Community Corner

Darkened Vehicle Raises Alert Deputy's Concern

A Seffner man and three minors are arrested after a chase in Apollo Beach. Reported found were items suspected to have been stolen in a spate of Harbor Island vehicle burglaries. None of the six vehicles were locked.

An alert deputy on patrol in Apollo Beach in the post-midnight hours of July 13 kept a keen eye on a vehicle traveling without headlights in the area of Butterfly Shell and Star Shell drives.

But not for long.

A chase ensued and ended in the arrest of a Seffner man and three Riverview minors suspected to have been involved in a spate of Harbor Island vehicle burglaries.

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According to a report from the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, the deputy as he approached the intersection activated his overhead lights, which alerted the driver of the darkened vehicle to speed off, north on Butterfly Shell Drive.

The deputy in pursuit activated his siren in the area of North U.S. 41 at Falls Boulevard. At that point, the vehicle reportedly stopped in the median.

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There, deputies asked the vehicle’s occupants to step outside. Looking inside the vehicle, deputies reported seeing “screwdrivers, cellular phones, car radios, GPS systems, gloves, power cords, an amplifier and iPod docking stations.”

“Investigating deputies discovered that there had been six vehicle burglaries within the Harbor Islands subdivision in Apollo Beach,” the report notes.

Duly noted is that none of the six vehicles involved in the burglaries had been locked.

The following arrests were reported:

Shawn Hutton, 20, of 11507 Highway 92 South, Seffner, charged with five counts of burglary of an unoccupied conveyance, two counts of petit theft, three counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and grand theft.

Also arrested were three minors, who collectively face 24 charges, including counts of burglary of an unoccupied conveyance, petit theft and grand theft.


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