- November 22, 2024
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8:30 a.m. — 1000 block of Ocean Shore Boulevard
Grand theft. Police arrested a 53-year-old man who was in possession of a stolen RV, which he said he had only moved to avoid it getting it towed away from a local dollar store. The RV belonged to a business, according to the police report, and the man told officers the owners should thank him for saving it.
Police began investigating the stolen vehicle after a church maintenance man flagged officers down, informing them there was an RV on church property with no license plate. When police made contact with the man, he said that he had to move the RV from another address, and that he was in the process of registering it. However, officers discovered the RV was stolen after running its identification number.
The man then changed his story, saying he and his friend found it in a local dollar store parking, and that it had been there for the past two months. He said they found it was empty and loaded with electronics, and that they found the keys too. After spending the night inside, the man said a towing company arrived and they moved it to avoid getting it taken away.
The man, who had been in possession of the RV for four days, insisted that they were trying to find out who owned the RV so that they could return it to them. He said he was hoping to get a reward for recovering it.
Instead, he was taken to jail.
12:15 p.m. — 1500 block of West Granada Boulevard
Trespassing. A 39-year-old transient man claimed he returned to a local supermarket — from which he had previously been trespassed — because higher powers advised him to.
Police report that the man said Jesus told him to return to the store, and that he made several comments about the world coming to an end. He also said his family owned the supermarket. The man was trespassed earlier in the month for disruptive behavior.
He was taken to jail.
2:50 a.m. — 500 block of Rockefeller Drive
Attempting to elude. A 22-year-old Zephyrhills man who refused to stop after police flagged him down for speeding told officers he didn't pull over because he didn't want his insurance to go up.
Police spotted the man driving 57 mph in a 35 mph zone around the 500 block of South Atlantic Avenue, according to the police report, and the officers activated the patrol's emergency lights and sirens. The man didn't stop, turning west on Rockefeller Drive.
The officers eventually caught the man and conducted a traffic stop. The man was arrested and taken to jail.