Pubdate: Sun, 13 July 2008
Source: Ledger, The (Lakeland, FL)
Copyright: 2008 The Ledger
Contact:  http://www.theledger.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/795
Author: Anne Lindberg

DRUG BUST RESULTS IN DEATH OF MOTHER

PINELLAS PARK - Vice squad officers watched Thursday night as the two 
men appeared to sell several rocks of crack cocaine to an undercover 
police officer.

Time to move in.

They tried to maneuver several police vehicles around the suspects' 
car, hoping to block it in, a common police tactic.

But the white Monte Carlo broke free, bolted out of the Shoppes at 
Park Place and sped south on U.S. 19.

At the same time, a South Carolina woman, her three young children 
and a friend were turning left on U.S.  19 to 70th Avenue.

The Monte Carlo broadsided them, killing the mother and hospitalizing 
the other four.

The two suspects, both young St. Petersburg men, fled on foot but 
were arrested soon after. On Friday, police could not explain how the 
Monte Carlo got away from them.

The crack sold for $120.

Undercover Work Nothing New

Officers in Pinellas Park have been working undercover for some time 
now, buying crack cocaine in an effort to build cases against local 
dealers. Thursday was supposed to be a big payoff, with at least 
three busts in the area of the former ParkSide Mall.

The first two arrests went smoothly. The third did not.

An undercover officer agreed to meet Rashane Deangelo Barber, 21, in 
front of the garden center at the Target. Officers had bought drugs 
from him three times before, according to reports.

At 8:51 p.m., police said, Barber's half brother, Devonta Thorton 
Merriex, 20, pulled the Monte Carlo into the lot. The undercover 
officer bought six rocks for $20 each. As police moved in, the car took off.

Officers did not try to chase it and lost sight of it as it turned 
south onto U.S. 19. Moments later came a crash and a plume of smoke.

Only three minutes had elapsed since the Monte Carlo had entered the 
shopping center.

Police and paramedics who had been part of the take-down team rushed 
to the scene. The Monte Carlo was empty.

A Ford Taurus with its side bashed in was about 10 yards away. Dead 
behind the wheel was Nachenga E.  Robinson, 32.

Injured but alive in the back seat were her children: Eric, 13, 
Obadiah, 11, and I'on, 8.

In the front seat also injured was Caroline Johnson, 51, a friend of 
Robinson's father.

All are from Florence, S.C.

Rescuers needed extrication tools to get everyone out of the Taurus.

"They were all conscious at the scene," said Pinellas Park police 
spokesman Sandy Forseth. "They couldn't get out of the car right 
away. It was a pretty nasty scene."

The children were taken to All Children's Hospital. The family 
requested no information be released about their conditions.

Johnson was at Bayfront Medical Center in critical condition.

As paramedics helped the survivors, police and Pinellas sheriff's 
deputies began searching for the suspects.  Barber was arrested about 
20 minutes after the crash in the parking lot of a nearby restaurant, 
the Egg Platter.

A sheriff's deputy with a K-9, Deuce, tracked Merriex to a back yard 
off 62nd Avenue and found him hiding in a pile of debris and 
vegetation. He was taken to Northside Hospital and treated for 
scrapes and a dog bite.

Merriex was charged with vehicular homicide and multiple counts of 
leaving a crash scene. Barber was charged with multiple counts of 
cocaine sale and possession.

Both remained at the Pinellas County Jail Friday night on high bail amounts.

Records show the brothers have long criminal histories. 
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