Manatee County names top deputies for November, December

Manatee County names two top deputies of month

MANATEE -- The Manatee County Sheriff's Office named its top deputies for December and November in a press release Tuesday.

Billie Wilson was honored as top December deputy.

He and his family were spending Oct. 18 with his parents in Hillsborough County when a man ran in front of him shooting a gun.

Wilson secured his children and identified himself as a deputy. The man continued shooting.

Wilson followed and called 911 with a description of the suspect and his location while describing the weapon based on his knowledge as a firearms instructor.

Hillsborough deputies arrived and the man surrendered.

Sgt. Tammy Ambrus was named top November deputy. Ambrus was on duty April 2 when deputies brought an inmate to medical staff. The inmate began walking quickly toward stairs to the second floor.

Ambrus ordered her to stop, but she continued running up the stairs yelling: "I can't take this anymore."

She climbed the railing and attempted to jump.

Ambrus grabbed the inmate, pulled her back over the railing and saved her.

Young, Rojas named top sheriff's employees

MANATEE -- The Manatee County Sheriff's Office named its top civilian employee for December and November in a press release Tuesday.

Linda Young was named December Employee of the Month.

An Oct. 31 report through the abuse hotline voiced concerns about supervision being provided by a mother. The report listed only two children, but it the mother had five children and only two could be found.

Young researched prior reports and interviewed the mother, which led to the children being seen for a safety assessment.

Christian Rojas was named for November.

A man was found March 24 inside an apartment with fatal gunshot wounds to the head. Another man was injured, but there were no other witnesses or leads.

A vehicle yielded 29 latent fingerprints, which were sent to the Fingerprint Unit where Rojas made comparisons. After hours of work, several fingerprint identifications were made and six suspects arrested in the case and several other cases.

SCF Brain Bowl team finishes second in tourney

BRADENTON -- State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota, Brain Bowl A Team took second place Nov. 14-15 in the Delta Burke Brain Bowl Tournament at Valencia College.

Michael Freedman, Haley Miller, David Espinal and Paul Foerster registered a 9-1 record and took top honors for a two-year college bested only by New College of Florida, a four-year institution. New College is coached by SCF graduate Naimul Chowdhury, a former national champions SCF Brain Bowl team leader.

SCF B Team Ariel Watsky and Damien Bobrek, an SCF Collegiate School student in 11th grade playing in his first college tournament, placed 14th out of 32 teams.

Watsky was named Brain Bowl Player of the Month in September by the Florida College System Activities Association.

SCF Venice Students ceramics sale set Dec. 1-3

BRADENTON -- State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota, students will have their annual holiday ceramics sale from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Dec. 1-3 at SCF Venice, 8000 S. Tamiami Trail, outside building 700.

Information: Call Charlene Pratt, 941-408-1488.

-- Herald staff reports

This story was originally published November 24, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Manatee County names top deputies for November, December ."