Love Me or I'll Kill You

by Lee Butcher

  Durkin: “Ten-four. One of the customers or somebody was there and witnessed it. We still haven’t received anything from the alarm company.”

  David eleven was now in the pursuit.

  David 8 and 11: “Copy.”

  Durkin: “They advised that both men had sunglasses and bandannas and hats on. Break. Stand by for an update, I just got it. They advise that one of the subjects was a white male wearing a blue mask, a blue hat, a blue T-shirt, and khaki pants. Last seen driving a yellow SUV. An unknown make or tag. They were ten-oh (armed) with a gun. They got all the money and bait money, as well, with dye pack time lapse release. Last seen southbound on Church. Repeating southbound on Church in yellow SUV, ten-oh with a gun.”

  Davids 8 and 11 advised they were going into pursuit.

  Durkin: “All units responding to the Bank of America, repeating, all units responding to the Bank of America, we just received a call from Estrella, Estrella. Someone came through and threw a bunch of money at that location. Break. The money’s gonna be in front of that ten-twenty (location). Suspect was in a yellow Xterra. Repeating, yellow Xterra.”

  David 8: “Ten-four. David eight. I’ll be there in a minute.”

  Durkin: “Ten-four. They said they were last seen going westbound on Estrella to Henderson. Time lapse within minutes. Complainant is there gathering the money.”

  David 11: “Have responding units slow down a little bit. Ah, they’re gone. See if we have a chopper.”

  Durkin: “Ten-four. David eight, I’m getting some info that you have a group of people there, picking up the money. I do not know if they’re gonna walk off with it.”

  David 8: “Everything’s ten-four.”

  Unintelligible Chatter.

  Unit 453: “I’m ten-fifty-one (en route) to the call.”

  Durkin: “Ten-four. We just had a signal twenty-three to the Nations Bank at 1501 South Church. Break. That’s Bank of America, correction. The suspect was a white male, wearing a blue mask, a blue hat, ten-oh with a gun. They took some money, they dumped some out also. Break. They were last seen in the area of Estrella in a yellow Xterra SUV. It’s gonna be a Nissan Xterra SUV, yellow color. Break. Last seen westbound on Estrella toward Henderson.”

  (By now, “Baker” units started to respond.)

  Baker 13 (Lois Marrero): “Have one of the units that can give me a clothing description to go over to the sixteenth (precinct) because I’m close to the bank.”

  Unit 453: “I have another one. It’s going to be the apartment complex just north of Hubert and Kennedy. It’s parked far southeast, corner of the parking lot.”

  Durkin: “Baker thirteen, copy?”

  Baker 13: “Yeah, I got the apartment complex. It’s Regency here at Manhattan. It’s on the east side of the parking lot.”

  Unit 453: “It’s parked way down in the southeast corner. South end, against the fence, Baker thirteen. I saw it. It’s up against a bunch of trees.”

  Baker 13: “Somebody at the bank can tell me if one of the suspects had a tattoo on his upper arm by chance.”

  Dispatcher repeated Baker 31’s request for information about a tattoo.

  Durkin: “Did you get the tag? If not, I’ve got it.”

  Baker 13: “Okay, have we got a unit that can go to the Crossings apartments at Cleveland and Church? There should be a white male named Chino. He’s the one that drove this yellow Xterra over here and parked it at eleven twenty-two. He called somebody, then said it wouldn’t start and to ‘come give me a ride.’ And he’s got red tint to his hair from where it’s been dyed or something.”

  Durkin: “That’s Cleveland and Church, at the Crossings apartments?”

  Baker 13: “Ten-four. Do we have a unit that can go by Cleveland and Church?”

  Baker 41: “Already there.”

  Lois Marrero also headed toward the Crossings. She had responded to hundreds of calls in her career as a police officer. She loved the work, and every fitness report she had received testified that she was good at it. The reports from her supervisors usually spoke about her in glowing terms.

  “A very professional officer with unlimited potential,” one wrote in 1985. In 1988, she was called “an outstanding officer.”

  Lois had not always been a patrol officer. A few years ago she had held the rank of sergeant and was head of Tampa’s community affairs bureau and gang suppression units. She was known as a “very energetic, very smart, dedicated cop.” She was credited with reducing car thefts and destroying organized gangs by locating and undermining their ties with other crooks.

  Lois was demoted to patrol officer when the police department charged that she charged six vacation days to personal leave. The department tried to fire her, but Lois sued for unlawful termination and the department settled with her. She kept her job on the force, but was demoted one pay grade.

  Fighting for something she wanted was nothing new to the petite police officer. She was raised in Puerto Rico, where she graduated from Colégio Santa Rosa, in 1978. After that, it was on to Tampa to work her way through college. She joined the Tampa Police Department in 1982 and was widely known for her appearance, energy, and eagerness to learn.

  The demotion to patrol officer wasn’t that hard for Lois to take; she loved being on the streets because it gave her a chance for personal interaction and to have a direct influence on the lives of others. She enjoyed helping people. Nevertheless, after almost twenty years of being a cop, Lois was looking forward to retirement, a little over a year away.

  She loved working in her rose garden with Mickey at their comfortable house in the Fawn Creek subdivision in northwest Hillsborough County. The plush landscaping and neat, well-tended lawn was a testament to their care. Mickie and Lois were not married under Florida law, but they had taken nuptial vows in a ceremony conducted by an ordained minister at the Sovereign Evangelist Church. They wore identical wedding bands.

  The weather in July was sweltering and heat rising from the pavement distorted images, giving them a surreal look. In spite of the heat, Lois wore what is commonly referred to as a “bulletproof vest.” But every cop knows nothing is 100 percent bulletproof. The heavy vest made it even hotter and more uncomfortable.

  In just over a year, Lois planned to spend her time helping neighbors string Christmas lights, as she had in the past, prune her roses, and have good times with Mickey during her retirement. Right now, she had two bank robbers to apprehend.

  Still coughing and splotched with red dye, Chino pulled the SUV into the Regency Apartments parking lot, close to the Crossings. His mother not only worked as a maintenance woman for the Crossings, but at the Regency, which was operated by the same owners.

  Chino told Paula that they had to ditch the SUV. The bright yellow vehicle attracted a lot of attention. That was one of the things he loved about it, but now that characteristic had become a liability. The SUV seemed to pop out of any group of vehicles it was near. It would take the police no time to spot it, either from the air or ground.

  Paula felt like she was in shock. She remembered little about the harrowing race from the bank. After Chino parked the SUV under some trees to help conceal it, he popped the trunk.

  “You’ve got to change your clothes,” he said. He was furious that things had gone wrong, and the money had contained a dye pack.

  Paula’s clothes were splotched with red dye and smelled funny because of the tear gas.

  “Change into what? Change where?” she asked.

  Chino pulled a swimsuit top and some other clothing from the back of the SUV.

  “Wear this,” he said, tossing her the swimsuit top.

  Paula said okay, and looked through the remaining clothes for some pants or shorts.

  “Nothing else in here belongs to me,” she said.

  Chino tossed her a pair of shorts. “Wear my shorts,” he said.

  The shorts were several sizes too big, and looked absurd, but Paula slipped into them in the parking lot. Chino changed, too.

&
nbsp; “Hurry up!” he said, looking around nervously. “Hurry!”

  They went into the Regency’s Laundromat and Chino told her to wait there for him. He walked into an office that his mother sometimes used and picked up a phone. A short time later he returned.

  “Come on,” he ordered. Paula grabbed the bag and they stepped into the lobby of the Regency. In a few minutes, Lissette arrived with Ashley. Chino got in Lissette’s car, followed by Paula.

  “What’s wrong with the truck, Chino?” Lissette asked.

  “It broke down.”

  Lissette looked at him. “Chino, it’s a brand-new truck.”

  Lissette noted that both Chino and Paula looked a little red, but she didn’t mention it. Maybe they had been to the beach and gotten sunburned.

  Chino and Lissette chatted on the short ride to the Crossings, but Paula was quiet. She felt “zoned out,” as if she were in a dream and none of this were real. They pulled up at the Crossings, and Chino pushed her out of the car, then followed her.

  “Ashley, come on. Let’s go,” Paula said to her daughter.

  “No, I want to stay with Grandma,” Ashley replied.

  Lissette said she would bring Ashley back in a few hours.

  After Lissette left, Paula and Chino showered and tried to wash away the red dye and tear gas that was still on their skin and in their hair. Chino was able to wash most of the dye off himself without much trouble. The shower helped calm Paula’s nerves and she started to cry with relief. She was emotionally exhausted now that the robbery was over. Thank God, she thought, it’s finished now.

  After showering, Chino ordered her to get some bleach and rubber gloves. Then they stood at the bathroom sink and tried to wash the dye out of the few dollars Chino hadn’t thrown away. It wouldn’t come out. Chino cursed angrily and Paula sat down to watch television. Before she could turn the set on, Chino’s phone rang and it was Lissette.

  “The cops are looking for you,” she said. “They say you robbed a bank.”

  Chino became frantic. He appeared to be consumed by both fear and rage. Waves of fear washed over Paula again.

  Then Chino heard a helicopter.

  Officer Earl Bingle was on patrol around 11:00 A.M. when he spotted a yellow SUV parked under some trees at the Regency Apartments. He stopped, walked up to the vehicle, and put his hand on the hood. It was still warm, as if it had been parked in the past few minutes.

  Patrolman David Shepler was across the street at David’s Bridal asking the proprietors if they had seen anything unusual, when he received a radio message from Bingle, informing him about the SUV. He left and joined Bingle in the parking lot.

  “What’s the story on the vehicle?” Shepler asked.

  “It’s hot,” Bingle said.

  The apartment manager had seen the police and joined them by the SUV.

  “Do you know who owns the vehicle?” Bingle asked.

  The apartment manager told them it belonged to the maintenance woman’s son. “He might be in the laundry room,” she said. “I saw him go in there. His name is Chino.” She described him as a young Hispanic male between five-eight to five-ten. The woman had underestimated Chino’s height. He was actually about six feet tall.

  Three other police officers arrived. The five of them went to the Laundromat to look for Chino. He wasn’t there. The manager approached them again and said that Chino often visited friends who lived in the building.

  The police knocked on the door of the apartment and it was answered by an elderly woman. Bingle didn’t get her name. A young man joined the woman and Bingle told them what they were doing there and asked if they could check the apartment.

  “He’s not here, but you can check anyway,” the woman answered.

  The police searched, but no one else was there. It was clean. As they walked back into the parking lot, the manager came back and told Bingle that Chino’s mother lived at the Crossings. Bingle immediately got on the radio and told dispatch to have units go to the apartment and check.

  Before he got in his car, he heard Officer Lois Marrero coming on the radio and saying she was in foot pursuit of the suspect. Bingle sped away to the Crossings apartments, which were only half-a-mile away. A police helicopter circled overhead, but Bingle was in too much of a hurry to notice. He sped to help Lois.

  He went to Kennedy and then headed south on Grady, because Lois was chasing the suspect through a veteran’s cemetery. She was chasing him southbound. Bingle figured Chino might turn down Cleveland, and he wanted to be there to apprehend him. The patrol officer pulled to a stop in front of the apartment complex on Church Street and got ready to confront the suspect.

  Chapter 3

  “We’ve got to go!” Chino yelled. “Hurry.”

  Paula was more worried than ever because the nightmare seemed to be starting all over. Chino was shouting and cursing. And where was Lissette? She was supposed to have been back with Ashley. Chino wanted to run from the police, who were closing in, but their truck was half-a-mile away.

  First, Paula had to get dressed. She threw on a camouflage T-shirt and Chino’s shorts. She was so rattled that she forgot to put on underwear.

  “Pack a few things,” Chino told her. “Hurry up.”

  Pack what? Hurry to go where? Paula wondered. Where was there to go?

  Paula took the small canvas bag, which contained the MAC-11, and started to throw things inside haphazardly. She was so nervous, she couldn’t think. When they ran outside the door, Paula put the bag down and started to lock the door. Chino, meanwhile, had run part of the way down the stairs leading to the courtyard and pool, and then he ran back. He retrieved the MAC-11 from the bag and ran down the stairs leading to the parking lot.

  A few minutes earlier, Mark Kokojan left his apartment to take his broken cell phone to a repair shop. When he got to his car, which was an older silver Oldsmobile, he realized that he had forgotten the receipt. He went back to his apartment to get it.

  On his way back to the car, Kokojan was surprised to find his neighbor Paula standing there, looking terrified. She asked if she could use his telephone. Kokojan was astounded because he had never heard Paula speak before, or even look directly at him. Paula ran off without waiting for an answer and went into the courtyard. Paula’s boyfriend, Chino DeJesus, ran up and snatched the keys out of his hand. Kokojan didn’t know Chino, but he had seen him around the complex visiting his mother.

  “Hey, what’s going on, man?” he asked. “Just stop. I’ll help you.”

  Chino kept running. In the courtyard Paula was in such panic that she couldn’t control herself. She ran this way, then that, her brain not functioning. She had no idea how she had gotten where she was. Then she heard Chino screaming and screaming. Terrified, she ran after him. Kokojan ran after Chino to get his car keys.

  “Paula! Paula!” Chino screamed.

  “Sí, I’m here,” she answered.

  To Paula, everything seemed to be happening in quick time again. Events seemed to jump and skip about without logic or regard to the passing of time. She remembered being at the top of the stairs with Chino, but she didn’t remember coming downstairs or how she got to the courtyard. And now she found herself running in the parking lot. She saw a policewoman running after them.

  The three civilians reached Kokojan’s car and Chino tried to unlock it. He was shaking so much that he couldn’t get the key in the lock. The door wasn’t even locked, but Chino didn’t think to try the handle to see. Paula stood by the right front bumper of Kokojan’s car as Chino struggled with the car door. Sirens sounded, coming closer. A helicopter thumped loudly overhead, flying in wide circles. A policewoman had caught up with them and was just a few yards away, on the other side of the car.

  Paula looked at the policewoman and their eyes locked.

  Oh, my God, Paula thought.

  Lois and Officers Cole Scudder, Gary Metzgar, and James Zipler were the first police to arrive on the scene. Lois updated the dispatcher on her police radio as
she ran after the two bank robbers.

  “I got him here,” she said. “He’s running. He’s going eastward. Eastward through the cemetery with a gun.”

  The cemetery was a veteran’s cemetery across the street from the Crossings. Chino tried to get away by cutting through it, but he was spotted by the police. He turned around and headed back to the Crossings.

  Baker 13: “Okay, I lost him somewhere in the cemetery. Oh, he’s headed back. He doubled back on me, back into the apartments.”

  A few minutes later, Lois reported: “He’s gonna be with a female. Signal zero in the cemetery. He’s got a gun on me! Get officers to come here; air service is going with him.”

  Seconds later, Lois said “. . . that gun!”

  Gunfire exploded on police radios, and then Lois’s radio was silent.

  The radio came back to life a few seconds later and the words every cop dreads to hear came over the airwaves: “Officer down. Officer down. Need ten-thirty-two (ambulance), ten-eighteen (respond as soon as possible). We need them here. He’s getting into a silver car . . . trying to get into a silver car. I’m going inside the apartment complex.

  “There is an officer down. We need ten-thirty-two, ten-eighteen.”

  Mark Kokojan dived headfirst under the front bumper of his car when Chino fired a burst of gunfire from the MAC-11, almost point-blank, at the policewoman. Two bullets slammed into Lois’s bulletproof vest and the third bullet ripped into her throat. Paula made eye contact with Lois as she fell. Lois reached out as if pleading for help, gasping for breath. To Paula, the woman’s eyes seemed to be asking, “Why?” It was like being in a nightmare.

  When she heard the woman tell Chino, “Put down your gun or I’ll shoot,” Paula prayed that he would. Just put the gun down, Chino. Please. Put the gun down and it will all be over.

  But he had shot her instead. Oh, my God, she thought. He’s killed a cop.

  When the shooting stopped, Kokojan looked up and saw that Chino appeared confused and panicked. The seconds seemed to drag on for hours. It never occurred to Kokojan that Chino might shoot him, or that the police might think he was one of the suspects.