Police reports

Man reports being pushed from car on interstate

WESLEY CHAPEL -- A 20-year-old Plant City man was treated at St. Joseph's Hospital on Tuesday after being pushed out of a moving vehicle on Interstate 75, according to Pasco County Sheriff's Office reports.

Juan Manuel Barrera of 115 Forest St. told paramedics his uncle pushed him out of a car while driving north on I-75, near County Line Road just after 12:30 a.m Tuesday. The uncle's name was not provided.

Scrapes and bruises covered Barrera's chest, back, abdomen, head and arms, the report said. He was treated and released Tuesday, hospital spokeswoman Kristin Howells said.

It is unclear whether the incident occurred in Pasco or Hillsborough county, the report said. The Pasco Sheriff's Office is investigating the incident, spokesman Jon Powers said.

Two arrested after police find drugs in vehicle

ZEPHYRHILLS -- A 31-year-old man was arrested Monday night on charges of trafficking in methamphetamine, the second meth-related arrest by the Zephyrhills Police Department in four days.

Officers found three bags of methamphetamine, totaling 24.5 grams or nearly nine-tenths of an ounce, while searching a black Isuzu Rodeo parked at 4704 Court St., said Capt. Randy Belasic. Neighbors had called police around 10 p.m., saying the parked car and its four occupants were suspicious, Belasic said.

One bag of methamphetamine was found next to a passenger, Steven E. Griffis of 5423 Eighth St., he said. The other two bags were in the back of the car, where officers saw Griffis reaching as they approached, Belasic said.

If convicted of trafficking in methamphetamine, a first-degree felony, Griffis would face a minimum 3-year prison sentence, Belasic said. Griffis remained at the county jail in Land O'Lakes on Tuesday with a bail set at $10,000.

Officers also found several partly burned marijuana cigarettes during the search, Belasic said. Police arrested the driver of the car, Teresa Marie Brown, 21, of 36053 Aster Ave. on a charge of possession of marijuana. She posted $500 bail Tuesday.

Problem with power line leads to 18-minute outage

ZEPHYRHILLS -- A power line failure Tuesday morning left 4,232 homes and businesses in west Zephyrhills without electricity for about 18 minutes.

The outage was caused by an equipment failure on a state transmission line, said Ernie Holzhauer, spokesman for Withlacoochee River Electric Cooperative.

"They quickly rerouted the energy and got it back on as soon as possible," he said.

Meat, canned goods taken from food pantry

PORT RICHEY -- The thief left behind a pillowcase filled with ground beef, chicken, ham and bologna.

But whoever robbed the St. Vincent de Paul food pantry last weekend made off with about $300 in frozen meat and canned goods, said Debby Ryan, the group's vice president. Someone broke into the 12-by 24-foot storage shed Friday or Saturday, Pasco sheriff's deputies said. The shed sits on the property of St. James the Apostle Catholic Church at 8400 Monarch Drive.

The property manager, Anthony Feldman, said the thief pried open the shed's aluminum door before raiding the freezer. Church members realized they had been robbed when they found a pillowcase filled with meat on the property.

"We would have given the food to whoever did this," Ryan said. "Breaking in and doing damage to the building, it's so senseless."

Ryan said the pantry still has enough food for anyone who needs meat or other goods. The pantry is open from 10 a.m. to noon every weekday except Tuesday, when hours ar 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Donations of food or money also are accepted at those times.

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