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Child-proof locks corral a burglar
© St. Petersburg Times They are the bane of toddlers and the key to parental peace of mind -- child-proof locks that prevent a car door from being opened from the inside, lest a rambunctious wee one tumble out. Or in this case, a thief. Charles Johnson, 35, looked no further than the parking lot of his own complex at the Canterbury Lane Apartments on Skipper Road when he went shopping in a fellow resident's 1998 GMC van this month, deputies said. After he broke into the van, its rear door closed behind him, said sheriff's Lt. Rod Reder. Then, the child-proof doors prevented him from getting out. At that point, Reder said, the would-be thief broke out windows to escape. "I guess it scared him so badly he just wanted to get out," Reder said. Johnson, still wearing pieces of glass when deputies later questioned him, was charged with burglary and petty theft. FOLLOW THAT MAN: In December, we wrote about Tampa police Officer Gary Metzger and how he tackled and subdued a bank robber who was armed with a knife. But what he did the next month was the stuff of TV cop shows. Again, while working an off-duty job at Central Bank of Tampa, Metzger was alerted by a teller that a suspect had just tried to cash a fake check using a fake I.D. Metzger gave chase for a pursuit that lasted several blocks. Losing ground, the resourceful cop flagged down a passing motorist and asked for a ride. He ducked down in the seat and had the driver take him past the suspect, then stop and let him out. Metzger nabbed his man, and for this and other efforts, was named the March Officer of the Month. The passing motorist? He drove off without giving his name. CRIME FIGHTER: For the past three years, Tampa police Maj. Scott Cunningham sat at a desk in his administrative job overseeing the department's support staff. Translation: lots of paperwork. Now Cunningham, who in January was transferred to his new post as the major overseeing the District I office, is making up for that office time with a vengeance. To the surprise of his troops, the major has been handling calls on the street right beside them. So far, he's recovered stolen cars, responded to domestic disturbances, directed traffic crashes, searched for missing people and been involved in two pursuits. "I like being out on the street," Cunningham said. "That's where everything is going on. How do I know what the citizens need and what the officers need if I don't get out there?" Had he forgotten what it was like to be on patrol? "It pretty much is like riding a bike," he said. "In some respects, a little rougher." WITHOUT WHEELS: The worst part of ending a late-night shift as a cop reporter is stepping out into the parking lot and discovering your car has been stolen. Such was the case this week for St. Petersburg Times night crime reporter Tamara Lush, who discovered her 1995 Plymouth Neon was missing Tuesday night from outside the Times building on Ashley Drive. The car was recovered the next day near the University of South Florida, beaten up and stripped. What they took: her stereo, a textbook on race, class and gender and her Spanish homework. What they left: her feminist textbook, her J.Crew flip flops, her notebooks and the police scanner that Lush says was worth more than her car. -- Times staff writer Tamara Lush contributed to this report. If you have a tip about cops, call Amy Herdy at 226-3386 or herdy@sptimes.com. -- If you have a tip about courts, call Christopher Goffard at 226-3337 or goffard@sptimes.com.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
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Times columns today John Romano Tampa Uncuffed |
