Thursday, May 16, 2013
St. Petersburg Police say the woman, 26, and man, 49, robbed someone at knifepoint, made him drive to an ATM machine to make a withdrawal, then took off with his SUV, which was later found burning and abandoned.
Police have arrested a woman and her boyfriend who they say were responsible for robbing and abducting a St. Petersburg man, using his bank card at an ATM to withdraw money, then burning an SUV they stole from him. Juliann Betancourt, 26, and Jeffrey Santiago, 49, were both taken into custody without incident by detectives around 5:40 p.m. Wednesday in the 3700 block of Fourth Street North, according to St. Petersburg Police. Detectives say Betancourt is the woman seen on security camera footage April 22 at an ATM machine at a TD Bank, withdrawing money from the 55-year-old victim's account. Betancourt and Sanitago are accused of taking the card from the man, whom they had approached hours earlier outside his home in the 1700 block of 22nd…
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
National Police Week gets under way, with a national "virtual" roll call of the fallen officers in every state. The memorial includes a tribute page to fallen officers in St. Petersburg, Florida.
National Police Week kicks off this week, with a remembrance virtually of fallen officers across the United States, including 762 in Florida. Fifteen of those officers died in the line of duty work for the St. Petersburg Police Department, with the oldest recorded one on Christmas Day 1905, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page. (See complete list below.) Eleven officers died in shootings and one in a stabbing. The other three died in traffic accidents. The website includes a comprehensive, state-by-state list of fallen officers in the line of duty. Tonight the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund will hold a candlelight vigil in Washington, D.C., but people can watch it virtually. Just go to Officer.com/vigil Here's a …
A man recently fired from his job and evicted from the New Plaza Motel in St. Petersburg shot wounded the manager, then turned the gun on himself, police said Tuesday.
Updated, 1:22 p.m.: Detectives have identified Anthony Graig Taylor, 45, as the man accused of shooting a manager at a St. Petersburg motel and then killing himself early Tuesday morning, St. Petersburg Police. Witnesses told police Taylor had worked as a security guard and was staying in one of the rooms at the New Plaza Motel but was fired about two months ago because he had gotten into "several confrontations" with motel patriots, St. Petersburg Police said on its Facebook page Tuesday. Taylor was still allowed to rent a room after his firing but had recently been told he was evicted because he was behind on his rent, police said. The motive in the shooting of manager Jerome Horacek remains unclear, police said, because Horacek was not …
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The three suspects were arrested Sunday at the Knights Inn in unincorporated St. Petersburg.
Three suspects have been arrested by the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office after allegedly forcing two teenage girls into prostitution. According to the sheriff's office, Donell Jenkins, Stacy Jo Bumgarner and Antron Smith were arrested Sunday at the Knights Inn, 2595 54th Ave. N. The victims were 15 and 16 years old. Deputies attempting to serve a warrant Sunday at the Knights Inn knocked on the door of one of the hotel room doors, only to find the two female juveniles in the room along with Jenkins, according to the sheriff's report. At that point, deputies said they also noticed marijuana in plain view. Detectives from the crimes against children unit were called in for further investigation, which revealed that the female victims …
Monday, May 13, 2013
The women were at Starbucks at Tyrone Square Mall, when one of them dropped a purse, prompting a bullet to fly from a handgun she carried.
Forget the shot of espresso. A woman having coffee at Starbucks in Tyrone Square Mall this past weekend was shot in the calf, when her friend's gun discharged from inside her purse. According to an article in the Tampa Bay Times, 38-year-old Amiee Peterson of Pinellas Park did not even realize that she had been shot until she saw blood oozing from her leg. Her friend, 51-year-old Pamela Back, also of Pinellas Park, told police that she kept the gun in her purse, but had never taken it out or cleaned it, since her father had given her the .25 caliber firearm. The gun owner admitted to not having a permit to carry a gun, and the case will be turned over to prosecutors, according to the Tampa Bay Times. Get the St. Pete Patch delivered to …
An additional suspect is charged as part of an alleged prostitution ring that included a brothel in Pinellas County.
An additional arrest has been made in a human trafficking bust announced last week, Clearwater Police said Monday. Holly Cannarelli, 55, is charged with racketeering and conspiracy to commit racketeering, according to authorities. Cannarelli is listed as a transient from Pinellas County in online arrest records. Cannarelli was being held on $1 million bond in Pinellas County Jail along with two other men for their alleged involvement in a prostitution ring that stretched from Tampa to Sarasota and included a brothel in Pinellas County. Peter D. Kitt, 41, of Tampa, and Shawn D. Franklin, 42, of St. Petersburg participated in the sex trafficking of approximately 16 women, officials said Friday. A sting operation in Largo kicked off the …
Each week the St. Petersburg Police Department releases a "highlight" reel of red light runners in St. Pete.
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We compile the odd, unusual "oh my gosh" police items from throughout the Tampa Bay region.
A 20-year-old man fleeing authorities following a traffic stop was able to get away from the deputies chasing him, but not from an alligator. Bryan Zuniga, who was pulled over by the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office at 2:47 a.m. May 9 for failing to maintain a single lane, later showed up at a local hospital with multiple puncture wounds to his face, arm and armpit area, telling authorities an alligator attacked him near a water treatment plant in unincorporated St. Petersburg. According to authorities, as they attempted to stop Zuniga, he jumped out of the passenger side door and fled from the scene near the 7100 block of 78th Avenue North, kicking a hole through a fence to make his escape. He was found a few hours later at the hospital, …
Friday, May 10, 2013
The Coast Guard held a changing of command ceremony May 10 for the Nantucket, a 110-foot patrol boat.
The Coast Guard Cutter Nantucket changed command May 10 in St. Petersburg. Coast Guard Lt. Ryan Waitt is now the Nantucket's commanding officer. Lt. Andrew S. Dunlevy, former commanding officer of Coast Guard Cutter Nantucket, heads to San Diego to pursue a Master's degree, the Coast Guard reports. Highlights of Dunlevy's command of the Nantucket included "nine counter drug and migrant interdiction deployments off the shores of Miami and Key West. During the patrols, the crew interdicted more than 270 migrants and conducted several repatriations that resulted in returning more than 90 illegal immigrants attempting enter the United States," according to a media release. "It has been a privilege to serve with this crew over the past year…
Two men, including one from St. Petersburg, were arrested and charged with racketeering and conspiracy for their role in a prostitution ring that stretched from Tampa to Sarasota and included a brothel in Pinellas County.
Two men were arrested and charged with racketeering and conspiracy for their role in a prostitution ring that stretched from Tampa to Sarasota and included a brothel in Pinellas County. Peter D. Kitt, 41, of Tampa, and Shawn D. Franklin, 42, of St. Petersburg, were arrested and charged with racketeering and conspiracy for their participation in the sex trafficking of approximately 16 women, according to officials Friday. "These arrests are the first step in bringing justice and peace to the victims of this alleged sex trafficking ring," Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a release. "Florida is a zero-tolerance state for human trafficking, and any individuals engaged in this abhorrent crime will be arrested and prosecuted to the fullest …
Really?
12:53 pm on Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Where are the "teens" parents ? Were they listed as runaways or missing ? I say throw them in jail and throw away the keys ! more ›