Report suspicious behavior or people

Keep a Watchful Eye

Crime Prevention is important and it pays to be on the look out, you never know when something may go wrong.

This happened last week in the Tarpon Woods area and the offender was caught thanks to a good description.

Dear Residents,

On Tuesday 01/12/10 a married couple from Tarpon Woods returned home after being gone for about 40 minutes. When they pulled in their driveway, they noticed a car parked across the street with a young woman and 2 children. She was asked if she needed help and she replied she was feeding her children. The couple went inside and discovered they were victims of a burglary. The husband returned outside to find the suspicious car was gone.

A description of the car was provided to deputies who intercepted it southbound on McMullen Booth Rd. The car was stopped at a residence in Safety Harbor. The car was driven by the woman and her children & boyfriend were passengers. A search of the car’s trunk revealed stolen items from the Tarpon Woods home as well as items from several other burglaries. The couple was charged with the burglaries and child abuse of their children. The boyfriend was out of jail on bond for a Safety Harbor burglary when he was arrested.

This burglary occurred about 5:30 in the afternoon, after the husband had left to go work out. He had left the sliding rear door unlocked. A neighbor across the street had observed the woman in the car but had not spoken to her or called deputies. Vegetation allowed the suspect to access the rear of the home without being seen and provided an exit route where he was picked up by the driver when the owners returned home.

Burglars target homes that are thought to be unoccupied. About ½ of all burglaries occur in the daytime when people are working. Many different methods are used to determine if residents are at home. A burglar(s) do not want to appear suspicious and will use a cover story or a solicitation to mask their intentions.

Report suspicious people or vehicles you observe in your area. Take the time to obtain a description or tag number. Burglars count on people minding their own business, making assumptions or not bothering to investigate to commit these crimes. It is about 3% of the people who commit 97% of the crime. It’s up to us 97% to stop them.

Deputy Charles Skipper

Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office

Crime Prevention Unit

(727) 582-6960

To check the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office and get the latest statistics visit their website  -here-

The Village of Woodland Hills is located in the Squad 8 section.