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Police: It's Possible Zorro Drives Buick

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 11, 2009

TAMPA - Instead of a black horse, a robber whom police nicknamed the Zorro Bandit might ride a white Buick.

St. Petersburg police use the nickname because in five heists, the bandit has worn a black bandana around his head and a black fedora reminiscent of the heroic Spanish swordsman.

A man with rotten teeth and wearing sunglasses and a black derby over a do-rag robbed a Walgreens in Tampa on Monday.

Tampa police spokeswoman Andrea Davis said Tuesday that detectives aren't sure this is the same bandit St. Petersburg police are seeking, but it's a good possibility.

Police said the robber who struck the Walgreens at 4651 W. Kennedy Blvd. about 10:40 p.m. Monday is a stocky black man about 5 feet 10 inches tall. He is thought to be 25 to 35 years old. His upper and lower front teeth are missing; the rest are described as rotten.

He approached the clerk, lifted his shirt to expose a silver handgun in his waistband and took the drawer from the cash register, police said. The robber then walked out of the store, breaking into a sprint in the east side of the parking lot.

A witness noticed the running man and saw him get in a car parked nearby at a gas station, police said.

St. Petersburg police say the car is a 1992 to 1999 white four-door Buick LeSabre with dark tinted windows and primer marks or damage on the right rear fender.

St. Petersburg police described the Zorro Bandit as a black man about 5 feet 6 to 5 feet 9 inches tall, weighing about 180 pounds and having a medium skin tone. He is thought to be 40 to 50 years old.

Trial Date Mulled In Bollea Divorce

CLEARWATER - The drawn-out divorce of Hulk Hogan and his estranged wife, Linda Bollea, soon may be scheduled for trial.

Tuesday afternoon, Circuit Judge George Greer told their attorneys to begin contemplating during the next 30 days or so a time frame for a three- to four-week trial. Greer said such a move would be "therapeutic."

Greer's comments came after the attorneys agreed on a couple of minor issues, including Linda Bollea's alleged reluctance to share monthly expenditure and income information.

Jury Takes Shape In Murder Trial

CLEARWATER - Jury selection began Tuesday morning in the first-degree murder trial of Carl Roland, a sometimes computer salesman who gained notoriety for perching himself atop a crane in Atlanta while fleeing Pinellas County authorities.

Roland, 45, is accused of strangling his ex-girlfriend, Jennifer Gonzalez, a 36-year-old mother of two. Her body was found May 24, 2005, in a retention pond behind her apartment building in Oldsmar.

After the slaying, authorities say, Roland fled to Atlanta as investigators pieced together what happened and issued a warrant for him. The standoff on the crane between Roland and Atlanta police negotiators took place 350 feet in the air above busy Peachtree Street and lasted 56 hours, drawing national attention.

The trial is expected to last three days.

Fake Officer; Real Robbery

A man in his mid-20s pretended to be a police officer and robbed a tenant at Sheridan Place apartments, 302 26th Ave. W., on Friday, Bradenton police say.

Jowell Rivera heard a knock on his door, and his roommate answered. An unknown man was outside and introduced himself as a police officer, a police report states. The man wanted to come in, and when Rivera and his roommate declined, the man pushed open the door and entered.

Once inside, he told everyone to get against a wall, turn around and put their hands behind their backs. Rivera said he asked the man to prove he was a law enforcement officer and that "the suspect replied by saying that he would just arrest him and take him to jail and that would prove he was a police officer," the report states.

The man took $200 from Rivera.

A staff report

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