Weird

Cops: Man burglarizes neighbor's home 3 times

Submitted by Kristin Weber, Web Producer, 10News In Your Neighborhood

Thursday, January 17th, 2013, 5:24pm

Sarasota, Florida -- The resident of a Sarasota home can finally sleep easy because it appears police have caught the person responsible for breaking into their home not just once, but three times in less than a month's time.

Sarasota Police say Francisco Barron broke into the home in the 1700 block of 9th Street for the first time on Oct. 22 through a back door. He allegedly stole two laptop computers, two flat screen TVs, a Playstation and $50 in change.

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Submitted by Kristin Weber, Web Producer, 10News In Your Neighborhood

Tuesday, December 4th, 2012, 5:20pm

Sarasota, Florida -- A man who apparently has trouble following directions was arrested for driving away from a Sarasota courthouse, right after being told by a judge not to drive.

Sarasota Sheriff's officials say Lashay Smith was arrested for driving with a suspended or revoked license -- for the sixth time -- and appeared before a judge on contempt charges. The judge told him not to drive, but as he left the courtroom, deputies watched as he drove off in a white Mercury sedan.

Smith, 45, was immediately taken into custody.

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Submitted by Kathryn Bursch, Reporter

Wednesday, November 14th, 2012, 8:35am

Siesta Key, Florida - A vacation spot on Siesta Key turned into a crime scene Tuesday. Deputies were called to The Siesta Key Bungalows after the manager was stabbed.

Manager, Lisa Chavez-Barrera, 39, told Sarasota Sheriff's investigators that when she tried to get Carmela Benevento to vacate the property, Benevento became angry. She says Benevento then broke off a landscaping light and stabbed her in the stomach with the pointed end of the stake.

Benevento, 50, was arrested and charged with one count of Aggravated Battery and one count of Aggravated Assault.

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Submitted by WTSP Web Staff

Tuesday, November 13th, 2012, 11:31am

SARASOTA, Florida (AP) - A homeless man spent the night in a southwest Florida jail after a police officer accused him of stealing by charging his cell phone at a public park.

An arrest report says that a Sarasota police sergeant spotted 28-year-old Darren Kersey charging his phone Sunday evening in a public picnic shelter at Gillespie Park.

The sergeant told Kersey that the "theft of city utilities will not be tolerated during this bad economy" and then arrested him on a misdemeanor charge of theft of utilities.

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Submitted by Kristin Weber, Web Producer, 10News In Your Neighborhood

Wednesday, October 24th, 2012, 3:37pm

Sarasota, Florida -- A man faces numerous charges after he fled from police twice -- once through an elementary school playground -- and allegedly battered two people, all in one day.

Around 3:30 p.m., deputies say when they tried to stop a gray Chevy Malibu for speeding, the driver took off into a residential neighborhood off Webber Street. He then drove across the Brentwood Elementary School playground full of students and teachers, crashed through a fence and ended up on Vinson Avenue. At that point, deputies suspended the pursuit due to Kaafi's obvious disregard for others.

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Submitted by Kristin Weber, Web Producer, 10News In Your Neighborhood

Tuesday, September 25th, 2012, 12:49pm

Sarasota, Florida -- A pool cleaner was arrested after police discovered he was moonlighting as a statue thief.

Detectives say 40-year-old Jason McMahon stole $8,500 worth of bird statues from at least three homes on Siesta Key and in Prestancia.

No, he didn't have an affinity for the statues and was keeping them for himself -- he was scrapping the bronze statues for cash. It is believed he scrapped some of the statues in Manatee County and police there are pursuing charges.

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