Police records detail chaotic night in Tampa as businesses were looted

TAMPA — For hours on Saturday, peaceful demonstrators marched in the streets of Tampa to protest police brutality. The calm didn’t last.

By nightfall, the Tampa Police Department and Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office were scrambling to quell unrest in and around the University Mall and respond to dozens of looting and burglary calls.

At least 23 businesses were looted, many before law enforcement arrived, according to Tampa police. Police Chief Brian Dugan said this week that detectives were investigating with hopes of making more arrests.

In other cases, officers arrived in time to catch and arrest suspects at a range of businesses in the area. Some suspects were arrested with ease. Others, like the driver who fled from a Hertz car rental center at speeds of up to 125 mph and the woman who threw a wireless router at a deputy’s face, tried to get away.

Thirty-six arrest reports the Tampa Bay Times obtained through records requests provide a glimpse into the sometimes chaotic scenes at more than a dozen businesses as Saturday night stretched into Sunday morning. Here is a selection of the arrests detailed in the reports.

Saturday

8:45 p.m. AT&T store, 2351 E Fowler Ave.

After people broke their way into the cell phone store by smashing the glass front door, Tampa police officers arrived and spotted two men with several pieces of merchandise in their hands. Both fled toward the back of the store before they were arrested.

9:50 p.m. Walmart, 2701 E Fletcher Ave.

Hillsborough deputies arrived and made at least three arrests after people broke into the closed big box store at the corner of Fowler and 30th Street.

A deputy spotted one woman carrying a Phillips television and two wireless routers. The woman, 27-year-old Brittany Hudley of Tampa, threw one of the routers, striking the deputy in his face, an arrest report says. Hudley was arrested and charged with burglary, battery on a law enforcement officer, grand theft and petty theft.

10 p.m., Gold N Diamond, 1715 E Fowler Ave.

Police converged on this jewelry store about 10 p.m. after people pried open the metal security door. Footage from an WFTS-TV news helicopter shows at least six officers on bicycles riding up to the store as people scattered.

At least five men were arrested after trying to steal more than $50,000 in merchandise, arrest reports say. They were charged with burglary during a state of emergency and grand theft. The men arrested were Dontario J. Stephens and Antwan Platt, both 27 and Tampa residents; Hampton Mcoy, 29, and Anthony Cole, 24, both of Tampa; and Ricky D. Muse, 23, of Brandon.

11:30 K&G Fashion Store, 2200 E Fowler Ave.

Spend your days with Hayes

Subscribe to our free Stephinitely newsletter

Columnist Stephanie Hayes will share thoughts, feelings and funny business with you every Monday.

Loading...

You’re all signed up!

Want more of our free, weekly newsletters in your inbox? Let’s get started.

Explore all your options

One of the most chaotic scenes of the night unfolded at this fashion store on the east side of University Mall.

People broke the store’s glass and rushed in, and law enforcement followed. At one point, an officer on the radio could be heard saying he was “pinned down” inside the store and requested a “BearCat,” the Sheriff’s Office’s armored vehicle.

A Tampa police corporal arrived and saw several people in the store. The corporal ordered one of the men to stop, and after a brief struggle, took the man into custody.

A Hillsborough sheriff’s deputy spotted another man with his hands full of merchandise. When the deputy ordered 24-year-old Sylvester Carmickal of Tampa to stop, he lowered his shoulder and struck the deputy in the chest, an arrest report says. After a brief struggle, Carmickal was arrested and charged with burglary, battery on a law enforcement officer and trespassing.

Police also arrested three juveniles at the scene — a 15-year-old-girl, a 16-year-old boy and a 17-year-old girl, all of Tampa —and charged them with burglary.

Sunday morning

12:16 a.m. Walgreens, 1860 Fowler Ave.

By this time, people had forced their way into the Walgreens across from University Mall by breaking the front glass door and prying open a back door.

Among the arrests was a woman who stole about $50 in merchandise and had several boxes of diapers that appeared to be from the store in her car.

12:17 a.m. Hibbett Sports, 2525 E Hillsborough Ave.

Police arrived after reports of people breaking into this sporting goods store in a strip center on East Hillsborough at 36th Street. Officers stopped a silver Jaguar fleeing the scene and arrested 22-year-old Zavid Hill and charged with him burglary and illegally possessing a firearm as a felon.

Another officer chased another man who ran away. During the pursuit, an arrest report says, 19-year-old Roland Fletcher of Tampa dropped a loaded 45-caliber Ruger handgun into a trash bin. The officer used an electroshock weapon on Fletcher and took him into custody. He was charged with armed burglary, carrying a concealed weapon and resisting a law enforcement officer without violence.

2:20 a.m. Cash America, 9631 N Nebraska Ave.

Police arrested at least seven people after looters forced their way into this pawn store on Nebraska Avenue south of Linebaugh.

The five men and two women arrested ranged in age from 19 to 42, records show. All were charged with burglary.

Two of the seven were also charged with grand theft. One of them was caught with about $750 worth of power tools and the other had five watches in his pocket.

3:19 a.m. Hertz, 1102 E Fowler Ave.

Police received word that two men were seen breaking into the Hertz rental car business and leaving in a white Jeep Cherokee. Marked patrol cars converge on the business and “flooded the parking lot with police presence,” an arrest report says.

Police tried to box in the Jeep as the driver was leaving the parking lot, but he outmaneuvered them and fled west on Fowler. During a roughly two-mile pursuit, the driver ran multiple red lights and reached speeds of 125 mph.

The Jeep crashed into a fence on Busch Boulevard just west of Interstate 275. The driver, 25-year-old Deion St. Fleur of Tampa, got out and jumped the fence in attempt to flee on foot but was quickly caught, an arrest report says.

The passenger, 26-year-old Charles Staples of Brandon, also tried to run away from police but was caught, the report states.

Both men were charged with burglary and and resisting an officer without violence. St. Fleur also faces a charge of fleeing to elude police at high speed.

Back at the Hertz, police stopped two other cars trying to leave the scene.

A man in a Honda was arrested and charged with carrying a concealed weapon after police found a Taurus handgun in his waistband.

A man riding in the passenger seat of a Chevy Impala was arrested on the same charge after officers found a 44-caliber handgun under his seat.

Here are the names of people arrested during the incidents described above and their charges:

Marquette Allen, 31, of Gainesville: burglary during a state of emergency; rioting and petty theft

Lee Black, 33, at large: burglary during a state of emergency

Tony Cole, 22, of Tampa: carrying a concealed weapon

Tiffany Collins, 28, of Clearwater: burglary during a state of emergency

Xzaybre English, 19, of Tampa: burglary during a state of emergency

Oliver Fields, 28, of Tampa: carrying a concealed weapon

Roland Fletcher, 19, of Tampa: armed burglary; resisting a law enforcement officer without violence.

Zavid Hill, 22, of Tampa: burglary during a state of emergency; illegally possessing a firearm as a felon

Shelumiel Monroe, 18, of Tampa: burglary during a state of emergency; rioting, resisting arrest without violence

Ricky D. Muse, 23 of Brandon, burglary during a state of emergency; grand theft

Antwan Platt, 27, of , Tampa, burglary during a state of emergency structure; grand theft.

John Portal, 19, of Clearwater: burglary during a state of emergency with damage of more than $1,000; resisting a law enforcement officer without violence

Caleb Prophete, 22, of Tampa: burglary during a state of emergency

Naya Taylor, 20, of Tampa: burglary during a state of emergency

Corey Thomas, 42, at large: burglary during a state of emergency

Fredrick Winstead, 49, of Tampa: burglary during state of emergency; rioting; resisting a law enforcement officer without violence