Monday, May 20, 2013
This list of "oh my gosh" Tampa Bay area police items includes a Largo mailbox crash, a car crash into Westfield Countryside's Dillard's, an accidental gun discharge at Tyrone Square Mall's Starbucks and a firearm arrest near Turkey Creek Middle School.
A self-proclaimed "sovereign citizen" was arrested on school grounds in Plant City, after the suspect, Bruce Charmers Hicks, 46, strolled by Turkey Creek Middle School on May 16 with a "small firearm holstered on his left hip," according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office. Hicks, a resident of Plant City, at 5004 Calhoun Road, reportedly now faces charges of possession of a firearm on school property, felon in possession of a firearm and the open carrying of a firearm. It was reported that he had an extensive crimial history, including lewd or lascivious molestation of victims under age 18. Two men are charged with stealing used cooking and fryer grease from a Wendy's in Sarasota and may be responsible for similar crimes in …
Sunday, April 28, 2013
Even with a crackdown on graffiti by the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, new sightings are not unusual. Beware, though, the penalties are stiff. Best to channel your "art" elsewhere.
Reported last month were the "thousands" of graffiti tag marks at the heart of an investigation that led to the arrest of three youths in Brandon. It was at the site of one of the more extensive displays of this graffiti that representatives from the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office talked about the serious ramifications of graffiti, regardless of whether it is gang- or art-related. Unchecked graffiti leads to the "perpetual decay of everything," said Larry McKinnon, a Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office spokesperson. Instances of graffiti are not hard to find, regardless of the ramifications they carry for the perpetrators. Those consequences include possible jail time, fines and civil liabilities, "with various businesses for …
Friday, April 26, 2013
While deputies seeks clues to solve a recent spate of vehicle break-ins, motorists should take heed of the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office's "Lock It Up" crime-prevention video.
The recent spate of vehicle break-ins reported in Brandon, Seffner and Valrico is another reminder why it's important to take heed of the "Lock It Up" video released by the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office late last year. The video extolls motorists to do the one thing they can do most simply to deter vehicle break-ins: lock their doors. The video has no narration, until the end, as it shows a series of shoppers putting recently bought merchandise into their vehicles. The "clicks" are timed in beat to the music. Then, there's the shopper in a rush, called back into the shopping center, who fails to do that one thing that matters most. She doesn't lock the doors and the nearby thief in sunglasses. lifting his sunglasses to get a …
Friday, April 5, 2013
The young brothers were abducted from their grandmother’s Carrollwood area home April 3. Authorities now believe their father has taken them out to into open waters.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement has updated its Amber Alert for Cole and Chase Hakken, two young boys abducted from their grandmother’s Carrollwood area home on April 3. Authorities now have reason to believe their accused abductor, their father Joshua Hakken, 35, may be traveling with the children on a 1972, 25-foot Morgan sailboat. The boat has the registration number of FL3717BK and has a blue hull. The boat in question is named “Salty” and has a picture of a paw near the hull on both sides, according to a FDLE media release. The stern also has “St. Petersburg” written on it in white letters. The vessel has a blue Bimini top and when its sail is unfurled it is white with blue trim. Read all stories related to the abduction The…
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Hillsborough deputies charged him with 117 counts of possession of child pornography as part of Operation Cyber Storm.
Herbert Bowers, 65, of Riverview was one of six men arrested recently as the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office’s Internet Predator Unit cracked down on child pornography through “Operation Cyber Storm.” Deputies say Bowers, who lives at 9514 Sunnyoak Drive, was charged with 117 counts of possession of child pornography as a result of the operation, which sought to tamp down on individuals countywide who were “proliferating illicit graphic material involving very young children,” a sheriff’s office media release states. Operation Cyber Storm was a two and a half month investigation that resulted in 10 search warrants and six arrests on a total of 337 felony counts of possession of child pornography, the release states. More arrests and …
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
For the sixth year in a row, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office is reporting an overall drop in crime.
The statistics are in and it looks like Hillsborough County Sheriff’s deputies are sending the message loud and clear to bad guys that they’re just not welcome here. The sheriff’s office reports that crime is down countywide for the sixth year in a row. Crime in 2012, in fact, fell 7.2 percent from the year before, the sheriff’s office announced in a media release issued Feb. 22. With a population in unincorporated Hillsborough County of 848,660 residents, the number of victims of crimes was also reduced from 21,617 in 2011 to 20,072 in the year 2012,” the release said. “That equals 23.6 victims of crime per 1,000 residents, down from 25.9 the year before.” As it turns out, the violent crime rate for 2012 is the lowest on record since …
Sunday, February 24, 2013
We compile the odd, unusual ‘oh my gosh’ police items from throughout the Tampa Bay region.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office is looking for a little help finding a woman they say used stolen credit cards to go on a shopping spree around Tampa, ultimately racking up nearly $12,000 in charges. The initial theft occurred between noon and 2 p.m. on Jan. 24 when someone stole three of the victim’s credit and debit cards and her driver’s license from her purse. The purse was sitting inside the woman’s office at Aston Gardens, 12951 W. Linebaugh Ave. A Pinellas County Sheriff's deputy chose to resign Monday in lieu of termination after an internal investigation found he had misrepresented the facts about an off-duty encounter with a prostitute and violated other department rules, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office…
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Jefferson Jean Pierre, 10, had been missing since 7:30 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 21.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office announced that the missing Gibsonton boy has been found unharmed and is being returned to his parents. The sheriff's office spent the evening conducting a search for a missing 10-year-old Gibsonton boy. According to the sheriff's office, Jefferson Jean Pierre of 6312 Cherry Blossom Trail, Gibsonton, was last seen at 7:30 a.m. when his mother dropped him off at the school bus stop. When his father arrived at Corr Elementary School at about 4:30 p.m., he was told his son had not been in school on Thursday. Deputies conducted a neighborhood search, door-to-door surveys, reverse 911, and K9 and a helicopter searches.
Saturday, February 9, 2013
Benny Ray Looney died in the hospital after his car went off Gibsonton Road, sideswipped two utility poles, vaulted over a ditch and came to rest next to a house.
Benny Ray Looney was driving a 2005 Chevrolet Monte-Carlo westbound on Gibsonton Dr. on Friday night when the car went off the road just before Mathog Road, according to Hillsborough County Sheriff’s deputies. The car sideswiped two utility poles and vaulted across a wide ditch, according to a press release. It came to rest next to a home at 9622 Hagadorn Rd. It did not damage the home. Looney, 66, of Gibsonton, was as taken to General Hospital, where he died several hours later. Authorities suspect alcohol played a role in the incident. Looney was not wearing a seatbelt. The incident remains under investigation.
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Residents can trade their old, unwanted firearms for cold, hard cash from the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.
Have an unwanted gun collecting dust in your home you’d like to get rid of? Hillsborough County Sheriff David Gee has an offer he’s hoping you won’t refuse. Just bring that firearm down to one of five drop-off locations on Saturday, Feb. 2, and the sheriff’s office will give you a two-pack of tickets to a Tampa Bay Lightning game and two tickets to a Tampa Bay Rays game. Plus, you’ll get $75 per firearm for your troubles. “I think it’s a fantastic package,” said Capt. Chad Chronister, who is helping head up the gun swap this Saturday. The gun buyback is something the sheriff’s office had on its schedule, but moved up in light of the recent tragedy in Newtown, Conn., Chronister said. With 147 armed burglaries in Hillsborough County last …
Vintage Bride
12:42 pm on Monday, April 8, 2013
I love ya, sweetie. Good advice to any one who may see them ;) more ›