Crime in Lake Worth

While you're eating your turkey dinner, the criminals are out in force. Do we want to hear about crime in Lake Worth or do we want to close our eyes to what is going on around us? The Sheriff says crime is down. Is it?

We justify spending $14-15 million a year on the Sheriff. The largest expenditure that affects the General Fund are the expenses for Public Safety taking up 51% of the Budget. As the City Manager said, we are not overstaffed; we just have to evaluate the current compensation levels and get them in line with Lake Worth's ability to pay...not an easy feat.

Sheriff's Office, Lake Worth

ASSAULT

A woman was sitting on the couch in the living room of her home in the 500 block of Ninth Avenue North at 6:55 p.m. when a neighbor opened the door and walked in. He picked up a brick that was on the floor and threw it at her, striking her in the stomach. He then ran out of the residence and got into a car with a woman and drove off. A deputy observed a large abrasion on the woman's stomach. The woman said she and the neighbor have an ongoing dispute.

VESSEL BURGLARY

A flare gun and flares were taken from a boat belonging to a resident in the 1700 block of North Lakeside Drive. A neighbor's boat was also burglarized about the same time.

CRIMINAL MISCHIEF

Someone scratched a truck with a key in the 600 block of Lucerne Avenue. Damage was estimated at $200.

A window on a vehicle parked in the 600 block of South East Street was shattered by a brick between 2:30 and 3:30 p.m.

OPEN CONTAINER

A man in the 100 block of First Avenue South at 3:40 p.m. appeared to have difficulty walking. He was carrying a cup. A deputy asked the man if he had water in the cup. The man replied, "You know me better than that, it's vodka and Mountain Dew." The man was issued a notice to appear in court and was escorted home.

HOME BURGLARY

A laptop computer was stolen from a home in the 700 block of Snowden Drive. The thief entered the residence by breaking a window in the laundry room sometime between 8:25 a.m. and 10:40 a.m.

A burglar at a home in the 700 block of Evergreen Drive took two jewelry boxes from the master bedroom. The intruder, who picked a lock on the front door, also stole a jar containing about $50 worth of quarters.

The best deterrent? A barking (bull) dog.