- Suzanne M. Jensen was charged with trespassing on the Tampa, Florida base last month
- At least once, the 50-year-old got into the especially well-guarded home to U.S. Central Command–which overseas operations throughout the Middle East–by climbing atop a trash can
- She previously served time for illegally entering Virginia’s Fort Myer last August
- Charges were dropped after another 2007 trespassing arrest near Fort Bragg in North Carolina
PUBLISHED: 13:37 EST, 9 July 2013 | UPDATED: 16:49 EST, 9 July 2013
How does she do it? Homeless woman Suzanne Jensen, 50, has a military base problem. She’s managed to enter Tampa’s MacDill Airforce base four times since October and has at least one other previous arrest for trespassing on a base
A homeless woman has managed to sneak into a heavily guarded Florida air force base four times since October and records show she’s done it on other bases before.
Suzanne M. Jensen was charged last month for trespassing in Tampa’s MacDill Air Force Base for the fourth time where, in various ways, she’s managed to live for up to days at time.
Last summer, the 50-year-old was charged with entering Fort Myer in Virginia. And, in 2007, Jensen was charged with two federal trespass counts near North Carolina.
This, according to a Tampa Bay Timesroundup of the wannabe sergeant’s sneaking around the past few years, this time onto a base even more locked down than many other posts.
Since September 11, 2001, security at American bases has been airtight. And MacDill is an exception, if only because it takes its security even more seriously because it is home base for U.S. Special Operations Command and Central Command – two high level subsets of the U.S. military command.
Last month, Jensen was charged on the four trespassing counts and for possessing a stolen military identification. The charges stem from incidents that began October 1, 2012.
That’s when a retired Air Force officer was heading to his boat, only to find it was already in use by the homeless woman.
As it sat docked at the MacDill marina, Jensen was holding the boat’s keys. The perplexed owner, Barney D. Morris, likely wasn’t any less confused after Jensen’s explanations.
‘Jensen told him she was with Intelligence Operations and had just come from the Pentagon, which she claimed had given her permission to board all of the boats,’ reads Jensen’s arrest affidavit, dated June 26.
Jensen then leapt into the water and swam away. A six-hour search, involving local and base authorities as well as K9 and air units, ensued to no avail.
But when a wet Jensen was spotted at a base restaurant, she was cited and told to leave the base and not return.
Stealthy: Despite airtight security, Jensen has been caught on MacDill Air Force Base four times, even staying on it for days on end
Amphibious: During one MacDill break-in, Jensen was found in a retired officer’s boat at the base’s marina. She told him she was from the Pentagon and allowed to enter ‘all the boats’ before leaping into the water and swimming away
On November 18, base personnel had a less dramatic, albeit equally, encounter with the slippery Jensen, after she was discovered at the MacDill fitness center.
She tried to pass off a stolen ID as her own and then showed base security how she’d gotten into the base this second time.
Low tech: By dragging a trash can from a softball field (pictured) near the base’s walls, Jensen said she was able to climb into MacDill when she broke in the second. The homeless woman was warned again to leave and not come back
SUZANNE JENSEN’S LOVE AFFAIR WITH MILITARY BASES: A HISTORY
Homeless woman Suzanne Jensen has a knack for breaking into military bases. She’s made it into Tampa’s MacDill Airforce Base four times, sometimes staying for days and despite airtight security, and has a history with at least one other base.
2007: Jensen was arrested in North Carolina near Fort Bragg. Records for the exact nature of the federal trespassing charges are unavailable and were later dropped.
August 2012: Jensen was arrested for trespassing in Virginia’s Fort Myer base. She was found guilty and sentenced to time served.
October 2012: A retired officer at MacDill found Jensen on his boat in the base’s marina. She claimed she was ‘with Intelligence Operations’ and had permission to ‘board all of the boats.’ She then leapt in the water and swam away. A 6-hour manhunt ensued.
November 2012: Jensen was spotted in the base again and showed security how she’d scaled a wall using a trash can.
December 2012: Jensen was found on the base again, hiding behind a vehincle. ‘A brief foot chase’ ensued.
January 2013: The homeless woman was again caught inside the perimeter of the base and again showed security her knack at scaling MacDill’s walls.
In spite of top-level security and trained military personnel numbering over 10,000, Jensen managed to get in simply by climbing a wall with a trash can she’d pulled from a softball field that adjoins the base. Jensen was again warned to go away and not to come back.
Strike three came on December 17, when, according to the Tampa Bay Times, Jensen was found hiding behind a parked car and nabbed ‘after a brief foot chase.’
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MacDill officials wouldn’t comment Monday, saying they were working together with federal authorities on the matter. So it is unclear how or why Jensen was again released.
But she got a fourth and, it seems, final chance, in January when she was found on the base yet again.
According to the arrest affidavit:
‘For about eight days she had been living inside a boat that was on a trailer parked in the base’s family Camp area.’
Jensen said she’d again scaled a wall to enter the base.
Jensen has yet to be arrested on the charges.
But, amazingly, her history with stealing into military bases goes back even further, to 2007 when she was arrested near North Carolina’s Fort Bragg base on federal trespassing charges.
It is unclear if the charges, which were later dropped, stemmed from her actually entering Fort Bragg.
It is clear, though, that in August 2012, Jensen was arrested, charged, and found guilty of trespassing in Virginia’s Fort Myer base.
She was later sentenced to time served.
Old habits: Jensen was caught on Virginia’s Fort Myer (pictured) earlier in 2012. She was charged, convicted, and sentenced to time-served
Way back in 2007, Jensen was arrested near North Carolina’s Fort Bragg and charged with trespassing. The charges were later dropped. Though the current charges still stand, Jensen has no attorney and hasn’t been arrested
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2358989/MacDill-Air-Force-Base-Homeless-woman-Suzanne-M-Jensen-snuck-times-lived-days.html#ixzz2YbZUYr00 Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook