Man robs Citrus County bank

CRYSTAL RIVER -- A man implied he had a weapon and robbed the Mercantile Bank on U.S. Highway 19 today.

The man wore cloth over his face and took cash from a teller at 1000 S.E. U.S. Highway 19. He left through the front door of the bank and ran around to the back. A bank employee followed him and saw him jump into a two-tone 1991 Plymouth Voyager station wagon.

Citrus County Sheriff's deputies say the same man went into the ABC liquor store at 822 S.E. U.S. 19, where he behaved so strangely that employees noted his license tag number and gave it to law enforcement. Surveillance also captured an image of the man.

Shannon Lee Shepardson, 36, is the suspect in today's robbery.

--Stephanie Garry, Times Staff Writer

Photo courtesy of the Citrus County Sheriff's Office.

Trio sold stolen gas for discounted price, police say

TAMPA -- Three men have been arrested, accused of selling stolen gas at a discounted price:

Twenty dollars to fill up a car and $40 to fill up a truck or SUV.

Unfortunately for the suspects, their customers included undercover officers.

Kelson Clement, 25, Evans Louis, 26, and Emmanuel Delly, 30, are each charged with organized fraud of less than $20,000.

The trio pumped nearly 2,000 gallons valued at about $6,500 from the Hess gas stations before reselling it, Tampa police spokeswoman Andrea Davis said. Police think they have provided gas to hundreds of people.

-- Rebecca Catalanello, Times staff writer

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Unclaimed stolen property on display Saturday

BRANDON -- If you were burglarized within the past year and haven't gotten your property back, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office wants you to check out the stash amassed in a yearlong undercover pawn shop sting.

From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, the Sheriff's Office will display items sold to a police storefront, Southeast Auction Services, which sought to pinpoint people in northwest Hillsborough County who dealt in stolen property, according to a Sheriff's Office news release.

Individuals who think some of their missing property might have been recovered should bring a police report documenting their theft or burglary to District 2 of the Sheriff's Office, 2310 N Falkenburg Road.

Deputies said the fake shop was set up in October 2007 at 7902 W Waters Ave., and the case wrapped up last month. During the investigation, 102 firearms, 50 vehicles, electronic equipment and jewelry was recovered. The total value of the recovered property was almost $1.5-million.

--Kim Wilmath, Times Staff Writer

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Robber drops loot after bank robbery; three arrested

[Times photos | Will Vragovic]

BROOKSVILLE -- A robber dropped the loot Tuesday during a failed lunchtime bank robbery in Hernando County.

Witnesses said a tall, thin man wearing a "droopy Halloween mask" walked into the Brannen Bank branch office at 14300 Cortez Blvd. shortly after 12:30 p.m. Moments later, the man ran back out of the bank and hopped the rear fence, dropping a bag containing an undisclosed amount of money as he went, said Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Donna Black.

She said the suspect was about 6 feet tall with dark skin, weighing about 150 pounds. He was about 30 years old and wore a long-sleeved flannel shirt and dark pants.

Local businessman Coy Viars said he was making a deposit at the drive-through window when he saw the man sprint past his car.

"He had this satchel," Viars said. "Smoke was coming out of it. I pulled out my gun and chased after him with my truck."

Viars said he drove into an adjoining apartment complex and waited with his drawn .44 Magnum but didn't see the man again.

"I would have stopped him," Viars said. "I would have told him to put up his hands, and fire a warning shot in the air if he didn't."

Sheriff's Office units cordoned off the bank and fanned out across the county. By 2 p.m., Black said police had taken two men and a woman into custody in connection with the robbery after a traffic stop at Spring Lake Highway at Route 50.

-- Tom Marshall, Times Staff Writer

Sewage spill in the millions of gallons

TOWN 'N COUNTRY -- Hillsborough County water officials underestimated the amount of sewage spilled from a line break Sunday.

More than 1.8-million gallons of sewage spewed from an 18-foot section of pipe that cracked near Comanche Avenue and Hanley Road and flowed into Sweetwater Creek. The county initially estimated the spill at 300,000 gallons.

The break came in an area of pipe that was part of a $700,000 project to replace 2,600 feet of ductile iron pipe with a thick-walled PVC pipe. But it was the newly installed pipe that broke. Since September, county workers have had to replace more than 50 feet of the new pipe. Officials are investigating the cause of the breaks and still testing water in the area.

-- Jared Leone, Times staff writer

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