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Deputy Says Inmate Hid Hacksaw Blade

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By LISA A. DAVIS, The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 19, 2007

LAND O' LAKES - A jail inmate awaiting trial on suspicion of first-degree murder and aggravated battery now has another charge to fight: introducing contraband into a correctional facility.

Lawrence Tener, accused of bludgeoning a woman to death and burying her on his Moon Lake property, is alleged to have had a hacksaw blade in the Land O' Lakes Jail.

A detention deputy on Wednesday was escorting the 25-year-old from his cell to the shower and noticed a pen sticking out of his sock, according to a Pasco County Sheriff's Office arrest affidavit. When the deputy removed the pen, he reportedly discovered a hacksaw blade attached to one end.

Tener was arrested in December 2004 after investigators unearthed Tammy Lee Bowles' body on his 5-acre property. The 43-year-old mother of four disappeared around Halloween of that year. Relatives searched for her but never reported her missing.

Detectives investigating the attack on another woman at Tener's home that December were tipped off that a body might be buried there.

Detectives think both women were beaten with the same fiberglass ax in separate attacks after meeting Tener at a local bar.

He was charged in both cases but hasn't gone to trial in either one and is being held without bail.

Since his arrest nearly three years ago, Tener has been a handful for detention deputies, sheriff's office spokesman Kevin Doll said.

'He's a red-dot inmate,' Doll said, referring to the old way of identifying problem inmates with a red sticker on their ID cards and files.

Now, inmates like Tener deemed 'dangerous or high-security risk' wear red uniforms so they stand out.

'He has a long history of disciplinary problems in our detention center,' Doll said.

Reporter Lisa A. Davis can be reached at (727) 815-1083 or ldavis@tampatrib.com.

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