Monday, May 20, 2013
We compile the odd, unusual "oh my gosh" police items from throughout the Tampa Bay region.
A driver intentionally crashed his Honda Accord into Dillard's Department Store at Westfield Countryside Mall in Clearwater, sparking a fire on the east side of the building Wednesday, according to police. Ellis Vaughn, the 64-year-old driver, was extricated and transported to St. Joseph's Hospital in Tampa with serious but non-life threatening injuries and burns, according to Clearwater Police. He has since been transferred to Tampa General. Vaughn told investigators that he was trying to commit suicide and drove his vehicle at a high rate of speed into the building, according to investigators. The crash occurred at about 2 a.m. Wednesday. Two men are charged with stealing used cooking and fryer grease from a Wendy's in Sarasota and may …
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Registered sex offender John Richard Polgar Jr. molested a girl younger than 12 some time in 2011, authorities said Thursday.
A convicted sex offender is accused of molesting a girl in 2011 in Safety Harbor, authorities said Thursday. John Richard Polgar Jr., 54, of Sixth Street South, was arrested Wednesday. Detectives say Polgar molested a girl younger than 12 some time in June 2011 at a Safety Harbor home. Polgar denied the allegations, authorities said. Polgar was convicted in 1995 of sexual battery on a child younger than 12 in a Volusia County court, according to online state records. He was released from prison in 1998 after serving three years of an eight-year sentence. The victim was known to Polgar, authorities said. An investigation was launched in March after the girl disclosed the alleged molestation. No further details were released. Polgar was …
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
The vehicle drove through the wall at Dillard's, sparking a blaze on the building's east side. Dillard's will partially re-open on Thursday.
A 64-year-old motorist intentionally drove his Honda Accord at a high rate of speed into Dillard's at Westfield Countryside Mall, sparking a fire on the east side of the building Wednesday, according to police. The Dillard's department store at Countryside Mall will partially reopen Thursday morning, while crews continue to clean up and repair damage caused by a car that crashed into the store. The store's second floor will reopen at 10 a.m. Thursday; however, the lower level will remain closed, according to a Dillard's staff member. Yellow caution tape was placed around the closed store's lower level entrances Wednesday morning, while crews assessed damage from the fire and crash. A steady stream of onlookers drove through the mall's …
Monday, May 13, 2013
We compile the odd, unusual "oh my gosh" police items from throughout the Tampa Bay region.
A 66-year-old Sarasota man faces a drug charge, after police allege that he ran a large-scale retail marijuana operation that involved receiving weekly deliveries of high-grade cannabis at his home that he repackaged into smaller quantities and sold at a profit. Sarasota Police Chief Bernadette DiPino held a press conference Monday, May 6, to announce the arrest of Anthony Snead, in connection to a six-month undercover operation. He was charged with possession of cannabis with intent to sell. Detectives estimate that Snead paid approximately $780,000 to $1 million per year for the cannabis, which he then resold for more money. A man tried to sell 25 brass vases that had been stolen from plots at a Bradenton cemetery, authorities said …
Monday, May 6, 2013
We compile the odd, unusual "oh my gosh" police items from throughout the Tampa Bay region.
A man is charged with beating a dog to death during a burglary at a Sarasota automotive shop, authorities said Monday. The 61-year-old suspect was seen on surveillance video beating the dog with a tire iron at John's Automotive, 1815 Snug Harbor Pl., the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office reports. The business owner had reported the 4-year-old mastiff, "Ashton," missing on Sunday morning, officials said. Later that day, the owner reviewed surveillance video and saw the beating by a man he later identified as 52-year-old Kevin Koscielniak, an employee who was asked to leave a day earlier after causing a disturbance. Investigators say Koscielniak climbed over a barbed wire fence, killed the dog, and wrapped it in a blanket. The man cut the …
Monday, April 29, 2013
We compile the odd, unusual "oh my gosh" police items from throughout the Tampa Bay region.
A Sarasota office manager is charged with practicing medicine without a license after authorities say she performed a painful procedure on a patient following her cosmetic surgery. Christine Patterson, 44, is the brother of Dr. Alberico Sessa and works as the medical biller and an office manager at his Clark Road practice, Sarasota Surgical Arts, according to the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office. A patient came to the office in 2011 to complain of "massive swelling," with two witnesses telling investigators the woman's face was "swollen like a pumpkin." Detectives say Patterson contacted Dr. Sessa, who was out of town, then decided to insert a drain to remove excess fluid, reportedly telling the patient she had seen the procedure done "…
Monday, April 22, 2013
We compile the odd, unusual "oh my gosh" police items from throughout the Tampa Bay region.
A couple has been arrested by the Manatee County Sheriff's Office, after deputies accuse the woman of distracting a victim by offering to pray with her while the male suspect stole the victim's purse. The Bradenton Herald reports that the purse was taken Sunday night from a vehicle parked at Walgreen's, at 2640 Cortez Road W. The victim told the Manatee County Sheriff's Office that she first was approached by the female suspect, who asked the victim to pray along with her. A male suspect then grabbed the victim's purse, and the suspects fled in opposite directions. A robbery attempt at a Bradenton McDonald's came up empty when the three suspects realized there was no money in the cash register, the Manatee County Sheriff's Office reports. …
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Here are videos, images and social media coverage of the Hakken family's odyssey, from Tampa to Cuba and back to Tampa.
Joshua and Sharyn Hakken are back on U.S. soil and in custody, with the boys returned to their grandmother. The couple faces a number of charges that include kidnapping, child neglect and interference with custody, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff. Here is a social media timeline of the events leading to their arrest and their sons' return to their grandmother.
Monday, April 8, 2013
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office has received information that the two boys abducted from the Carrollwood area might have arrived in Cuba. Media reports are confirming the information.
Update April 9, 12:22 p.m.: National media outlets are confirming the Hakken boat has been spotted in Cuba, according to The Tampa Tribune. The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office and FBI have yet to make a statement. Earlier: The search for two young boys abducted from their grandmother’s Carrollwood area home last week has led to the shores of Cuba. The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office announced late Monday afternoon, April 8, that it had received a tip that the family had arrived on foreign soil. “We are currently working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation who is in contact with the U.S. State Department to verify this information,” wrote sheriff’s office spokesman Det. Larry McKinnon in an email to media. Read all stories …
One of Florida's longest-serving death row inmates may be executed on Wednesday for the kidnapping and murder of a Pinellas County girl in 1980.
Larry Eugene Mann, 59, is scheduled to be executed Wednesday for the 1980 kidnapping and murder of a 10-year-old Pinellas County girl. The Florida Supreme Court has rejected Mann's appeal for a stay of his execution by lethal injection, the Tampa Bay Times reports. Mann's legal team had argued unsusccessfully that Mann had reformed in prison and was a role model among inmates. Elisa Nelson was bicycling to school in November 1980 when she was kidnapped by Mann. Her body was found in an orange grove. She had died from a skull fracture by a single blow from what was believed to be a cement-encased steel pipe found at the scene. In an article that ran April 7, 2013, in the Tampa Bay Times, Elisa's murder was described as one of the most …
Gwen Thomas
2:18 pm on Tuesday, April 9, 2013
I hope the Cuban government doesn't feel pressured by the US to give them up. So far, it seems with the lack of laws in Cuba to take people's children away, they'll be OK. In Cuba there is a strong sense of family. more ›