Florida mayor helps arrest burglary suspect. This isn’t the first one she’s stopped
The mayor of Tampa helped police catch a man suspected of several burglaries in the city. And this wasn’t her first time stopping someone on the wrong side of the law.
Before Jane Castor was Tampa’s mayor, she was the city’s first female chief of police.
While Castor retired from the force several years ago, she hasn’t forgotten her training.
So when she saw a “suspicious” bicyclist repeatedly circling a block in a Tampa neighborhood on Wednesday — “casing” homes — she had her driver start following him, and called 911.
“This is truly a case of ‘see something, say something,’ ” Castor said on Thursday. “A police officer’s instinct sticks with you far after retirement, and yesterday was no different.”
The man looked like he was watching the homes — searching for patterns — to see when would be the best time to break into them, according to Tampa police.
Her driver, retired Detective Mike Victor, used his police radio to give updates on their route.
“I will tell you, it’s always a thrill to be back fighting crime, even for a few moments,” Castor said.
When officers arrived, they noticed Jesse Don Hickman — the bicyclist — matched the description of the suspect who had burglarized residential sheds in the area, according to police.
Detectives say the 44-year-old man had the same white bicycle with orange forks on it as the one cameras recorded in an attempted burglary on Oct. 20, according to police.
Police said Hickman admitted to a burglary after being read his rights, and was arrested on charges of burglary of an unoccupied structure, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.
The Tampa Police Department says the incident proves that while Castor may have given up her badge, “once an officer” is “always an officer.”
This story was originally published November 14, 2019 at 12:38 PM.
