The path that led to Trai Donaldson’s arrest Nov. 28 began in North Carolina, where his parents married — a young couple united by their Christian faith and a passion for charitable work. The family moved to Tampa, buying a red-brick ranch house in 1995 in Town ‘N Country’s Bay Crest Park where they raised Trai and his older sister Chimara.
Two years later, in September 1997, Howell Donaldson Jr. was arrested at the home in connection with a domestic violence attack against his wife. He was booked into jail on charges of battery and false imprisonment.
About two weeks later, a judge granted Rosita Donaldson’s petition for a one-year restraining order against her husband. He was directed to complete counseling at the Spring Domestic Violence Intervention Program and lost custody of his children, then 4 and 8. The couple began the legal process to dissolve their marriage, though a divorce was never finalized. In November 1997, Rosita Donaldson dropped the charges against her husband.
Reconciled, the couple launched their own cosmetology school in November 2002 — Shear Excellence Hair Academy.
They joined Without Walls International Church, "the perfect church for people who are not" as it billed itself, and soon assumed leadership roles at charity events and worship services. The church was among Tampa’s largest, known worldwide, before questions were raised about lavish spending and co-founder Paula White — now a
spiritual adviser to President Donald Trump — divorced from husband Randy.
