Cops Corner

Oct. 18
Tough luck
12:25 p.m. — 6400 block of Seagate Avenue. Structure Fire. A man was moving into a new rental home. He was making several trips back and forth between his old home to move all of his belongings. After one of those trips, he arrived at his new home to discover it was on fire. Firefighters said it appeared a plastic bag, which was placed on the stove, caught fire. The man said he hadn’t used the stove, so firefighters assumed that someone had bumped the controls accidentally during the move. Damage was estimated at $30,000.

Oct. 19
Headed for trouble
3:06 p.m. — 2700 block of Mall Drive. Grand Theft. An employee of an adult video and lingerie shop is accused of allowing a friend to take $504 worth of merchandise and of pocketing $92 the friend gave her in return. The store’s manager discovered the theft when the previous night’s receipts only showed one sale for $7.48. After reviewing the video, she saw the employee’s friend come into the store and choose several items, including: a Marie Antoinette costume and wig, bra and panties, five adult DVDs and two adult toys. On the tape, the friend handed the employee the $92 cash, which was not in the cash drawer the next day.

Oct. 20
Physical science
3 p.m. — 1300 block of First Street. Suspicious Incident. A library employee checked inside a tutoring room and found two high school students inside having sex. The two were supposed to be studying for their science project, when, the girl said, “things kind of got out of hand.” Police say the incident was consensual. Both the boy and girl were sent home with their mothers, and the library employee asked that they be issued a trespassing warning.

Victim fights back
4:50 p.m. — 1 block of Marina Plaza. Car Burglary. A woman who parked her car on the bayfront while she went jogging returned to find a man sitting inside. She had left the keys on one of the tires. The woman approached the man after he got out of the car. He was carrying her keys and her wallet. She asked him what he was doing and wrestled the wallet out of his hands. The woman then called 911. Police caught up with the man while he was walking down the road.

Honesty is the best policy
5:30 p.m. — South Tamiami Trail and Central Sarasota Parkway. Driving Under the Influence. A deputy was following a suspected drunk driver, who was swerving back and forth over the center line and into the shoulder. When the deputy pulled the man over, he asked him if he had been drinking. The man replied, “Yes.” Then the deputy asked him how much, and the man said, “Enough.” He failed sobriety tests and was taken to jail.