Crime & Safety
First Panhandling Arrest Made Under New Sarasota Ordinance
The arrest was the first under Sarasota's amended anti-panhandling ordinance, but it was the suspect's 31st arrest in connection to soliciting funds from motorists.
A 28-year-old man with 30 previous arrests involving panhandling is the first person to be charged with violating Sarasota's new panhandling ordinance, according to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
Jason Babb was arrested Tuesday in the 1700 block of North Washington Boulevard.
Police told the Sarasota Herald-Tribune that this marks the 31st arrest of Babb in connection to panhandling. The arrest was made after Babb was observed by officers accepting money from a driver in a Chevy Malibu, police said.
Prior to his arrest, Babb was warned three times this week that he needed to stop soliciting motorists for money, police said.
Babb was jailed on a $25 bond. His sign, which had the message "God Bless," was confiscated as evidence, according to the Herald-Tribune.
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