Man First Helps, Then Takes $4,000 From Wheelchair User

BSO: Man first helps, then takes $4,000, from wheelchair user
By Linda Trischitta, Sun Sentinel
October 5, 2012
FORT LAUDERDALE

When James Talley was paying for a meal at The Glass Key restaurant, someone was watching as the senior citizen in a wheelchair drew from an envelope that held more than $4,000.
"The victim is a retired toll collector on Florida's Turnpike who was going to pay first and last months' rent on a new apartment," said Broward Sheriff's spokeswoman Veda Coleman-Wright. "That's why he had so much money on him."
Talley, who lives in the Palm Aire neighborhood, encountered Randolph Soto at 361 NW 27th Ave. in Pompano Beach on Aug. 9, according to the Broward Sheriff's Office.
Soto, 31, who also lives in the city, offered to help Talley cross the street.
But before they parted, Broward Sheriff's Detective Steven Hoover wrote in his report that Soto helped himself to Talley's envelope.
And then he fled.
"Everybody in that neighborhood knows 'Turnpike,'" Hoover said Thursday of Talley, who uses the nickname. "And most people know Soto."
Soto was arrested Wednesday, two months after the incident.
He was charged with abuse of an elderly or disabled adult without great harm, and robbery without a weapon.
In first appearance court Thursday, Broward Judge John "Jay" Hurley noted there was "no force indicated" on the arrest report.
"[Talley] positively identified you as the person who took his money," Hurley told Soto.
The judge found probable cause for the charges, and Soto was held on $12,500 bond at the Broward County main jail.
Hoover said Talley's money was not recovered.

 SOURCE:      The Sun-Sentinel
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