A prolific thief who shimmies up buildings and slides through air-conditioning vents is dubbed Spider-Man by police.
By RICK GERSHMAN
Published January 23, 2004
SOUTH TAMPA - Comic book hero Spider-Man's many abilities include wall-crawling, web-slinging, super strength and a "spider sense."
He cannot, however, become invisible.
In South Tampa, a larcenous namesake appears to have the superhero trumped.
Tampa police say a burglar they have nicknamed "Spider-Man" is responsible for at least 39 break-ins in the area. Most have occurred in South Tampa in the early morning hours.
The burglar was the most active in November and December and has since slowed down, police said. This month, police have attributed only two burglaries to "Spider-Man" but have not made an arrest.
The burglar hit five Tampa businesses Christmas week and most recently stole a safe from Roberto's Latin Cafe on MacDill Avenue on Jan. 5.
"I've got a feeling he's in jail - maybe he got picked up for something else," said Tampa police Sgt. Jim Contento. "But even if he's stopped, we don't stop. I've still got one detective on it full time and we're still submitting evidence, pursuing leads."
One lead that briefly looked promising arose when authorities arrested a man for attempting to cash a false check in Pasco County a few weeks ago. Information on that computer-fabricated check appeared to be taken from personal checks stolen Oct. 13 from Mona's Florist on Kennedy Boulevard.
Several other customers whose personal checks were stolen from Mona's were alerted that someone had attempted to cash checks on their bank accounts, said Karla Watson, the store's manager.
"Apparently they got away with it two or three (times)," Watson said. "All these people (who had checks stolen) have had to close their accounts."
Contento said the check-forgery connection has proved fruitless in catching "Spider-Man." The man charged with cashing one of the checks has not admitted where they came from, he said, and the length of time between the burglary and forgeries suggests no direct relationship.
Besides, the man charged in Pasco is black, while security-camera footage of "Spider-Man" shows he is white.
Police know little else about the burglar. They nicknamed him after the Marvel Comics character because he shimmies up the sides of buildings. He usually breaks in through an air-conditioning vent.
They know he is lean and wiry because he has crawled through vents and grates as narrow as 8 inches. He's agile and careful, rarely setting off motion detectors. He mostly steals cash from registers, pocketing a few bucks to several hundred.
Only one camera caught him on tape for a few seconds, and there wasn't much to see: He was covered in black clothes from head to toe. A red head wrap and scarf covered his head except for his eyes.
However, it was enough, Contento said, to confirm this is no "Spider-Woman."
Still, the one item "Spider-Man" snagged from a South Tampa adult film and merchandise store is certainly intended for women.
Making a rare misstep, the burglar crashed through the ceiling of Simply Sexy about 2:25 a.m. on Nov. 12. The store at 2318 N Dale Mabry Highway is better known as the Sex Shop, the title on its awning.
The burglar clipped a corner of a desk when he fell through the ceiling, day manager Bill McWilliam said. That tripped the motion detector and an ensuing alarm, which prompted bouncers from the neighboring exotic dancing club, Shangri-La, to investigate, McWilliam said.
"He got out of here fast, which is lucky for him," McWilliam said. "Those guys would have loved to have gotten to him. They live for that. But he was gone when they looked in."
Gone, but not before he swiped one piece of merchandise off the counter: A $99.95 sex toy for women. It is one of Simply Sexy's top sellers, the subject of a plot line on HBO's Sex and the City, McWilliam said.
The adult store doesn't fit the pattern, and McWilliam suspects the burglar had intended to break into the Pet Supermarket next door but couldn't get in. "We were the consolation prize," he said.
Naming a burglar "Spider-Man" is more ironic than police may have imagined, said William Insignares, owner of Demolition Comics on Dale Mabry.
He pointed out that in the comics (the movie altered this somewhat), Peter Parker only became Spider-Man because a burglar killed the beloved uncle who raised him.
Still, in Spider-Man's fictional world, the misunderstood crusader is portrayed as a criminal by some police and the media.
There's no chance South Tampa's Spidey is misunderstood, police Sgt. Contento said.
"He's already looking at more than 80 felonies," he said. "This isn't going to be a probation case. He's going to do jail time."
"Spider-Man" on the prowl
Local businesses believed to have been burglarized by the "Spider-Man:"
Circle K - 6802 S West Shore Blvd., Sept. 1
Richard Quality Auto Service - 503 E Hillsborough Ave., Sept. 18
Uncle Toby's - 1500 W Cass St., Oct. 6
Lightbulbs Unlimited - 2208 S Dale Mabry Highway, Nov. 10
The Sex Shop - 2318 N Dale Mabry Highway, Nov. 12
Smoothie King - 2307 S Dale Mabry Highway, Nov. 14
Gold Mine Pawn - 3835 N 50th St., Nov. 14
Tropical Alarms - 1902 N Himes Ave., Nov. 15
Quiznos - 2537 N Dale Mabry Highway, Nov. 18
Bench Mark Vision Center - 3800 S Dale Mabry Highway, Nov. 22
Hyde Park Mart - 616 W Platt St., Nov. 23
Pizza Hut - 614 W Platt St., Nov. 23
Scoops - 1540 S Dale Mabry Highway, Nov. 23
Papa Louis Restaurant - 4110 Henderson Blvd., Nov. 25
YaYa's Restaurant - 2514 W Kennedy Blvd., Nov. 26
Pediatric Health Care - 3222 W Azeele St., Nov. 28
Sweet Tomatoes - 1902 N Dale Mabry Highway, Nov. 28
Wendy's - 3928 Henderson Blvd., Nov. 28
Subway - 304 E Davis Blvd., Nov. 28
Advance Dermatology - 2713 Virginia Ave., Nov. 30
Citgo - 4532 S Manhattan Ave., Dec. 2
Gresham Smith & Partners - 300 S Hyde Park, Dec. 3
Stop & Pick Food Store - 2602 W Kennedy Blvd., Dec. 4
Marcadis Plastic Surgery - 2615 W Swann Ave., Dec. 5
Second Image Thrift Store - 2419 W Kennedy Blvd., Dec. 6
World of Water - 1416 W Kennedy Blvd., Dec. 8
Wagner Office Furniture - 3018 W Kennedy Blvd., Dec. 9
Bayshore Plastic Surgery - 505 S Boulevard, Dec. 9
UPS Store - 3225 S MacDill Ave., Dec. 10
Gas Kwick - 3101 W Columbus Drive, Dec. 11
Dr. N.D. Castellano, M.D. - 306 S MacDill Ave., Dec. 14
City Pawn - 3901 E Hillsborough Ave., Dec. 15
Tampa Super Saver & Meats - 3712 N 15th St., Dec. 15
UPS Store - 4532 W Kennedy Blvd., Dec. 24
Borinquen Meat Market - 3324 W Columbus Drive, Dec. 24
Cacciatore & Sons - 3614 N Armenia Ave., Dec. 24
Krispy Kreme - 3113 W Kennedy Blvd., Dec. 26
Discount Food Mart - 5801 S Dale Mabry Highway, Dec. 28
Roberto's Latin Cafe - 5232 S MacDill Ave., Jan. 5
