Cops' Corner 08.13.09

The following information was gathered from incident and arrest reports obtained from the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office.

LAKEWOOD RANCH
 July 28
5 p.m. — 8330 Market St. (Publix). Grand theft. A purse was stolen from inside the Publix after the victim left it next to the cashier on the counter in the checkout lane. Several valuables were in the purse, including $900 cash. The unknown suspect is on video and the video has been placed into property and evidence.

Aug. 1
8 a.m. — 7800 block of Lake Club Boulevard. Burglary. Sometime overnight, unknown person(s) forcibly entered the unoccupied guard shack. Entry was made by pulling open a door that was in poor condition and covered by plastic to keep it from leaking. The person stole several items.

MANATEE OAKS
 July 30
11:04 p.m. — 3000 block of 50th Avenue Drive East. Robbery by sudden snatching. The victim reported an unknown black male had come up to her as she arrived home and attempted to grab her purse, which she had over her shoulder. As the male grabbed her purse, she started to scream. The man ran back toward a brown sedan with what appeared to be another male driving. The vehicle headed eastbound away from the address and could not be located. No neighbors witnessed the incident.

PALM-AIRE
 July 29
12:01 a.m. — 8400 block of Garden Circle. Petit theft. The complainant reported that unknown person(s) stole the hubcaps off the vehicle. She stated that she and her husband, the registered owner, left for vacation July 15 and returned July 28. She said a neighbor heard people talking either Sunday or Monday night but did not think anything was amiss. She also stated that a friend picked up her mail on July 26 but did not notice if the hubcaps were missing.
8:15 a.m. — 7900 block of Estates Drive. Criminal mischief. At about 8:05 a.m., the complainant reported that sometime between midnight and 7 a.m., someone had run over his cable junction box, located on the corner of Estates Drive and Cypress Lakes Boulevard. The complainant stated that at midnight, he had cable but at about 7 a.m., he did not have cable. He also stated the suspect drove through his lawn and tore it up. He did not wish to report on that because he said the grass would grow back.

RIVER CLUB
 July 30
9:15 p.m. — 6200 block of River Club Boulevard. Possession of cannabis less than 20 grams and possession of paraphernalia. The defendant was stopped for driving without headlights on. Post stop, the deputy noticed the smell of cannabis about the vehicle. A search recovered a small amount of cannabis and a pipe with burnt cannabis inside. The defendant admitted to consumption and possession of the cannabis post-Miranda. The defendant was released on a notice to appear. The vehicle was released to the registered owner, who was the defendant’s father.

STONE CREEK
 July 31
7:10 a.m. — 2900 block of 34th Avenue Drive East. Burglary. The victim said she left her home around 7:10 a.m. and returned around 5:45 p.m. When she walked in to her bedroom, a large jar she had filled with coins was missing. No other items were missing.

OTHER
 July 27
7:09 p.m. — 2800 University Parkway (Hess). Robbery. The victim was approached in the parking lot by the suspect, who took $20 dollars from the victim and later punched him in the jaw with a closed fist. The suspect left on his bike in an unknown direction.

July 30
9:30 p.m. — 5300 block of 30th Street East. Petit theft. The complainant reported that the light bar atop of his security vehicle had been stolen while parked at the business overnight. He stated the suspect pulled of the light bar and cut the cable.

Aug. 2
1:05 a.m. — 4200 block of State Road 64 East. Petit theft. The complainant reported that two unknown black males grabbed four cases of beer and then fled in a westbound direction. The complainant was busy with customers and did not get a good description of the suspects. The sales associate got a limited description of one of the males. The store may have caught the suspects on its security video.