Man charged with vehicle burglaries BELLEAIR – A Clearwater man has been charged with two vehicle burglaries during the overnight hours of April 6-7 at the Belleair Forest condominiums, 1753 Belleair Forest Drive.
According to police Chief Tom Edwards, fingerprints obtained from one of the vehicles led to the arrest of Chad Andrew Newton, 25, of Clearwater. Golf clubs, a laptop and iPod had been taken from the unlocked vehicle, Edwards said.
In the second burglary, again involving an unlocked vehicle, the car owner saw the man inside his vehicle at 2 a.m. and yelled at him. The burglar ran off and was later identified by the victim, who viewed police photographs, as Newton.
Newton is charged with two felony counts of burglary of a conveyance. The investigation continues.
Chief Edwards reminds citizens to always make sure their vehicles are locked, thereby eliminating such crimes of opportunity.
Craig’s List scam revealed BELLEAIR – An apparent scam involving a Belleair home listed for rent on Craig’s List was reported to the Belleair Police Department on April 10.
According to Chief Tom Edwards, a home in the 600 block of Pineland Avenue that had been listed for rent by the homeowner for $2,000 a month was also found listed for rent for $500 including utilities. In the second ad, those interested were instructed to wire $500 by Western Union to Africa, and told the keys to the house would then be sent to them. A would-be renter who saw the discrepancy contacted Belleair police, who reported it to Craig’s List for further investigation.
Dunedin man charged with burglary INDIAN ROCKS BEACH – The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office arrested John Rissanen, 30, of Dunedin on April 8 in connection with a burglary at 10 Gulf Blvd. in Indian Rocks Beach.
According to Sgt. Tom Nestor of the PCSO, a woman returned home from shopping and was carrying packages inside her home. When she returned to her vehicle, a man was sitting in the passenger side with the door shut. According to the report, when she asked what he was doing he responded, “I’m waiting for a ride,” then he fled. The victim than noticed cash had been stolen from her purse inside the vehicle. She called 911 and a short time later, a deputy spotted Rissanen running north on Gulf Boulevard and stopped him. According to the report, Rissanen told the deputy, “I messed up.” He was jailed on charges of attempted burglary and burglary of conveyance.
