Mar 28, 2019
By Alexa Ignacio
Shooting in St. Pete
Police are looking for a vehicle in connection to a deadly shooting yesterday afternoon in St. Petersburg.
Deputies responded to a call about a car crashing into a tree near 1st Street North and 20th Avenue NE. Inside the vehicle, they found two men with gunshot wounds. The two occupants of the BMW were taken to local hospitals. One of them, Quentin Hicks, died of his injuries. The other occupant’s injuries are described as non-life-threatening.
Police believe the shooting happened about four blocks away. They have released surveillance footage of a 2012 blue Hyundai Santa Fe pulling away from the BMW. Anyone who sees the vehicle should call St. Pete Police at (727) 893-7780.
Cold Case Suspect Arrested
A Brandon man is due in court today in connection to a 20-year-old cold case from South Florida.
Detectives linked Todd Barket’s fingerprint to evidence from a 1998 murder in Delray Beach. Delray Beach Police say that he stabbed and bludgeoned Sondra Better to death in a consignment shop.
Barket applied for a job as a certified nursing assistant and underwent a background check that required fingerprinting. His fingerprints matched those found at the crime scene. Barket was arrested at his Brandon apartment and faces charges of first-degree murder. He is being held without bond.
New Start Times For Pinellas County Students
School times are changing for many students of Pinellas County next year.
The school board approved new start and end times for the 2019-2020 school year on Tuesday night. Most schools will have their bell times shifted forward by five to 10 minutes. Six schools will shift forward by 30 minutes.
The most notable change is at Chi Chi Rodriguez Academy in Clearwater. Classes will start a full hour and 10 minutes earlier than the school’s current bell times. WFLA has a list of the new bell times. They can be found here.
Rays Opening Day Sold Out
The Tampa Bay Rays celebrate MLB Opening Day 2019 at home against the Houston Astros.
The Rays announced yesterday that today’s game was sold out. This is the 14th consecutive year that Rays’ Opening Day games have been sellouts. Starting on the mound will be reigning Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell. He will be pitching against former Cy Young winner Justin Verlander.
Tropicana Field has changed since last season. The venue is now cashless, meaning that all transactions will only be made through major credit cards, gift cards, and mobile payment systems. The Trop is the first sports venue to implement this system.
This year marks the 150th season of MLB. All teams will wear a patch saying “MLB 150” on their uniforms for the duration of the season. You can view the Rays’ 2019 regular season schedule here.
Anchor: Ingrid Gerard
Producer: Cole Martinez
Director: Hannah Estes
Technical Director: Megan Ghillyer
Graphics: Aldo Puccini
Audio: Valezka Nava
Prompter: Nova Charles Floor
Manager: Lou Maldonado Camera
Operator: Marquetta Wilson
Radio: Patrick Bluck and Mason Feldman
Teaching Assistant: Tatyana Bazard
Graduate Assistant: Kelsey Baker Faculty
Advisor: Cathy Gugerty
