Suspect Tries To Steal ATM With Forklift

By Matt Wiley,

TD Bank’s surveillance camera caught this image of the forklift that was used in an attempted burglary on Oct. 5.
TD Bank’s surveillance camera caught this image of the forklift that was used in an attempted burglary on Oct. 5.

The plan to rob a bank using a forklift probably looked better on paper.

According to the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO), at around 12:05 a.m. on October 5, an unknown suspect attempted to remove an ATM machine from the TD Bank branch at the intersection of S.R. 56 and Silver Maple Pkwy. in Wesley Chapel. When deputies arrived, the suspect had already fled and there was structural damage to the building.

However, the suspect failed to steal any money or gain access to the bank, PCSO reports. The forklift itself was left at the scene.

“This is the first time this kind of incident has happened in our jurisdiction,” says PCSO spokesman Kevin Doll.

No additional information was available at our press time.

 

Florida's New Texting Ban Now In Effect, But With Exceptions

Florida's texting while driving ban is in effect as of Oct. 1.
Florida’s texting while driving ban is in effect as of Oct. 1.

By Matt Wiley

If you’re on Wesley Chapel roads, or any Florida road for that matter, stay off your phone. Or, off of the keyboard, at least, as Florida’s texting and driving ban has gone into effect. However, there are some exceptions.

On October 1, Florida became the 41st state to actively ban texting while driving. According to the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP), 3,400 crashes resulted from distraction by an electronic device in the state last year, 24 of which resulted in fatalities.

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Zephyrhills Woman Dies In New Tampa Head-On Collision

By Matt Wiley

A woman is dead following an early-morning head-on collision in New Tampa.

According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO), just before 4 a.m. on September 20, Kunjummen Arun Babu, 18, of Zephyrhills, was driving north on Morris Bridge Rd. near Pictoral Park Dr., about half of a mile north of Cross Creek Blvd. in his 2010 Honda Accord. At the same time, Rita Marie Sutliff, 68, also of Zephyrhills, was driving south on Morris Bridge in her 2012 Ford Explorer. Both vehicles were traveling at about 50 m.p.h.Continue reading

Deacon Blues To Play At Leukemia Society Fund Raiser At The Palms

Marlana Lacivita
Marlana Lacivita

By Gary Nager & Matt Wiley | September 14

Long-time Hunter’s Green resident Bernie Desrosiers is someone I consider to be a good friend, not only because he helped coach the Wharton High ice hockey team that both of my sons played for a few years ago, but also because Bernie was the first person I met in New Tampa who spent untold amounts of his free time helping others to try to build an actual community in the middle of our suburban sea of seemingly impassive, sometimes apathetic subdivisions.Continue reading

Schenecker Trial Postponed Until April 2014

By Matt Wiley | September 11

The trial for Julie Schenecker, 52, the woman accused of murdering her teenage children in the family’s Tampa Palms home, has been postponed from October 2013 to April 2014, court records indicate.

Schenecker’s case, which was originally scheduled to begin on October 7 of this year, has been postponed until April 28, 2014. The case was postponed during a hearing on August 16, in which Hillsborough Circuit Judge Emmett Battles granted a motion from Schenecker’s lawyers for a continuance, to which the state did not object.

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