ROBBERY ON ELM STREET: These kids today. I blame the schools, personally. Two teenagers who live in the area of East Elm Street in Tampa decided they would try their hand at a little breaking and entering. The boys forced their way into an Elm Street residence by busting out a window in the back of the house and proceeded to ransack the place. In addition to a "brand new cruiser type bike," the suspects got away with "a digital camcorder, clothing, shoes and jewelry … approximately $4000.00 worth." And how did the brilliant and cunning teens celebrate their successful score? When the investigating officer spotted the boys later in the day, one of them was "sitting on the victim's bike at 34th St. and E. Comanche Ave." The other boy was standing next to him, "holding the digital camcorder." The officer called for backup and the suspects were taken into custody. It should be a pretty open and shut case for the prosecuting attorney as these two geniuses left behind some pretty damning evidence. Per the report: "The suspects had used the camcorder to tape themselves boasting over all of the [stolen items.]" Smile, you're on Courthouse Camera.
KIDS ON THE STREETS: Speaking of kids on street corners, some parents and guardians need to do a better job of keeping track of their children. For example, at 2:15 a.m. the morning of Aug. 27, an officer on patrol spotted a 3-year-old girl holding a lunch box and standing on the corner of Howard Avenue and Columbus Boulevard in Tampa. The officer was able to locate the child's home and return her to her sleeping grandmother, who had no idea the child had wandered off.
WOOD YOU? Still speaking of kids on street corners, a 14-year-old girl was walking near where West Shore Boulevard meets I-275 in Tampa. As the girl walked, she was approached by a vagrant who "asked her to join him and his friends in the woods as he extended his arms toward her." The man got within 2 feet of the freaked-out girl before she bolted from the scene, ran into a business in the area and called police. Fortunately, the vagrant was well-known to officers who work that area. They expected to round him up quickly.
This article appears in Sep 13-19, 2006.