 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
Back
|
Devil Rays 1, suspect 0
By NATALIE BAUGHMAN © St. Petersburg Times, published September 27, 2000 ST. PETERSBURG -- After finishing an afternoon baseball practice, three Devil Rays minor league pitchers went to Tyrone Square Mall to buy a new hip hop CD. Instead, they ended up bagging a bank robbery suspect. Police say the pitchers -- Jesus Colome, Delvin James and Marquis Roberts -- chased Gonzolo Viamontes Jr., 39, and retrieved the $7,600 stolen from SouthTrust Bank on Monday afternoon. The three men then spotted Viamontes across the street at Ruby Tuesday Restaurant and pointed him out to police. "It was kind of a coincidence that we were there," James said. "After it was all over, we looked at each other and said, "Man, what happened?' It was such a weird thing." Colome, James and Roberts were driving out of the Sears Roebuck and Co. parking lot about 3:30 p.m. Monday when they saw a man crossing the street in front of them. The man -- later identified by the players and police as Viamontes -- was struggling to take off a top layer of clothing with one hand and holding an overstuffed Burger King bag in the other. He did not appear to have a weapon. The pitchers jumped out of their car and approached him. They closed in on him and Roberts knocked the bag from his hand. "It was pure adrenaline at that point," said Roberts, 21, a Fresno, Calif., native who was drafted by the Devil Rays in June 1997. "We didn't know what was going on. We just wanted to help out." Colome, 21, and James, 22, stood on either side of the man, making sure he didn't escape with the bag. James, originally from Nacogdoches, Texas, was drafted by the Devil Rays in June 1996. Colome is one of the newest players in the Devil Rays minor league system. He was acquired from Oakland in a trade in late July. After being stopped by the three players, the man dropped the bag and ran. Colome, James and Roberts collected the money spilling out onto the street and took it to the bank at 6700 22nd Ave. N. When they reached the bank, police told them that a man had forced a teller to place all of her $50 and $100 bills in a bag. As the Devil Rays players compared details of the incident with police, a man across the street caught their eye. He peeked out of Ruby Tuesday Restaurant for a few seconds, then ran back inside. Both police and the players identified him as the robbery suspect because of his size and bright yellow shirt. During a 10-minute chase, policeblocked off several entrances to the mall. They arrested Viamontes, a transient, near the bank. Viamontes, also known as "Rocko," was being held Tuesday at Pinellas County Jail on $50,000 bail. The chase was over about 20 minutes after it started. The pitchers went home for the night, knowing that they had done a good deed. As a reward for their help, the bank gave Colome, James and Roberts each $100 and free checking accounts for life. "We weren't looking for any reward," James said. "Maybe the bank thinks we'll put in a lot of money when we make it in the big league."
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111 
|
Headlines From the Times local news desks |
