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Plea Deal Brings 15 Years In ID Theft

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By TODD LESKANIC

The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 29, 2008

DADE CITY - The normally outspoken victims of Tonya Adams' crimes weren't in court Thursday to see the end of the case that has haunted their lives for more than a year.

Adams, 31, of Zephyrhills, pleaded no contest to 28 counts relating to their stolen identities in late 2006 and early 2007. Adams entered the pleas as part of a deal with prosecutors that will keep her in prison for 15 years.

The sentence was the lightest offered by prosecutors since the onset of Adams' cases and was five years less than what Judge Pat Siracusa said he would accept as a minimum during a hearing last year.

Even so, defense attorney Jorge Angulo left the courthouse with reservations Thursday.

"This was more victim-driven than it should have been," he said. "She should have gotten the bottom of the sentencing guidelines."

Adams' co-defendant, Donnie Wheeler, 41, pleaded no contest to related charges in April and was sentenced to two years and six months in prison.

State guidelines dictated that Adams spend a minimum of nine years in prison, but prosecutors wouldn't agree to less than 15. Adams could have rejected the deal, but the alternatives proved too risky. If she had lost at trial, Adams could have faced as much as 160 years in prison.

At previous hearings, outspoken victims, most from Dade City and Zephyrhills, told Siracusa they wanted Adams severely punished. Many detailed the hardships they faced in putting their lives back together after Adams stole their mail, credit cards, W-2 forms and Social Security numbers, and used them to open fraudulent accounts or take money.

She was arrested in February 2007 after a Pasco County sheriff's investigator saw her stealing mail out of boxes on Sweetwater Road in Blanton. After her arrest, investigators searched three vehicles and found stolen mail, checks and notebooks full of credit card numbers.

In court Thursday, Adams pleaded no contest to 17 counts of criminal use of personal identification information, five counts of grand theft, two counts of uttering a forged instrument, two counts of burglary and one count of forgery.

Adams at first was hesitant to agree to the plea, telling Siracusa before the hearing that she didn't think Angulo had represented her effectively. Siracusa explained the options to her, and after a short break, she agreed to the deal.

"She's just scared," Angulo said. "That's the main thing. It's a lot of time."

Adams asked Siracusa for a two-day furlough so she could say goodbye to her children, but the judge refused.

Reporter Todd Leskanic can be reached at (727) 815-1084 or tleskanic@tampatrib.com.

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