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Man dies from injuries in attack

By ANDREA CHANG
Published August 3, 2006

ST. PETERSBURG - A homeless man died Wednesday, nearly three weeks after he was attacked and robbed by two men in St. Petersburg.

Thomas George Roberts, who would have turned 52 on Sunday, was robbed July 15 after he left a Walgreens store around 10 p.m. A passerby found him unconscious the next day near the PHO 97 Oriental Restaurant, 3090 34th St. N. Roberts was taken to Edward White Hospital with head injuries.

He told St. Petersburg police that two white males in their late teens attacked him from behind, knocked him unconscious and stole cash from him.

Hospital staff discovered Roberts was suffering from severe internal bleeding and sent him to Bayfront Medical Center for trauma care. Roberts died from his injuries Wednesday morning.

Police have made no arrests.

Roberts also reported he was the victim of a battery July 14 in the 3100 block of 37th Avenue N. He said an unknown white male in his 30s punched him twice in the right eye and pushed him face-first into a chain-link fence, causing significant swelling to the eye. Roberts was taken to Northside Hospital for treatment.

Roberts also filed a late-reported robbery July 9, saying he suffered head injuries when he was robbed by unknown white males three days earlier. Officers interviewed Roberts and noted injuries to the right side of his face. He was treated at a local hospital.

"I think some of the most victimized people in our community are the homeless that are on the street," said the Rev. Bruce Wright of Refuge Ministries, a homeless advocacy group. "There's just a general 'who cares?' attitude quite often."

Anyone with information about Roberts' death should contact Detective Charles Coeyman at (727) 551-3057 or the police communications center, (727) 893-7780.

[Last modified August 3, 2006, 08:57:40]