TOWN 'N COUNTRY - Arnold Klotsch was known in his Timberlane neighborhood as the guy willing to help anybody.
He took in stray dogs. He took neighborhood children to the park.
One day he even walked to a neighbor's house with an air compressor after noticing his neighbor's car tires were low.
On Saturday, it was that willingness to be helpful that ended his life.
The 45-year-old Town 'N Country man was found slain Saturday night behind the Albertsons liquor store at West Hillsborough Avenue and Memorial Highway.
Investigators speculate Klotsch saw two robbers coming out of the store just after 10 p.m. and followed them with his car to the back of the building.
That's when one of the robbers turned, fired two shots and killed Klotsch in his car, said Sgt. Alan Hill, spokesman for the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.
Klotsch was there to pick up his wife, Denise, 47, who was getting off work as a cashier in the adjacent Albertsons grocery store.
Hill said the same men robbed a Speedway gas station at 6211 N. Dale Mabry Highway on Wednesday. Deputies linked the two robberies by using the stores' surveillance tapes.
Hill said the men were armed with handguns and took an undisclosed amount of cash from a liquor store clerk.
Deputies are looking for two slender men between 5 feet 10 inches and 6 feet tall. They wore gray hooded sweatshirts and are black or Hispanic.
On Sunday, Denise Klotsch said they never worried about her working until 10 p.m. Her husband often joked that he missed her complaining and said the house was too quiet, she said.
``They took something from me that I'll never have for the rest of my life,'' she said. ``He definitely loved his kids, and he loved me, for sure, too.''
The Klotsches, married for 24 years, met at a New Year's Eve party 25 years ago. In May, the family moved to Tampa from Wisconsin. Since then, he worked as a foreman at F&S Frame and Trim, a Palm Harbor custom home building company.
``The night I met him was the night I stayed with him forever, until last night,'' she said.
She said her husband liked to play the harmonica and hunt; he fished, but only because she enjoyed it.
His other love was his turquoise and chrome Harley-Davidson. He got the bike from his dad 25 years ago but couldn't afford to keep it running until his children got older.
For years, the bike sat disassembled in the dining room. One year it was decorated as the Christmas tree, his wife said.
Co-worker Van Powell, 27, of Holiday said Arnold Klotsch was a great boss. They car- pooled to work.
Powell's wife, Peggie, dropped Van off at Klotsch's house, and the two would ride to work together in a company truck that had ``Arnie'' detailed on the driver's door.
``You just don't meet people like that nowadays,'' Powell said. ``I never saw him in a bad mood.''
Just hours before the shooting, the two finished repainting the motorcycle's transmission.
``He just got it running perfect. That was his toy,'' he said.
Next-door neighbor Ed Taylor, a 12-year Timberlane resident, described Klotsch as an outgoing neighbor in an area where most people keep to themselves.
Taylor remembered the day Klotsch strolled over with an air compressor because he didn't want Taylor to be late for work.
``He was the guy who was willing to help anybody,'' he said. ``He was the newest guy here, but it seemed like he had been here forever. He was [a] very peaceful guy.''
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He took in stray dogs. He took neighborhood children to the park.
One day he even walked to a neighbor's house with an air compressor after noticing his neighbor's car tires were low.
On Saturday, it was that willingness to be helpful that ended his life.
The 45-year-old Town 'N Country man was found slain Saturday night behind the Albertsons liquor store at West Hillsborough Avenue and Memorial Highway.
Investigators speculate Klotsch saw two robbers coming out of the store just after 10 p.m. and followed them with his car to the back of the building.
That's when one of the robbers turned, fired two shots and killed Klotsch in his car, said Sgt. Alan Hill, spokesman for the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.
Klotsch was there to pick up his wife, Denise, 47, who was getting off work as a cashier in the adjacent Albertsons grocery store.
Hill said the same men robbed a Speedway gas station at 6211 N. Dale Mabry Highway on Wednesday. Deputies linked the two robberies by using the stores' surveillance tapes.
Hill said the men were armed with handguns and took an undisclosed amount of cash from a liquor store clerk.
Deputies are looking for two slender men between 5 feet 10 inches and 6 feet tall. They wore gray hooded sweatshirts and are black or Hispanic.
On Sunday, Denise Klotsch said they never worried about her working until 10 p.m. Her husband often joked that he missed her complaining and said the house was too quiet, she said.
``They took something from me that I'll never have for the rest of my life,'' she said. ``He definitely loved his kids, and he loved me, for sure, too.''
The Klotsches, married for 24 years, met at a New Year's Eve party 25 years ago. In May, the family moved to Tampa from Wisconsin. Since then, he worked as a foreman at F&S Frame and Trim, a Palm Harbor custom home building company.
``The night I met him was the night I stayed with him forever, until last night,'' she said.
She said her husband liked to play the harmonica and hunt; he fished, but only because she enjoyed it.
His other love was his turquoise and chrome Harley-Davidson. He got the bike from his dad 25 years ago but couldn't afford to keep it running until his children got older.
For years, the bike sat disassembled in the dining room. One year it was decorated as the Christmas tree, his wife said.
Co-worker Van Powell, 27, of Holiday said Arnold Klotsch was a great boss. They car- pooled to work.
Powell's wife, Peggie, dropped Van off at Klotsch's house, and the two would ride to work together in a company truck that had ``Arnie'' detailed on the driver's door.
``You just don't meet people like that nowadays,'' Powell said. ``I never saw him in a bad mood.''
Just hours before the shooting, the two finished repainting the motorcycle's transmission.
``He just got it running perfect. That was his toy,'' he said.
Next-door neighbor Ed Taylor, a 12-year Timberlane resident, described Klotsch as an outgoing neighbor in an area where most people keep to themselves.
Taylor remembered the day Klotsch strolled over with an air compressor because he didn't want Taylor to be late for work.
``He was the guy who was willing to help anybody,'' he said. ``He was the newest guy here, but it seemed like he had been here forever. He was [a] very peaceful guy.''
http://news.tbo.com/news/MGAV5YKVTCD.html
