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Settlement OK'd In Man's Death

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TBO.com

Published: February 14, 2009

TAMPA - A federal judge on Friday approved the city's $150,000 settlement to the family of a man killed during a 2005 traffic stop.

U.S. District Judge Elizabeth Kovachevich said the settlement is "fair, adequate and reasonable," despite disagreements among Musa Yazid's relatives as to how the money is being divided.

The settlement also includes a provision that Police Chief Stephen Hogue write a letter to the family that will be "at least an acknowledgement, if not apologizing for the conduct of the officers that night," said Chad Pilon, an attorney for the family. That aspect was not subject to the judge's approval.

Ursula Richardson, an attorney for the city, said the letter, which has not been finalized, will not be an apology. Rather, she described it as "an acknowledgement that even though we believe the officers did what they were supposed to do, that we understand that they lost somebody who was important to them."
Yazid was pulled over for a traffic violation May 19, 2005, and police said the stop went awry after he gave a false name. They said there was a struggle and two officers, David Joyner and Jason Brocato, used stun guns to try to control Yazid.

Yazid, of Tampa, got back in his car and tried to drive off, police said. When his car headed toward one of the officers, they shot Yazid.

The lawsuit, filed in 2007, alleged police tried to take Yazid into custody with "no information or probable cause to believe Yazid was dangerous, violent or a threat to anyone."

Yazid's wife, Virginia "Tracey" Deneed Yazid, and two children, Khalid Earl Alphonso Yazid, 9, and Jameisha Williams, 19, will divide about $100,000 of the settlement left after $16,500 in attorneys' fees is deducted, along with other costs. Pilon stressed that the attorneys' fees amount to about 11 percent of the award, while state law allows up to 25 percent.

Yazid's widow is to receive 60 percent of the remaining award and his children 20 percent each.

Thieves Sought In 5 Burglaries Detectives are searching for two thieves who may be working together to burglarize offices in downtown Tampa and the Channel District.

The men are suspects in at least five burglaries. Detectives released information on two of the thefts Friday.

On Sunday, one of the men entered the Slade Condominium sales office at 119 N. 11th St. and started talking to an employee, police said. He then left the office and used a screwdriver to break in to two businesses in the same building, police said. He stole cash from both and left through a back door, police said.

On Thursday, the second man entered a corporate building at 601 N. Ashley Drive and broke in to locked offices on three floors. He stole five laptops and hid them inside a briefcase, police said. A lawyer who works in the building noticed the man pushing a briefcase that looked like his and asked to see it, which caused the suspect to run away with it, police said.

Couple Accused In Cockfighting

Deputies arrested a Tampa couple Friday, accusing them of owning roosters for cockfighting, records show.

Pedro Rodriguez, 35, and Maria Rodriguez, 30, are each charged with felony owning animals for fighting and felony owning equipment for animal fighting. Each was released from a Hillsborough County jail Friday after posting $4,000 bail, jail records show.

Sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter said the charges stem from evidence found at the couple's home in December under a search warrant related to a marijuana-growing investigation. Detectives found several roosters and what appeared to be a cockfighting ring on the property, she said.

A staff report

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