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Ex-con accused of 3 burglaries

By Times Staff
Published January 25, 2005

TAMPA - A burglar released 11/2 years ago from a Florida state prison was caught Saturday afternoon after he broke into the offices of two attorneys and a financial services business on W Sligh Avenue, police said.

Police arrested Winfield L. Hancock, 32, after they found him near the businesses with cuts on his hands, a screwdriver in his pocket and a check written out to one of the attorneys hidden in his pants, according to a Tampa Police report.

Hancock is being held in the county jail in lieu of $33,000 bail on three counts of burglary, one count of grand theft, three counts of possession of burglary tools, and one count each of cocaine possession and possession of drug paraphernalia.

According to police, officers first went to 1601 W Sligh Ave. - the office of attorney Lawrence Lempert - to check on an alarm that was going off. Then they heard another alarm going off at 1803 W Sligh Ave., the office of The Robinson Financial Group. When officers went to that business, they noticed Hancock walking away from attorney A. Dennis Pelaez's office at 1905 W Sligh Ave., according to the report.

When officers stopped Hancock, they found he had a screwdriver in his back pocket, a hammer at his feet and cuts on his hands. They also found Hancock in possession of the keys to Pelaez's office and a check made out to him, police said.

During questioning, he admitted to all three burglaries, police said.

Criminal records show Hancock was released in May 2003 from the Polk Correctional Institute after serving five years for a 1998 grand theft and burglary.

[Last modified January 25, 2005, 01:17:11]