UPDATE: Two teenagers are charged with burglary, arrested by Tampa Police while breaking into the Bethel Church on West Hillsborough Avenue.
Charles Reid, 19, and a 16-year-old male were captured when officers responded to the report of a burglary at the church at around 10 p.m. on Thursday.
Police believed that Farrington matched the description of the man seen in the surveillance video from a recent burglary in Seminole Heights, and wearing similar clothing.
Farrington was also in possession of a Umbrex pellet gun (replica semi-automatic pistol) say Tampa Police. After questioning, police say Farrington admitted his intent was to steal cash from the house in Seminole Heights.
Farrington was arrested and charged with burglary of an occupied dwelling, burglary of an unoccupied dwelling (the church) and Reid was charged for the break-in at the church as well.
ORIGINAL:
Tampa Police are searching for a man who walked into a home near Henry and Ola Playground Park Wednesday around 9:00 p.m.
Video surveillance inside of the home shows the intruder closing the door behind him and locking it, then using a cell phone light to snoop around before pulling a gun out of his sweatshirt.
“I heard the door, but thought it was my niece,” Rob Meronek, who was home at the time, said.
Meronek says he left the door unlocked for his niece who is staying with him.
Meronek was in his bedroom. His 1-year-old child was asleep in another room.
The video shows the intruder holding the gun, asking for ‘Josh’ as he walked toward Meronek’s room.
“That’s when I hear ‘Josh? Josh?’ I get up and I’m like ‘whoa!’” Meronek said. “And I kind of ask him to like, ‘dude, dude, no. I’m not Josh. Nobody named Josh lives here. You need to get out.’”
As Meronek starts to push the intruder toward his front door, the video shows the gun fall out of his back pocket and hit the ground.
“I thought it was his phone.” He said.
You can see the intruder pick up the gun, argue with Meronek for a short time, then he is escorted out of the front door.
Meronek says the room was dark. He didn’t realize the intruder had a gun until he watched the video which has a type of night vision capability.
Tampa Police say they’re trying to identify the man in the video. It’s not clear what his intent was.
