March 7, 2002  "Girl offering helping hand raped, robbed"
 

Approximately 10:30 PM at a Texaco/Taco Bell Station at 18902 Gunn Highway a 16-year old girl tried to be a Good Samaritan. A 43-year old man approached her while she was at the station and said that his car had broken down "just up the road."  Per the Sheriff's Office, "as soon as they drove away, he pulled out a gun" and forced her to drive to Pasco County where she was raped. The rapist then fled the scene with the speakers and stereo equipment from the car. Pasco County Sheriff Department arrested him and charged him with armed robbery, armed kidnapping, sexual battery and resisting arrest without violence.
Learning Point: There is an old cop adage that says no good deed goes unrewarded. We should all remember that out basic intention is not to allow the scumbags to have access to our cars, our homes and our persons. The young victim didn't think that if he needed to call for assistance there are telephones available in both the Texaco and the Taco Bell. Please remember to keep your doors and windows locked and if approached, drive away. If you feel inclined to assist, keep the doors and windows locked and use your cell phone to call for assistance. Don't let a scumbag stranger sweet talk his way into either your car or your home.

 

March 7, 2002 "Police link pair of armed robberies"
 

Approximately 11:45 PM, a 20-year old woman was robbed at gunpoint as she walked along a sidewalk near the Bay Walk Parking Garage in St. Petersburg. Per the victim a man approached her, pointed a gun at her stomach, grabbed her purse and told her to run. She did so! Approximately 2 hours later the same man accosted a 19-year old woman and 23-year old man while they were standing talking near their car in the 500 block of Central Avenue. The scumbag ended up pointing his gun at the woman's head and at another woman in the ladies' car when the male attempted to get the purse back. After completing his robbery the scumbag fled the scene. There were no injuries in this incident.
Learning Point: Always try to avoid walking alone after the hours of darkness. I always make it a point to try and become familiar with the area that I am visiting. If I am able to determine that it is a high crime area I will definitely act differently than I will if it is a low crime area. From what I understand about Bay Walk, there have been instances of this type of criminal activity. As far as the second armed robbery, all victims were extremely fortunate that no one was hurt. The point is very simple. When you are under the gun you don't have very many options. If you or a companion makes a play it had better work because once you try and fail this might be the very thing that initiates a violent response. I am a firm believer that you are better off trying to avoid those types of situations then trying to respond to those situations. This could have been a very nasty scene.

 

March 10, 2002 "Three gunmen rob bank in Pinellas Park"
 

Approximately 2:00 PM on March 8, three armed men entered the SouthTrust Bank at 10675 66th Street North. Two of the armed robbers jumped the counter and went after the cash. The third man remained in the lobby to control the customers and employees. His job description would have included the shooting of any citizen or employee who tried to interfere with the robbery. In this case, no one was injured and the bank robbers fled with their loot.
Learning Point: You occasionally will read in the newspaper or see on the TV news that some well-intentioned citizen decided to intervene and stop criminals from completing their felonious act. Unfortunately, most of the time these situations will also result in a phenomenon that we used to refer to in Viet Nam as a "body count." The State of Florida authorizes good citizens to carry concealed weapons on or about their person in order to protect themselves or others. This does not include the performance of duties as a vigilante and otherwise trying to crush crime. In many instances it appears that the involvement of a well-intentioned citizen is the precipitating event of a shoot out. I spent 10 years working with street crimes in vice wearing plain clothes. We agreed that in the event of a similar type of situation that we would only get involved if serious bodily injury had either occurred or was about to occur. Even as police officers, we did not want to start the gunfig! ht. My personal approach is to be in a position, if possible, if the bad guys come in I am going out. For instance, when we go out to eat my wife and I always sit away from the money and near an exit. However, if shots are fired or people are being injured then you have to make a judgment call. Keep in mind that whatever you do or even fail to do will be reviewed in great detail so do the right thing whatever that is.

 

March 12, 2002 "Two slain in Waffle House robbery"
 

This occurred about 4:55 AM in Davie, Florida. Two men entered a Waffle House armed with guns. They forced the occupants into the restaurant's freezer and attempted to execute the three persons that were working in the restaurant at the time. A 17-year old girl and an 18-year old man did in fact die at the scene. The third victim, a 37-year old female was shot in the head but able to stagger to a gas station 100 yards away and notify the police of the crime.
Learning Point: This is a particularly difficult situation because the doors to the business are open to customers. I would strongly recommend that all doors that can be locked remain locked and employees not sneak out the back door for a cigarette and wait until it is daylight to take out the trash. In this particular type crime, the perpetrators are usually known to the victims and will turn out to be former employees. If I worked in such a place, I would definitely be wary of former employees particularly if they were disgruntled for some reason. If my son or daughter were working in a place like this, I would require that all doors remain locked as far as possible. Further, at least two persons should have remote controls for alarm system panic buttons on them at all times and someone in the business be trained and appropriately armed to meet a threat. Maybe this is not realistic but then, of course, it is not realistic to have my children exposed to such a dangerous env! ironment either.

 

March 12, 2002 "Couple beaten in home invasion"
 

A former Tampa Fire Chief took his trash out at 8:30 AM and was followed into his Tampa home by a 39-year old scumbag. The 84-year old suffered a broken nose and received several cuts and bruises in the attack. His 81-year old wife tried to use the telephone to call 911 and had the phone snatched away from her and was punched in the chest for her efforts. The scumbag told police when he was arrested that he was on a "four-day binge" (probably crack cocaine) and was tired and hungry at the time of the attack. However, the criminal, whose, records apparently show an extensive criminal history with convictions for burglary, attempted robbery and petty theft said he was sorry that the couple were hurt. I am sure that makes them feel a lot better. The 39-year old was charged with home invasion and two counts of aggravated battery on a person 65 or older.
Learning Point: Keep your doors and windows locked! We all have things that we routinely have to do such as taking out the trash, walking the dog, mowing the yard etc. We need to develop good personal security habits. My wife and I, for instance, have forced ourselves over the years to lock our front door and close the garage door when we are in the house as well as outside around the pool. We do it now without conscious thought. This type of home invasion is hard to prevent but generally speaking, home invaders are either invited into your home through guile or subterfuge or enter through unlocked doors. Just because it is 8:30 in the morning doesn't mean that you are immune from attack.

 

March 13, 2002 "Jewelers gunshot misses two burglars"
 

A St. Petersburg jeweler returned to his home approximately 8:40 PM on March 11, 2002. He has been the victim of four burglaries since 1999. One of these burglaries included him trading gunshots with an armed home invader. On  that Monday the jeweler walked to his front door and started to unlock it. He heard footsteps inside and immediately ran around to the backyard and saw two men running out the back door of his house and down an alley. "I shoot up in the sky to scare them a little bit." Holy Cow Batman! Unfortunately, one of his 9-mm rounds traveled through the kitchen wall of a neighbor's house and broke into 5 or 6 pieces. One of those pieces penetrated the back of a sofa and bounced off a 36-year old man's back. By the way, his girlfriend's 11-year old son was sitting with him on the sofa. The jeweler was not charged for his unsafe act but did receive a lecture about gun safety from a responding police officer. I am sure the 36-year old man would h! ave found that very comforting if he had been either wounded or killed by the warning shot.
Learning Point: Remember that warning shots are illegal in the State of Florida. In addition, any time you resort to deadly force to stop a person committing either a crime against property or stop a fleeing criminal you have probably screwed up big time! Going back to class, you use deadly force against another merely by pointing a firearm at them in a rude or threatening manner. The jeweler was very lucky not to have been charged and was very lucky not to have either killed or wounded an innocent neighbor. The jeweler is definitely not one of my students!
Thanks,
Norm



 

STAY SAFE AND GOD BLESS AMERICA!

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