Eyewitness in Auto Burglaries Has Brandon Ties

Ricky Martinez, who in 1991, at age 15, was a member of the first South Brandon Little League team to compete in the Little League World Series, is now a coach at the FishHawk Youth Sports Complex, where July 7 he was an eyewitness to an auto burglary.

His quick actions that day prompted the former Hillsborough County sheriff's deputy, and now a criminal defense attorney, to pursue the thieves while keeping a Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office dispatcher aware of his movements.

, written by editor D'Ann White, while Martinez was talking to parents about his team's upcoming regional tournament in Alabama, "one of the parents heard a 'pop' and saw a suspicous white van leaving the parking lot of the sports complex on FishHawk Boulevard."

Earlier in the week Brandon Patch reported on this incident, in a post about a series of crimes July 7 that led to the invovlement of both the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office and the Pasco County Sheriff's Office. (See, .)

Follow-up stories at the Bloomingdale-Riverview Patch involved both the interview with Martinez and a made after the burglary of a car owned by a team parent. Among other things, in the trunk of the stolen vehicle was a bag containing $1,000 for the team's trip to Alabama.

Martinez' all-star team is a member of the Cal Ripken Division of the Babe Ruth League and is the first FishHawk team to go to a state championship. Its members were selected from among some 120 players, ages 8 and 9, playing at the youth sports complex.

For more on these Bloomingdale-Riverview Patch follow-up reports, read: