Florida Crime Files: Man accused of posing as breast cancer patient for $5,000 payday
A Florida man is accused of posing as a breast cancer patient to defraud nonprofit organizations, a Florida man is accused of attacking a gas station clerk with a box cutter inside a locked bathroom, and a Florida teen is accused of babysitting two kids with enough fentanyl to kill 126,000 people: Here's FOX 35's Florida Crime Files.
Florida man accused of posing as breast cancer patient to defraud nonprofit organizations
A Florida man is now in jail after he allegedly posed as a breast cancer patient and defrauded multiple nonprofit organizations.
Timothy Bartlett, 68, is being held in the Volusia County Jail on a $20,500 bond, arrest records show.
Upon investigation, detectives discovered that Bartlett had allegedly been posing as "Sally Holmes," a woman undergoing treatment for breast cancer and was out of work. Under this false identity, deputies said Bartlett managed to deceive a Tampa organization and four other nonprofits across Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Tennessee, and Wisconsin. He reportedly received $5,000 in assistance.
"This is our scumbag of the week. I mean, you can't get much lower than this," said Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood. "I mean, how low can you go? You know, money that is meant for folks who are trying to beat cancer, who can't pay their bills."
These organizations provide critical financial support to patients battling breast, ovarian, and pediatric cancers.
"We've just scratched the surface of how this may run, but it's pretty disgusting. I mean, like I said, he's going to be a real scumbag to go out and do something like this," the sheriff added. "He’s in a good place right now. He should rot in that jail cell."
Florida man attacked gas station clerk with box cutter inside locked bathroom, police say
A Florida man was arrested Saturday and accused of locking himself and a woman inside a Seminole County gas station bathroom and attacking her with a box cutter, according to the Sanford Police Department.
Randal Lee Lawton, 62, was booked into jail on charges of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, resisting an officer, and kidnapping, according to online jail records.
According to the arrest affidavit, police responded to the RaceTrac gas station shortly after 5 a.m. on Saturday near U.S. Highway 17-92 and Lake Mary Blvd. When officers arrived, they found Lawton locked inside the men's restroom and heard a woman screaming for help, the report said. That woman was later identified as an employee of the gas station.
Officers broke into the restroom and reportedly saw Lawton standing over the woman with a box cutter in his hand. "[The woman] was covered in blood and had two deep lacerations to her neck [and] multiple lacerations to her left hand," the affidavit said.
Lawton was detained, and the woman was taken to the hospital. An update on the woman's condition was not immediately known.
According to the report, the woman told police that Lawton had been at the gas station earlier to purchase cigarettes and coffee. He returned later and went to the bathroom, she said. She said it appeared that he was talking to himself.
At some point, Lawton came out of the bathroom and asked for toilet paper. When the woman entered the bathroom to replace the toilet paper, Lawton also went into the bathroom and locked both of them inside, the report said.
Lawton then allegedly put his hand over the woman's mouth and forced her to the ground, the woman told police. When she tried to get away, Lawton allegedly tried to cut her throat, she said, according to the report.
The woman fought back and grabbed the knife, cutting her hand, the report said. She said Lawton stopped attacking her once police entered the bathroom.
Florida teen accused of babysitting 2 kids with enough fentanyl to kill 126,000 people: 'Wanna-be gangbanger'
Riley Thompson was arrested and charged with several drug- and gun-related felony offenses and child neglect on June 4, 2024. (Photo: Brevard County Sheriff's Office)
A 19-year-old from Melbourne has found himself behind bars after he allegedly had enough fentanyl in his possession to kill over 126,000 people while he was babysitting two children.
Riley Thompson was arrested and charged with the following after the incident that unfolded on Palm Bay Road on Tuesday, according to the Brevard County Sheriff's Office:
- 3 counts of felony meth trafficking
- Felony fentanyl trafficking
- 2 counts of felony heroin trafficking
- Felony sale of hallucinogen
- Felony distribution of marijuana
- Felony possession of cocaine with the intent to sell
- Felony child neglect without great bodily harm
- Felony possession of a short-barreled gun
- Misdemeanor resisting arrest
- Felony use/display of a firearm during the commission of a felony
Thompson was arrested Tuesday after agents with the Brevard County Sheriff's Office's Special Investigations Unit went to his apartment to serve a search warrant. When agents arrived, Thompson allegedly tried to flee. While he was running away, Thompson allegedly tossed several bags of narcotics and a gun.
"Apparently Thompson never got the memo that if you run from the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office you are only going to go to jail tired, so after a brief foot chase he was run down and tackled by one of our team and taken into custody without further incident!!" Sheriff Wayne Ivey said in a statement.
When the 19-year-old was taken into custody, agents geared up to execute the search warrant on his apartment when they found two small children inside, Sheriff Ivey said. Not only were there kids inside the apartment, but there was a "significant amount of drugs that were in close proximity" to them," according to the sheriff's office.
In total, over 250 grams of fentanyl were found inside the apartment. That's enough to kill almost 126,000 people, according to deputies.