A teen-age runaway from Arcadia remains in jail today on at least 23 different criminal counts after police say he stole a truck and led authorities on a crazy high-speed chase through the Island last week that left 23 vehicles damaged and the Cortez Bridge closed for about four hours.

According to police, Fernando Sanchez Ibarra, 16, stole the red F-350 from a Bradenton window tinting business then drove it out onto Anna Maria Island, back to the mainland then headed back to the Island with a train of law enforcement vehicles following him. He was finally caught after police used spiked stop sticks to puncture the truck’s tires, and the vehicle got wedged in with other cars the suspect hit on the Cortez Bridge.

There were no serious injuries resulting from the incident.

Ibarra now faces 15 counts of leaving a crash scene with property damage from the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office. He will be arraigned April 9, at 8:25 p.m., in Judge Mark Singer’s court.

The city of Bradenton Beach is charging him with hit and run with an accident with property damage and reckless driving with property damage and personal injury for four accidents he caused while being chased through Bradenton.

The charges for the two accidents in Holmes Beach and four accidents in Bradenton Beach were filed in the county’s case against Ibarra.

EYEWITNESSES

Mike Bull, who works at the Sandbar restaurant, was on the Manatee Bridge when Ibarra came across, followed by police.

“There were two cars chasing him, and all I could think was, ‘Why are they doing that?’” Bull said.

Island Sun Distribution Director Bob Alexander, of Holmes Beach, was behind a stopped trolley on East Bay Drive near Walgreens when he saw the truck coming up behind him.

“I saw passengers from the trolley starting to cross the street, and I honked my horn at them,” Alexander said. “They stopped and the truck went past followed by police cars from Bradenton Beach and Holmes Beach. After they passed us they turned right on Manatee Avenue, and I heard one of the people from the trolley say they almost got killed.”

Bradenton Beach Police Chief Sam Speciale and Mayor Bill Shearon were participating in the annual community meeting with Sandpiper Resort residents Tuesday morning when the chase passed by them, headed north toward Holmes Beach.

Speciale said he placed a mic by his portable radio so the audience could listen to the pursuit in progress.

“Just when he was entering our jurisdiction again, Officer (Mike) Bazzell, pulled up in front of him, exited his vehicle, unholstered his firearm and ordered the drive to stop and put his hands up,” Speciale said. “Detective (Lenard) Diaz exited the police department, went up to the bridge, then the person in the truck would not comply with the officer’s instructions, they broke the window, they brought the driver out of the vehicle and then placed him on the ground and into custody.”

“We placed him in custody,” he added. “The Manatee Sheriff’s Office is the one putting the charges on him.”

“We’ve been in pursuits out here before, and we’ve assisted in pursuits, but not of this magnitude – and I’ve been hear 27 years, ” Speciale said. “There was a lot of carnage on that bridge.”

Commissioner Jan Vosburgh was also at the Sandpiper clubhouse.

“I was shocked that this car was going by at what looked like 95 miles per hour, with four or five police cars following it. It was a little bit on the scary side.”

She later left the Island and encountered delays getting back to Bradenton Beach.

“And then I got stuck. I ended up going off the Island, on Manatee Avenue, and it took hours, until 4:30 in the afternoon, until I could get back,” Vosburgh said. “That’s pretty scary stuff. I would have been really scared if I had been on that bridge and saw that car coming toward me.”

Some people questioned why the police failed to raise the three drawbridges simultaneously to keep him from leaving the Island, but Speciale said that could have made things worse.

“If someone had run into the bridge while it was up, the state could be liable,” Speciale said. “Besides, the bridge openings are regulated by the federal government, and it would take a lot of effort to get them to do that.”

Sun correspondent Joe Hendricks contributed to this story.

 

ANNA MARIA – The scene is set for city commissioners to hear from business owners at a work session scheduled for 6 p.m. on Thursday, March 13, concerning sandwich signs, which the city banned when it adopted a new sign ordinance.

The new law would have made the signs illegal as of March 1, but the commission extended the deadline to April 3, at an emergency meeting March 3.

The only commissioner at that meeting who appeared willing to retract the ban was Dale Woodland, who had called for the emergency meeting. While extending the deadline a month for business owners to get rid of the signs, commissioners indicated they were still against them in the city’s business district along Gulf Drive and Pine Avenue.

meeting of the minds

Shop owners met with Mayor SueLynn on Tuesday and Thursday of last week at Ginny and Jane E’s to discuss their options.

Laura Shely, who owns Tide and Moon Jewelry, 314 Pine, said she’s hopeful they can work out an agreement.

“I’m looking forward to working out a solution that will be amicable to all sides,” she said.

Shely said she needs her sandwich sign because her business is elevated above the flow of pedestrian traffic.

Markus Siegler, who spoke at the emergency meeting, owns Beach Fashion Boutique in the former post office building on Gulf Drive. He took note of the commissioners’ dislike of the signs and passed out questionnaires to people who came into his business.

“I got 14 responses and they all said they had no problem with the signs,” he said. “Of those responses, most said my sandwich sign drew them into my store.”

Seigler said he met with the mayor and Anna Maria City Planner Alan Garrett and he said he would look into asking for an exemption because his store is set back from the sidewalk in a corner of the building.

Commissioners had suggested businesses in plazas like Siegler’s purchase one large sign with every store’s name on it, but Siegler said the sign could only be four square feet and by the time every shop’s name was painted on it, the letters would be too small to read. He saw another problem with having a directory sign like that.

“If we use one sign, the ordinance says we cannot have signs on our businesses,” he said.

Siegler said he appreciated the mayor and city planner meeting with the owner, but still had one question.

“How can the commissioners say the signs are bad for the city without conducting a study?” he asked. “Please don’t penalize all the businesses for the mistakes of a few.”

Mayor SueLynn said one reason the commission addressed the problems in the business district is the growth of business in the city.

“I remember not too long ago when Pine Avenue had no new buildings,” she said. “Now, we’re dealing with a lot more businesses.”

HOLMES BEACH – Irish eyes will be smiling next weekend with two days of celebration and a parade at the conclusion. The big news is the return of Sham Rockin’ the Island Fest at Holmes Beach City Hall field.

Sponsored by the Anna Maria Island Community Center and the Island Sun, Sham Rockin’ the Island the Fest begins Saturday from 5 to 10 p.m. featuring the music of Rick Quimby, Jesse Sliger and Shotgun Justice. There will be food vendors, beer, wine and soda Saturday.

Sunday the party is from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and the music comes from Trevor Bystrom, Scott Pritchard, Irish dancers, Irish bagpipers and Kettle of Fish.

The food vendors return along with arts and crafts vendors and those selling liquid refreshments. Amy’s Southern Cooking will serve corned beef with cabbage and Bradentucky Boil, a popular local concoction.

Kids will have their own area featuring arts and games and a chance to play inside a bounce house.

The action goes until the parade begins at Holmes Beach City Hall, around 4 p.m.

Any vendor who wants to participate should contact Cindy Thompson at islandfestivals@aol.com.

The parade is set to leave at 4 p.m., and those participating should be there by 2 p.m. for staging. It will travel north on Marina Drive and Palm Drive to 78th Street. Anyone wanting to participate may call 778-6444.

HOLMES BEACH – Beautification board members plan to seek businesses, groups or individuals willing to adopt the city’s parks and traffic islands for maintenance purposes.

Member Dennis Groh told members that while they are unhappy with how the city’s parks and some traffic islands are being maintained, they might be unrealistic.

“With the current resources we have in the city, can the city maintain these parks at least to the level that some of us here on the committee would like to see?” he asked. “Maybe we’re asking for more than the city can deliver.

“If we think the standards should be held high and we think the city can’t meet our criteria, what are some of our alternatives?”

He said one alternative would be to find groups, businesses or individuals to adopt and maintain the parks and traffic islands. Chair Melissa Synder said the city had an adopt-a-spot program in the past.

Groh said the islands and parks that look good are ones where people have taken responsibility and added, ‘I think we could find people who are interested in championing a park.

“Realistically our expectations may not be supported by the city budget. If we keep creating parks beyond our ability to maintain them, it’s no longer beautification.”

Members agreed that the two parks most in need of maintenance are the pocket parks on Holmes Boulevard and 52nd Street.

Lecture series

Groh presented a list of topics and speakers for a lecture series and said he hoped they could present one per month beginning in the fall. He asked the other members to send him their ideas for topics and speakers.

Groh's topics included composting and worms, rain barrels and irrigation, beach plantings, salt and drought tolerant plants, vegetable gardening and plantings for birds and butterflies.

“Nothing is sacred,” Groh said. “There could be other great ideas. The biggest part will be finding speakers and coordinating the dates.”

Board members also discussed the type of pots they would like for the planned 7-foot wide buffer around Holmes Beach Auto Service at the corner of Gulf and Marina drives.

Monti presented three designs for wooden boxes and said they would be 4 by 6 feet and 30 inches high. He said would make a bottom feed system to try in one box.

Members approved the wave and fish designs, and Monti said he would present the designs to Commission Chair Judy Titsworth.

Other business

In other business, members agreed to:
• Proceed with installing a bat house at Grassy Point;
• Wait for rainy season to plant the traffic island at the public beach;
• Discussed lists of plants compiled by Groh for the dog park, beach ends and drainage swales;
• Approved planting a pond cypress in the swale at city hall for National Arbor Day on April 25.

HOLMES BEACH – Congestion committee members recently discussed responses to their contacts with churches and banks regarding parking agreements for alternate parking sites for beach goers.

The group has been working with sites near the Manatee Public Beach because people can have access to the facilities and enter and exit the Island easily.

Chair Carol Soustek said she met with the pastor and officials of the Church of the Annunciation, who had concerns about who would clean up the parking lots, who would erect the signs directing people there and the stipulation in the agreement that the owner is responsible for liability insurance.

“They did not want to be involved in any of that,” she said. “We’ll have to see if that’s necessary. I pointed out that this is not in stone; it can be massaged.

“Toward the end of the meeting, I mentioned valet parking and lights went on. The chief said that would eliminate some of their concerns. They were very interested in that, so I’ll do some research on it.”

She said she said she planned to meet with the entire church board in the future and that “the first step in the discussion is to open dialogue.”

“It would be a perfect lot for valet parking,” Police Chief Bill Tokajer said. “It would answer all their concerns.”

Different views

Soustek said she met with the real estate agent representing the owner of the Regions Bank property, and he said the owner is not interested in allowing the lot to be used for parking. However, after further talks, the owner said he would allow it for a payment of $4,500, but would not take any responsibility.

“It is private property,” she reminded members. “They could have cars towed.”

Member Bob Johnson suggested the county should pay. Soustek said they could pursue it through the Manatee County Tourist Development Council.

Soustek said she got a very different reception at Hancock Bank from Vice President Lois Gift, “who is very much in favor of this. They are closed Saturdays and Sundays. She is going to talk to the regional office.”

Member Pam Leckie said the biggest issue is liability. Soustek said she would get clarification about that from the city attorney.

“This is the baby steps to a much large plan down the road,” Soustek said. “It’s a comfortable, friendly way to try and relieve some of the congestion.”

On March 9, Soustek was scheduled to meet with representatives of Gloria Dei Lutheran Church and said she would report at the next meeting on Monday, March, 17, at 9:30 a.m.

HOLMES BEACH – With four major changes to the city’s charter possible, members of the charter review commission want voters to have a good understanding of those changes and give their input on whether they agree with them.

The four major changes are:

• Adding the position of human resources analyst to the current four charter positions, which are police chief, city clerk, city treasurer and building official/public works supervisor;

• Establishing term limits for the mayor and commissioners;

• Changing the term of office for mayor and commissioners from two year to four years;

• Including height and density and limitations in the charter.

In addition, four significant edits will be discussed. These are:

• Article III, Section 3.08. Procedure: References need to be reviewed to incorporate proposed amendments.

• Article III, Section 3.11. Initiative and referendum: Rewrite the process for gathering and filing initiative petitions to make it more precise.

• Article XII, Section 12.02. Initiative by petition: Rewrite process for gathering and filing petitions to make it more precise.

• Article IV, Section 4.05, Powers and duties of the mayor: Rewrite the portion on the mayor’s power of appointment and removal of department heads and board members.

Following the public meeting, members will meet at 9 a.m. on March 26 to review the draft revisions, taking into consideration public input, and agree on final draft contents.

Proposed amendments must be adopted by a vote of four members of the charterer review commission and approved by voters at the November election.

In a scene reminiscent of the 1970s fad of streaking, Bradenton Beach Police caught a man who had been running up and down Bridge Street with no clothes around 5 p.m. on Sunday, March 9.

The man, whose name and address are being withheld, was talking to himself as he ran, according to police. When the officer, who was driving his patrol vehicle, caught up with him, he gave the subject commands to stop, but the man ran off. The officer was finally able to cut off his travel and subdue him in front of the BeachHouse restaurant.

The subject told the officer his clothes were “changing his internal biology of how he sees himself” and that he was no longer in control of his mind. He said his name is now “Elijah the Prophet.”

A warrants check showed he was listed as a runaway from Manatee Glens mental health treatment facility.

The officer took the subject into custody under the Baker Act for his safety and the safety of others. An ambulance took him to Manatee Glens.

BRADENTON BEACH – How many captains does it take to steer the ship?

According to the 3-2 vote rendered during last week’s discussion on department head and charter official oversight, it takes five commissioners to oversee the city’s highest-ranking employees.

This was the opinion of Commissioners Jack Clarke, Ed Straight and Jan Vosburgh, while Vice-Mayor Janie Robertson and Mayor Bill Shearon felt the mayor should have greater authority over key personnel.

Who’s ship is it?

Shearon made the captain’s analogy Thursday night while stating his beliefs that department heads and contracted charter officials should answer to the mayor and be subject to his decisions regarding discipline for not meeting deadlines and expectations.

“The commission owns the yacht; the mayor is the captain of the boat. The owners say where the boat’s going to go, and it’s up to the captain to determine how to get there,” he said.

In reference to the soon to be released audit of the city finances, Robertson referred to the city as a “sinking ship” while expressing support for the mayor’s position.

Three of the five commissioners felt differently and steered the ship in another direction.

Straight said he preferred the city clerk to be the initial contact for a commissioner contacting a department head about a citizen concern. He feels this helps avoid potential Sunshine violations that could arise from a commissioner contacting the mayor directly.

Vosburgh agreed that citizen concerns should be the top priority and said she was not willing to relinquish the ability to contact department heads and charter officials without going through the mayor.

Vosburgh, Strait and Clarke said they respect the mayor’s efforts, and have no desire to tell department heads how to do their jobs, but simply want to retain the ability to communicate, while providing direction, support, oversight and evaluation.

“The legislative branch of this government has to be more involved,” Clarke said.

The commission rejected Clarke’s suggestion that commissioners serve as rotating department head liaisons, but accepted his offer to prepare a document that might provide better clarity on the issue.

Shearon reluctantly accepted the decision and said, “I’m still in the same place that I’ve been for three weeks, facing a lawsuit and I don’t have clear direction. I’m damned if I do and I’m damned if I don’t. Until I have some positive direction, I have to refocus the way I’m doing things.”

Driving the discussion

Shearon recently expressed frustration with delays pertaining to the pier reconstruction request for proposal (RFP) that will guide the contractor bidding process. He also cited delays in the building and planning department’s efforts to update the land development code.

In February, Ed Chiles and the ELRA Inc. restaurant ownership group filed a lawsuit against Shearon, alleging that he exceeded his mayoral powers and attempted to influence building and planning officials’ decisions pertaining to BeachHouse development requests.

At the mayor’s request, Perry initiated the oversight discussion during the Thursday, Feb. 26 special commission meeting. During the meeting, Straight asked Perry if their discussion was related to the lawsuit.

“It certainly has been accelerated to a degree, and the lawsuit definitely points to some of the concerns being brought to you today,” Perry said, noting that the mayor expressed a desire to clarify oversight issues when he took office in November.

Her goal was to determine who is responsible for monitoring staff performance and ensuring that deadlines and priorities are met, especially when a project relies on communication between multiple parties, like the pier RFP.

Perry also wants to protect the mayor from dual office holding, serving as both an elected official that sets policy and a de facto department head that implements policy.

Unlike the other two Island cities, where the mayor is a non-voting elected official charged with running the city, the Bradenton Beach mayor is a voting member of a five-person commission.

According to the city charter, “The mayor is the executive head of the city government. In addition to duties as a voting member of the commission, the mayor is responsible for administrative oversight of the city government.”

The charter also says, “The commission shall establish or provide for employee personnel benefits and procedures by ordinance” and notes that the commission “shall provide guidance to the mayor.”

When interpreting the city charter, commissioners differed in their opinions on staff oversight.

The passengers

Police Chief Sam Speciale, City Clerk Jamie Anderson, City Treasurer Sheila Dalton and Public Works Director Tom Woodard serve as department heads.

Building Official Steve Gilbert, Planning Official Alan Garrett and City Attorney Ricinda Perry serve as independently contracted charter officials, and are not classified as city employees or department heads, despite the key roles they play with the city.