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Dan Sullivan - Justice Reporter
Dan Sullivan

Justice Reporter

I got into this business because I like telling stories. The best stories, I think, are ones that touch on themes of justice and injustice, compassion and forgiveness, choices and consequences. You can find a lot of that in the local court and criminal justice system, which I write about for the Times. I was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, went to high school in Massachusetts, and came to Florida for college. I graduated from the University of Tampa in 2006. My wife, Meg, is a teacher. Outside work, I enjoy long walks, road trips, and reading public records. I’m a nerd.

  1. Judge lets Steven Lorenzo end death penalty appeals in Tampa murders
    • Crime
    Steven Lorenzo appears Thursday by videoconference during a post-conviction court hearing in his case. A judge granted Lorenzo's request to end all appeals of his death sentences.
  2. Despite deal for time served, Chinese immigrant remains jailed in Tampa
    • Crime
    Tingbo Zhang stands in a Tampa courtroom during a September hearing. Zhang, a Chinese immigrant, was low-level player in a case involving a chain of illicit Asian massage parlors. She pleaded guilty this month to money laundering and faces a likely deportation.
  3. Jury rejects death penalty for man guilty in Hillsborough double murder
    • Crime
    McKinsie Lyons waits for jurors to arrive before his trial continues last week in Tampa. A jury convicted Lyons in the 2018 double murder of Alexis Martinez and Juanita Solorzano.
  5. Death at stake as Tampa jury finds man guilty in 2018 double murder
    • Crime
    Hillsborough deputies escort McKinsie Lyons from a Tampa courtroom during a break in his murder trial this week in Tampa. Jurors found Lyons guilty of two counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of Alexis Martinez and Juanita Solorzano during a 2018 home invasion in Ruskin.
  6. She lied to protect him. Her testimony could send him to death in Ruskin murder
    • Crime
    Assistant State Attorney Michelle Doherty prepares to show photos to Samona Ramey as Ramey testifies Wednesday in the murder trial of McKinsie Lyons, her former boyfriend.
  7. Florida used expired execution drugs, lower doses, lawsuit claims
    • Florida
    The execution chamber is seen at Florida State Prison in Starke. A lawsuit has been filed in an attempt to delay an upcoming execution. The suit argues that prison officials have used expired drugs and deviated from execution protocols.
  8. Baby’s death in Tampa college dorm was unintentional, defense expert says
    • Crime
    Brianna Moore appears in court during a hearing last month in Tampa. Moore, a former student at the University of Tampa, is accused of aggravated manslaughter and other crimes related to the birth and death of her baby daughter, which occurred in her college dorm room. Moore told police she did not know she was pregnant. Defense experts have suggested the baby's death was not intentional.
  9. After 55 years, a murder victim’s name yields a mystery rooted in Tampa
    • Crime
    One of many composite drawings, left, shows an artist's rendition of what the murder victim known as Little Miss Panasoffkee was believed to have looked like when she was alive. At right, Maureen Lu Minor Rowan appears in a family photo taken in 1969 while she was pregnant with her son, Charles Rowan Jr. This fall, Sumter County sheriff's officials said they had determined that Rowan, of Tampa, was the long unidentified victim who was found dead in 1971 in a creek beside Interstate 75. An effort to identify Rowan's killer remains ongoing. Her husband, the late Charles Emery Rowan, is a person of interest in the case.
  10. Ybor City crash suspect now accused of DUI manslaughter, other crimes
    • Crime
    Silas Kenneth Sampson arrives to his pretrial detention hearing before Chief Judge Christopher Sabella on Nov. 13 in Tampa. Sampson is accused of causing a fatal crash outside Bradley’s on 7th in Ybor City that killed four people on Nov. 8.
  11. Fatal Ybor City crash raises scrutiny of when cops should chase
    • Crime
    A screenshot of video captured by a Tampa police helicopter shows Florida Highway Patrol Trooper A. Carrasco backing off a Toyota Camry and ending a high-speed chase on Seventh Avenue at Nuccio Parkway leading into the Ybor City historic district on Nov. 8. Seconds later, the Camry driver veered onto the sidewalk just past 15th Street, killing four and injuring 13. The decision to pursue has revived a long-running question about when cops should chase.
  12. Ybor crash suspect to remain jailed pending trial in 4 deaths
    • Crime
    Silas Kenneth Sampson, left, flanked by Assistant Public Defender Alan Sandler, center, and Assistant Public Defender William Knight, attends his pretrial detention hearing before Chief Judge Christopher Sabella in Courtroom 1 at the George Edgecomb Courthouse on Tuesday in Tampa.
  13. Car reached 92 mph seconds before Ybor City crash killed 4, records say
    • Crime
    A car crashed into a local business near the intersection of N. 15 St. and E. 7th Ave on Saturday in Tampa. New court documents show the driver was going at least 92 mph before the crash and that law enforcement had ended its pursuit of him 10 seconds before.
  14. ATF agent sues Riverview bowling alley over shooting that paralyzed him
    • Crime
    ATF Special Agent Matthew Murray meets with members of the Tampa Police Department during a ceremony in May. Murray was shot in December while off-duty while trying to quell a disturbance at a Riverview bowling alley. The shooting left him partially paralyzed.
  15. Watch Tampa police video footage showing pursuit before fatal Ybor crash
    • Tampa
    A still image from a Tampa police video shows a Florida Highway Patrol car as it strikes the rear of a speeding Toyota during a pursuit Saturday morning near Ybor City. The Toyota escaped the pursuit and crashed moments later in front of a busy Ybor City nightclub, killing four people.
  16. 4 dead, 13 injured in Ybor City after law enforcement pursuit ends in crash
    • Crime
    A car crashed into a local business near the intersection of N. 15 Street and E. Seventh Avenue in Tampa on Saturday.
  17. Hillsborough sheriff’s cheating probe detailed in records, yet questions persist
    • Hillsborough
    Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister's agency released thousands of records this week in an academic cheating scandal that ended the careers of six of his top deputies. As detailed as the records are, they leave questions unanswered. Among them: How did Robert Roush, who is not a law enforcement officer, become acquainted with so many high-level sheriff's deputies? And did any other officers use him?
  18. Pinellas sheriff fires 5 jail deputies in 2 separate inmate abuse cases
    • Crime
    Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri fired five deputies this week over two separate incidents of misconduct in the jail. One involved four deputies who ridiculed a woman as she struggled to urinate while handcuffed. The other involved a deputy who sprayed an inmate with Lysol.
  19. Hillsborough sheriff says staff showed ‘poor judgment’ in academic cheating
    • Hillsborough
    Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister confirmed Monday that all six members of his command staff who recently resigned or were fired had someone else complete academic and work-related assignments for them.
  20. Ex-Hillsborough sheriff’s commanders added to questionable officers list
    • Hillsborough
    Seen here, from left, are former Hillsborough County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Anthony Collins, Cols. Michael Hannaford and Chris Rule, and Capt. Lora Rivera. The four all recently resigned from the sheriff's command staff amid allegations they may have had someone else help write academic and work-related papers. All four have been added to a list of law enforcement officers whose credibility might be questioned if they testify in court.
  21. 6th top official leaves Hillsborough sheriff’s office amid cheating probe
    • Hillsborough
    Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office Capt. Marvin Johnson was fired Thursday by Sheriff Chad Chronister “as a result of the ongoing investigation into academic integrity,” a spokesperson said.
  22. Hillsborough sheriff’s captain fired amid academic cheating probe
    • Hillsborough
    Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office Capt. Zuleydis Stearns is pictured in an office portrait.
  23. Jury hears of gang war as Tampa trial opens in murder of rapper Julio Foolio
    • Crime
    Alicia Andrews slips a notepad to defense attorney Jeremy McClymont during the opening phase of her trial at the Hillsborough County Courthouse on Wednesday in Tampa. Andrews is one of five people accused in a murder conspiracy related to the 2024 ambush killing of rapper Julio Foolio.
  24. Hillsborough sheriff’s colonels resign in wake of cheating scandal
    • Hillsborough
    Col. Michael Hannaford, left, and Col. Chris Rule, right, both resigned Friday from the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office in the wake of an academic cheating scandal that has rocked the agency.