Pinellas judge finds St. Petersburg officer's testimony 'incredible' — and not in a good
ST. PETERSBURG — Last fall, members of the Police Department's street crimes unit converged on a green sport utility vehicle spotted making a rolling right-hand turn at a red light. The driver, Emanuel Bell, had just left a suspected drug dealer's house. Bell pulled into a McDonald's at Fourth Street and 38th Avenue N and held out his driver's license for the officer, who approached his window. The officer made Bell get out, then searched a center console after seeing Bell mo
Pinellas narcotics detectives are under fire again over allegations of beating a man
CLEARWATER, Fla. -- There are more problems in the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office narcotics unit, and several attorneys are calling for an investigation by the U.S. Justice Department. The newest incident involves a man who says he changed his mind about being a confidential informant and says he was beaten by detectives. Attorney Jordon Tawil says, "It appears they are out of control and the law is not being followed." Tawil is talking about what happened between his clien
Tampa man says cell phone video of police got him arrested
TAMPA - Jeff Patch, 27, was arrested while shooting cell phone video of a Tampa Police investigation in a public parking lot in May 2011. Police charged him with obstructing or opposing an officer. Patch was recording the video in an Ybor City parking lot last May. You can hear a police officer say on the video, "step back" and Patch responds, "Sir, I took two steps back." The cell phone video is dark and shaky, but Patch says it shows two Tampa Police Officers investigating
Woman misidentified, arrested for crime she didn't commit
Venice, Florida -- A Venice woman got the scare of her life last September when deputies swarmed into the floral shop where she works. 30-year-old Angela Silva tells 10 News she was working in arrangements for a funeral when she was approached by the deputies with very confusing news for her. They told her they had a warrant for her arrest for allegedly selling a controlled substance to undercover detectives in July. "I was very confused and scared. I had no idea what was go
Jail gets right name, wrong guy
Manatee County, Florida -- They share the same name, the same Valentine's Day birthday and even got busted on the same traffic violation for driving without a valid drivers license. But that's probably all 26-year-olds Valentin Garcia of Marion County and Valentin Garcia of Wimauma had in common until a case of mistaken identity not only intertwined their court records, but landed one of them wrongfully behind bars. There's also a difference of four inches in their height. "
