Justin Garcia

Dec 6, 2024 | tampabay.com | Justin Garcia

A man who spent decades in prison after questionable evidence was used against him by the Tampa Police Department is now suing in federal court. Attorneys for Tony Hopps, 59, filed a federal civil rights lawsuit on Thursday against the City of Tampa and three former Tampa police detectives: Gene Strickland, J.D. O’Nolan and George McNamara. The lawsuit claims the detectives framed Hopps in 1990 with “deliberately tainted photo identification” for a robbery that he did not commit.

Dec 4, 2024 | tampabay.com | Justin Garcia

The Pasco County Sheriff’s Office reached a settlement Tuesday with people who said they were subjected to unconstitutional monitoring and harassment by deputies. The agency agreed to pay $105,000 to four plaintiffs, settling the case ahead of trial.

Nov 28, 2024 | tampabay.com | Justin Garcia |Teghan Simonton |Max Chesnes

At least six times in the last four years, Kevin Cash and his neighborhood association in Seffner implored Hillsborough County officials to address an urgent threat:Lake Shangri-La was rising. Finally, as Hurricane Milton loomed last month, the county installed a temporary pump that lowered the water level by about six inches. But in the days after the storm made landfall, the nearby lake rose by more than three feet. Helpless to stop the encroachment, Cash watched the lake swamp his house.

Nov 24, 2024 | tampabay.com | Jack Evans |Justin Garcia

Three Hillsborough County government and school district leaders traveled to Georgia in April to attend the Masters, the golf tournament known as one of the most rarefied events — and hottest tickets — in sports. They did so alongside a local builder hired often by the school district. The trip became a political flashpoint ahead of this year’s election and has recently sparked a war of words between two county commissioners.

Nov 5, 2024 | tampabay.com | Justin Garcia

A Clearwater man was arrested Mondayafter reportedly striking a woman from an opposing political group with his shoulder outside the Clearwater courthouse. Andrew Francis, 32, is facing a charge of simple battery after a Saturday altercation with Olivia Carson, campaign manager for Republican U.S. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna. Francis “made numerous aggressive actions and used verbal obscenities toward an opposing political group” outside the courthouse, according to Clearwater police.