By Emily Nipps, Times Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
CLEARWATER — Police are seeking a man suspected of forcing his way into a Clearwater elderly couple's home, battering both husband and wife and stealing their car and other items.
According to police, the 83-year-old wife noticed a stranger loitering outside their home at 11:15 a.m. Tuesday in the 2300 block of Shelly Street. He walked by several times and she alerted her 81-year-old husband. The husband opened the door and soon found himself face-to-face with the man.
The man, described as a 6-feet-2, 160-pound black or biracial man, approximately 30 years old, pushed the husband to the floor and entered the home, police said. The man battered both husband and wife, took jewelry and dragged the husband into the bathroom and locked him inside. He also took the husband's wallet and car keys and fled in the couple's Ford Explorer.
The Explorer was recovered about 30 minutes later in the parking lot at Sam's Club on Gulf to Bay Boulevard, police said.
The husband and wife were transported to a local hospital and treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Clearwater Police Department tip line at (727) 562-4422. Anonymous texts can also be sent with tip information to 847411 (tip411), and web tips can be submitted through www.clearwaterpolice.org or www.facebook.com/ClearwaterPolice.