The Orlando Sentinel from Orlando, Florida • B3

Orlando Sentinel: PRODUCT: OS DESK: LOC DATE: 03-03-2004 EDITION: MET ZONE: MET PAGE: B3.0 DEADLINE: 0.24 COM POSETIME: 01.00 CMYK Orlando Sentinel FINAL WEDNESDAY, MARCH 3, 2004 B3 CENTRAL FLORIDA Deal avoids death penalty son. Under the deal, Hefling, 41, is expected to plead to second-degree murder. Hefling, a subcontractor for Burdines had cleaned air- hefling conditioning ducts at Weaver's home in February 2001. Investigators say he returned to the Weaver home later, raped and killed the woman and then tried to set fire to the home. On Aug.

27, 2001, Weaver, 52, was found dead in her home after a package delivery driver reported that he smelled smoke around the home. Hefling had committed rapes and other crimes before the attack on Weaver, but he had been granted early release from prison. In 1986, Hefling pleaded no contest to raping and robbing a 31 -year-old woman at gunpoint in her Winter Springs home. At the time, he was on probation for the 1980 rape and false imprisonment of another Seminole County woman. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison for the 1986 rape but was released in 1998 after serving almost 12 years.

After his release, Hefling began repairing air conditioners locally. Repeat rapist to plead guilty in 2001 killing By ANTHONY C0LAR0SSI SENTINEL STAFF WRITER An air-conditioning repairman charged with the 2001 rape and murder of a southwest Orange County woman is expected to plead guilty today as part of deal that will spare his life. Prosecutors agreed to a life sentence for Jeffrey Alan Hefling and will waive the death penalty in exchange for his plea, said Lisa Rober-son, a spokeswoman for Orange-Osceola State Attorney Lawson Lamar. Hefling, who pleaded guilty last week in an unrelated rape in Seminole County and had a prior record as a sex offender, was linked to the rape and murder of Cathy Sue Weaver at her home in August 2001 through DNA matching. He was initially charged with first-degree murder, burglary of a dwelling with assault or battery, sexual battery with a deadly weapon and ar- Lowrider in the crowd Ken Burkhart motorcyclists Beach.

An attend the The Area i in Brief BREVARD COUNTY Man gets life for plot to kill prosecutor An Oviedo man was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison for soliciting the premeditated murder of Tom Hastings, a prosecutor with the Seminole-Brevard State Attorney's Office. Eugene Jenerette also received a 30-year sentence for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Jenerette, 49, was convicted on both charges in January. He was acquitted on an attempted-murder charge. The solicitation charge is a first-degree felony, punishable by up to 30 years in prison, said prosecutor Chris White.

But Brevard Circuit Court Judge Warren Burk granted a request from White to declare Jenerette a habitual felony offender, increasing the crime to a life felony. While in the Seminole County Jail, Jenerette began discussions in October 2002 with an undercover investigator. A videotape made minutes after Jenerette was released from jail showed him meeting with the agent and accepting a silencer, a map to Hastings' house and $1,500. Under Florida law, a silencer is considered a firearm. LAKE COUNTY Driver plows into trailer, dies A 17-year-old motorist died after he failed to stop at an intersection and his car went under a trailer on County Road 44A in north Lake County late Tuesday.

Witnesses said the Honda was southbound on Estes Road, ran the stop sign at C.R. 44A and collided with a westbound tractor-trailer. Teddy Allen Wright Jr. of Eustis died at the scene, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. Tractor-trailer driver Steve Warren, 35, of Titusville, said, "I did not know anything hit me until I looked out my mirror and sawthe sparks." The top of the Honda was still embedded under the tractor-trailer, which stopped about one-tenth of a mile west of where the 7:45 p.m.

collision occurred. ORLANDO 7 hurt getting off fair ride Seven people, ranging in age from 13 to 35, were injured Tuesday night while getting off a ride at the Central Florida Fair, authorities said. About 10 p.m., riders leaving a ride called Pirat were injured when a metal platform collapsed about 30 inches, said Orlando Fire Department Assistant Chief John Miller. Six people were taken to Health Central hospital from the fair, at the fairgrounds at 4603 W. Colonial Drive.

Miller described their injuries as "bumps and bruises." A seventh person was treated at the fairgrounds. OVIEDO Package of DOT files returned A package containing personal and financial information about more than 45 employees of the Florida Department of Transportation is back in the proper hands, the Seminole County Sheriff's Office said Tuesday. Someone standing outside the DOT office at 2400 Camp Road near Oviedo signed for the package from a FedEx deliveryman Feb. 23, but he apparently was not a DOT employee, deputies said. Deputies were notified Tuesday that the FedEx envelope arrived in the regular mail Monday afternoon, postage due.

The package was battered but it did not appear to have been opened, sheriff's spokesman Steve Olson said. SEMINOLE COUNTY Indictments issued in slayings A Seminole County grand jury handed down four first-degree premeditated murder indictments Tuesday in connection with the Feb. 10 beating death of an Altamonte Springs man and the shooting death three years ago of a Sanford man. Michael Morin, 20, and Courtney Schulloff, 16, were indicted in the death last month of Schulloff's father. Steven Schulloff, 48, was found stuffed into a plastic storage container in his Altamonte Springs condominium at 630 Cranes Way.

He had been beaten to death. Clifton Lee Mulkey, 27, and Marcus Antoni Sheppard, 23, were VOLUSIA Daytona Beach LAKE SEMINOLE Oviedo Orlando ORANGE Kennedy Space Center OSCEOLA BREVARD POLK FLORIDA Map area ORLANDO SENTINEL indicted in the Feb. 22, 2001, shooting death of Milton Roundtree, 29, of Sanford. SEMINOLE COUNTY Orlando man killed in crash A 32-year-old Orlando man died early Tuesday morning when he lost control of his car while exiting State Road 408 onto Interstate 4, according to a traffic report. Nema Hassan Al-Saleem, 1817 S.

Kirkman Road, Apt. 1521, failed to negotiate the curve of the exit's off-ramp while traveling at an excessive speed shortly before 2:10 a.m., the report said. Al-Saleem's 1999 Mitsubishi Eclipse slid sideways onto the grass shoulder area of the ramp before flipping onto its roof. VOLUSIA COUNTY Dead toddler pulled from pool A 21 -month-old DeLeon Springs girl died Tuesday evening after she fell into the family's backyard swimming pool, the Volusia County Sheriff's Office said. Rescue workers and family members tried to resuscitate Stephanie Piedra after she fell in the pool at 5711 Walter St.

about 6:30 p.m. The girl was taken to Florida Hospital DeLand, where she was pronounced dead. The Sheriff's Office said the girl and her mother were in the front yard when the girl wandered away unnoticed. The father discovered the girl in the pool and pulled her out. The girl's mother then called 911.

The Sheriff's Office did not release the parents' names. The Volusia County Medical Examiner's Office will conduct an autopsy. The death is being treated as accidental. DAYTONA BEACH Warrant dropped for bird killer A Volusia County judge has dismissed a warrant for the arrest of minor league pitcher Jae Kuk Ryu, who fatally beaned an osprey with a baseball last summer. Judge Freddie Worthen on Friday ruled that Ryu's probation was successfully completed after receiving a written apology from Ryu, 20, and proof that the former Daytona Cub had completed 100 hours community service.

Ryu toppled an osprey from a 40-foot perch on a light pole before a game. The osprey, known to fans as Ozzy, eventually died, leaving a mate named Harriet, several chicks and untold fans forlorn. Probation officials requested the warrant because they were not immediately told of Ryu's service at a Key West wildlife rescue center. Ryu of South Korea is due to report to spring training for the Chicago Cubs baseball organization in Mesa, later this week. ORLANDO Medicine-filled trailers stolen Two trailers reportedly stocked with millions of dollars worth of medications and narcotics were stolen from an Orlando freighting company Saturday evening, the Orlando Police Department said.

A security guard at Averitt Express allowed two men into the company's fenced-in facility, where the suspects convinced the employee they had been sub-contracted to pick up a pair of trailers, the police report said. They spent nearly 20 minutes on the property before driving away with the stolen goods On Sunday, an unidentified Averitt truck driver traveling north from South Florida near Interstate 75 and State Road 27 noticed the abandoned and empty trailers detached from their rigs in the opposite lane, company manager Robert Bruns told police. Gary Taylor, Jim Buynak, Amy C. Rippel, Robert Perez, Jeff Libby and Jeff Darlington of the Sentinel staff contributed to this report. MILES 0 10 In April 2002, a representative for Weaver's estate sued Hefling and Burdines for the negligent hiring of Hefling, court records say.

The firm directly employing Hefling, Adler Services was also named in the lawsuit. A news conference today will discuss a settlement with Burdines in the civil case and proposed consumer-protection legislation, said a spokesman for the attorneys involved in the civil matter. Burdines spokesman Carey Watson said Burdines' contract with Adler, the subcontractor that hired Hefling, required Adler to perform criminal background checks on its employees. "Had we known of his criminal record, we would have never sent him into our customers' homes," he said. Last year, Seminole County authorities linked Hefling to the 1984 rape and stabbing of a Winter Springs woman using DNA evidence preserved from the crime.

On Friday, Hefling pleaded guilty to the charges stemming from that attack and was sentenced to life in prison. Sarah Hale Meitnerof the Sentinel staff contributed to this report. Anthony Colarossi can be reached at 407-420-6218 or acolarossiorlandosentinel.com. Success leads jail to repeat amnesty day By ALICIA A. CALDWELL SENTINEL STAFF WRITER Brevard County sheriff's officials weren't convinced that an amnesty day for people wanted on outstanding arrest warrants would work.

However, when 42 scofflaws showed up Saturday to answer more than 50 warrants, pay their bail and avoid jail, officials declared the day a "surprising success." Now they have announced plans to repeat the event monthly to help alleviate chronic crowding at the county jail. On average it took people about 70 minutes to be processed and released, compared with an eight- to 14-hour jail stay for people arrested on warrants, sheriff's spokeswoman Yvonne Martinez said. The next amnesty day is April 3. Like last week's event, anyone with an outstanding warrant for a misdemeanor or nonviolent felony is encouraged to show up at the sheriff's warrants section in Viera, pay their bail and promise to go to court at the appointed time. Sheriff's officials don't expect the program will make a significant dent in the more than 26,000 open warrants in Brevard County.

However, it should reduce the number of people who have to go through the jail, Cmdr. Terry Airman said. Alicia A. Caldwell can be reached at acaldwellorlandosentinel.com or 386-851-7924. not at fault pulled their license?" Bigney asked.

A DCF spokeswoman declined comment Tuesday. Orlando police discovered Phillip Strong was the father of J.D.S. 's baby last September through a DNA match. He was charged with one count of sexual battery on a mentally disabled person but has been ruled mentally incompetent to stand trial. Bigney added that Hester Strong had no basis to believe her husband would rape a young woman the family had cared for since she was a child.

"She had no reason to think for a second that he would do what he did," Bigney said. "My client has been married to this guy for, oh, I don't know, 50 years. Surely she had no reason to suspect that this girl was in any harm." The prosecutor, who is handling both cases against the Strongs, was unavailable for comment Tuesday. Hester Strong was present in the Orange County Courthouse Tuesday but did not comment on her case. Orange Circuit Judge Stan Strickland set the pretrial hearing for April 27 and a tentative trial date for May 10.

Anthony Colarossi can be reached atacolarossiorlandosentinel.com or 407-420-6218. JIM TILLERTHE DAYTONA BEACH NEWS-JOURNAL drives his scooter Tuesday alongside in town for Bike Week 2004 in Daytona estimated 500,000 bikers are expected to 63rd annual event being held this week. Attorney: Ex-caregiver By ANTHONY COLAROSSI SENTINEL STAFF WRITER The lawyer representing the former caregiver of a disabled woman raped and impregnated while living in a state-licensed Orlando group home says his client has been unfairly singled out in the case. Hester Strong, 74, was charged with felony neglect of a disabled person after authorities learned that Strong's husband, Phillip, impregnated J.D.S., who is severely retarded. At a court appearance Tuesday, her trial date was tentatively set for May.

While Hester Strong had the most daily contact with J.D.S., her pregnancy was not apparent to her or others who saw her routinely, said attorney David Bigney. Strong first learned the woman was pregnant after she brought her to the doctor for a regular physical exam last April, Bigney said. That was about five months into the pregnancy. "She had no idea that this girl was pregnant," he said. "There is little or no indication that she was visibly pregnant.

As soon as she found out, she did report it." J.D.S., now 23, did not have regular menstrual cycles, so Strong was not alarmed when the woman she had taken care of for years missed her period. "She could go a month. She could go two. She could go three months without having a menstrual cycle," Bigney said. But police say Hester Strong failed to protect the woman she was entrusted to care for by the state Department of Children Families.

Bigney, however, raised questions Tuesday about DCF's role in protecting J.D.S., who was 22 at the time of the rape and suffers from cerebral palsy, mental retardation and autism. Bigney said Hester Strong was caring for up to six mentally disabled people in her home. He said it was impossible for her to monitor each special-needs individual all of the time. "At her age, should DCF have done a more thorough investigation?" Bigney asked. "We don't know.

Perhaps." Hester Strong had been re-authorized to care for J.D.S. and other DCF clients shortly before the pregnancy was discovered. The agency also ran background checks on Phillip Strong, who also is in his mid-70s, Bigney noted. "If they were not appropriate people to do that care for special-needs people shouldn't DCF have COLORSTRIP: I.