Caught! PBSO Catches Bike Thief With K-9, Overwhelming Force

A burglar was nabbed after stealing a bike from a house on the 2400 block of North Lakeside Road this afternoon.

The homeowner caught the thief stealing the bike out of the garage and chased him in a car, calling police along the way. The thief ditched the bike and ran into the golf course, where he was chased down by K-9 police dogs arriving on scene, one of which sunk its teeth into the thief's arm.

The bike burglar tries to get to his feet after being treated for injuries occurred when he was 'arrested' by a K-9 unit.

At a little after 3 p.m., the thief was being attended to by paramedics on the lawn of a home at the corner of North Lakeside Drive and 13th Avenue North, who bandaged his arm and appeared to be monitoring his vital signs. Palm Beach County Fire Rescue loaded him onto an ambulance on a stretcher a short time later.

The poor lad, no doubt feeling a bit roughed up from the afternoon's events, is loaded into an ambulance on a stretcher while nursing his arm, which earlier found itself clutched in the jaws of an on-the-job police dog.

The crime occurred around 2 p.m. this afternoon, and brought scores of emergency response vehicles to this quiet corner of Lake Worth, including a fire truck, the aforementioned fire rescue ambulance, at least two K-9 units consisting of a dog and his human partner riding in large white SUVs, at least two unmarked vehicles, including one sedan and one SUV and a number of patrol cars driven by deputies and detectives. A helicopter was also dispatched to area to track the burglar from the skies. The scene was finally cleared just before 4 p.m.

Count the cars! There were so many emergency response vehicles at the corner of North Lakeside Drive and 13th Avenue North this afternoon that homeowners returning from work were rerouted.

The home that was burglarized, amazingly, has a sign prominently displayed in front for a security firm, indicating that the house has an alarm system. The thief, not caring to notice or too desperately in need of a bike (!) wasn't deterred.

A Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office detective on the scene this afternoon says there will be an investigation to determine whether this bike thief, so effectively apprehended, is also responsible for other burglaries in the city of Lake Worth.

Every Time They Tell You the Housing Market is Improving...

...they're Wrong. It's not. At least not in Florida, where the number of foreclosures on the market is rising. There was an 11 percent increase in August. Read more here:

http://www.businessinsider.com/florida-foreclosure-inventory-rises-2012-10

'The King and I' Opens at the Lake Worth Playhouse on Thursday

"The King and I" opens at the Lake Worth Playhouse this week with a preview performance at 8 p.m. on Thursday, October 4 and the opening night show at 8 p.m. on Friday, October 5.

Shows also on Saturday, October 6 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets start at $22 per person.

Dinner packages start at $50 per person, and include a three-course dinner (starter, main course, dessert, soda, coffee, tax and tip) at Paradiso Ristorante preceding the show at 6 p.m.

"The King and I" runs through Sunday, October 21.

For tickets, go to www.lakeworthplayhouse.org, call 586-6410 or stop by the box office Monday through Friday at 713 Lake Avenue.

Men Impersonating Police Robbing Residents of Lake Worth

The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office is asking for the public’s help in finding two men who’ve been impersonating police officers and robbing residents of Lake Worth.

The most recent incident occurred on September 21 when a local man was followed home by a beige Nissan Altima after getting off the Palm Tran Bus. As he was about to walk into his house on the 300 block of South L Street, a Hispanic man got out of the Nissan and approached, identifying himself as an “independent officer,” according to the sheriff’s report. He then forced the L Street resident into his home where he demanded cash.

About an hour and a half later, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office responded to the 3800 block of Kirk Road, west of Lake Worth, where a dark-skinned Hispanic man had knocked on the door, identified himself as a police detective, and once inside, told the residents to hand over their money and cell phones. They refused, even after the man pointed a gun at them.

There were three similar incidents in the weeks prior, with the victims describing the thief as being possibly Puerto Rican or Cuban. Some say he was light-skinned, while others describe him as dark-skinned. They say he was wearing plain clothes (not a uniform) and a green hat on his head. In one incident, he wore a badge. All victims described the man as having a hand-held radio which he appeared to be using to communicate with someone.

On September 14, a Hispanic man conned his way into an apartment on the 400 block of South D Street, telling the residents he was a cop investigating a drug complaint. Once inside, he searched the residents and took their money from their wallets. He told them to wait for road patrol and a K9 unit that was coming to sweep the apartment for drugs, and left.

On September 7, a Hispanic man walked up to a resident who was outside his home on the 500 block of 6th Avenue South and said he was a police officer and looking for someone. He told the Lake Worth resident to go inside his home, then followed him inside where he told him to put his hands up against the wall and emptied his pockets.

On August 17, a Hispanic man approached three people sitting in their front yard in the 100 block of South F Street in the early evening. He identified himself as a law enforcement officer and said he was looking for a suspect. They told him they didn’t know the person and that he didn’t live there. The man then lifted his shirt, brandishing a semi-automatic pistol that was tucked into his waistband and a badge, and ordered all three into their home. He followed them in, and once inside, demanded their wallets. He left with the contents. The victims described the thief as a dark-skinned 6’ 2” Hispanic man with a medium-to-heavy build, with black hair, a goatee and wearing a yellow shirt and black or green pants.

If anyone has information about these suspects or may have been a victim themselves they are urged to contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-458-TIPS.

Sketches of the two men imperonating police and robbing residents of Lake Worth (produced by PBSO, according to descriptions given by victims).

Obama Campaign Office Opens on Lake Avenue

A sandwich board sign appeared on Lake Avenue recently near the Sassy Kat Lingerie shop announcing the opening of a local Obama re-election campaign office. The office opened in the small building behind the pink lingerie store, which was, until recently, occupied by a hat shop.


Sassy Kat Lingerie, at 609 Lake Avenue in Lake Worth now has an Obama campaign sign in front of it, pointing to way to a back building that is the location of a local Obama campaign office.

 

The owner of both buildings is Herman Robinson, a member of the city's Historic Resources Preservation Board and organizer of the annual Fourth of July raft race in Bryant Park.

The new local headquarters of the president's re-election campaign.

The opening of the local campaign office in Lake Worth is reminiscent of Barack Obama's 2008 campaign, when local campaign offices were opened in far-flung communities like Key West.

According to the Obama campaign web site, the Lake Worth office is one of 98 local campaign offices that have opened in Florida in the past few months.


Lake Worth Makes the Drudge Report

....for ridicule being heaped on the City Commission for 'Talk Like a Pirate' Day.

http://tampa.cbslocal.com/2012/09/21/former-commissioner-denounces-talk-like-a-pirate-day-declaration/

The Drudge Report is now getting 37 million hits a day from readers worldwide, and a billion hits a month, making it the top online source for news in the world.

Rash of Violent Robberies in Lake Worth: Old People Targeted, Gold Chains Ripped Off Necks, Hispanic Immigrants Targeted, Beaten

In the space of five days at the end of August and beginning of September, a number of white and Hispanic residents of Lake Worth were attacked, robbed and some beaten badly by between one and five black men. The incidents are alarming because they occurred in different parts of the city to average people who seem to have been just going about their lives.

Most notable is the ripping of gold chains from the necks of two different women in two different incidents -- one on 12th Avenue North and one on 15th Avenue North. Both women were at their homes at the time.

A yellow gold Hand of God
necklace, similar to the
one that was torn off a
woman's neck on August 28
by a robber.

The first of these crimes was on August 28 when a woman answered a knock on her door to have a yellow gold necklace ripped off her neck by a black man who was an acquaintance of her granddaughter. On August 29 an 86-year-old woman returning home from visiting her husband at the nursing home was robbed by a black man who smashed through her car window as she sat in her driveway, ripped the gold chain off her neck, grabbed her purse and sped off with his accomplice in a maroon car. Also on August 29, a black man grabbed a woman's purse containing $1200 and ran. On August 31, a black man attacked a woman walking out of Harry's Banana Boat on North Dixie Highway in Lake Worth, pushed her down and ran off with her purse. But it gets worse.

In the early morning of Saturday, September 1, a Hispanic man walking on 12th Avenue South had five black guys ages 18-20 pull up beside him and ask for a cigarette. Then one jumped out of the car and took a swing at him. The Hispanic man ran down the alley and the black guy who'd swung at him chased him, with the four others following in the car. They caught up to him and beat him with their hands and kicked him with their feet, then took his wallet, phone and $10.

The same group of five black guys did the same to a white guy on North Dixie Highway an hour later, again beating the man with their fists and kicking him with their feet to get his cell phone and money. Sheriff's deputies spotted their car shortly after and arrested all five. They denied that they robbed and beat the men, but when two were placed in a room together, one said to the other in Haitian Creole: "I can't believe we got caught, when we had such a good night." As of today, two of the five had been released on bond ($10,000 and $11,000), with three still being held at the Palm Beach County Jail.


Nathan Louis-Fils, age 18, of West Palm Beach, was arrested and charged with
two counts of robbery and two counts of battery for attacking, beating and stealing money
and phones from two Lake Worth men on Sept. 1. He was released after posting an $11,000 bond. 

That same day, September 1, two Hispanic immigrants living in Lake Worth were beaten in two separate instances by black men, one of them savagely.

 

A man named Pancho Pablo told deputies a black man he met at the Tropical food market on Lake Avenue in the early afternoon had invited him back to his home to drink a beer. Once inside the home, the man turned on him, saying, "Hey, Mexican, m------ f-----, give me money." Pancho said he gave the man $20 out of fear for his life, but told him: "I'm Guatemalan, not Mexican," at which point the black man punched him in the eye, knocking him down. When he tried to stand up, the man punched him in the face again, knocking him to the floor again. After a scuffle, he managed to get away, but the man followed him, yelling: "Come here, Mexican."

Had enough? So have I. But there is one more incident, and it is maybe the worst. In the early morning on September 1, a 32-year-old immigrant told deputies through a translator that while walking towards his home on the 100 block of South A Street, a black man came out of nowhere and punched him in the face with a closed fist. He fell to the ground where 2-3 more black men punched and kicked him repeatedly while yelling, "Give me your money!" The immigrant began to lose consciousness as he was being beaten and remembered lying face-down on the concrete while the men dragged his body from the street to a nearby house where they left him. He said that he regained consciousness some time later and made his way to his home on South C Street where his family called the sheriff's office. The police report describes the man as having swelling to his entire face and top of his head, with his eyes swollen shut. He had cuts all over his face, teeth broken and knocked out and scrapes on his torso from being dragged. The man said he had been unconsious for most of the day following the attack. His wallet containing $200 had been taken, along with his Mexican ID card and blue Nokia phone. He was taken to the hospital for treatment of his injuries. The five who were arrested for two other attacks in the early morning of September 1 were not charged in this case.



Frantz Louinasse, age 19, of West Palm Beach, threw the first punch and helped
chase, beat and rob two men early the morning of September 1. He was released after
paying a $10,000 bond.

The information on all of these incidents was contained in a report that was made available to The Lake Worth Sun this month by the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office. The Lake Worth Sun thanks the sheriff's office for providing this information, but wants to ask, now that our worst fears have been realized -- What Can be Done?

The Lake Worth Sun would like to suggest that the most important thing is to speak with moral courage and without malice and insist that the community address this issue and find a way to protect our citizens from violent and unprovoked attacks.

86-Year-Woman Followed to Her Home, Robbed by Two Men

An 86-year-old Lake Worth woman who'd been visiting her husband at the nursing home on North A Street at the end of August was followed by two black men in a maroon car who smashed the window of her locked car as she sat it in in her driveway and ripped the necklace off her neck, grabbed her purse from the seat and a suitcase from the back seat and fled.

The horrible crime ocurred in the driveway of the woman's home on 12th Avenue North in Lake Worth on the afternoon of  Wednesday, August 29. It was described in a crime report that was recently provided to the Lake Worth Sun by the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office.

The woman told sheriff's deputies she'd noticed a suspicious maroon-colored vehicle while she was at the Avante center at 2501 North A Street in Lake Worth visiting her husband. She said that the men in the car appeared to be following her home. She pulled down a side street to let the car pass. It did, and so she continued to her house.

The woman said she'd gotten out of her car and was at her front door about to go inside when she saw the maroon car turn down her street. She went back to her car, got in and locked the doors. One of the men approached the car on foot from the rear on the passenger side, asking if she lives in the home. When she did not repsond, he smashed the rear passenger-side window, reached inside, grabbed the necklace that was around the 86-year-old woman's neck and tore if off, and then grabbed her purse and a suitcase from the back seat. The men then fled in the maroon car as one of the woman's neighbors bravely drove after him. The neighbor was able to track the vehicle to 10th Avenue North, and then onto I-95 northbound where he lost sight of it.

Anyone with information about this crime is asked to call police immediately. The phone number of the sheriff's substation in Lake Worth is (561) 586-1611.

Judge: YES, Clemens Won State Senate Race

A circuit judge heard Mack Bernard's challenge to Jeff Clemens' declared win in the state senate race yesterday, and ultimately confirmed Clemens as the winner, though by less than the number of votes determined by Supervisor of Elections Susan Bucher:

http://www.sunshinestatenews.com/story/lawyers-mack-bernard-palm-beach-elections-supervisor-not-counting-every-democratic-vote