By Times Staff and Wire Reports
Published November 22, 2003
A man robbed the downtown Bank of America in broad daylight Friday and then fled on a purple bicycle, Tampa police said.
The robbery took place at Bank of America's downtown high-rise, at 101 E Kennedy Blvd., during the peak of lunch hour. About 12:25 p.m., the man walked into the bank and approached a teller. According to Tampa police, the robber passed the teller a note demanding money. He obliged, and the robber left the bank and fled on his purple bicycle.
Police spokesman Capt. Bob Guidara said police were called to the scene immediately after the robbery, but the robber already was gone. Police aren't sure in which direction the man fled or how he left the downtown area.
Guidara would not say how much money the robber made off with, but he called the sum "substantial." Bank of America representatives would not comment, other than to say they were cooperating with authorities.
Police have released a surveillance photograph of the robber. He is black male between 20 to 25. He is 6 feet 1 and weighs about 160 pounds. His most notable features are braided dreadlocks and a tattoo on his left arm.
The robber rode away on a purple bicycle wearing a grey, sleeveless sweat shirt, gray cargo pants and black sneakers.
Pair of armed robbers hit two stores
Tampa police are searching for two suspects who might have committed back-to-back robberies Thursday.
The first incident took place at Snax Food Store, 2113 E Linebaugh Ave., about 7:20 p.m. The second robbery occurred less than an hour later at Short Stop Food Mart, 2003 E Waters Ave. In both cases, the suspects entered the store and immediately fired a silver handgun.
The men are described as black and 18 to 20 years old. One was about 5 feet 6 to 5 feet 10 and thin, wearing a black shirt and blue jeans and carrying a semiautomatic pistol. The other was about 5 feet 11 and thin, wearing a gray shirt. One man held a black shirt over his head. The other wore a ski mask.
Bizarre car chase ends in arrest
A Brandon man was charged with aggravated assault against an officer after a bizarre chase with Tampa police.
The incident occurred shortly after midnight Friday when Antonio Steven Freeman, 23, was pulled over by officers at the corner of 17th and Seventh avenues.
Police say Freeman paused, then sped away, nearly striking the officers. He drove two blocks toward 15th Street, where police were waiting. Seeing his way blocked, police say, Freeman drove two blocks in reverse at a high rate of speed. Heavy traffic eventually forced him to stop, allowing police to take him into custody.
Police seek suspect with firebomb
TAMPA - A maintenance worker at WestShore Plaza called police Friday afternoon after he saw a man trying to light what appeared to be a Molotov cocktail.
The incident took place in a parking garage next to Burdines that overlooks the mall entrance to the Sears department store.
Tampa police officers said a maintenance worker on a second-floor elevator noticed a man carrying two bottles with wicks hanging from them. The man was trying to light one of the bottles with a cigarette lighter, according to reports.
When the worker asked the man what he was doing, the man shoved him against a maintenance golf cart and fled. No one was injured.
The suspect is described as a black man, 20 to 25 years old, 6 feet tall and 200 pounds, with small dreadlocks. He was wearing a black T-shirt and white pants, police said.
Man loses leg trying to hop train
TAMPA - An 18-year-old man lost his right leg Friday when he tried to jump onto a moving train and fell underneath its wheels.
Hillsborough sheriff's deputies said the accident happened about 5 p.m. as Jonathan Paul Plummer walked along the railroad tracks near Nebraska and E 142nd avenues.
"(He) told his friends that he was going to jump on the train as it passed by the intersection," Cpl. Danny Tewmey said.
Deputies said Plummer's first try was unsuccessful. On his second try, he grabbed onto the train but fell underneath it, Tewmey said. His leg was severed just below the knee.
Emergency workers rushed Plummer, who said he was homeless, to Tampa General Hospital. Officials did not think his injury was life-threatening, but no additional information about his condition was available late Friday.
