Although I still hear a lot of the businesses we do business with say that they don’t see the economy recovering — at least not at any pace that’s helping them — based on the number of new businesses that keep opening in our area and the fact that those owners seem to have little or no trouble spending money with us to promote those businesses, I think there is some economic momentum being built in our community.
By Matt Wiley |Â September 3
Thanks to a photo taken from surveillance footage, a man wanted for multiple ATM robberies during the Labor Day weekend is in custody and could be held responsible for additional, similar crimes, authorities say.
According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO), Charles Griffin, 34, of the Hidden Palms apartment complex, located just south of Tampa Palms on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd., was arrested on September 3 in connection with at least three separate ATM robberies, each of which occurred within a day of the previous.
The HCSO report states that at around 2 a.m. on September 3, Griffin, who was armed with a silver handgun, approached and attempted to rob a customer using the Bank of America ATM machine at 250 E. Bearss Ave. Hours earlier (on September 2 at around 1:35), Griffin had demanded money from a person at the same ATM, where his photo was caught using surveillance footage from the ATM machine. He drove off in a grey Dodge Journey SUV, which deputies spotted later that day, ultimately leading to his arrest. Griffin also has been charged in the ATM robbery of a customer at the Chase Bank at 2802 E. Fletcher Ave.