SHOPPING SPREE: I have to admit that I grudgingly respect the brashness of the woman in this case. On Feb. 2, the ballsy babe sauntered into a Starbucks at 1508 Westshore Blvd. N. in Tampa and walked around the coffee shop "acting as though she was shopping." Sharing the Starbucks were Tampa QUAD officers "taking a coffee break." The cops watched as the woman put "several" bags of coffee and four music CDs into her bag and then made a hasty exit. Not surprisingly, the coffee break ended right there, and the cops pulled the woman over a "short distance away." After removing the woman from the car, the officers searched it, turning up: "$155.00 of Starbucks merchandise along with $424.27 worth of merchandise from The Fresh Market located in South Tampa and approximately $250.00 worth of merchandise from the Carrollwood Fresh Market. …" That's not all. The woman also had $300 worth of stuff she admitted to lifting from businesses in Pinellas County, along with $650 worth of jewelry that "has yet to be identified." Instead of hosting one dirty dinner party, the woman was taken to jail and charged with Grand Theft (Retail).
BANK ON IT: Also in early February, a man entered the Wachovia Bank at 4203 W. Gandy Blvd., demanded and received an undisclosed amount of cash and then "fled on foot out of the bank in an unknown direction." The bandit had his business handled perfectly, but his home life was apparently a mess. Four hours after the robbery, Tampa officers responded to a "domestic call" at an apartment on Juanita Street. Per the report: "While talking with a female victim [the officer] noticed the suspect from the bank robbery video sitting just inside the apartment wearing the same clothing." Several officers took the man into custody, and he was also charged with two other bank robberies.
YOU'LL SHOOT YOUR BALLS OFF: A Tampa officer pulled over a 1984 Chevy Caprice with loud music blasting. As the cop approached the car he could smell the "distinct odor" of the demon weed. The officer called for a drug dog and then asked the driver to exit the vehicle. Once on the street, the man "was walking sort of bowlegged." He also kept putting his hand in his pockets despite repeated orders not to do so. As the cop went to do a pat down of the suspect, "two pistols fell out of his shorts onto the ground. … Both pistols were loaded with rounds in the chamber of each."
This article appears in Feb 28 – Mar 6, 2007.
