Women nab suspect with ham sandwich
Posted: Fri Nov 14, 2003 8:28 am
TAMPA, Fla. — They say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach.
For a suspected robber, the way to jail was through his stomach.
Alfred Joseph Sweet, 52, was charged with home invasion and false imprisonment late last month after he allegedly broke in to the home of Cathy Ord and Rose Bucher.
Rather than panic when the shotgun-toting Sweet allegedly burst through their window, Ord, 60, and Bucher, 63, disarmed him with kindness and a sandwich.
Though he reportedly held onto his sawed-off shotgun throughout the ordeal, Sweet sat calmly and chatted with the women for several hours, police said. At one point, Ord offered him cash and the keys to her Cadillac. Sweet reportedly refused.
At some point in the conversation, the women asked Sweet if he was hungry. He said he was so the women made him a ham sandwich with pickles. To wash it down, they offered him a bottle of rum. He took them up on the offer.
After the snack, the women suggested the unlikely dinner guest take a shower and shave, even providing him with a disposable razor. After Sweet showered, he reportedly made a phone call to his girlfriend and then asked Ord and Bucher to call him a cab.
Sweet allegedly allowed Ord to leave the house momentarily in order to flag down the cab driver, who was having difficulty finding her home.
Meanwhile, the freshly fed, showered and shaved Sweet dozed off.
The cab driver called 911, and within minutes more than a dozen sheriff's deputies raided the home, rousing Sweet from his slumber, and arrested him.
There are currently no court appearances set in the case.
For a suspected robber, the way to jail was through his stomach.
Alfred Joseph Sweet, 52, was charged with home invasion and false imprisonment late last month after he allegedly broke in to the home of Cathy Ord and Rose Bucher.
Rather than panic when the shotgun-toting Sweet allegedly burst through their window, Ord, 60, and Bucher, 63, disarmed him with kindness and a sandwich.
Though he reportedly held onto his sawed-off shotgun throughout the ordeal, Sweet sat calmly and chatted with the women for several hours, police said. At one point, Ord offered him cash and the keys to her Cadillac. Sweet reportedly refused.
At some point in the conversation, the women asked Sweet if he was hungry. He said he was so the women made him a ham sandwich with pickles. To wash it down, they offered him a bottle of rum. He took them up on the offer.
After the snack, the women suggested the unlikely dinner guest take a shower and shave, even providing him with a disposable razor. After Sweet showered, he reportedly made a phone call to his girlfriend and then asked Ord and Bucher to call him a cab.
Sweet allegedly allowed Ord to leave the house momentarily in order to flag down the cab driver, who was having difficulty finding her home.
Meanwhile, the freshly fed, showered and shaved Sweet dozed off.
The cab driver called 911, and within minutes more than a dozen sheriff's deputies raided the home, rousing Sweet from his slumber, and arrested him.
There are currently no court appearances set in the case.
