A jury has convicted a 58 year old man of armed robbery and kidnapping. Paul Pinkston will now get at least 20 years in prison for twice posing as a buyer to lure St. Petersburg real estate agents to home showings where he held them at gunpoint and robbed them. Pinkston is a former U.S. Air Force major with no criminal history.
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Police are looking for whoever shot a man to death outside a Brandon bar overnight. They say 24 year old David Smith was gunned down as he argued with another man at the Taiga Lounge on Causeway Boulevard. The gunman drove off in a silver or grey sedan.
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Bidding for the gun George Zimmerman used to kill Trayvon Martin in a Sanford neighborhood four years ago is up to $65 million. But based on some of the strange names being used, it’s tough to tell if the bids are serious. Online gun auctioneer United Gun Group took over sale of the notorious weapon after a similar website ended bidding early.
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Two men who illegally applied a restricted pesticide at a Florida home that seriously injured a child have been sentenced to a year in prison each. 53-year-old Grenale Williams and 40-year-old Canarie Deon Curry were sentenced Thursday after pleading guilty to charges in U.S. District Court. Federal pesticide investigators found that in August 2015 both men used a restricted pesticide called sulfuryl fluoride to fight termites at the home of 9-year-old Peyton McCaughey. The men posted a sign saying it was safe for McCaughey’s family to return, but all fell ill from pesticide poisoning. McCaughey suffered brain damage. Both men worked for Sunland Pest Control. The company was also placed on five-year’s probation for misrepresenting the kind of chemical it was using.
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A German shepherd is recovering after he was bitten by a rattlesnake while protecting his 7-year-old owner. Molly DeLuca was playing in her backyard Wednesday with her 2-year-old dog Haus when she was confronted by an Eastern diamondback rattlesnake. Haus interceded and was bitten three times. He was taken to a vet and given antivenin, but suffered some kidney damage. Donya DeLuca says Haus and Molly are inseparable, so she is not surprised he would risk his life to save her. The family has set up a GoFundMe page in hopes of getting help for Haus’ $10,000 and rising veterinary bill.
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They are still testing the Sheikra roller coaster at Busch Gardens in Tampa a day after the ride suddenly stopped, stranding 64 people 200 feet in the air. All were evacuated safely.
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It’s the Tampa Bay Lightning against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 1 of the NHL Eastern Conference Final tonight at 8 at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh.
