It’s open season on hurricane looters, thieves and scam artists, Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri announced at a media briefing Thursday afternoon outside Madeira Beach City Hall.
Standing alongside a trio of easels displaying more than 40 mug shots, Gualtieri said that 45 people were arrested in barrier island communities between Oct. 2 and 23, on 68 different charges. These included armed robbery, burglary, loitering, grand theft, vandalism and trespassing.
Just two of the 45, he announced, were from Pinellas County. “The rest came here from out of the area to steal from our residences and businesses.”…