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Trio caught before robbery, deputies say

Detectives say they had information from a source that the three planned a home invasion.

By JONATHAN ABEL, Times Staff Writer
Published October 24, 2007

ADVERTISEMENT Richard Lee Long, 38, was already on probation for drug charges. Phillip Robert Welch, 24, is in jail in lieu of $10,000 bail. Reginald Landrick McRae, 40, was driving the SUV.

CLEARWATER - Three men were two blocks away from committing a home invasion robbery when deputies intervened, the Sheriff's Office said.

Pinellas County sheriff's deputies said they caught three Largo men who planned to break into a house on Morningside Drive in a neighborhood off U.S. 19 and south of Sunset Point Road.

Richard Lee Long, 38; Reginald Landrick McRae, 40; and Phillip Robert Welch, 24, were arrested about 8:45 p.m. Monday in the 2700 block of Morningside Drive.

Investigators said they received information over the past week that the men planned to commit an armed home invasion robbery and began watching them. As part of the surveillance, detectives watched the men casing the target home several days before their arrest, officials said.

Acting in part on information from a confidential source, detectives arrested the three Monday night. Inside the gold 2000 Ford Expedition McRae was driving, they found ski masks, a pry bar and other tools authorities said were going to be used in a robbery.

All were booked into the Pinellas County Jail on one count of conspiracy to commit home invasion robbery. Long also faces a violation of probation charge in a previous case of cocaine possession and sale. McRae was booked on an additional count of driving while his license was suspended or revoked.

Sgt. Jim Bordner said detectives will examine whether the trio are suspected in any other home invasion robberies in the Tampa Bay area, though he said there was "no indication of that at this point."

Long was being held without bail. McRae was being held in lieu of $10,250 bail and Welch in lieu of $10,000.

Anyone with information about this incident or the three men is asked to call the sheriff's robbery unit at 727 582-6200 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-873-8477.

Jonathan Abel can be reached at (727) 445-4157 or jabel@sptimes.com.

[Last modified October 23, 2007, 22:19:01]