In an operation that might have seemed lifted from an action film yet was all too real, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office Aviation Section managed to track down a suspect driving a stolen vehicle across Tampa's streets earlier this week. In a social media post dated yesterday, the Sheriff's Office detailed the apprehension of 45-year-old Robert Ritt following airborne surveillance of his movements.
The chase commenced after law enforcement received a stolen vehicle alert near the intersection of 56th Street and Hanna Avenue on Tuesday; the Aviation Section was quickly in pursuit, tracking the vehicle through the dense urban grid until spotting the vehicle once more as it darted along 56th street and then near Hillsborough Avenue—here the authorities in the sky guided their counterparts on the ground towards the mobile quarry. Eventually, the suspect's desperate bid for freedom ceased at a local gas station where Ritt's attempted subterfuge came to an unceremonious end with law enforcement closing in and arresting him without further incident.
According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, Ritt is now facing a series of charges: Grand Theft Motor Vehicle, Burglary Of An Unoccupied Conveyance, Petit Theft First Degree (the value of stolen property being $100 or more, but less than $750), Possession Of Burglary Tools, and Unlawful Possession Of A Stolen Credit Or Debit Card, with five counts levied against him for the latter. These charges put Ritt in a precarious legal position, demonstrating the seriousness with which local authorities treat such transgressions.
