FishHawk Coach Helps Chase Auto Burglary Suspects

An act of heroism was the last thing on Ricky Martinez’ mind Saturday as he finished up a practice at the FishHawk Sports Complex with his all-star team of 8- and 9-year-olds.

He was talking with parents about the team’s trip to the regional tournament in Alabama this week when one of the parents heard a “pop” and saw a suspicious white van leaving the parking lot of the sports complex on FishHawk Boulevard.

A former Hillsborough County sheriff’s deputy, now a criminal defense attorney, Martinez said he acted on instinct.

“Within seconds, I jumped into my car and took off,” said Martinez. The van was nowhere to be found but Martinez assumed it was part of a smash-and-grab team that would search for another parking lot to target. “I just drove to the next nearest intersection as fast as I could.”

Martinez’ assumption proved correct. He spotted the van at the 7-Eleven at the corner of FishHawk Boulevard and Boyette Road.

“When I saw the vehicle at the intersection, I repositioned myself so I could get behind it and get a tag number,” said Martinez. “He then called the sheriff’s office and relayed the information to the dispatcher. However, his pursuit of the burglars didn’t end there.

“I followed the van for quite a period of time while keeping in touch with the dispatcher. Once we got to the interstate, I saw a patrol car and then I looked up above and saw the (sheriff’s) helicopter,” said Martinez. “I knew they had the situation under control.”

While Martinez’ involvement ended there, sheriff’s deputies continued to track the van into Seffner and then up Interstate 75 to Pasco County where the van was finally stopped with the help of Stopsticks, puncturing the suspects' front left tire.

Two south Florida men were arrested, Lucious Felder, 23 and Terry Joseph, 26.

Detectives discovered that prior to targeting the FishHawk Sports Complex, they allegedly burglarized cars at the Campo Family YMCA on Culbreath Road in Valrico.

Meanwhile, back at the FishHawk Sports Complex, a mother of one of the all-star players discovered her car had been broken into and her purse was stolen along with a bag that contained, among other things, about $1,000 in funds to be used for the boys’ trip to Alabama on Thursday.

The team had been trying to raise donations to offset the cost of the trip to the Southeastern Regional Tournament Thursday through Sunday in Andalusia, Ala.

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