A man sought in the theft of a van finds refuge in a pond under a newspaper until a deputy arrives with his dog and points to the gator - also in the pond.
By CHRIS TISCH
Published May 31, 2003
LARGO - Grand theft auto suspect Robin Lee Mitchell darted into the woods with deputies on his tail. Mitchell slipped into a small pond and covered his head with a piece of newspaper.
For the next 90 minutes, deputies used police dogs and a helicopter to search for Mitchell - to no avail. The hiding place was working.
But when Deputy Robert Livernois heard a noise coming from the pond, he and his dog, Titan, went to investigate.
Livernois saw a newspaper in the water. Sticking out from underneath it was an ear.
Livernois told Mitchell to come out of the water. Mitchell looked at Titan and said he was afraid of being bit by the dog.
The deputy told him: I can protect you from Titan. What I can't protect you from is that 7-foot alligator about 10 feet behind you.
Mitchell looked behind him. Indeed, there sat a gator.
"He came out with no problem at that point," said Detective Tim Goodman, a Pinellas Sheriff's Office spokesman.
Mitchell's arrest ended a strange series of events Thursday afternoon near the Largo Mall.
The story actually began last week when Edward and Angela Pittman went into Thrift City USA in Pinellas Park with their 12-year-old son and Mrs. Pittman's 80-year-old father.
A little absent-minded from a night without much sleep, Pittman left the keys dangling in the ignition. When he came out 10 minutes later, the van was gone.
The couple reported the van, a 1984 tan Ford Econoline, stolen. The van wasn't much to look at. In fact, when the police asked for a description, Mrs. Pittman told them: "It's about the ugliest thing you would see on the road."
They had considered selling the thing, but Pittman realized once it was gone how much it meant to them, even though his wife doesn't drive and the van lacked air conditioning.
They had used it to pull a camper from South Carolina seven months ago. The van had a television installed inside. Sometimes at night when his wife watched her shows, Pittman slipped out to the van to watch his programs.
"It's kind of an ugly duckling, I would say. But I missed my old, ugly van," Pittman said. "I never knew how much I would till it got gone."
With no transportation, friends and neighbors had to take them to work.
About 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Pittman was riding with friends to pick up his wife at Pinellas Tax and Accounting Service in Largo, where she works as a receptionist. Their vehicle stopped at the light at Largo Mall.
Pittman looked at the cars waiting in oncoming traffic. Unbelievable: There was his van. He climbed out of the car and gave chase.
"His legs were going up his chin," his wife said.
"You got my van!" Pittman yelled to the driver - along with a few other choice words. The driver steered over the median and drove into the Largo Mall parking lot.
Pittman flagged down a Sheriff's Office cruiser that had been a few car lengths behind the van, then resumed the chase.
"I told the law, "That's him right there,"' Pittman said Friday.
Deputies rolled into the parking lot, where the driver had exited the van. He strolled along as if he were shopping.
But when deputies got close, he took off into a wooded area southeast of the mall. That's when the search began. Not long after, the sopping wet suspect launched out of the small pond with a gator on his tail.
The suspect, Mitchell, was arrested on charges of grand theft auto, driving with a suspended license and resisting arrest. He was being held at the Pinellas County Jail Friday in lieu of $15,500 bail.
Court records show Mitchell, 42, of Clearwater has been arrested in Pinellas County about a dozen times in the last 10 years on charges of battery, theft and marijuana possession.
Mrs. Pittman said the auto thief removed their license plate, which is from South Carolina, and replaced it with a stolen Florida plate. The television also was missing. The thief had scattered Busch Light beer cans and Kool cigarette butts throughout the vehicle.
"He had been having a party," Pittman said.
Still, Mrs. Pittman said her family is pleased to have the van back.
"It was one in a million times, the law said," Mrs. Pittman said. "They were real good, I'm telling you that. We've called and thanked them about a thousand times."
And they have a new appreciation for their van: Its future is looking up.
"I got a change of heart," Pittman said. "I'm going to fix it up, get a paint job. And get me another TV."
