(Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
After Hurricane Helene passed by the Tampa, Florida area, law enforcement was dispatched to hardest hit areas to stop hurricane looters from emptying out damaged stores. Even though Tampa didn't take a direct hit, there was still a lot of flooding.
So when police patrolling shops on Madeira Beach noticed two drunk guys loitering in front of damaged stores wearing Trump cowboy hats, they stopped them for questioning.
According to documents posted by The Smoking Gun, on Friday evening, just after Hurricane Helene struck Florida, law enforcement was on high alert for hurricane looters trying to take advantage of the situation. Around 9:41 pm, police watching a closed down section of Madeira Beach noticed 2 men loitering in a shopping plaza, one wearing a Trump cowboy hat. The other man was in possession of a Trump hat, 2 Trump shirts, and a Trump coffee mug.
When the two defendants, who were drunk and standing in front of the 'Trump Store', were asked about the merch, they claimed it washed up on shore from the hurricane. A check of the store found that the building was unsecured due to the storm and that the store carried the same type of merchandise that the two men had in their possession. They were read their Miranda rights and taken into custody.
Hurricane Looters
As a resident of Fort Myers, I'm well aware of hurricane looters trying to take advantage of the situation, robbing damaged stores and houses when people are the most vulnerable. We dealt with that a lot after Hurricane Ian 2 years ago. Now, other parts of Florida are dealing with similar things after Hurricane Helene. Not even Trump Stores are safe.
57 year old Lance Petrisevac, and 61 year old John Peters were both arrested on felony charges of looting. It was not immediately known if the two men were registered voters, but at least they were ready for the next rally. That is, until the cops showed up.
