Cops Corner

Dec. 12
On the Brinks
12:36 a.m. — 13000 block of South Tamiami Trail. Suspicious Incident. Two men and a woman were in a discount-store checkout line ready to pay for several carts full of items. The cashier became suspicious, because the trio had large wads of cash — crisp $20s and $100s. After scanning all the items, the cashier saw something at the bottom of one of the carts. One of the men said that the item didn’t belong to him. Upon closer inspection, the strange thing in the bottom of the cart was a heavy-duty chain with a nylon sleeve around it that had “Brinks” printed on it. The sheriff’s office is contacting the armored-car company to see if it lost any money recently.

Dec. 13
Payment plan
10 a.m. — 200 block of South Pineapple Avenue. Theft. It didn’t take long for a bank to discover that a couple who just opened a checking account had forged their deposit check. The couple asked to open the account with a check for $824. The next day — before the bank could fully examine the check — the couple withdrew $500. They had stolen a payroll check from a business in Bradenton.

Dec. 14
Wasted alcohol
11:24 a.m. – 3500 block of South Osprey Avenue. Petit Theft. A bar owner discovered that six to eight beer kegs had been stolen from behind his business. The kegs had been secured, but someone wrestled them free.

Too cool for school
5:05 p.m. — South Tamiami Trail and Hillview Street. Suspicious Person. The complainant told police two 16-year-old boys were walking in the middle of South Tamiami Trail in between traffic.

Dec. 16
Shot in the dark
1:08 a.m. — San Remo Terrace. Suspicious Vehicle. A pickup truck carrying construction material was swerving while it approached the Siesta Drive bridge. Once at the apex of the bridge, the driver stopped, although there’s not much to see at 1 a.m.

Active imagination
1:11 a.m. — 1000 block of Boulevard of the Arts. Disorderly Conduct. A cab driver called police after a passenger refused to pay his fare. The driver picked the man up at a strip club and drove him to a hotel. Once at the hotel, the passenger said it was the wrong hotel and offered to pay an extra $2 to be taken to the correct hotel. The driver asked for the money, but the passenger tried to leave in a different cab. Police arrived and found the passenger to be drunk. He asked the officers what would happen if he didn’t pay, and the officers warned him that he’d be arrested. The passenger then made up several stories about the cab driver. First, he said the cab driver kidnapped him. Then he said the driver was trying to pick up hookers. And, finally, he told officers that it was really the cabbie who was drunk _ not him. In the end, the passenger paid the fare and went on his way.