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© St. Petersburg Times, published December 1, 2001
Man accused of helping himself to store's deli case
SPRING HILL -- The chicken wing sauce on his chin gave it away, authorities said.
A sheriff's deputy headed to the Kash n' Karry on Mariner Boulevard at 2:15 a.m. Thursday after a store employee said a man wearing blue jeans was eating chicken wings out of the deli case.
The man had been sampling several different flavors and putting wings back into the case, authorities said. After the employee confronted the man, he ran through the back of the store and set off an emergency alarm, authorities said.
A deputy said he later found a man sitting outside with orange sauce on his mouth and chin. The deputy said the man appeared intoxicated and said he had just left a bar.
Shawn Michael Bridges, 21, of 4361 Candler Ave. in Spring Hill was charged with retail theft. Kash n' Karry estimated the value of eaten wings at $40. Authorities said Bridges also had an outstanding warrant for retail theft. He was released from jail Thursday on his own recognizance by County Judge Peyton Hyslop.
SPRING HILL -- A Spring Hill couple called the Sheriff's Office Thursday after finding white powder on their mail.
Roger and Margaret Hiller of 5137 Bromley Ave. said they found a white gritty substance under The New Yorker magazine. Mrs. Hiller, a 70-year-old retired nurse, touched and tasted the substance but did not know what it was, so she called sheriff's deputies, who placed the material in bags and put it in a plastic receptacle outside the Sheriff's Office.
Deputies called postal workers, who said they did not know what the powder could be, according to a report.
SPRING HILL -- A 78-year-old Spring Hill woman was bilked of $19,818 for a new roof when contractors appear to have merely painted rather than repaired it, authorities said.
The woman, whose name and address are being withheld because of the nature of the crime, told authorities she had her roof done on Sept. 19 by workers who said they were from Port Charlotte.
Later, county inspectors said they could not give her a roof permit because it leaked. It appeared the roofers only sprayed foam all over the roof.
The woman said she paid $19,818 and still owed the workers $1,466. She told authorities she paid by credit card and then took out a second loan to pay off the credit card and the rest of the bill.
Lt. Joe Paez of the Sheriff's Office said such scams are common for house repairs and urged people to get several estimates from reputable contractors before having work done.
"We see these types of schemes regularly, particularly against older citizens," Paez said. "Please use caution when someone offers a deal that's too good to pass up."