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Teenagers steal from St. Petersburg Realtor, police say

 
Published June 16, 2015

ST. PETERSBURG — When Stephanie Slavick found out two area Realtors were robbed at gunpoint earlier this month, she formed a tentative safety plan.

Slavick, 49, of Keller Williams Realty, said she wouldn't advertise open houses on the Internet. She also decided to never do a showing alone.

But on Sunday afternoon, Slavick had a scheduled open house and no one to go with her. She decided to hold the event anyway, ignoring a "gut feeling" that something bad might happen.

While she was unloading for the event at 4140 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. St. S, someone got into her unlocked car and stole her cellphone and some cash.

"I left myself wide open. My hands were full with balloons and a sign," she said.

Slavick said she yelled at the person and drove home to call police.

Police used a GPS tracker to arrest a 17-year-old, whom they found in a stolen car. He was charged with resisting an officer without violence, violation of probation, auto burglary and grand theft of a motor vehicle.

St. Petersburg Police spokeswoman Yolanda Fernandez said two other teens, ages 15 and 16, were also arrested.

The crime doesn't appear to have any connection to the incidents earlier this month that made Slavick form a safety plan.

Authorities say 58-year-old Paul Pinkston held up two Realtors on June 3 in St. Petersburg, binding one with zip ties and calling her husband to demand a $50,000 ransom. In the first incident, police said, he pulled a gun on an agent from Hofacker & Associates. He took her phone and keys after failing to secure the ransom.

In the second incident, police said, Pinkston also pulled a gun and took the agent's phone and keys. According to arrest reports, he used a .357-caliber revolver.

Slavick said she doesn't view what happened as a danger specific to Realtors because it seemed like a crime of opportunity.

But she posted a Facebook update sharing what happened, hoping others will remember to stay cautious and aware.

She went to work Monday, saying she wouldn't let crime deter her from a job she loves.

"I will not let a criminal steer me away," she said. "Business goes on."