Couple pass out with child in car, police say

By Times Wires
Published November 26, 2007

LARGO

Largo police arrested an Oldsmar couple after they passed out in a mall parking lot with their 2-year-old son unrestrained in the car. A security guard came upon the white Taurus, with engine running and headlights on, while patrollingthe Largo Mall on Saturday night, Officer Brendan Arlington said. The boy was crying and trying to wake his parents, Carlina and Ryan Davis of Oldsmar, both in their early 20s. After unsuccessfully trying to rouse the couple, the security guard called police. Authorities took the couple into custody. They had been out drinking earlier in the night and passed out in the car, Arlington said. Both are charged with child neglect and Carlina Davis is charged with driving under the influence, he said.

DANIA BEACH

Man's body found burning in trash

The Broward Sheriff's Office says a body has been found burning inside a trash bin. Authorities say two teenagers saw flames coming out of the trash container early Sunday and approached it. They realized it was a burning body and called 911. Detectives say the male body was burned beyond recognition and the death is being investigated as a homicide.

ISLAMORADA

Australian tourist is killed on U.S. 1

Authorities say an Australian tourist was struck and killed on the main highway in and out of the Florida Keys. The Florida Highway Patrol says the tourist, Elsise Hoath, died after getting hit by a car while trying to cross U.S. 1 with a bike near mile marker 81 about 2 p.m. Sunday. The road was closed in both directions after the crash but reopened later in the day.

JACKSONVILLE

Officer reports gun, body armor stolen

A Florida Department of Law Enforcement officer has reported that his handgun and body armor have been stolen. According to a police report, the officer was walking into his home when he heard his car alarm going off about 6 p.m. Saturday. He says he ran to the car and heard a vehicle speeding away but didn't see anyone leaving. There were no signs of forcible entry. According to the reports, the officer says he searched the car and found several items missing, including a Glock 23 handgun with two loaded magazines, handcuffs, a holster, a bulletproof vest and a tactical vest.

FORT LAUDERDALE

Sons want to give troops harmonicas

The sons of a former harmonica player want to pass along hundreds of his instruments to troops overseas. Herb Shriner's 53-year-old twin sons, Wil and Kin, found about 400 vintage harmonicas in their father's warehouse near the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. They told the Sun-Sentinel that they considered donating the instruments to schools or youth groups, but now want to send them to soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. "It beats sending them tubas," said Wil Shriner. "They're pretty easy to pick up and play." Herb Shriner and his wife died in a car crash in 1970. Known as the "Hoosier humorist," Shriner hosted a radio show, a TV variety show and a game show. The harmonicas were made in Germany in 1949 of wood and brass. "It's a gift to maybe lighten up a tough day. It just slips into the pocket," said Wil Shriner's wife, Rebecca Baughman.

[Last modified November 26, 2007, 00:00:38]