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Father Accused Of Beating Man Boasting Of Killing His Son

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By VALERIE KALFRIN

vkalfrin@tampatrib.com

Published: October 24, 2008

TAMPA - Vidal Mills once said in a police report that he had no problem being arrested for defending his son. He finds himself in that situation again.

Eighteen months ago, Mills' 17-year-old son, Cedric "C.J." Mills, was fatally shot in his driveway. Now Mills and Ernest Mills, the teenager's uncle, have been charged with misdemeanor battery and felony false imprisonment for beating a 19-year-old man who allegedly boasted of being involved in the unsolved case.

C.J. Mills was a Jefferson High School football star who dreamed of playing in the National Football League. On April 25, 2007, two men sprang out of a Chrysler Sebring and fatally shot the youth, police said.

C.J. Mills' sister was working at the McDonald's restaurant at 1905 N. Dale Mabry Highway on the evening of Oct. 15 when she recognized a customer as "the person that was bragging on the street that he killed her brother," according to police.

The sister told her mother that Fredrick Powell, 19, was in the restaurant.

A short time later her father and uncle arrived. Police said Vidal Mills, 36, struck Powell in the face, then grabbed him from behind and began dragging him toward the exit. When Powell resisted, Vidal and Ernest Mills, 33, began kicking him.

The men left when told police were called.

Police arrested Vidal Mills at home the next day. They arrested Ernest Mills at home Wednesday. Ernest Mills denied kicking Powell.

The Mills brothers are free on $2,500 bail.

In January 2005, Vidal Mills pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor battery charge for punching someone who had fought with his son.

The report noted, "He further stated he has no problem with being arrested for taking up for his son."

Trio Charged With Trafficking

Police and the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office arrested three men accused of attempting to sell $6,000 worth of cocaine to an undercover investigator.

Freddie Lopez Jr. and Juan Antonio Ramos, both of Ruskin, and Arnold Castaneda of Wimauma are each charged with felony cocaine trafficking. Each was held without bail at the Orient Road Jail on Thursday.

Authorities arrested the men about 4:40 p.m. Wednesday at Big Bend Road and U.S. 301 in Riverview. Ramos, 28, arranged for the other men to sell 12 ounces of cocaine to the detective for $6,000.

A staff report

ManPleadsGuilty To Knife On Jet

A 44-year-old Tampa man has pleaded guilty to a federal charge of carrying a weapon on an airplane.

Raul Gambe Mata admitted he brought a hunting knife with a 6-inch blade in his carry-on bag when he attempted to board Delta flight 5634 from Tampa to Cincinnati on July 29.

Transportation Security Administration employee Victoria Alex saw the knife as she watched Mata's bag pass through the security X-ray machine, according to the plea agreement. Mata told investigators he knew the knife was in his bag.

The charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison, but Mata is likely to receive a lower sentence under federal sentencing guidelines.

Elaine Silvestrini

Woman Charged In Dog's Death

Angelique Stephens mistreated a dog so badly it became weak and bloated, according to Hillsborough County Animal Services investigators.

The brown-and-white male retriever mix named Ratchet was taken to a veterinarian and had to be euthanized, investigators said.

Stephens, 36, was arrested at 4:40 p.m. Wednesday. She was charged with animal cruelty, abandonment of an animal, and confinement of an animal without food and water. Stephens was released on $3,000 bail.

Investigators went to a home at 2206 E. Bougainvillea Ave. on Friday and found Ratchet tied to a fence with a barely detectable pulse.

It appeared Stephens moved and left Ratchet. Neighbors told investigators that she also left three cats.

A staff report

Lawsuit Claims False Arrest

It all started with a lost wallet.

By the end of his ordeal, Taillie Lee Gainer III, a 30-year-old youth leadership coach from Tampa, had been arrested on forgery charges, and had lost his mortgage broker and insurance agent licenses.

Thursday, he sued in federal court, accusing the Pasco County Sheriff's Office of a series of mistakes Gainer says led to his false arrest. Pasco Sheriff Bob White and Detective Rodger Turnbow are named in the complaint. Gainer is suing for damages of more than $15,000 and seeks a jury trial. Gainer's attorney, John Trevena, originally filed the complaint in Pasco County Circuit Court on Sept. 16.

Ray Reyes

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