COLD CASE . 22 years ago next month!
Published July 10, 2001|Updated Sept. 10, 2005
An employee of a check-cashing business was shot to death in an apparent robbery attempt Monday, shortly after he opened the shop up for the day, Tampa police said.
Gautam Patel, 56, unlocked the doors to Ace America's Cash Express on N Nebraska Avenue about 8:30 a.m., according to police. At 8:47 a.m., an intrusion alarm connected to the Police Department went off, signaling a break-in, said police spokesman Joe Durkin.
A police officer arrived minutes later and saw Patel's body behind the shop's counter, an area protected behind bullet-proof glass and steel doors.
No arrests have been made.
The check-cashing business, at the end of a 10-store strip mall south of Fowler Avenue, usually opened about 9 a.m.
A female customer arrived at the business after 8:30 a.m. to cash a check, authorities said. She found the front door unlocked and went inside. When she didn't see anyone behind the counter, she waited. That's when police arrived, officials said.
The officer had to look over the counter to see the body, police said.
Because of the glass and steel, police were not able to get to the body. They tried unsuccessfully to break in through the roof. A manager at another Ace location was called to open the steel doors.
Patel was a employed by Ace for four years.
He did not work at the Nebraska Avenue store on a regular basis. Neighboring business owners, who said they are a close-knit bunch, said they did not know him and that he was filling in for the regular worker, who happened to be off Monday.
Detectives were also investigating whether another alarm that went off at 3 a.m. Monday was related to the robbery.
The alarm was triggered because a phone line to the check-cashing business was somehow disconnected, Durkin said.
A police officer checked the businesses but did not find anything suspicious.
