ST. PETERSBURG

Police: St. Petersburg man drops own poop into laundromat washing machine

A 57-year-old man defecated on the floor of a laundromat then dropped his poop into a washing machine, according to St. Petersburg police.

About 7:40 a.m. Saturday, a witness saw Michael Shannon poop on the floor of a laundromat at 3435 15th Ave. S. Shannon picked up the feces and pressed it into the detergent-loading compartment of a washing machine. The incident caused $475 worth of damage, according to Shannon's arrest report.

When police went to arrest him, he became tense and refused to place his hands behind his back, police said. During a search, officers found less than a 10th of an ounce of marijuana in his pocket.

Shannon, of St. Petersburg, was arrested on charges of criminal mischief, resisting an officer without violence and possession of marijuana.

LARGO

Man takes cookies with 'dirty bare hands'

A Seminole man is accused of reaching over a display case at Publix, grabbing several cookies and eating them in front of the bakery manager.

According to Largo police, a bakery manager at the store at 857 West Bay Drive saw Kane William Hanson, 34, reach over the display case and steal cookies about 2:30 p.m. Saturday. The remaining 60 cookies had to be thrown away because Hanson contaminated them with his "dirty bare hands," an officer wrote in Hanson's arrest report.

Hanson told police he assumed the cookies were free.

Officers arrested him on a retail theft charge. He also faces possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia charges after officers found a clonazepam pill in his pocket and pipes in his car.

INDIAN SHORES

Police pursue truck, then its naked driver

A rogue swimming pool service truck took Indian Shores police on a chase that ended with the driver running naked from officers, according to police.

About 2 a.m. April 5, an officer approached a pickup truck bearing the name "Belleair Pool Supply" that he considered suspicious because he "knew there was no swimming pools worked on in the middle of the night," according to an arrest report.

At the wheel was Victor Ciaccia, 42, with his window cracked open. The officer asked him to turn off the engine and hand over identification. Ciacci said he was leaving, then sped away northbound on Gulf Boulevard from 176th Terrace, hitting the officer's right leg in the process.

As he sped from police, Ciacci drove over spike strips, damaged landscaping and eventually drove through a chainlink fence at the former Wellington School campus, 8000 Starkey Road, his arrest reports say.

Ciacci got out of the truck near the school and ran naked from police into a neighborhood. A Pinellas County Sheriff's Office dog caught up to Ciacci, and police arrested him.

He faces charges, including aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer, breaking or injuring fences, leaving the scene of a crash involving property damage and driving under the influence as well as with a suspended license.

Kathryn Varn, Times staff writer