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Letter to the editor

Police arrest second suspect in home robbery

By Times Staff Writer
Published December 27, 2007

TARPON SPRINGS

Police arrested a 16-year-old Wednesday as the second suspect in an armed home invasion robbery over the weekend. David Lee Flanders was arrested at his house in the 700 block of Bayshore Drive, according to Tarpon Springs police. The robbery happened Sunday morning at a house in the 600 block of N Florida Avenue. A man told police he awoke to find two men in his home threatening to shoot him. Police said the victim knew one of the suspects, Jake V. Ward, 20. Ward was arrested late Sunday in Hernando County on unrelated charges but he is expected to be charged with armed home invasion robbery. Flanders and Ward also are suspects in a second armed home invasion robbery and a burglary Sunday, police said. The robbery happened in the 700 block of Loquat Drive when two men barged into a house, toppled the wheelchair of a 92-year-old man, threatened him with a handgun and demanded money. It took the victim hours to right himself and reach a neighbor to call police. The burglary was reported in the 600 block of S Florida Avenue after the homeowners returned and found property missing.

LARGO

Water leak leads to marijuana bust

A report of water leaking out of an apartment Tuesday night led Pinellas County sheriff's deputies to 71 marijuana plants inside a suspected grow house. Residents in an apartment in the 12100 block of 117th Street in unincorporated Largo noticed water flooding into their homes from the unit next door. They knocked on the door of the leaking apartment but no one responded. The residents called deputies, who went inside the apartment about 10 p.m. No one was home, but deputies found the plants in the second-floor bedrooms. Neighbors said deputies guarded the building through the night. The source of the leaking water is still under investigation, the Sheriff's Office said. Narcotics deputies obtained a search warrant Wednesday morning and removed the plants, which had an estimated street value of $47,000. No arrests had been made by the afternoon.

COUNTYWIDE

Program looking for adult mentors

Gulf Coast Community Care needs volunteers age 30 and older for its Adults Mentoring Children program. Volunteers are matched with children throughout Pinellas County who need a positive adult role model. Many of the children are in foster care or live with a single parent who is going to school and working. No experience is necessary. There are no costs. Volunteers spend a few hours a week in simple activities such as reading, fishing, baking, teaching a craft or visiting a park. Call (727) 479-1841 or (727) 479-1825.

[Last modified December 26, 2007, 20:28:37]