INFORMANT WHO SUCCUMBED TO DRUGS SENTENCED

TAMPA - A man who robbed banks to pay for his drug habit while working as a
confidential informant for St. Petersburg narcotics detectives was sentenced
Friday to more than 10 years in federal prison.

Charles D. Combs also was ordered to repay the more than $19,000 he stole
from eight St. Petersburg banks and must complete three years of supervised
release once his prison term ends.

In return for Combs pleading guilty to one count each of bank robbery and
using a firearm, federal prosecutors agreed to dismiss eight other counts.

Combs, 29, a former cruise director, was arrested last summer. He testified
that his problems began in the mid-1990s when he offered to provide police
with information about drug activity in south St. Petersburg.

Combs told U.S. District Judge Susan C. Bucklew that he wanted to help
police clean up his neighborhood. He said the stress of his informant work,
however, led him to begin using crack cocaine.

Prosecutors dismissed that scenario, saying Combs had used illegal drugs as
far back as high school. They said narcotics detectives never knew Combs had
begun using drugs again.

Bucklew said she was distressed that Combs seemed unwilling to accept
responsibility.

"Obviously, you blame the St. Petersburg Police Department for the
predicament you're in," she said. "You robbed eight banks ... No one twisted
your arm to get you into drugs.

"The majority of what you're suffering from is your drug addiction," Bucklew
said. "Your drug and alcohol addiction, I should say."