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Man Charged In Former Brandon Basketball Standout's Beating

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By VALERIE KALFRIN | The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 19, 2008

Pedro Peguero

TAMPA - A man has been arrested in the severe beating of another man outside a Brandon bar early Thursday.

Pedro Peguero, 20, of Riverview, surrendered to detectives around 4 p.m. today. He was charged with aggravated battery with great bodily harm for the injuries to Sredrick Trevor Powe outside the Green Iguana bar and booked into Orient Road Jail without bail.

Powe, 27, of Brandon, is being treated at Tampa General Hospital, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office. Detectives said he is in unconscious and in critical condition. The hospital declined to release any information about his condition.

Powe played basketball at Brandon High School and Birmingham-Southern College, records show.

An attempt to reach Powe's family today was unsuccessful. Mark Herman, his former coach at Brandon High School, declined to comment about his injuries, on the advice of Powe's family.

The sheriff's office said Peguero left the Green Iguana Bar & Grill parking lot at 6264 Winthrop Town Centre Ave., Riverview, shortly after getting into a fight about 3 a.m. Thursday.

The sheriff's office said Powe was leaving the bar when he was attacked. The attacker struck him on the head, then stomped on his chest when he hit the ground, Lt. Mark Corso said.

Investigators did not know what caused the fight.

Peguero is a documented member of the City Squad criminal gang, according to deputies.

Online court records show Peguero has been arrested twice this year on battery charges, one a misdemeanor and one a felony. He was not prosecuted.

Records show Peguero was charged with attempted felony murder and felony robbery in 2005. He pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of misdemeanor battery and received probation; a finding of guilt was withheld in the case.

A 6-foot-7 center, Powe notably overcame adversity in his personal life after he recovered from a stroke suffered in 2001 while attending Tallahassee Community College. He was awarded a scholarship at Birmingham-Southern. A March 2006 news story notes he averaged 10.6 points and a team leading 6.1 rebounds.

Reporter Valerie Kalfrin can be reached at (813) 259-7800.

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