Cops Corner

April 16
All locked up
11:24 a.m. — 3600 block of Bayou Circle. Vandalism. A woman reported that someone keeps vandalizing her pool, which includes changing the pool’s valves, which partially drained the pool. To combat the miscreant, the homeowner is turning her pool into a miniature version of Fort Knox, complete with a tall, security fence and multiple security cameras.

April 17
A thief’s best friend
12:56 p.m. — 6800 block of GMD. Larceny. A woman told police that she believes an elderly lady stole her wallet at a shopping center. She thinks that when she bent down to pet the woman’s dog, whom she believes acted as an accomplice in the wallet snatching, the woman walked behind her and nabbed her wallet from her purse. The woman told police she could identify both suspects.

April 18
On the fence
3:56 p.m. — 300 block of North Shore Road. Trespassing. Police told an association president that if he didn’t want trespassers walking through condominium property, a fence should be built to keep them out.

Waste not, want not
3:57 p.m. — 300 block of North Shore Road. Code Enforcement. Police discovered a group of young adults on the beach with a cooler full of beers. Police explained that the only cans allowed on the beach cannot contain alcohol in them. One young man volunteered to remove the cooler from the beach promptly and place it in his vehicle for consumption at a later time.

April 19
Up the stream without a kayaker
10:09 a.m. — Off the Key. Unsecured Boat. Police found a kayak afloat up against some mangroves in the north perimeter of a canal without anyone in or near the vessel. A neighbor helped police secure the kayak to a nearby dock.

April 20
You’re so vain
2:15 p.m. — Longboat Pass Bridge. Traffic Violation. A police officer, who had issued a man a ticket in January for driving his Rolls Royce with a vanity plate labeled “Angells” while his license was revoked, saw the same man driving the same car again. The man looked down and away as he passed the police officer on the bridge. After discovering his license was still revoked, the police officer arrested him. Apparently, the man is no angel.

April 21
Language barrier
8:09 a.m. — 500 block of Putter Lane. Soliciting. A man called police to report that a business card was lying in his driveway, which he presumed was the result of illegal soliciting. Police contacted the cleaning company listed on the card to explain that its employees couldn’t solicit on Longboat Key, but the woman who answered the phone did not speak
English.

Movie marathon
2:36 p.m. — 2900 block of GMD. Fraud. A woman told police that while she was paying bills online, she noticed that someone had used her debit card to pay for more than $400 worth of charges at Blockbuster. Her bank advised her to cut up the card and file a police report. But, this thief might be hard to find — he seems like a homebody.

Word to the wise
4:17 p.m. — 2400 block of GMD. Public Service. A woman told police that while she was walking from her car, she stepped on a loose utility-hole cover and suffered a calcaneus fracture. After police realized what she was talking about, they realized that only on Longboat Key would a woman describe a broken heel in such proper medical terms.

Key assistance
11:28 p.m. — 6900 block of GMD. Public Service. When a woman fell in the parking lot coming out of a bar, she told police she had only consumed one glass of wine and was good to drive. To be safe, police gave her a ride home and told her husband to put her car keys in a safe place until morning.

April 23
I know it’s here somewhere
12:35 a.m. — 4100 block of GMD. Traffic Violation. Police were sure they had a classic driving-under-the-influence case when they observed a car swerving on Gulf of Mexico Drive. But, they realized the driver they pulled over was sober. He was climbing all over his car looking for his missing wallet while driving.

Excuses, excuses
10:16 p.m. — 3500 block of GMD. Traffic Violation. Police observed a man in a truck following a car too closely and pulled him over. The man refused to produce his driver’s license and proof of insurance until he was told why he was pulled over. When the police officer explained that he was tailgating, he told the policewoman that was not a valid reason for being pulled over. But, in the end, the police officer had the final word on the validity of the law and issued the man a ticket.