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Letter to the editor

Robbery keeps kids indoors

Children at three area programs were on lockdown after a nearby bank was robbed.

By ELENA LESLEY
Published June 29, 2007

TARPON SPRINGS - A pre-school, summer program and the Boys and Girls Club were locked down Thursday morning while police searched for a bank robber, officials said.

Authorities notified the facilities after the nearby Bank of America at 116 S Pinellas Ave. was robbed about 11:40 a.m.

The suspect, 48-year-old Tommy Charles Miller, was arrested at the Sponge Docks a little after 1 p.m., officials said.

Those watching children in each location "chose to take extra precautions" by keeping youngsters inside, Tarpon Springs police Capt. Jeff Young said.

A man walked into the Bank of America and gave a note to the teller demanding money. Though he did not flash a gun, the note indicated that he was armed, according to police.

The teller handed over $600 in cash and the robber fled through the back door, possibly escaping on a bike.

At the same time, 39 children at a Boys and Girls Club summer camp were walking back from Craig Park to Lime Street, according to Georganna Frantzis, a camp counselor. They were stopped by an officer and told to turn back.

Another 40 children were already at the building on Lime Street. They stayed locked down.

Officers obtained a surveillance photo of the robber and identified him as a transient who goes by the nickname "Grasshopper, " police said.

A little more than an hour after the robbery, Officer Frank Ruggiero spotted Miller sitting on a bench at the Sponge Docks.

When he approached Miller and called out "Grasshopper, " Miller turned, looked at Ruggiero and ran, police said.

He was quickly apprehended and found to have nearly $600 on him, police said.

Miller was charged with armed bank robbery and was being held without bail at the Pinellas County Jail on Thursday evening.

Elena Lesley can be reached at elesley@sptimes.com or 727 445-4167.

[Last modified June 28, 2007, 22:20:37]