Staff reports
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
SKIP O’ROURKE | Times
cat torturer faces up to 5 years in prison
One Giovanni Estrada, above, pleaded guilty Tuesday in Hillsborough Circuit Court. A better known name: Lovey, his victim. She was the black and white feline found riddled with BBs, locked in a cat carrier and left to drown late last summer in Tampa's McKay Bay. Fortunately, a passer-by heard her gurgling, and a veterinarian adopted her. Estrada, 20, admitted to a felony count of animal cruelty. He shot the cat after she ate his pet crawfish, his girlfriend testified. He will be sentenced on Feb. 23 by Circuit Judge Daniel Sleet and faces up to five years in prison.
Gasparilla to test new alert system
Neighborhoods along Bayshore Boulevard and near downtown Tampa could be especially vulnerable to hurricanes, which is why the city has an emergency alert system to ...