Cops Corner

June 20
With friends like that …
Midnight — 6300 block of Gateway Avenue. Petit Theft. A man was nice enough to invite an acquaintance to his home to hang out during a rain storm. And this is how he’s paid back. The two were sitting on the porch, when the homeowner stepped inside for a minute. Once he was out of sight of the front door, he heard the door slam. The friend grabbed a video game and ran. The homeowner did not chase him, because he was holding a baby. The man gave his friend a few days to return the game, but he has yet to do so.

Not the ficus, too!
9:21 a.m. — 1800 block of Southpointe Drive. Burglary. A woman’s home had been burglarized twice, so she decided to move. She had been making several trips to deliver her belongings to her new home. Upon returning after one of those trips, she discovered that she another burglary. The thieves took several items of clothing, a first-aid kit and a potted ficus tree. The woman suspects a neighbor’s children are the culprits.

Gas distribution startup business
11:31 a.m. — 200 block of Casey Key Road. Grand Theft. A boat owner reported during the past six months someone siphoned about 300 gallons of gas from his boat, which was docked behind a motel. There are no suspects.

Cancel the room-service order
5 p.m. — 1800 block of Stickney Point Road. Obtaining Lodging with Intent to Defraud. A motel manager said a customer asked to pay for a room for one night, and he paid for that stay. But the next day, the customer did not leave. In fact, he stayed for four more days without paying. Each day the manager tried to get some money out of the man, who only said that his friend and business associate was going to pay for it. The manager contacted that man, who was not a friend, but the manager of a rehab facility. The rehab manager said the motel customer had been kicked out of his facility for rules violations. He did not agree to pay the motel bill. The customer racked up a $222 motel bill that he could not pay and was arrested.

June 21
Wash is dry
1:45 a.m. — 5800 block of Nelson Avenue. Business Burglary. A thief pried his way into a cash box at a car wash, but he was a few hours too late. The manager had emptied all the money from the machine before leaving for the evening. Deputies were able to find three fingerprints on the cash box.

June 22
Personal pickup denied
7:30 a.m. — 300 block of Old Venice Road. Disturbance. When a school bus failed to pick up two boys on time, their parents called the school board to complain. The switchboard operator told them that the bus was running late, but it would arrive at the bus stop shortly. That did not suffice for the parents, who lived a block away from the bus stop. They insisted that the bus drive to their home to pick up their sons. The operator told them that was against the district’s policy. The parents hung up the phone, but called back several more times to complain, using vulgar language at times. A deputy went to the parents’ home, but they refused to answer the door.

June 23
Let’s get hitched
9:15 a.m. — 800 block of South Tamiami Trail. Officer Assistance. A woman driving on U.S. 41 was trailing behind a pickup truck with a small trailer attached to it. The pin securing the trailer’s tailgate broke, and the tailgate fell onto the road. The woman didn’t have time to swerve out of the way and ran over the tailgate. There was no visible damage to the woman’s car.