Money On Her Mind: Police were dispatched to S. Third Street in Tampa to transport a woman to the hospital who was being committed under the Baker Act. Neighbors had complained that the woman was yelling at them, repeatedly calling one a bitch, and "saying that everyone is going to hell." When the cops arrived, "the subject was walking around with 3 $20.00 bills on her head. She could not explain why these were there."
Corporate America: The suspect in this case drove her ex-boyfriend's new girlfriend to a UPS store, "to help her with her business." Upon arriving back at the new girlfriend's home, the suspect called her by her "birth name." New girlfriend corrected the suspect, saying "that because of her religious beliefs she no longer calls herself by that name." Always respectful of another's beliefs, the suspect replied, "If I called you what I wanted, I would call you bitch." The women exited the vehicle, a fight over invoices occurred and some threats involving a screwdriver were made.
Timing Is Everything: A man shopping at the Louis Vuitton store at International Plaza bought a pair of sneakers selling for $490. The customer had proper ID, paid with a check and was on his way. Five minutes after the guy left the store the clerk received a phone call from Certegy Check Services. It seems that the shoe shopper was part of a group that has been passing bad checks around the state for the past two years. Per the report, "as soon as these suspects use the checks, the routing number shows up at Certegy who has been tracking these activities." Unfortunately, the suspect escaped after a brief chase through the mall. Looks like $490 sneakers are good for something.
Too Much Caffeine: A Friday evening at home ended violently for a Tampa woman and the visiting father of her child. When a mutual friend came over to pick the man up, the three began joking around. Unfortunately, the horseplay turned serious when a glass of soda was spilled on the man. Baby-Daddy, believing that the mother had thrown the drink on him intentionally, went berserk and tried to punch her while she was holding the child. He then chased her into the bedroom and choked her while the friend attempted to pull him off. Mom managed to get free and chase the man from the house with some bleach. The mutual friend said in her statement that the man "did choke the victim a little, but only to get away from her." Police obliged the man's wish by taking him into custody.
From the files of the T.P.D.
This article appears in Jun 22-28, 2005.