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Police briefs 3/1/18

Clay County Sheriff's Office
Posted 2/28/18

Couple charged with abusing foster childMELROSE – A Melrose couple faces charges of mental child abuse after an investigation by the Clay County Sheriff’s Office and Kids First of …

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Police briefs 3/1/18


Posted

Couple charged with abusing foster child
MELROSE – A Melrose couple faces charges of mental child abuse after an investigation by the Clay County Sheriff’s Office and Kids First of Florida, the local nonprofit that places foster children in homes.
The Clay County Sheriff’s Office arrested Stephen Paul Terry, 32, and his partner Misti Mari Tomlinson, 27, on Feb. 27 after going to the courts and obtaining a warrant for their arrests.
According to the warrants, the investigation began when the victim – an unidentified foster child – told authorities that he suffered mental and physical abuse from the time he was placed in the home in late January. The child told police that Terry and Tomlinson would strike him with belts and shoes “to the point of visible injury.” He said he was also forced to remain in a bathroom for extended periods of time knowing he was fearful of the rats that inhabited the room.
The child also said he was never shown any “kindnesses, even for positive rewards” as that would have been considered special treatment and would “create a potential jealousy” with the three children Tomlinson had in a previous marriage and the three other children she had with Terry.
Police said that when a case worker for Kids First went to the home to remove the child from the harmful situation, he was sequestered in a bathroom.
Both Terry and Tomlinson are free after posting separate bonds of $50,003 and $25,003, respectfully.

Confidential informant robbed in failed drug deal
MIDDLEBURG – The Clay County Sheriff’s Office charged five men with unarmed robbery after a pre-planned drug buy with a confidential informant failed.
On Feb. 26, police arrested Sidney Leonard Rogers, 34, Keyan Gage Hinson, 22 and Thomas Alan Davis Sr., 66, all of Jacksonville, along with Jacob Leon Snodgrass, 24, of Orange Park and Devin Wayne McDowell, 22, of Middleburg. Hinson, Snodgrass and McDowell face one count of robbery each, while Rogers is charged with the sale of cocaine and marijuana possession and Davis is charged with resisting an officer and marijuana possession.
According to the police report, the informant had pre-arranged to buy some cocaine from Rogers in a clandestine meeting in the Walmart parking lot at 1570 Branan Field Rd. Police said, when Rogers entered the buyer’s car, he “immediately snatched” $180 in cash from the buyer who, in turn, attempted to fight back and fend off the attack.
CCSO officers, who were nearby observing the operation, moved in and interrupted the fight and searched the car, which led to the arrests. At press time, all remained held in the Clay County Jail.
Bond is set at $110,510 for Rogers, $35,003 for McDowell and $26,757 for Davis, with bond set at $50,003 each for Snodgrass and Hinson.

Sexual battery charge for Clay man
GREEN COVE SPRINGS – Authorities charged a Lake Asbury man with sexual battery on a victim began age 12 and 18.
The Clay County Sheriff’s Office arrested Robert Wayne Parks, 35, on Feb. 23 for inappropriately touching a female victim under her clothing with his hand and then progressing to rub his sex organs against her.
Police said the victim said the incident happened on Feb. 12 in their Clay County home when Parks entered the child’s room and laid on the bed with her and began “spooning” with the child.
At press time, Parks remained in the Clay County Jail with bond set at $250,003.

School custodian charged with sex crime
MIDDLEBURG – The Clay County School District suspended a custodian from Wilkinson Elementary School after learning of his arrest for lewd and lascivious molestation on a 13-year-old girl.
The Clay County Sheriff’s Office arrested Michael Anthony Scoble, 27, on Feb. 23 at 11:58 a.m. at his home.
The victim told police that she was in Scoble’s home snuggling with him when he reached into her undergarments and fondled her breasts and later touched her bare private areas.
“The victim felt uncomfortable and left the room,” states the CCSO report. However, she later returned and snuggled some more.
Police did not indicate how the child knew Scoble, who at press time, remained in the Clay County Jail, with bond set at $50,003.

Orange Park Police investigate robbery
ORANGE PARK – The Orange Park Police Department is investigating an unarmed robbery that occurred Feb. 23 at 5:59 p.m. in the parking lot of bestbet, located at 455 Park Ave.
The victim was not harmed during the incident. During the robbery, only the victim’s purse was taken by the suspect.
A vehicle believed to have been involved in the robbery was located by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office at the Cottages of Argyle neighborhood in the 8500 block of Argyle Business Loop in Jacksonville. Detectives with the Orange Park Police Department are diligently investigating this incident and are following up on leads with assistance from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.
Several witnesses have come forward with information as well. However, we would still ask that anyone that has any information regarding this incident contact the Orange Park Police Department at (904)264-5555.

Man steals car, hides behind fridge
ORANGE PARK – An Orange Park man was arrested after stealing another man’s car for personal use.
The Clay County Sheriff’s Office arrested Travis Michael Clark, 20, on Feb. 22 after finding he had a car that had been reported stolen.
Deputies saw the stolen vehicle in Clark’s driveway after the car had been reported to police. Officers contacted the homeowner and searched the residence for Clark, eventually finding him hiding behind the refrigerator. Clark was arrested and transported to the Clay County Jail.
Clark faces a felony grand theft auto charge and is being held on $25,000 bond until his next court date on April 4.

Homeless man charged with sex crime
GREEN COVE SPRINGS – A homeless Green Cove Springs man was arrested last Friday after reportedly having sexual intercourse with a minor on several occasions.
The Clay County Sheriff’s Office arrested Javon Le’Ander Gonzalez, 25, on Feb. 23 after he was reported to have engaged in sexual intercourse with a girl multiple times over the course of six months.
Deputies responded to a call from a person whose relationship to Gonzalez and the underage girl is not listed in the report. The caller alleged that Gonzalez had been having a sexual relationship with a girl who was under 18. At first, the girl would not admit to deputies anything other than that she and Gonzalez were friends and met while she had worked at McDonald’s.
She told them she felt sorry for him because he didn’t have a home and let him shower and hang out at her home. After talking with Gonzalez, the girl admitted to having consensual sex with him on several occasions, the most recent being that afternoon.
Gonzalez was arrested and transported to Clay County Jail where he faces a felony charge for having sexual intercourse with an unmarried person under the age of 18. He is being held on about $25,000 bond and will appear in court on April 4.

Assault charge for Jax man
GREEN COVE SPRINGS – A Jacksonville man was arrested after he allegedly assaulted another man while the two were being held at the Clay County Jail following their arrests.
The Clay County Sheriff’s Office arrested Tashan Bruce Floyd, 27, on Feb. 20 for a retail theft incident, but booked him into the jail after he assaulted another man in the holding cell they were sharing.
According to the report, Floyd was shouting at deputies while the other inmate was using the phone in the holding cell. When the other man asked Floyd to be quiet, Floyd tried to initiate a fight and then punched the man and wrestled him into a headlock on the floor before deputies could intervene and break up the fight. The victim was moved to another cell and then Floyd was taken to be dressed in a jail uniform and isolated. During this time Floyd spit in the other man’s face as he passed the man’s new holding cell.
Floyd faces a felony charge of battery in a detention facility in addition to the retail theft of less than $100 charge. He is being held on about $20,000 bond and will appear in court on March 5.

Juvy crime leads to adult charges
KEYSTONE HEIGHTS – A man was arrested on a warrant for violent crimes committed early last year when he was a juvenile.
The Clay County Sheriff’s Office arrested Dylan Craig Hurt, 18, on Feb. 21 on a warrant that had been issued following incidents in March 2017, when Hurt was 17.
The warrant states Hurt assaulted a man with a knife, and used some sort of projectile to do more than $1,000 damage to the vehicle of a different person all on March 29 of last year. It was written in the warrant that Hurt would face the courts as an adult despite the fact that his crimes were committed when he was about a month from his 18th birthday.
He apparently turned himself in Feb. 21 and was booked into the Clay County Jail facing three felonies for aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, shooting or throwing an object into a vehicle, and vandalism of more than $1,000. Hurt has since been released from the jail.