Couple Accused of Fleecing Good Samaritan

A homeless couple taken in by a stranger on Christmas Eve stole the man’s van, presents and groceries while he slept, sheriff’s deputies said Friday.

James Dixon was remorseful when he and Venus Dixon were arrested Wednesday, deputies said. They said he told them, “A man took me and my wife into his home last night, treated me as a person and a brother, and I did him wrong.”

Earnest L. Green saw the couple Tuesday on a rainy street in Clearwater, about 20 miles west of Tampa. He offered them a ride to his home to dry off, eat a hot meal and spend Christmas Eve.

“I fed them good, man,” Green said. “It made their day. They couldn’t stop thanking me all that night.”

Green, 45, told deputies he awoke Christmas morning to find the Dixons, his van, his presents, frozen food and $80 in cash gone. The van was returned later that morning, missing its stereo and CD player.

“You just can’t look at nobody and tell what kind of people they are,” said Green, who stayed home alone to work over the holidays while his wife visited family in Alabama.

James Dixon, 48, was charged with burglary and auto theft. He told deputies he left his wife at a nearby gas station, where she was found pushing a shopping cart containing the stolen goods.

Venus Dixon, 43, was charged with burglary, auto theft, possession of cocaine, resisting arrest and possession of a crack pipe. Police said she tried to swallow crack as she was arrested.

The Dixons were jailed Thursday, a jail spokeswoman said. James Dixon was being held on $20,000 bail, and his wife on $26,000.