Tampa Bay Times from St. Petersburg, Florida • 27

3b ST. PETERSBURG TIMES SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 21. 1988 Off icials search for clues in shooting at Tampa store By JOHN BURR Times Sttft Writer Timet photot VICTOR JUNCO The shooting took place at a store on the comer of Waters Avenue and Pinehurst Drive. ryj 1 nrr i i I r. -i I i i)l iff 4 if 1 i TAMPA Hillsborough Sheriffs investigators began searching Saturday for suspects in a convenience store shooting that left a store clerk dead and a customer seriously injured.

"We're just beginning to explore some very tenuous leads," said Lt. Robert Shrader. "We don't have much to go on right now, but we're just starting." The customer, Raymond M. Berta, 29, was listed in critical but stable condition Saturday at Tampa General Hospital. He was shot twice during an apparent robbery, said Sheriffs spokesman Jack Espinosa.

No money appeared to be missing Trom the store register, he said. The clerk, Rita Waldron, 43, of 8833 Auburn Way, was killed by gunfire. Ms. Waldron was described by neighbor Richard Rogers as a personable, outgoing woman with a good sense of humor. Rogers said she had been working at the store for about a month.

The shooting occurred at a Texaco food mart at the corner of Waters Avenue and Pinehurst Drive. The store is on a heavily traveled road and is surrounded by small shopping centers and office buildings. "It's a busy neighborhood store," Shrader said. "Many of the people who go there are regular customers." Shrader said he could not remember any other robberies at the store. Police believe the shooting occurred minutes before the two victims were discovered by two men who went into the store at 9 p.m.

to buy sodas, Shrader said. Authorities said Saturday that Berta may be the only witness. Espinosa said. -Television news personality Geraldo Rivera was riding with sheriffs deputies Friday night and was at the store shortly after the shooting. Rivera was filming a series on crime and violence in U.S.

cities, Espinosa said. Rivera could not be reached for comment Saturday. Convenience store robberies have become increasing common in Tampa and Hillsborough County. In most cases, robbers escape with a small amount of money. Police say the growing number of robberies is largely caused by crack cocaine users desperate for money.

Three Florida cities require convenience stores to have two clerks on duty at night to deter robberies. Brooksville passed such a law in February, five months after New Port Richey adopted the requirement. Gainesville's 1985 law was the first in Florida to require two night clerks. Timet photo VICTOR JUNCO Don Hunt of the Sheriffs Office checks for fingerprints at the shooting scene Saturday. Boychoir members love life on the road briofty By SUE CARLTON Timet Staff Writer iit.w 'j ii Hp; E.

Allen Schultz, director of development for the school. "It's a very short time, very special." Only the most accomplished performers are chosen to go on tour to perform the mostly classical pieces. "The real honor is to be in the touring choir," said James Litton, music director. "The boys look forward to it and will do just about anything to be in it." The boys spend 12 weeks a year on the road, taking daily lessons from traveling faculty members. "Sometimes, you look up and say, 'Where are said Trey Titcomb, an alto.

But the boys unanimously agree it's worth it. "I love to hear myself sing," said Caruso. "It's like, oh, wow, I'm getting better and better." When they stop for a performance, local families usually members of the church where the choir is performing take some of the boys home for a night. "There's a sense of family in the homes, and (the boys) need that," said tour director Carol Prishman. Despite the discipline, the boys still have a chance to cut up.

"We get in small fights, we holler at each other and some other stuff I won't mention," said Caruso. "I mean, we're still boys." CAMPAIGN CALENDAR The St. Petersburg Times publishes a daily campaign calendar to Inform readers how they can see and hear this year's presidential candidates. Events here must be held in a public place and offer voters a chance to listen to or question speakers on the issues in the election. TODAY ST.

PETERSBURG A lesser-known national candidate will appear tonight in St. Petersburg. Ron Ehren-relch, the vice presidential nominee of the Socialist Party USA, will speak at 7 p.m. at the Friends Meeting House, 130 19th Ave. SE.

The public is invited. Ehren-reich, 38, Is a community activist and teacher in Syracuse, N.Y. The party's presidential nominee is Willa Kenoyer, 54, a free-lance writer from Shelby, Mich. TAMPA Todd Caruso, in his regulation black loafers, navy slacks and a windbreaker emblazoned "American Boy-choir," sat in a pew of St. John's Episcopal Church, awaiting another rehearsal and wondering what life would be like as a "normal" boy.

"Yeah, they get to sit around, they get to watch TV," said the brown-eyed, 12-year-old. "But between the ages of 10 and 12, I've been to Florida, Texas, California. I've been to England, to Canada. I'd much rather be doing what I'm doing." The American Boychoir, 26 boys ages 9 to 14 from across the United States, were in town Saturday night for a choral concert at St. John's Episcopal Church in Hyde Park.

But for a group that has performed at the White House, the Vatican, on national television and at Radio City Music Hall, Saturday was just another day's work a 12-hour stopover between Sannibel Island and Atlanta, Ga. The touring group makes up about half the enrollment of the American Boychoir School, a 51-year-old boarding school for boys in Princeton, N.J. Boys are admitted by audition only and attend through the eighth-grade the time when most boys' voices have begun to change. "After the voice changes, he goes back to his family and a normal life," said Teen-ager killed in accident on ami BRADENTON A 14-year-old boy was killed Saturday when he was pinned between two vehicles on his family's dairy farm, the Florida Highway Patrol said. Mark David Peachy died about an hour after the 2:35 p.m.

accident at Peachy Dairy in Bradenton. Trooper Barbara Shoemaker said a payloader driven by Peachy's brother, Troy, was towing the semi cab with a chain. The chain came loose and Mark Peachy tried to reattach it. The cab rolled forward, pinning him, Shoemaker said. No charges will be filed, she said.

Renters attacked, Pasco police say HOLIDAY A late rent check was the cause of an attack on a Holiday couple, the victims told Pasco County sheriff's deputies! When the John and Carla Bowden returned Friday night to their home in the Bridge Mobile Home Park in Holiday, they were attacked by the park managers, authorities said. After the attack, assistant park managers Linda Jean Keesler and John Martin of 3707 Alt. U.S. 19 were arrested and charged with aggravated battery and burglary. Timet photo VICTOR JUNCO Scott Cooper folds a robe during preparations for Saturday night's conceit HONESTY INTEGRITY RELIABILITY OUR 15th YEAR A NEAT SOLUTION A li Closet Garage Special Sttwagt System Custom Designed Maximum Use of Space Furniture-Grade Wood Products Neath.

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