LARGO, Fla. (WFLA) — Largo police have charged a homeless man who they said assault a driver who was stopped at an intersection where he was panhandling.
According to an affidavit, Ivan Sams approached the victim’s driver side window while she was stopped in traffic at the right curb lane of Clearwater Largo Road and West Bay Drive.
Police said Sams asked her for money, but when she denied him, he became aggressive, spat at her window, and pulled a red box cutter on her. The affidavit said the driver was scared that the man was going to open her car door or hurt her.
When police arrested Sams, he first denied the allegations, saying he was walking through the Walgreens parking lot to go to a bike shop for work. However, the affidavit said he later admitted to panhandling in the area while he was in a patrol car.