A Tamarac man ran off with $29 that a woman dropped while at a Home Depot in Sunrise and refused to return it, brushing the victim off with a "finders keepers" before using the cash to buy crack cocaine, police said.
But it may be 57-year-old Michael Futerman who is weeping now.
Futerman appeared before Broward County Judge John "Jay" Hurley Thursday and was ordered held on a $3,625 bond during his first appearance court hearing.
He is facing charges of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, petit theft, possession of cocaine and resisting a police officer without violence.
According to a police report, Futerman scooped up the cash from the floor at the store at 2901 N. University Drive on Monday. The $29 belonged to a Lauderhill woman, Ruth Mae Facyson, police said.
When Facyson and another store customer confronted Futerman, he fled to the parking lot and jumped into a black Mazda MX5. When Facyson stood behind the car shouting "That's my $29," Futerman told her to move away.
When she didn't move fast enough, Futerman backed the car up and struck Facyson on the right leg, police said. She told police she was not seriously injured.
Futerman drove away, but witnesses were able to give police his tag number which led investigators to his home.
According to police, Futerman struggled to get away when police arrived to arrest him and also attempted to conceal a small cocaine rock that was stored inside a pill bottle in his pocket.
Futerman later told police he 'found' the $29 and used most of it to purchase crack cocaine along Northwest 19th Street in Lauderhill, the report said.
The remaining three dollars of Facyson's money was found inside Futerman's car, police said.
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