Tampa Man Jailed On Charge Of Wearing Illegal Mask

Tampa Man Jailed On Charge Of Wearing Illegal Mask

www.tampabay.com

TAMPA — An 18-year-old Tampa man was jailed Tuesday afternoon, charged with wearing a clown mask on a public road.

Deputies say Matthew David Lopez, of 7003 Ponderosa Drive, was seen with two other people walking south on N 58th Street, just north of E Fowler Avenue. What caught a deputy's attention was Lopez's masked face with a bright red-and-orange wig, according to an arrest affidavit.

(visit the link for the full news article)

He was released on $750 bail.

Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Debbie Carter said any disguise in public is illegal. Even on Halloween, adults aren't allowed to enter any businesses or stores with their faces covered.

WOW...talk about living in a police state....$750 for wearing a mask....

The law says adults aren't allowed to enter any businesses or stores with their faces covered. He was walking down the street...

Big Brother is controlling every aspect of our lives...

www.tampabay.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

An expensive lesson, but the law is the law. Most towns have similar ordinances to discourage criminals. They usually aren't enforced so vigorously.

reply to post by rainfall


If a transvestite all dressed in drag can go into a gas station and get a six pack of beer and pack of cigarettes without getting arrested then it should be OK for a clown to go in and do the same. It is a costume after all even though I just know that a transvestite considers it makeup and not a costume. Oh well, splitting hairs, no difference to me so no crime.

Perhaps this is some anti-clown efforts we are seeing coming from law enforcement. Must teach those guys to be more sensitive to clowns and such cause clowns have feelings too.

B.S. There has to be more to this story. No way a cop cites somebody for just wearing a mask, and no way there is a law on the books stating it is illegal for any adult to wear any mask.

What about masks for work? What about real clowns? What about painters? What about SARS? What about Muslim woman? What about Burn Victims? What about extremely cold windy days? What about motorcycle helmets?

I wore my neoprene "skull" mask into McDonalds in Florida just about 3 days ago.

I remember when my town had a string of bank robberies last year and the banks and the police department and the news channels all got together and told people they could not wear hats and sunglasses into banks any longer. Guess what, most people ignored it, the banks did not refuse service to any customers, the robbers were eventually caught and nobody had to lose any rights or liberties.

If this were my town, and if this is just a normal guy with friends, and if there is no extenuating circumstance, then I would expect to see about 100 clown masks on the street this time tomorrow and 1000 by next week and some National News coverage soon after. That is how I would handle it!

reply to post by rainfall


Well cue the Burqa's and headscarves because that is where this discussion is inevitabily gonna end up....

Spot the difference...

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/files/25629184852dc064.jpg[/atsimg]

Peace

reply to post by rainfall


Florida has some real crazy laws my friend. I did a thread a few months ago about a Miami man facing a year in jail for having a pair of hand cuff keys as a charm on a necklace.

Several years ago a man in Central Florida was being taken to lockup in the back of a squad car and freed himself from his handcuffs with a pair of his own keys he had secreted on his person and shot and killed a couple of deputies.

So Florida actually made a law where possession of handcuff keys is punishable up to a year in prison if you have them anywhere on your person!

The risks we all must take to enjoy Kinky Sex, I wonder if that's what the clown mask was about!



[edit on 24/2/10 by ProtoplasmicTraveler]

reply to post by rainfall

A marked Temple Terrace police cruiser showed up soon after, and the group ran away before deputies could question them.

Why did they run? I bet if they didn't they wouldn't of been charged with anything. But if you run from the cops...they are going to chase you and they are going to charge you with anything they can just because you ran.

reply to post by ProtoplasmicTraveler


I would go with the pink furry ones, at least they are less intimidating!

Originally posted by OutKast Searcher
reply to post by rainfall

 

A marked Temple Terrace police cruiser showed up soon after, and the group ran away before deputies could question them.

Why did they run? I bet if they didn't they wouldn't of been charged with anything. But if you run from the cops...they are going to chase you and they are going to charge you with anything they can just because you ran.

You know . .. . that is the scariest part. If a police officer has a good grasp of all the local and state laws at their disposal, they can arrest just about anyone at anytime.

It could be that my box-cutter is a concealed weapon, or that my ATS postings are threatening, or that my wife and I have kinky sex, or that I take a pee behind my shed when I don't want walk all the way to the house, or that I attempted to avoid a DUI checkpoint because I thought Taco Bell was open, but turns out they were closed.

I like to play "Name that Crime." You name a common everyday activity, and I will find a way to arrest you for it!

Originally posted by dgtempe
reply to post by ProtoplasmicTraveler

 

I would go with the pink furry ones, at least they are less intimidating!

Actually safety first. I opt for black leather cuffs with minature padlocks!

After all getting around the law is important!

We have some insane laws here in Florida courtesy of an over reactionary legislature.

Here in Miami a controversy has been going on for the better part of three years because the sex offender laws actually make the only legally zoned spot for ex-offenders to live in the middle of Biscayne Bay on an uninhabited island with no electricity, sanitation, sewage or water that a causeway bridge uses to bridge the bay!

They go straight from prison and get dropped off on that Island, if they aren't back every night by a certain time or violate their work restrictions or try to tinker with their ankle monitors they go right back to prison.

Even though the ACLU is sueing the State and the City and the County to repeal the law not one politician in the State wants to risk voter backlash so they are just waiting for a Federal Court to rule the restrictions be loosened so they can have normal housing.

Of course we do have the highest ex-felon population in the United States.

Originally posted by ProtoplasmicTraveler


Florida has some real crazy laws my friend.

I wonder if they'll arrest Santa for wearing a mask too...?..

Government is too big with too many laws.......as long as you're not hurting anyone you should be able to do what the hell you want!

If I want to wear a spiderman costume and walk around town I should have the freedom to do that...

reply to post by rainfall


A regular on Howard Sterns show who likes to dress up in thongs and fishnet stockings was arrested in South Beach for lewd and disorderly conduct.

He is sueing the city for 10,000,000.00 dollars.

The crazy thing is that a lot of these laws end up in some big lawsuits that we all get to pay for.

Personally I think we have enough laws to last a few hundred years. We ought to just send the legislature and the congress home so they will stop passing them already!

reply to post by rainfall


God what the hell, Adults cant dress up now? Hey Mask... Would they consider make-up as a form of a mask next?... Good Find

A stupid law made by stupid scared control freaks. Doesn't really accomplish anything except make the real criminals become better makeup artists, so they don't stand out like a clown.

Perhaps a protest where everyone wears a clown mask is in order. That will keep the stupid piggies busy.

Reminds me of THX 1138 by George Lucas where no disguises are allowed.

Might as well make makeup & wigs illegal.

Anyone who's ever ridden a motor cycle with helmet knows to take them off when entering a Bank or Casino.




[edit on 24-2-2010 by verylowfrequency]

reply to post by rainfall


I'm glad that I don't live there.I used to dress up as a clown.
Full face make-up,wig,big shoes,annoying bike horn,the works.
I would dress like this and ride a sunburst-yellow bicycle.

I think the officer may have been traumatized by a clown in his younger years. He saw the clown, and the flashbacks started.. he, only a wee little lad at age 5 sniffing a pretty flower and SPLASH water in the face, and everyone laughing at him.. oh.. the terrors..

I'm surprised he didn't shoot the clown.

Well naturally, I think of Shriners.......................
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/e8d8146e5018.jpg[/atsimg]

All I can say is wait until Ronald McDonald hears about this.

As long as stilts and oven mitts are OK, I should be fine.

[edit on 24-2-2010 by kinda kurious]

Ahhh - Tampa. Yep, some really nutty laws and police to enforce them there.

It seemed like I remembered something similar a few months back and discovered...

Holy Legal Defense! Batman Fighting Arrest In Tampa Court

Yes - Tampa's finest arrested Batman.

TAMPA - Batman has had a slew of enemies over the years – The Joker, The Riddler, Catwoman – but in Ybor City last year, he added a new nemesis: Tampa police.

Ybor City's version of the Caped Crusader –his real name is Walsh Ian Nichols – was sitting on a curb eating sushi on Oct. 21 when an officer arrested him for wearing a mask on a public street.

Here is a little bit on the law

The anti-mask law was created in 1951:

"No person or persons over 16 years of age shall, while wearing any mask, hood, or device whereby any portion of the face is so hidden, concealed, or covered as to conceal the identity of the wearer, enter upon, or be or appear upon any lane, walk, alley, street, road, highway, or other public way in this state."

The law is part of a section of Florida Statutes relating to criminal anarchy, treason and other crimes against public order.

Yeah it is a sad day indeed when costumes can't be worn in public.

www.youtube.com...

I heard a joke once: Man goes to doctor.
Says he's depressed.
Says life is harsh and cruel.
Says he feels all alone in a threatening world.
Doctor says, "Treatment is simple.
The great clown Pagliacci is in town tonight.
Go see him.
That should pick you up."
Man bursts into tears.
Says, "But doctor... I am Pagliacci."
Good joke. Everybody laugh. Roll on snare drum. Curtains.

Yeah good joke, haha, life is the real joke...