Every _ seconds

Keep an eye on the clock for one minute.


Before that minute passes, a property crime and a larceny will be committed in Florida, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.


In the annual Crime Clock  figures from 2010. crime in the state broke down as follows:


VIOLENT CRIME: Every five minutes, nine seconds

MURDER: Every eight hours and 53 minutes

FORCIBLE RAPE: Every hour and 38 minutes
FORCIBLE SEX OFFENSE: Every 53 minutesROBBERY: Every 20 minutes
AGGRAVATED ASSAULT: Every eight minutes
LARCENY: Every minute
BURGLARY: Every three minutes
PROPERTY CRIME: Every 47 seconds
MOTOR VEHICLE THEFT: Every 13 minutes
These numbers show an improvement or no change at all from the 2009 Crime Clock stats.

In fact, the overall index of crime went from every 38 seconds to every 41 seconds in 2010.


The FDLE warns that Crime Clock stats should be viewed with a grain of salt. Its only intention is to show the annual reported crime experience by showing the relative frequency of occurrences. So it doesn't necessary reflect how regularly a crime happens, but how the ratio of crime would fall into time intervals.

No updates on in slaying of Manatee School for the Arts teacher

The North Port Police Department has not made an arrest in the March 29 killing of teacher Kenneth Ellis, according to a detective.

At one point, detectives were working close to 100 leads in this case but nothing new had developed as of Tuesday morning, a detective said. The Manatee School For the Arts teacher was shot and killed at the doorway of his North Port home when he answered the doorbell at about 10 p.m. He was later transported to Sarasota Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead from a gunshot wound to the upper torso.

Ellis’ wife and other witnesses told police they saw two people wearing dark clothing and masks flee from the area, perhaps in a dark-colored car.

 In the weeks following his death, students and teachers at MSA mourned his death with a service that looked back on Ellis’ legacy as a tae kwon do master and history teacher.

Those at the school also started a fund to collect money for information leading to an arrest in his slaying.

Law enforcement continue to work toward an arrest in Ellis’ death and ask for anyone with information to call the North Police Police Department at (941) 429-730.

Sheriff's office releases photos of suspect in Sweetbay pharmacy robbery

The Manatee County Sheriff's Office has released security camera images of a man detectives say used a note to rob the pharmacy at a Sweetbay grocery store in Bradenton of pills on Thursday.

The suspect was described as being in his 40s, standing about 5 feet, 8 inches tall and weighing 175 pounds. He was wearing a light blue T-shirt, jean shorts and a dark ball cap.

If you have information about the case, you can call the sheriff's office at (941) 747-3011 or Crime Stoppers at (866) 634-TIPS.

Manatee deputies search for man, woman in separate missing person cases

Debra Weiss

Phil Phelps

Manatee sheriff's deputies continue to be on the lookout for an 88-year-old man and a 54-year-old woman in separate missing persons cases.

Phil Phelps, who suffers from dementia, has been missing since Sunday when he drove away from his assisted living center in Sun City. Manatee authorities, who have issued a Silver Alert, are in charge of the case because Phelps was last spotted after he was involved in a minor traffic accident at the U.S. 301/Interstate 75 interchange.

Debra Weiss, who is on medication, was last heard from on Friday when she called to tell her husband that she was going shopping at the outlet mall in Ellenton.

Anyone with information on their whereabouts can call the Manatee County Sheriff's Office at (941) 747-3011.

Sarasota sheriff credits media for arrest in Walmart child molestation case

 Cesario Jasso-Carrizales

Sarasota County Sheriff Tom Knight handed out props to the local news media after a woman called authorities to say she recognized from news coverage the man deputies were looking for in their investigation of a child molestation at a local Walmart store.

Cesario Jasso-Carrizales, 39, was arrested earlier today and charged with molesting an 11-year-old girl at the Walmart store on Cattlemen Drive in Sarasota. The sheriff's office publicized the case on Tuesday by releasing video and still photos taken by security cameras at the store showing the man investigators say was their suspect.

After seeing the images, a woman called the sheriff's office to say that the man was Jasso-Carrizales and that he was working for her husband at a Sarasota construction site. Deputies brought Jasso-Carrizales in for questioning at 7:15 a.m., and at 9 a.m. he was arrested and charged with lewd or lascivious molestation, according to the sheriff's office.

“Thanks to the media’s help, the suspect’s picture was everywhere last night,” Knight said. “We knew someone would recognize him, and we’re grateful that this citizen was compelled to turn him in before he could hurt another child.”

According to a news release,  Jasso-Carrizales told investigators he arrived illegally in the United States from Mexico five years ago and that he had committed a similar assault in Lakeland.

Law enforcement looking for 6 fugitive sex offenders from Manatee

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement has information about the six sexual offender fugitives from Manatee County here.

They are:

• Lorenzo Gonzales
• Cedrick Lane
• Emeterio Lopez-Valle
• James Alan Przeklas
• Agustin Rubio
• Dylan Shea

Click on the links to see their photographs and information about their respective cases.

Anyone with information about their whereabouts can call the Manatee County Sheriff's Office at (941) 747-3011, ext. 1938.

Don't be a victim, lock your car doors

More than 20 vehicles were burglarized in Manatee on Tuesday, and each incident had something significant in common: the doors were unlocked. 

"Thieves, for the most part, are lazy and are looking for easy targets," a media release from the sheriff's office said. "Don't make it any easier for them."  

When electronics, cell phones, money and other personal items are left in plain view, they become easy targets for burglars. Combine a luring item with an unlocked door and you're almost inviting them to steal. 

The sheriff's office recommends that residents  remove all valuables from vehicles over night, including garage door openers because that allows a would-be theft access into the home. And, yes, the most obvious: lock your doors. 

It's one of the easiest ways to prevent yourself from becoming a victim.



 

Bradenton man, 3 others from Sarasota charged with looting in Alabama

A Bradenton man and three others from Sarasota have been arrested in Alabama on charges they were looting a tornado-damaged neighborhood.

The Birmingham News reports:

PLEASANT GROVE, Alabama, -- Four Florida men posing as relief workers have been arrested and charged with looting in Pleasant Grove, authorities said.

Shortly before noon today, a person in Pleasant Grove alerted Jefferson County Sheriff deputies after seeing the men taking property from houses and loading it into a truck. The witness gave the deputies a description of the suspects and their vehicle.

Jefferson County deputies, along with Baldwin County deputies, went to the area where the suspects were reported to be in the 800 block of 5th Street in Pleasant Grove.

Taken into custody were: Anthony Dale Haislip , 31, Sarasota, Fla.; Christopher Don Elmore, 36, Bradenton, Fla.; Jon Robert Berube, 24, Sarasota, Fla.; and Christopher Bryant Ramsey, 21, Sarasota, Fla.

When they were arrested, the men had property from storm victims' homes as well as materials being used by Alabama Power to repair damaged lines, authorities said. A guitar was also recovered that has not been linked to an owner, said Jefferson County Chief Deputy Randy Christian.

Each man has been charged with one count of third-degree burglary, two counts of theft of property and possession of burglary tools. Bond for each suspect in connection with the burglaries is set at $200,000. Haislip, who was in possession of Oxycontin, was charged with possession of a controlled substance with an additional bond amount of $50,000.