Singleton Arrested on Petty Theft Charge in Florida

TAMPA, Fla. —  Lawrence Singleton, convicted of raping a 15-year-old California hitchhiker and hacking off her forearms, faced a Florida charge Wednesday of trying to steal a $10 disposable camera from a drugstore, authorities said.

Singleton, 62, was arrested Sunday in suburban Tampa, but was released with a notice to appear in court May 2 on a misdemeanor charge of petty theft, authorities said.

A security guard at a store in Brandon spotted him taking a $9.98 disposable camera, according to a sheriff’s report.

Singleton was convicted of raping runaway Mary Vincent, cutting off her forearms with an ax, then leaving her for dead in 1978. Singleton was freed in 1987 after serving eight years and four months of a 14-year sentence.

He attempted to settle in several California communities after his release, but public outrage over his release forced authorities to keep moving him for his own protection. He wound up in the Tampa area a year later.

Singleton told deputies he lives at his sister’s house in eastern Hillsborough County. A woman who answered the telephone there said Singleton stays alternately with his sister and his brother, who lives in northwest Tampa. The brother refused to comment.