 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
Trunk of stolen goods found in teen's closet
By MICHAEL VAN SICKLER PEBBLE CREEK -- A buffet of stolen electronic gadgets covered a table at the Hillsborough County sheriff's district office on N 20th Street on Tuesday afternoon. "My main goal is to find the victims so I can give their property back," said Det. Chris Freeman. "My leads are exhausted. I don't know what else to do. Look at all this. I've never seen so much stuff." Sheriff's deputies recovered the loot at 6:30 a.m. Sunday at the home of a 15-year-old Pebble Creek boy. Stashed at the bottom of a black trunk in the boy's closet were 93 items that police believe were lifted during the last two months from unlocked cars parked in all parts of New Tampa, Freeman said. Someone snatched cell phones, garage door openers, sunglasses, radio face plates, a CD player, a pocket TV, and a digital camera from cars in Arbor Greene, Heritage Isles, Hunter's Green, Pebble Creek and Tampa Palms. Deputies were led to the boy's Pebble Creek home after another 15-year-old was arrested Saturday night by an off-duty Tampa police officer who spotted him breaking into his car in Hunter's Green. That boy didn't say anything, said police Det. Rocky Pasquino, but a third boy was seen nearby on inline skates. He later told police he was a friend of the teen in custody and that he knew where the stolen goods were kept, Pasquino said. Yet another 15-year-old boy could be involved, Pasquino said. The four boys attend Wharton High School. The boy arrested Saturday night lives in Hunter's Green. Law enforcement officials this week were sifting through about 40 case files, looking for links to the recovered merchandise. They released the one boy they had arrested, charging him with providing a false name, burglary and possessing burglary tools, namely a flashlight and screwdriver. "These were all cases where they walked down the road pulling door handles," Pasquino said. "People need to make sure they lock their doors. We get lulled into a false sense of security just because we live behind gates." Matt Guyot had a cell phone stolen last month, so he was happy to hear it had been recovered. He wasn't too surprised at the burglary in front of his home in Cross Creek's gated Kingshyre Way. "I don't think the gate in my neighborhood pre-empts me from certain crimes," Guyot said. "We're talking petty theft. You can never live too far away from that." Freeman is looking for other victims like Guyot. Anyone whose vehicle has been burglarized in New Tampa during the last two months can page him at 268-1079 or call him at 247-0646. -- Michael Van Sickler can be reached at 269-5312 or mvansickler@sptimes.com.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • Tampa Bay Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111 
|
From the Times | ||||||||||||||||||
