Manatee bicyclist robbed; three women arrested

MANATEE — A 38-year-old man out for a bicycle ride Sunday night got a little more than he bargained for.

Three women were arrested after the Manatee man was robbed of his bicycle and phone at around 9:25 p.m. in the 200 block of 60th Avenue Terrace West, according to the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office.

Kirsten Corbin, 24, and Jessica Sargent, 26, remained in Manatee County jail Sunday night on bonds of $20,000 and $10,000, respectively, according to the sheriff’s website. Kim Skoglund, 44, was released Sunday. They’re all facing robbery charges.

According to a sheriff’s report, it all started when the man stopped and got off his bike when he was approached by Corbin. She told him she was going to take his bike, and then started pulling on it. Sargent helped her get the bike from the man.

The man then told the two women he was calling the police, and took his phone from his pocket, but Corbin snatched the phone from his hand, and she and Sargent fled into a residence in the 200 block of 60th Avenue Terrace West, the report said.

The man knocked on the door, and Sargent told him through a window that he could get his bike back for $30; so he left and called authorities.

Sheriff’s deputies were shown the house and made contact with the suspects.
Skoglund gave consent to look inside the home, and the bike was located and suspects arrested. Skogland was arrested with the victim’s phone in her pocket, the report said.

The bike and phone were returned to the victim.

Sargent told investigators the man gave her the bike for sexual favors, the report said. He denied this and insisted it was a robbery.

-- Brent Conklin

Manatee sheriff’s office employees honored

MANATEE — Three detectives and a dispatcher were recently honored as employees of the month of May at the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office.

Detectives Jerome Diamond, Edward Foy and Stephen Ives were honored for their work on a homicide case resulting in the arrest of Delmer Smith III. Smith is accused of violently murdering Kathleen Briles, who was bludgeoned to death with a sewing machine in her Terra Ceia home Aug. 3, 2009, according to authorities.

Lee Harrington, who has been working as a dispatcher since November, was recognized for creating an employee database and simplifying other contact files.

-- Beth Burger

Bradenton officer named Officer of the Year by ASIS

Officer David Durrance of the Bradenton Police Department was named Law Enforcement Officer of the Year by the Florida West Coast Chapter of the American Society for Industrial Security (ASIS) International.

He will be honored at an awards luncheon May 20 in Tampa.

The Bradenton Police Department nominated Durrance for his role in subduing an armed suspect on June 2.

Police had received an emergency call regarding an attempted bank robbery after a suspicious man was seen wearing gloves and pulling a bandana over his face outside the bank's front doors, according to authorities. His entry into the bank was thwarted by employees who locked the door after recognizing him as a suspect in recent armed bank robberies.

The suspect fled, but was tracked by Sgt. Curtis Johnson and Durrance of BPD’s Crimes Unit. They conducted a felony stop on 26th Street West.

As the officers approached the truck, the suspect grabbed a gun and aimed it at Johnson, authorities said. Durrance fired one shot from his service weapon into the torso of the suspect, causing him to drop the gun. He was taken to a hospital and has been charged with two counts of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer and attempted armed robbery.

BPD: Palmetto man eats cocaine, bites officer during arrest

MANATEE — A 31-year-old man was released from jail after he allegedly bit a Bradenton Police Department officer who was trying to remove a bag of cocaine from his mouth during an arrest, according to reports.

Christopher L. Hill, of Palmetto, was stopped in a car Thursday after he ran a stop sign at 13th Street West and 21st Avenue West, according to an arrest report.

Hill evaded a police officer before finally stopping in the 2100 block of Ninth Street West. When searching for weapons inside the vehicle, officers found an open can of Natural Ice and what appeared to be rock cocaine.

Inside Hill’s pocket were three bags of powder cocaine, the report stated.

In handcuffs, Hill lunged forward on to the hood of the car and “with his mouth started to suck and use his tongue to get all three baggies in his mouth,” according to the report.

Three officers struggled with Hill to remove the baggies, but he swallowed two of them, according to the report.

He managed to bite one officer on the hand and kick another, according to the report.

Hill later said “he was sorry and that he tried to get rid of the baggies because he is trying to change his life around,” according to the report.

Hill was convicted of fleeing to elude and cocaine possession in 2007, according to court records.

He now faces a total of 12 charges, including drug possession, destruction of evidence and battery on a law enforcement officer.

-- BETH BURGER, bburger@bradenton.com