and charged with "grand theft and drug possession" last week-- is speaking out for the first time only to 10 news -- to clear his name. reginald roundtree spoke with him. deputy steven smith says he is innocent. for 4 years down hill real fast after an ex- girlfriend told investigators he was using prescription drugs. his attorney says smith is a whistleblower, and was targeted when he spoke out against policies within the department. we get an exclusive look at what deputy smith and his attorney believe is a rush to judgement in a bad case. sot in-we believe the charges were motivated because my client was a whistle blower. 19:36:00 attorney john trevena represents former deputy steven smith. he says smith, a once honored deputy, was targeted by the sheriff's office. he complained about a policy which called for deputies to question 30 citizens a month with field interviews reports. trevena goes on with other issues like the shooting deputy smith was involved in back in april 2013. a suspect jumped from a vehicle with what appeared to be an ar-15 rifle and ran. dep smith is there in the white shirt shooting. smith says he was questioned more incident. trevena says there's a reason why. sot in-19:39:56 they tried to specifically shape dep smith testimony... essentially witness tampering. last week after smith was arrested sheriff bob gualtieri says smith had a drug problem. "he was trying to mask it and hide it...we knew there was a problem." smith was charged with grand theft and possession of a controlled substance. trevena says there is a big problem with the drug charge. sot 19:35:32 in my 31 years of practicing law i have yet to see case where someone is charged with possession...and no drugs. trevena says there have been a number of cases involving deputies on the wrong side of the law..but he says this was a rush to judgement. sot in-19:33:30 sheriff gualtireri has had a number of cases of deputies admittedly committed criminal offenses...and never been charged smith says he's looking for just one thing. sot 19:39:56 i need to get my name back....a man a father and a deputy. we did reach out but were told they've said all they will about smith's firing. later today we expect a news conference where more information will be released. 10 news will be there and keep you posted. the suspect in a string of carjackings is in custody this morning. he was captured at his home just a few on thursday night. ralph forte is accused of trying to carjack 3-people and injuring one woman. here's what one witness says happened. venice police say they identified forte by a "fingerprint"-- and in surveillance video from "88 spa massage." they say he admitted to committing all the crimes. the victim at the business underwent a successful surgery for head injuries. several canceled concerts in the bay area. ticketholders insist they've been refused refunds. and this morning they're pointing the blame at the promoter. 10news reporter kendra why the company's hit a sour note with bands and fans. saving abel rocks the stage as part of the make america rock again tour in orlando earlier this month - and should've played in tampa... the next day. fans showed up at the cuban club... but the show did not go on. the same thing just happened saturday to matt florio and 2 dozen friends... who turned out to see enough's enough only to discover the concert cancelled. fans tell 10news they've tried to get fans tell 10news they've tried to get their money back... ticketmaster sending this response saying... they didn't have information showing the event was even canceled. both shows that turned out to be a bust - organized by st. pete's - phoenix productions - and promoter jack bodziak. bodziak blames an investor who he says threatened bodziak sign over his company stock.. when he refused... they pulled the plug...leading to the cancellations problems with the promoter... phoenix productions does have other shows scheduled in the productions does have other shows scheduled in the next month - queensryche is set for december - here again at the cuban club... bodziak vows - it's a go... but right now concert-goers are holding off on shelling out any more money. kendra conlon, 10 news wtsp as the former jannus landing operator... bodziak served more than a year prison time for defrauding taxpayers out of a quarter million dollars in sales tax. he vows to set things straight with the ticketmaster refunds. less than 24- hours after their clinton and donald trump-- took the stage to roast each other during a fundraiser for catholic charities. some of the people at the al smith dinner in new york city said it got uncomfortable at times. the two barely spoke as they dined one seat away from each other. but unlike their final debate...the candidates shook hands when it was all over. both candidates will be campaigning in "must-win" states later today. it's a deadly crisis. heroin addiction crisis. heroin addiction is sweeping the bay area and taking the lives of hundreds. manatee county is ground zero. 10news reporter courtney robinson breaks down the new numbers showing the pkg heroin has ripped apart families claiming lives and overwhelming law enforcement trying to fight the drug war. in manatee county its earned the reputation of drug death capital of the state. according to the florida department of law enforcement . heroin was partially responsible for 45 deaths in 2015. an equally lethal opiod fentanyl 77. and this year looks to be deadlier . with 891 suspected overdoses and 60 deaths. while law enforcement in both sarasota and manatee counties is working to stop the addiction and end the deadly trend . little seems to be working. -- -- standup close but manatee county deputies are making dozens of arrests and they'll continue doing that because this has got to stop. here at the manatee county medical examiner's office the morgue is overcapacity and they've performed a record number of autopsies because of the spike in heroin and fentanyl related deaths. in sarasota, cr, statewide 779 people died from heroin in 2015. fentanyl claimed 911 lives. new information: the fed says an eleventh person has died from a defective takata air bag inflator. a 50-year-old california woman is the latest victim-- according to the "national highway traffic safety administration." honda says she was driving a 2001 civic. the air bags can inflate with too much force-- causing their metal interior to rupture and spew shrapnel. the problem now the largest auto recall in u-s history. the hashtag "while driving" is growing in popularity on social media sites like instagram and twitter. the idea is you take a picture or video while you're driving, then post it using the hashtag. 10 news reporter shannon valladolid show you this dangerous craze that's hitting the road. :32-:38 larry mckinnon pio, hillsbourgh sheriff shannon valladolid 1:02- 1:26 if your search for nats cars thousands of tweets like these come up drivers bragging about using their phone while behind the wheel. "it's playing russian roulette actually, is what it is." 5 seconds. a study done by erie insurance ranked florida the number two state in the u.s. with the most post using #whiledriving detective larry mckinnon explains many crave the social media attention and will do anything for that like or retweet. "you're literally pulling your life in danger for the title of having the most outrages picture and it's just not worth it." 11 seconds. people are posting everything from selfies to scenery. "you got some likes and some shares but then all of a sudden you're that person on the news that caused that accident that killed someone, it's not worth it." mckinnon tells us having to call a family about a death due to distracted driving is never easy.. he finds it disturbing that there's actually a hashtag encouraging people to do it. "it heightens the tragedy about the death because it could have been prevented." shannon there are some apps to help stop distracted driving. one called email, surf the web and use any form of social media when someone is behind the wheel. now if you put the app on your child or loved ones phone and they try to disable it, you will get an alert. it costs 129 dollars. shannon valladolid 10 news wtsp the study also showed that 55 percent of the "#- whiledriving posts"-- are coming from men. coming up at 5 on 10 news this morning.. what we are working on this morning. it's been two weeks since hurricane matthew. right now, tampa electric crews are getting ready to head to the bahamas where some areas are still without power this morning. one man is a thousand dollars richer all for picking up a penny. we'll explain. we are working on all those stories, plus ashley has your fall-like weekend forecast, and hilary is checking on the roads. that's all coming down a woman's leg while she's driving! you won't believe what she does next! plus, the secret information released about this baseball player. it's scoring him gifts - instead of causing controversy. i've been thinking... this might be the one thing in the world you pull apart to come together. new papa john's cinnamon pull-aparts weather xxx bobby weather demolition of the now complete. that chunk of concrete is the very last piece of the old this video on twitter thursday... saying "on to new beginnings". work on the new pier is scheduled to begin early in 2017, with a grand opening expected late in 20-18. you've heard of snakes on planes-- but snakes in cars-- seems to be the new problem. on tuesday-- we showed you this video from a pinellas county man -- who says a 6-foot snake emerged from his under his hood! new this morning-- another incident... and this time, the snake was inside the car! a south carolina woman says this snake popped its head out of the dashboard of her truck! she says for 10 terrifying minutes-- the snake poked its head in and out of the dashboard. she says she started praying the snake didn't get any closer. lisa says she couldn't figure out how the snake got the first place. so she came up with a solution to her problem. she went home that night, cleaned out her truck -- and sold it! the internet can be a funny place. and cleveland indians' pitcher ryan merritt now knows that all too well. he helped secure the team's spot in the world series wednesday night... and fans found a unique way to say thanks. during the game-- a link to the 24- year-old's wedding registry went viral-- spreading the word to fans! people went online and bought the couple nearly every off their target and pottery barn lists. and when most of the gifts were fulfilled-- some people even bought gift cards! now the couple has to figure out what with all the gifts. it was stars behind the bar thursday night. at "the hanger" in downtown st. pete. bay area personalities including rays broadcaster orestes destrade. state representative chris latvala. our very own. 10news reporter beau zimmer. all coming together to help raise money for charity. some of the bartenders were better serving drinks than others. but it was all for a good cause. the event was put on by the pinellas leadership council... and helped raise close to seven thousand dollars for big brother big sisters of tampa bay. a 3 year opld girl became an internet hero with her epic class picture day outfit. after the break, we'll show you the unusual outfit she wore. coming up tonight on 10 news and c-b-s. starting at 8:00, macgyver, followed by hawaii five-o at 9:00. at 10:00, blue bloods. then tune in to 10 news at 11. don't forget to stay up for the late show with stephen colbert and his don't forget, you can always take 10 news with you just download the 10 news app. it's a fast look at breaking news, weather and traffic - and get alerts so you won't miss a thing. search wtsp 10 news in the app probably the cutest story you'll see today- and it's going viral on reddit. 3-year-old kaylieann steinbach lovear superhero costumes. her parents said for two weeks straight - she wore her bright blue velvet superman dress and matching cape every day. so her parents weren't surprised when she chose to wear the costume - and carry her superman figurine - for this adorable school picture. coming up on 10 news this morning... tampa electric bahamas where some areas are still without power this morning after hurricane matthewhit the island. hillary clinton and donald trump attended a charity gala in new york thursday night, where the two candidates cracked jokes at each other and themselves. and a video you can't miss. a deer was rescued by a texas police officer only to find the animal keeps returning to him. we'll be back with another look at your weather and traffic, in three minutes. ? news this morning. i'm allison kropff. and i'm ian reitz. right now-- tampa

Related Keywords

New York , United States , Erie , Florida , Tampa Bay , Tampa , Texas , Pinellas County , California , Russia , Bahamas , The , South Carolina , Phoenix , Arizona , Orlando , Cuba , Hawaii , America , Russian , Cuban , Ryan Merritt , Matt Florio , John Trevena , Chris Latvala , Steven Smith , Papa John , Shannon Valladolid , Ian Reitz , Stephen Colbert , Kendra Conlon , Reginald Roundtree , Courtney Robinson , Larry Mckinnon , Al Smith , Cleveland Indian , Bob Gualtieri , Ashley Batey , Hillary Clinton ,