its police department for discriminatory practices in 9174 and won. They are, from left, retired Sgt. Rufus Lewis; retired Lt. Clarence Nathan; retired Cpl. Frank Gray; and former Officer James Dukes. A ceremony to unveil a monument in the men's honor is set for Saturday, April 3.
  19. After chilly mornings, glorious weather ahead for Easter weekend
    Apr. 2• Local Weather
    After a chilly start in the mornings, Easter weekend brings warm days and sunny skies, according to Spectrum Bay News 9. Temperatures return to normal next week, with no chance of rain through Thursday.
  20. No charges for son of retired Marine who fatally shot him in FishHawk home
    Mar. 30• Hillsborough
    The handgun Brody Missler used to shoot his father Timothy on Nov. 24 sits on a kitchen counter in this evidence photo released by the Hillsborough State Attorney's Office. The office announced Tuesday that Brody Missler will not face criminal charges in the death.
  21. Lennard High college success coach accused of unlawful sexual activity with a minor
    Mar. 26• Crime
    Anthony Errol Witter, a 37-year-old success coach at Lennard High School in Ruskin, was arrested Thursday on charges of unlawful sexual activity with a minor.
  22. Woman faces DUI manslaughter charge in St. Petersburg crash that killed pedestrian
    Mar. 24• Crime
    Olga Yuryevna Davis, 43, of St. Petersburg was arrested Monday in connection to a crash on 4th Street North in St. Petersburg that killed a pedestrian earlier in the day, police said.
  23. Motorcyclist struck, injured trying to beat train in Tampa, police say
    Mar. 24• Tampa
    A motorcyclist was struck and injured by a train early Wednesday after trying to beat the warning gates at a railroad crossing on East Hillsborough Avenue in Tampa, police said.
  24. Seffner man, 18, killed in two-car crash on I-75 in Hillsborough
    Mar. 24• Hillsborough
    An 18-year-old Seffner man driving this Jaguar sedan was killed Tuesday when he lost control of the car on Interstate 75 in Hillsborough County, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.