Cops Corner

May 7
Bargain hunter
7:30 p.m. — 3500 block of South Tamiami Trail. Fraudulent Use of a Credit Card. A library employee had her wallet and credit cards stolen from her purse while she was at work. She called to cancel the cards but found out they had already been used. The thief had gone on a shopping spree at a department store, a pet store, an office-supplies store, a shoe store, two discount stores and two supermarkets. A busy day of shopping. An employee at the shoe store said he remembered the person who made the purchase with the card, because she had distinctive freckles and a mole on her face and had two children with her. That description matches that of a woman who was at the library earlier and who caused a scene over a late fee.

May 9
Where have I seen you before?
12:24 a.m. — 1900 block of Ringling Boulevard. Trespassing. A bouncer reported an underage girl tried to use a fake ID to get into a bar. She attempted to use a friend’s ID — a friend who had just entered the same bar and handed the same bouncer the same ID. Genius.

May 12
Here’s a tip for you ...
11 a.m. — 40 block of South Palm Avenue. Petit Theft. A hairstylist gave a customer a $50 haircut. The customer said she only had $42. The hairstylist told the woman to go to an ATM and get more money. The woman left, but she never returned. She is not returning the hairstylist’s phone calls. The stylist says she knows it’s only $8, but she wants to prosecute because of the principle. She said the customer lives at the Ritz-Carlton, while she herself is in the process of losing her home.

I scream, you scream
10 p.m. — 2300 block of Gulf Gate Drive. Business Burglary. The owner of an ice-cream shop says he’s been having problems with drunk people destroying his property. In the latest incident, a $150 wooden bench that sits on his patio was stolen. The bench was nailed to the ground, but the burglars pried it off and took it. Last week, one of the ice-cream shop’s patio tables was stolen, and ketchup bottles were used to squirt ketchup on the ice-cream shop’s windows. The owner did not report either of those incidents.

May 10
Hey, what did that car do to you?
12:30 a.m. — 900 block of Beach Road. Criminal Mischief. A woman parked at the beach reported an unknown person punched the windshield on her rental car, causing a spiderweb effect on it.

Armed, but not dangerous
11:31 p.m. — 800 block of Goldenpond Court. Attempted Burglary. A homeowner was opening the blinds on a sliding glass door that opens to his lanai, when he saw an arm reaching across the doors. All he saw was an arm, nothing else. The arm, and presumably the body to which it was attached, got away. Perhaps the sheriff’s office can create a lineup of arms, so the victim can identify the burglar.

May 11
That’s just wrong
9:23 a.m. — 1600 block of Oak Street. Harassing Phone Calls. A woman said she has been getting upsetting phone calls on her office answering machine. The calls have been coming from her daughter’s ex-boyfriend. He was making vulgar comments about the woman’s daughter.

Show and tell
5:30 p.m. — 8200 block of South Tamiami Trail. Juvenile Disturbance. Two Riverview High School students, a boy and a girl, were caught together in the men’s restroom at a shopping mall. A sheriff’s office report states that the two were “fooling around.” The activity was found to be consensual, so no charges were filed. The amorous couple was asked not to show their faces, or anything else, at the mall again.

One man’s trash …
9 p.m. — 4000 block of Waikiki Drive. Petit Theft. The victim reported that someone stole her garbage can. She placed it in her front yard and noticed it was missing the next day. The woman doesn’t know who could have taken it. That’s a good question …

May 12
Big tipper
11 a.m. — 40 block of South Palm Avenue. Petit Theft. A hairstylist gave a customer a $50 haircut. The customer said she only had $42. The hairstylist told the woman to go to an ATM and get more money. The woman left, but she never returned. She is not returning the hairstylist’s phone calls. The stylist says she knows it’s only $8, but she wants to prosecute because of the principal. She said the customer lives at the Ritz-Carlton, while she herself is in the process of losing her home.