QUITE AN INVENTORY: Tampa police officers witnessed a vehicle blocking the right of way of Willow Avenue (just north of Kennedy Boulevard). As the cops approached, the vehicle sped off from the scene, accelerating through the intersection, against the right of way and cutting off another driver. The police gave chase, catching up to the suspect on Westland Avenue, where he ditched his ride and took off running south. Curiously, the police report is vague as to whether the officers gave chase or if the man was arrested. What is clear is that the officers did a search of the now abandoned vehicle. How's this for an interesting hodgepodge of items: "tax paperwork," "an anger management certificate," "an open 16 ounce can of Natural Ice (cool to the touch)," and "a bright orange ski mask ... located on the rear driver-side seat." Running the vehicle registration revealed that the driver had a suspended license, which seems the likely reason the man fled, but the cops remain unsure what the man's real motivations were.
WHAT LIES BENEATH: A Tampa resident was home alone at 9:30 p.m. on a Saturday when she heard "a lot of noise coming from under her house." Upon exiting her St. Louis Street home to investigate the source of the disturbance, the woman came face to face with a whole mess of cops who were streaming from the street into her yard. The woman told police that she had heard noises that now appeared to becoming from underneath the stairs of her front porch. Unknown to the woman, the police had been chasing a juvenile who was involved in a car theft that had turned into a foot pursuit in the neighborhood. A police air unit was on hand and "advised they had a heat signature coming from that location." The trapped juvenile soon gave up and was taken into custody without further incident.
A LITTLE DIRTY WORK: At 11 a.m. that same Saturday, an unknown man dropped off a green Ford Escort with a Florida license plate at Tropical Car Wash in Tampa for a detailing. The man then left the business, allowing Tropical ample time to do its thing. When the unknown man returned to pick up the now-spotless vehicle around 3 p.m., he was presented with a bill for $160. Rather than pay for the services provided, the man instead hopped in his car and sped off. Tropical turned over its paperwork to police, likely expecting a quick recovery of its fee. Police, however, soon found out that the tag had been stolen from a Red Mitsubishi, and the unknown man made a clean getaway.
From The Files Of The T.P.D.
