published: Wednesday, December 03, 2008

Police briefs: Woman calls cops, gets busted for drugs

News-Sun staff reports

SEBRING -- A woman who called 911 Saturday morning because she suspected a prowler was entering her home was instead arrested on several drug charges after deputies reportedly noticed marijuana, cocaine and ecstasy pills sitting out in the open inside her home.

According to Highlands County Sheriff's Office reports, Crystal Dionne Matthews, 24, called from her home at 3132 Marlin Drive at 2:20 a.m. Saturday, reporting that a prowler was inside her home while she hid in the closet.

Deputies arrived and searched the home. They didn't find a prowler, but they did notice a strong smell of marijuana in the home. In Matthews' bedroom, they also reportedly found 2.1 grams of marijuana sitting on a nightstand, six "roaches" (smoked marijuana cigarettes) in an ashtray on the nightstand and a plastic container containing 21 white, wafer pieces that tested positive for cocaine and weighed 2.1 grams. Deputies reportedly also saw a plastic bag containing 19 ecstasy pills in the bedroom.

As a result of those discoveries, Matthews was arrested and charged with possession of cocaine with intent to sell, possession of a hallucinogen with intent to sell, misdemeanor marijuana possession and possession of narcotic equipment.

Man arrested for car burglaries

AVON PARK -- A 24-year-old Melbourne man was arrested Sunday for a pair of car burglaries in the Avon Park Lakes area.

According to Highlands County Sheriff's Office reports, a car burglary was reported on Lake Chilton Drive on Saturday night, where a gun, ammunition and a digital camera were stolen from a Land Rover. A K-9 track led deputies to the area of 3210 W. Carmine Road, but no suspect was located.

The next night, a quarter of a mile away on North Bennett Road, a woman interrupted a man in the process of ransacking her minivan shortly after midnight. The HCSO report said she screamed in fear, which caused the man to run away. Nothing was reported to be stolen from that vehicle.

A second K-9 track led deputies once again to the area of 3210 W. Carmine Road. This time, however, the people inside that residence came outside to see what was going on.

Deputies located Corey Michael Bieber, who matched the description of the fleeing man, in the residence, and searched the home after getting permission from the homeowner. They found the stolen gun hidden in the clothes dryer, at which point Bieber fled the home.

He was soon tracked down and arrested. Under questioning, Bieber reportedly admitted to stealing the items from the first car and trying to rob the second car.

He was charged with both armed and unarmed burglary of a conveyance, grand theft, theft of a firearm and possession of a weapon or ammunition by a convicted felon.

Man jailed for 2007 razor attack

VENUS -- A Lake Placid man who had been in custody in Hillsborough County was booked into the Highlands County Jail on Wednesday and held without bond for a litany of charges stemming from a violent attack on his ex-girlfriend and others almost a year earlier.

According to Highlands County Sheriff's Office reports, Ruperto Abad Hernandez, 25, crawled through the window of his ex-girlfriend's home in Venus on Dec. 2, 2007, armed with a silver razor knife that was four to five inches long and attacked the man who was in her bedroom visiting with her. The victim ended up with a cut on his neck and many scratches on his arms, hands and face as a result of the attack, the report said.

The ex-girlfriend fled the home and ran to a trailer on the same property where some of her family lived and asked for help. While she was in the trailer, Hernandez allegedly came inside and got in an argument with her, then jerked her outside by her arms, threw her to the ground and began to drag her away by her legs, all the while armed with the razor.

The ex-girlfriend's brother jumped on Hernandez to try and stop him, and while the two men were struggling on the ground, the woman's cell phone rang, which apparently startled Hernandez and caused him to flee.

He was booked on charges of aggravated assault, armed aggravated battery, kidnapping and armed burglary.

Man charged for stealing catalytic converters

SEBRING -- Angel Manuel Rivera charged Monday with his involvement in stealing catalytic converters off of cars at two Sebring dealerships back in January.

According to the Sebring Police Department, on Jan. 21, reports were received that two cars at Pro Auto Service and five cars located at Alan Jay Nissan had their catalytic converters stolen.

According to reports, Rivera told investigators he acted as the lookout while the converters were sawed off the cars. The converters were allegedly sold in Lakeland.

Rivera was booked on charges of seven counts each of criminal mischief, burglary and theft.

HCSO says man sold house without wife's knowledge

AVON PARK -- Highlands County Sheriff's Office investigators say that an Avon Park man committed several felonies when he sold a house in secret three years ago to keep the money away from his wife, who was a joint owner of the property

According to reports, 74-year-old George Francis Wickiser forged his wife's signature on numerous documents in order to sell a house at 715 Citroen Drive in Sebring. The home was sold on Dec. 30, 2005 for $185,500, rendering a profit of $60,904.29 to Wickiser.

The reports said the wife reported the fraud to the HCSO in June of this year after learning of the sale while the couple was going through a divorce.

Wickiser allegedly confessed to forging his wife's signature during the sale, saying he just wanted to complete the sale quickly and had signed his wife's name, with her permission, numerous times in the past.

He was arrested Monday on a warrant and charged with grand theft of over $100,000, two counts of forgery and three counts of fraud.