Labor Day ATM Robber Caught

By Matt Wiley | September 3

Charles Griffin
Charles Griffin

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.

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Weatherford & Other Officials Endorse Mike Moore For Dist. 2 Commission Seat

Dist. 2 Pasco County Commission hopeful Mike Moore (right) already has picked up endoresements from several elected officials, inlcuding Pasco Sheriff Chris Nocco (left).
Dist. 2 Pasco County Commission hopeful Mike Moore (right) already has picked up endoresements from several elected officials, inlcuding Pasco Sheriff Chris Nocco (left). Despite a mistake in our Aug. 31 printed edition, neither Moore nor his wife Lauren is related to Nocco.

By Matt Wiley

‘We need to be shaking hands with the CEOs & company reps & letting them know what Pasco has to offer, instead of waiting for them to come to us.’ – Mike Moore

The 2014 Pasco County local elections may still be just less than a year away, but the race for the Pasco County Commission District 2 seat (which includes all of Wesley Chapel) already is heating up, as current Dist. 2 Comm. Pat Mulieri (R- New Port Richey) will not be seeking reelection.

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Tampa Palms Pill Pusher Crashes Car Full Of Drugs

Jeremy Grove
Jeremy Grove

By Matt Wiley | August 28

A Tampa Palms man has been arrested with a car full of narcotics following a single-vehicle crash on S.R. 54, just east of Wesley Chapel, in Land O’ Lakes.

According to a Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) report, just before 10 a.m. on August 28, Jeremy Earle Grove, 23, of 16228 Saint Michelle Ct. (in the Promenade at Tampa Palms apartment complex), was discovered with several packages containing prescription drugs and controlled substances after flipping his Toyota Scion on S.R. 54, east of Hailey Ln., in Land O’ Lakes.

Witnesses described Grove’s driving leading up to the crash as erratic, stating that he was driving at a high rate of speed, cutting off other vehicles, following too closely and was unable to stay in his lane, before veering off the road and flipping his vehicle.

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Two Local T-Mobile Stores Burglarized Just A Day Apart

By Matt Wiley | August 23

These burglars, wearing gloves, long sleeves and facemasks, were able to break in to T-Mobile stores in both New Tampa and Wesley Chapel, steal thousands of dollars in product and escape within minutes of entering the stores.
These burglars, wearing gloves, long sleeves and facemasks, were able to break in to T-Mobile stores in both New Tampa and Wesley Chapel, steal thousands of dollars in product and escape within minutes of entering the stores.

An after-hours burglary has left the Cellmasters, Inc., T-Mobile store in New Tampa, as well as the T-Mobile store in Wesley Chapel, short thousands of dollars in stolen phones.

According to the Tampa Police Department (TPD), at around 6:45 a.m. on August 23, two caucasian or “fair-skinned” male suspects, clad in long sleeves, gloves and ski-masks, broke into Cellmasters, located at 19024 Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. in the Publix-anchored New Tampa Center shopping plaza.

TPD reports that the suspects entered through the back door, setting off the store’s alarm system. Once the alarm started to go off, the suspects walked over to a display case and began shoving phones and phone cases into a bag, before leaving through the same back door.

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Annexation Hearing Set For Land Behind Wharton

By Matt Wiley | August 22

The public will have its say in November and December regarding the voluntary annexation of nearly 150 acres of New Tampa land behind Wharton High.

The Tampa City Council approved two public hearings to discuss the voluntary annexation of 148 acres located east of Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. (behind Wharton High), between New Tampa Blvd. and County Line Rd., during its August 22 meeting. The hearings will be held on Thursday, November 14, 5:30 p.m., and on Thursday, December 5, 10 a.m.Continue reading