Some bottom feeder was arrested hook, line, and sinker for stealing her grandfather’s fishing poles May 6, 2013

FORT WALTON BEACH – Lawmen say a woman stole $2,000 worth of fishing poles from her grandfather and charged her with grand theft.

A neighbor told Fort Walton Beach Police that on March 30 he was working in his front yard when he noticed 30-year-old Rebekah Nicole Forakis and a male companion drive by her grandfather’s house on Wisteria Court. They parked at the end of the street. The neighbor said he went back to doing yardwork, and later heard a loud “bang,” which he thought was Forakis’ grandfather’s garage door being closed. The car Forakis had been driving came down the street – this time the male was driving – and several fishing poles hung out the window. The neighbor said he saw Forakis duck out of view as the car passed by.

On March 31, Forakis visited her grandfather, according to the arrest report. After she left he noticed the fishing gear was missing and called police. He said between seven and nine Penn fishing rods and reels were taken, valued at between $1,500 and $2,000.

On April 12 Forakis was stopped for a traffic violation. An officer contacted her and asked about the stolen fishing equipment. She said she no involvement, but her male companion confirmed he was with her when she took the gear. They planned to sell it because they were having money troubles, he said, but ended up taking it to his father’s house.

Forakis’ grand theft charge was a felony.

Drunken man beat elderly man to death for taking his car keys April 28, 2013

Friends don’t let friends drive drunk.  But there is a risk to wearing a white hat.

 Ivan Echevarria awoke early Saturday covered in another man’s blood, authorities said.

The 40-year-old construction worker had slept the night in the carport of the home where he’d been drinking the night before, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. It didn’t take long for him to figure out whose blood it was — a few feet away from where Echevarria woke up lay the body of Luis Rojas, 79, the owner of the home at 1923 S 66th St. in Palm River, an unincorporated community east of Tampa.

Echevarria started screaming, according to the Sheriff’s Office. He ran to a neighboring home and banged on the door while yelling for the police. The neighbor called 911 about 5:20 a.m. Echevarria then led deputies to the body.

Echevarria told detectives everything he remembered of the night before, Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Cristal Bermudez Nunez said later. Then detectives found a witness, a third person who had been drinking with Echevarria and Rojas on Friday night. After interviewing the witness, the Sheriff’s Office arrested Echevarria Saturday on a charge of second-degree murder.

He had beaten Rojas to death, detectives said. His motive? Rojas had tried to stop Echevarria from driving while intoxicated, the Sheriff’s Office said. Rojas thought Echevarria was too drunk to make the 11-mile trek back to his home on W Waters Ave., so Rojas took the younger man’s keys and put them in his pocket. Echevarria responded by beating Rojas, then passing out near the body, the Sheriff’s Office said.

“The suspect became angry because he couldn’t find his keys and he didn’t want to stay and sleep it off as the victim had suggested,” Nunez said.

Echevarria did not admit to the crime Saturday.

“He remembers the before and after,” Nunez said. “He doesn’t remember the beating.”

Detectives were still working the crime scene at the two-bedroom, red-brick home Saturday evening. A few of Rojas’ relatives gathered by the yellow crime scene tape declined to comment.

Echevarria has not been convicted of a violent crime before in Florida, according to state records. A January 2010 aggravated battery charge in Miami was eventually dropped. In December 2009 he was arrested for disorderly intoxication in Miami, records show. He pleaded no contest and adjudication was withheld. He was being held without bail Saturday night in the Hillsborough County jail.

More machete madness …. Man accused of slashing his granny with machete April 22, 2013

TAMPA — A Plant City man is in jail after authorities say he attacked his grandmother with a machete, slashing her face and upper body.

Arrest reports say Barbara A. Harvey, 75, sustained numerous “life threatening” lacerations in the incident Saturday afternoon. She was transported to Tampa General Hospital, where she remained Sunday in intensive care, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said.

Anthony W. Griffith, 34, faces charges of attempted murder and aggravated battery with a weapon on a person over 65.

Arrest reports say Griffith admitted to slashing his grandmother. The two got into an argument at 7608 Loghouse Road, where they both live.

He was being held without bail at the Hillsborough County Jail. Records show Griffith has been arrested numerous times, including in May 2002 when he faced a count of battery and in August 2002 when he faced a count of DUI with property damage or bodily injury.

Here’s the latest twist in criminal distracting techniques: Use prayer to prey on a victim. April 16, 2013

Deputies say a woman was approached by another woman, later identified as Alicia Sportelli, in the parking lot of a Bradenton Walgreens. The woman became concerned for Sportelli’s well-being and, as they spoke to each other, they then began to pray, according to an arrest affidavit from the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office.

But while the 61-year-old woman prayed Sportelli suddenly fled.
That’s when the women noticed her purse had been stolen off her front passenger seat and a gold pickup was fleeing the scene  — while the Sportelli ran away in an opposite direction, according to the report.
As the deputy continued to investigate to incident, Sportelli returned to the scene and told the deputy she didn’t know who the man was in the truck. Lacking evidence, she was released from the scene, according to the affidavit.
But within minutes later, as another deputy was conducting drug surveillance nearby, that deputy saw a gold pickup drive by with its entire tag concealed by a piece of cloth, deputies said.
When the deputy conducted a traffic stop on the pickup several personal effects belonging to the 61-year-old woman, including her purse, were reportedly found scattered about the truck’s floor.
Post Miranda, both Sportelli, 25, of Bradenton, and Michael Baker, 32 , of Palmetto, allegedly admitted to being accomplishes and  ‘fessed up to their plan to distract the woman so that Baker could then swipe her purse.

Also in the duo’s possession was the debit card of the woman, according to the affidavit.
Baker was charged with: Burglary of a conveyance, Conspiracy to commit Burglary to a conveyance, Trafficking in Prescription pills, Grand Theft and possession of stolen debit card.
Sportelli was charged with: Principle to Burglary of a conveyance, Conspiracy to commit burglary, Trafficking in Prescription pills, Grand theft and possession of stolen debit card.
Sportelli has been to prison twice — once for Robbery and was recently released in May 2012 after being convicted of 4 counts of obtaining Prescription by Fraud. Baker is a convicted felon, deputies said.

Evicted stepson accused of pooping on porch April 10, 2013

NEW PORT RICHEY – A 19-year-old man was served an eviction notice and led away in handcuffs Monday afternoon after, deputies say, he pushed his stepfather and pooped on the porch.

Jorge Jonathan Cruz-Blanco was mad because he knew the eviction notice was coming, his stepfather told deputies, according to a Pasco County Sheriff’s Office report. Kenneth Pangborn said his stepson didn’t have a job and wasn’t going to school, so he was kicking him out. The report said Cruz-Blanco threw things around the house and shoved 72-year-old Pangborn to the ground. Cruz-Blanco stepped outside to wait for deputies when he heard Pangborn calling 911.

When they arrived, Cruz-Blanco explained that he had to use the bathroom while he was waiting, so he pulled down his pants and left the mess on the porch.

Cruz-Blanco, of New Port Richey, was arrested on a charge of battery on a person over 65. He remained Tuesday at the Land O’Lakes jail without bail.

Man pushed a mom in pool, swung machete at her April 3, 2013

An Immokalee man is accused of pushing a woman into a swimming pool and swinging a machete toward her Sunday night, according to authorities.

The victim told Collier County sheriff’s deputies she was at a community pool at 614 N. Ninth St. when she saw Marcelino Mateo, 25, taking photos of her and her kids. When she confronted him and told him to stop, he grabbed her arm and pushed her in the pool, she said.

Witnesses said Mateo then went to his apartment and came back with a machete. He swung it toward the victim, who was able to block the machete with a metal frame, according to an arrest report.

Machete in hand, Mateo then chased a man who tried to intervene until bystanders were able to stop Mateo, deputies reported. Mateo then ran back to his apartment until deputies arrived.

Mateo, of the 600 block of North Ninth Street, faces two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and one count of battery. As of Monday, he remained at the Naples Jail Center in lieu of bonds totaling $75,000.

Trailer tumult features pitbull, buttocks, coffee March 16, 2013

A 42-year-old man said his landlord threw coffee on him, and released his pitbull from his trailer.

The 66-year-old landlord said the 42-year-old man started a fight with him, saying “he takes it up the (buttocks),” according to statements in a recently released Martin County Sheriff’s Office report.

The March 1 case began as deputies went to All Ashore Mobile Home Park in the 10200 block of Southeast U.S. 1 in Hobe Sound.

The 42-year-old man said he got out of his trailer and was by his car when the landlord started yelling. The landlord, he said, tossed coffee on him and let loose his pitbull, which “came toward him and his children.”

Meanwhile, the landlord told investigators the 42-year-old man was being evicted and had to vacate the trailer later that day. The landlord said the 42-year-old man started a fight.

In addition to alleging the landlord “takes it up the (buttocks),” the 42-year-old man is accused of calling the landlord a “(fecal matter) packer” and of calling the landlord’s wife a prostitute.

The landlord said the coffee spilled as he jumped back after the 42-year-old man stepped toward him.

It wasn’t immediately clear whether the coffee was regular or decaf.

The landlord reported the 42-year-old man threatened to get a gun, though he didn’t see one. The pitbull got out when he entered his trailer, and ran to another person.

One of the 42-year-old man’s children said her dad and the landlord started name calling and “got into each other’s face,” a report states. She said the landlord threw coffee and the “trash talking” continued.

In the end, deputies got conflicting statements and found no independent witnesses.

Order was restored after the apparent mobile home park mayhem, and no one was arrested.

 

CLICK IMAGES BELOW TO READ THE REPORT

  

Trio of Good Samaritans stopped beating of disabled woman March 10, 2013

On February 23, 2013, at approximately 5:30 pm, Cheryl Priester, Tonia Priester, and Patricia Robinson observed a woman being beaten with a large stick and ultimately robbed by another woman in the 2400 block of Pershing Avenue, Sarasota.

Tonia Priester called 911 for help and all three women ran to the rescue of the victim screaming for the suspect to stop.  As a result, the suspect stopped assaulting the victim, dropped the stick, and fled.  The suspect stole the victim’s cell phone and a bag of personal items.

The victim, who suffers from a mental disability, sustained minor injuries to her arms, neck, shoulder, and face.  Witnesses identified the suspect as Donyelle Sims, date of birth 9/25/76, no address on file.

Sims has a criminal history.  There are active warrants for the arrest of Donyelle Sims for Aggravated Battery, Robbery with a Deadly Weapon, and Aggravated Abuse of a Disabled Person, in regard to this case.

Chief DiPino and the Sarasota Police Department commend the three Good Samaritans for their assistance and cooperation with the police to stop a violent crime in progress, protect the victim, and help identify the suspect.

The Sarasota Police Department urges Donyelle Sims to turn herself in.

Granny, 82, kicked off Miami Metrorail for singing hymn March 8, 2013

MIAMI-DADE, Fla. -  An 82-year-old woman was forcibly removed from a Miami-Dade Metrorail train for singing during her ride.

LISTEN:  Emma Anderson sings

Emma Anderson was sitting in a seat on the train and singing a spiritual hymn when a private security guard approached.

The guard, hired by the transit system, first told the woman she was being disruptive.

“I was beating my little beads with the bottle and I was singing a song, and he came up to me and said, ‘Ma’am, you’re making too much noise,’” Anderson told Local 10′s Terrell Forney.

A passenger recorded the exchange on his cell phone. On the video, you can see the security guard grab Anderson’s bag. She clings tightly onto her bag and is ultimately pulled from her seat.

“He said, ‘You gotta get off this train,’” said Anderson.

The confrontation turned dramatic as the security guard is heard telling Anderson to leave.

“He snatched so hard until I fell. I fell backwards,” said Anderson.

Several witnesses said they were shocked by what they saw: an elderly woman knocked to the ground. One of the witnesses demanded the name of the security guard.

“When I look at them snatching my 82-year-old mother up off that Metrorail, it’s disgusting to me”, said Donald Anderson, Emma’s son.

Karla Damian, a spokesperson for Miami-Dade Transit released a statement about the Feb. 20 incident.

“Miami-Dade Transit has a responsibility to all its passengers to provide a safe and comfortable travel experience. The elderly passenger, Ms. Anderson, who was escorted from a Metrorail train, was initially asked by a security guard to refrain from singing loudly and playing an instrument while on the train.

She refused to comply. County rules associated with transit use prohibit anyone from singing, dancing or playing a musical instrument unless a commercial permit is issued by MDT. Further, Ms. Anderson’s singing was causing a disturbance to other passengers and impeding important train announcements from being heard.

We regret that Ms. Anderson had to eventually be escorted out, but regardless of age, all passengers need to abide by the rules associated with using transit.”

View: Metrorail Passenger Rules

The Anderson family took Emma to a doctor to be checked out and came home with X-rays, in which they believe prove the incident left the grandmother with possible shoulder and hip fractures.

“They should’ve had another way of removing her out instead of dragging her off,” said Donald Anderson.

The Andersons have filed a police report over the matter and have since hired an attorney.

Dad, 49, and son, 23, stalked elderly neighbor for months March 5, 2013

(PUNTA GORDA) A Charlotte County Sheriff’s deputy arrested a father and his son on charges of Stalking for harassing their 64 year old neighbor for months. Arrested for Stalking were Douglas Cole Everly, 49, and Ryan Cole Everly, 23, both of 32166 Oil Well Road, Punta Gorda. 

 

The neighbor contacted CCSO about the Everly’s yelling profanity, making obscene hand gestures, honking their horn, and generally harassing him whenever they see him regardless of who is around. The victim kept a log of the incidents that began, including three witnesses who were at his home on different occasions and saw the actions of the Everly’s. The victim said on Oct. 17 Douglas Everly pulled up to his house in a white pickup, got out, and placed a piece of hose with nails in it in his driveway. The victim showed video he took of the incident. The deputy spoke to Douglas Everly and he denied he did it. He was given a warning that if he continued to harass his neighbor, charges would be brought against him. The victim began keeping a log of all of harassment incidents.

On Feb. 27, deputies contacted Douglas Everly by phone and asked to meet with him and his son. Doug Everly told the deputy, “I give that man the finger every time I pass his house and I’m going to keep giving him the finger. I cuss at him and call him “faggot” every time I see him. If I ever come across him in Wal-Mart, there is going to be a problem because I (expletive deleted) hate that guy.” He told the deputy he would have to catch him and his son when they are home on the weekend as he would not come to CCSO.

Saturday, the deputy met with Douglas Everly at his home; at first he denied the Wal-Mart threat against the victim, and then changed his story saying if he saw the man in Wal-Mart, “The Sheriff’s Office might have to come and arrest him.” The deputy reported that the pattern of harassment committed by the father and son has no legitimate purpose other than to cause the victim emotional distress. Both have willfully, maliciously, and repeatedly, followed and harassed the victim for the past four to five months. Douglas Everly was arrested Saturday and taken to the Charlotte County Jail. His son, Ryan Everly, turned himself in at the jail on Sunday. Both were released after they posted a $1,000 bond each.