They carried knapsacks and bags to tote loot. They had a
screwdriver to pry open doors and windows.
The only evidence was a pair of latex gloves.
They acted like professional criminals, but officials say
they were teenage burglars coached and directed by a Palm Harbor woman whose
son and daughter were part of her gang.
Pinellas County Sheriff deputies arrested Rovana Sipe, two
of her children and two other teens Wednesday after a series of home
burglaries.
Sipe, 38, of 2333 State Road 584, was charged with two
counts of being a principal in burglary. She was held Thursday in lieu of
$20,000 bail.
“She was the driver, said Sheriff Sgt. Greg Tita. “She
pointed out the houses. She is the one who said ‘Do these.”
Her daughter, Jackie Shifflet, 16, was charged with grand
theft. Her son, Ryan Shifflet, 15, was charged with two counts of burglary.
Charles Ruhe, 17, of 1600 Ensley Ave., in Safety Harbor, and
Charles Taylor, 16 of 348 Jeru Blvd. in Tarpon Springs, also were held on four
counts of burglary each.
“They were very
well-prepared to do burglaries, especially with the guidance they were given,”
Tita said. A Palm harbor woman saw a large, yellow car driving by a woman drop
off three boys, he said. The three went to the back of her house.
They put on gloves and started to pry open a window with a
screwdriver, she said. When she tapped on a window, they ran.
She called 911. As she waited for deputies, other neighbors
saw the boys walk through a nearby neighborhood carrying bags.
Deputies chased the boys and caught two. The third got into
a large yellow car driven by a woman.
The bags contained jewelry, a shotgun and other items
deputies say were taken from another house in the neighborhood.
Tita said the boys, later identified as Taylor and Ruhe,
told the detectives about other burglaries in Dunedin and Clearwater and who
else was involved.
At Sipe’s house, detectives found stolen televisions,
camcorders and other valuables. They arrested the other two teens and Sipe.
“We’re very familiar with this family and its criminal
history,” Tita said. “We have found stolen property at the house in the past
and made juvenile arrests."
--LEAD IN--
THE PARENTS OF A
FOUR-YEAR-OLD MISSISSIPPI BOY ARE WARNING OTHER PARENTS TO BE CAUTIOUS AFTER
THEIR CHILD DIED FROM A RARE BRAIN-EATING AMOEBA.
DRAKE SMITH, JUNIOR DIED LAST
MONTH.
HEALTH OFFICIALS IN LOUISIANA
BELIEVE THE BOY MAY HAVE CONTRACTED THE DEADLY PARASITE WHILE PLAYING ON A
SLIDE WHEN VISITING RELATIVES IN SAINT BERNARD PARISH IN JULY.
"A very happy child and
it's hard to see your child laying there not knowing..."
"I thought he was going
to pull through, but, day by day, it kept getting worse and worse. If I would
have known, he wouldn't have been playing."
THE PARISH HAS ADDED
DISINFECTANT TO THE WATER AS A PRECAUTION...
AND SEVERAL AREA SCHOOLS HAVE
SHUT OFF DRINKING FOUNTAINS AND BROUGHT IN BOTTLED WATER.
HEALTH OFFICIALS SAY THE
WATER IS SAFE TO DRINK, BUT THEY SAY PEOPLE SHOULD AVOID GETTING IT IN THEIR
NOSES.
TESTS OF SAINT BERNARD
PARISH'S WATER SUPPLY CONFIRMED THE PRESENCE OF A RARE BRAIN-EATING AMOEBA.
