A break-in at a Clearwater business is similar to crimes committed by a serial burglar in Hillsborough County, authorities say.
By CHRIS TISCH
Published February 19, 2004
CLEARWATER - Detectives are investigating whether the rooftop break-in of a Clearwater business early Wednesday morning was committed by a serial burglar known as Spiderman.
The Gateway Country store at U.S. 19 and Enterprise Road was entered through an air-conditioning duct on the roof, Clearwater police said.
Police were summoned to the store at 6:12 a.m. when a motion detector was set off. Although they arrived within a minute of the call from the alarm company, they found no one inside.
They found merchandise collected in an area of the store as if it were going to be hauled out. Police said something probably scared the burglar out of the store before the job was finished; it was unknown whether the alarm was the cause.
It also was unknown whether anything was taken before the alarm was tripped, but store officials didn't think anything was missing, police said.
Clearwater police decided to compare notes with Hillsborough County detectives, who have been chasing a serial burglar since September.
The burglar nicknamed Spiderman has broken into more than 50 businesses in Hillsborough. He earned his name because he enters buildings by squirming through air-conditioning ducts on the roof.
Pinellas sheriff's detectives also have considered a possible Spiderman connection in the rooftop burglary of a United Parcel Service store in Largo last month.
Sometime between 6:30 p.m. Jan. 6 and 8:15 a.m. Jan. 7, the burglar dropped in to the store at 3665 East Bay Drive through an air-conditioning duct. The burglar took $740 in stamps and $350 in cash.
"The similarity is the entry," Pinellas sheriff's Detective Tim Goodman said. "It could be anybody. We don't have anything saying concrete it was him. That's a way people have been getting into buildings for a long time. This isn't a new way to enter a building."
Tampa police Sgt. Jim Contento said Spiderman has broken into two other UPS stores in Hillsborough. Security photos show the lithe burglar wears knee pads and what looks like a sweat suit. His hands and face are covered.
Contento said other crooks might be copying Spiderman's entry method.
"There could be others jumping on board the Spiderman wagon," he said. "There could be copycat crimes and Spiderman is getting the blame. There seems to be a proliferation of these roof jobs."
Clearwater police spokesman Wayne Shelor agreed: "Burglars going through the roof is not the sole provenance of the man dubbed Spiderman."
Contento said it's rare for Spiderman to take a lot of merchandise. His takes have been pretty small.
"For all the damage and effort he's put into it, it's not really worth it," Contento said. "We just need that one break. I hope we get it."
Contento also said the elusive burglar has a knack for avoiding motion detectors.
"He seems to have an ability to drop down and shimmy along the floor so he doesn't set off the motion detector," he said.
In the Gateway break-in, the motion detector was tripped only when the burglar entered an office area, Clearwater police Sgt. Ben McBride said.
Other than the method of entry, detectives found no other evidence linking the Gateway case to Spiderman. Based on the amount of merchandise collected and the damage caused during the entry, McBride said it's possible more than one person was involved in the break-in.
