TAMPA - A robber who lost his pants after fleeing a holdup Tuesday had reason to drop his clothes and dash - he accidentally shot himself in the right hip during his escape, police said.
Matthew James, 33, of no permanent address, was held without bail at Falkenburg Road Jail today. He is charged with felony attempted murder and felony armed robbery, jail records show.
Matthew James
Tampa police arrested James at St. Joseph's Hospital about 6 p.m. Tuesday. The astute medical staff called police when James, saying he had been robbed, showed up wounded, Cpl. Jared Douds said.
About 1:15 p.m. Tuesday, an armed man entered the Channelside Metro BP, 1239 E. Kennedy Blvd., fired one round at the clerk and swiped the cash register off the counter, police said.
As officers swarmed the area, they recovered a pair of what they thought were the robber's pants near the Lee Roy Selmon Crosstown Expressway.
The bandit also had dumped the cash register, Douds said. "I guess it was slowing him down," he said.
Douds did not know what James was wearing when he arrived at the hospital but said officers interviewing the wounded man identified him as the robbery suspect.
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