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Tire-iron bandit back after respiteBy SUE CARLTON and KATHRYN WEXLER © St. Petersburg Times, published February 18, 1999 The distinctive outlaw known as the tire iron bandit has apparently reappeared on the robbery circuit with a flourish. After committing perhaps 17 holdups in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties, the bandit dropped out of sight for three weeks. Investigators even found what appeared to be his getup, including the infamous tire iron, in a trash bin on Columbus Drive. Police could only speculate about the suspicious peace. Perhaps his robberies had left him with enough money to stay sufficiently high so he didn't need to threaten clerks for awhile. Maybe he'd gotten wise to the heat and left town or changed tactics. He might even be stuck in jail, arrested for an unrelated crime. "It wasn't because he got bored robbing places," said Capt. K.C. Newcomb. Whatever the reason, the lull ended Tuesday night at 10:40 p.m. The Circle K store at 3333 Bay to Bay Blvd. in south Tampa was hit by a man who has given police every reason to believe he's the same person. His disguise was a white handkerchief covering his face and a red cap on his head. His weapon: a tire iron. The clerk initially hesitated to hand over the money. But the bandit didn't back down, the way he did in at least one case. This time, he slammed the tool on the countertop, and made his demands again. That earned him a small amount of cash, police said. Sgt. Bob Wright said officers are comparing shots from surveillance cameras to ascertain that this is, in fact, the same guy. His M.O. is the same, he said. "It's maddening," said Capt. K.C. Newcomb. But, "We'll get him." * * *IF THE SHOE FITS: For 40 years, Robert Lima has sold shoes. By his own account, he sizes up feet on almost a daily basis. No doubt Lima has dealt with some unusual feet over time. But he could not have imagined that before day's end Wednesday he would have measured a murder suspect's feet and then testified about it. "Seven-and-a-half to eight," Lima concluded in the murder trial of Oscar Ray Bolin. He became a surprise defense witness -- a surprise even to himself -- in the case in which Bolin is being retried on charges of robbing and stabbing Natalie Blanche Holley, 25. Some testimony has centered on shoe prints at a crime scene, and the Kmart sneakers Bolin allegedly favored. Wednesday, there was a dust-up when defense attorneys said an FBI agent who testified in Bolin's first trial said the print appeared to be a size 91/2 or 10. A different agent called to the stand Wednesday said it could have come from a wide range of sizes. Defense attorneys Mark Ober and Brian Donerly scrambled to find someone who could definitively size the defendant's foot. They found Lima, who works at a local Men's Wearhouse, who dutifully came to court carrying a metal contraption that is a shoe store staple called The Brannock Device. He measured Bolin and reported his findings. "I'm not considered an expert," he said on cross-examination. "Just a person that's been selling shoes for a number of years." The case is expected to be in the jury's hands today. Bolin faces another retrial in Tampa in the murder of Carrollwood teenager Stephanie Collins, and he has been sentenced to death in the Pasco murder of Teri Lynn Matthews. * * *LIKE A LAWYER SCORNED: Arnie Levine is a lawyer who loves attention. So perhaps one way to tick him off is to stand him up. That's what Hillsborough County Attorney Emmy Acton did Tuesday. Levine, who is representing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a public records lawsuit against the county, subpoenaed the county's attorney to appear at his office Tuesday to answer questions. Acton didn't come running. Instead, she filed a motion for a protective order from Levine's subpoena and told Levine not to expect her Tuesday. So Levine filed a motion asking the court to sanction her. Essentially, he wants Acton to pay for the time he says he spent waiting for her, knowing full well she wouldn't show. He also wants her to pay for the court reporter he hired. Levine also subpoenaed a Times staff writer who has covered the Bucs lawsuit, and who refused to answer Levine's questions. "At some point," said Mary Helen Campbell, senior assistant county attorney, "I think we need to get back to public records law." That time will come shortly. Hillsborough Circuit Judge Gregory Holder will sit in judgment on Levine's behavior and other matters at 3 p.m. Friday. The judge is expected to return to what the case is really about: Whether the Bucs must turn over records that show how they use the public's stadium.
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