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Traffic was biggest culprit for many weekend shoppers

Although there were some reported robberies, bargain hunters found more calm than chaos.

By MARY JANE PARK
Published November 29, 2006

Even though most stores were out of TMX Elmo, PlayStation 3 and other hot holiday desirables, Tampa Bay area shoppers behaved fairly well during the Thanksgiving weekend.

One person likely to get coal in his stocking is the young man who knocked a woman to the ground in the Largo Mall parking lot on Friday evening and took her grandson's newly purchased PlayStation Portable.

The shoppers had just left Target when a teen toppled the woman and snatched the game, said Largo police Lt. Brad Seale. She was not seriously injured.

Earlier Friday, some patrons of the Wal-Mart Supercenter in Pinellas Park had their hopes dashed when the 52-inch RCA televisions the retail giant advertised at half-price sold quickly.

"If you got here at 5 (a.m.) to buy it, you were probably six hours too late," store manager Shaun Leggett said. "We had only eight total."

Sam Yates, a spokesman for Tyrone Square, said there were no major problems at the St. Petersburg mall. "There was heavy traffic, and, as usual, people jockeying for the best position, but overall, things went very smoothly."

Many retailers intensified security patrols. Police also increased patrols in shopping areas, sometimes using unmarked cars and dressing in civilian clothing, Seale said.

Neither the St. Petersburg Police Department nor the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office reported major incidents over the weekend. "Sure, people get a little rambunctious during that time, but we've had nothing that required police intervention," St. Petersburg police spokesman George Kajtsa reported.

South of the Sunshine Skyway, Prime Outlets-Ellenton held a Midnight Madness promotion from midnight until 8 a.m. Friday.

Interstate traffic was backed up 2 miles in both directions in the wee hours of Friday morning, according to Sarah Ozgun, the mall's marketing manager.

There were no fisticuffs over merchandise, she said: "The customers were more with family and friends, more as an outing or as an event. Everyone seemed to be in good moods."

Dave Bristow, public information officer for the Manatee Sheriff's Office, said there was a robbery at the outlet mall's Fossil store on Friday when a man took an undisclosed amount of cash from a safe.

Otherwise, he said, "People were pretty patient, from what I've heard."

[Last modified November 28, 2006, 20:53:46]