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Briefs

Deputies seek clues to early morning robbery

By Times Staff
Published September 27, 2005

HOLIDAY - A Club Extasy dancer was robbed during an early morning cab ride Monday, authorities said.

The 22-year-old dancer told Pasco County sheriff's deputies she left the club in a cab before 2 a.m. According to the incident report:

The dancer ordered the driver to drive straight on Sunray Drive in order to lose two men who were following her in a minivan.

The driver of the minivan forced the Silver Streak cab off the road, then opened the rear door and began punching the victim, a witness said.

"Give me my money!" the man yelled. "Give me my money back!"

The suspect then got out of the cab, taking the dancer's duffel bag, which she said contained personal items and cash. Then the men drove away in the minivan.

The cabdriver followed the minivan until he lost sight of it near Madison Street and Moog Road.

The victim said she'd only met the suspects that night at the club. She said she tried to give them lap dances, but they declined. She also told deputies that they tried to talk her into going to a hotel, but she declined.

No arrests have been made. Anyone with information about the incident is encouraged to call the Sheriff's Office tipline toll-free at 1-800-706-2488.

3 accused of breaking into elementary school

LACOOCHEE - Three children were arrested Sunday after authorities accused them of breaking into Lacoochee Elementary School.

The youths, all boys ages 12, 13 and 14, climbed a barbed-wire fence surrounding the school and entered the main building through a window they broke with a garden tool.

Inside, they rummaged through teachers' desks, jiggled the mouses on computers and dropped and shattered a filled cookie jar, according to a sheriff's report. They also moved a Beta fish into the same tank as goldfish, a cardinal no-no for fish keepers, the school principal said.

A sheriff's deputy responding to an intrusion alarm discovered the boys about 2:30 p.m. They were transported to juvenile detention. The St. Petersburg Times is withholding their names because of their ages.

Lacoochee Elementary principal Karen Marler said the event was more disheartening than anything.

Though the boys are students at other schools - James Irvin Educational Center, Pasco Middle and Pasco High - Marler said she plans to reach out to the boys to help them with their restitution.

"It hurts our feelings more than anything else," Marler said. "It makes us understand there's a lot more work to be done here. And you know what? We're up to the challenge."

Man shot after argument in mobile home park

ZEPHYRHILLS - An argument over a fishing pole led to a mobile home park shooting Sunday evening.

John Philip Colandria, 31, told sheriff's deputies a man he knew only as "Liquid" accused him of stealing his fishing pole.

The two began shoving each other in front of Colandria's front yard at 4701 Plum St.

The pushing escalated to punching. And then Liquid pulled out a gray handgun, the victim told deputies. As the men were wrestling, Liquid's gun went off.

Colandria suffered gunshot wounds to his ankle, thigh and hand, according to deputies. He ran to a neighbor's house for help.

The man known as Liquid is said to have fled the scene. And the victim was taken to Tampa General Hospital after emergency officials responded at 5:45 p.m.

Pasco County sheriff's spokesman Doug Tobin said no arrests have been made in the aggravated battery complaint.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the sheriff's toll-free tip line at 1-800-706-2488.

[Last modified September 27, 2005, 02:45:31]