Cops Corner

May 7
Legal lights
9:38 p.m. — 1600 block of GMD. Fire. Police responded to a report of a bonfire on the beach at The Colony Beach & Tennis Resort. The two bonfires were contained in ceramic outdoor fireplaces, and no action was taken. 

May 10
Grounds keeper
5:28 p.m. – 500 block of Ranger Lane. Property Damage. A woman reported that someone drove through her yard and caused $1,000 worth of damage by displacing lava rock and tearing the layer of plastic underneath it.

Net worth
6:06 p.m. — 800 block of Broadway. Fishing. A U.S. Fish and Wildlife officer informed police that a fishing net a man was using on his boat was legal.

May 11
Getting docked
7:28 a.m. — 600 block of Hibiscus Way. Unsecured Boat. A man called to report a 45-foot houseboat had drifted up to the seawall near his dock. The man was worried that when the tide came in, the boat would hit his dock and cause damage. The homeowner called a towing company to move the boat away from the dock.

Blown fuse
9:45 a.m. — Off the Key. Fire. A Longboat Pass bridge tender reported a blown electrical transformer. Police spotted the malfunctioning transformer near North Shore Road and kept an eye on it until it was repaired.

May 12
Fuel spill contained
1:43 p.m. — 500 block of Gulf Bay Road. Fuel Leak. Police and the Fire-Rescue Department watched a man funnel fuel spilling from his Jeep into a large container. The Jeep was towed for repairs once the fuel was recovered.

May 13
Too hot to handle
10:01 a.m. — 6800 block of Longboat Drive South. Fire. Palm fronds were observed touching electrical wires, which caused the vegetation to spark. Police monitored the area until the power company arrived to fix the problem. 

Word of mouth
10:15 a.m. — 3700 block of GMD. Soliciting. A man was told he couldn’t solicit in the mobile-home park without town approval.

Clean sweep
11:16 a.m. — 5900 block of GMD. Missing Property. A woman called to report that she was missing a $3,800 white-gold, diamond butterfly from the linen closet of her bedroom. She told police her housekeeper brought in several helpers to assist with cleaning up after a party.

Abandonment issues
12:25 a.m. — 5900 block of Emerald Harbor Drive. Suspicious Vehicle. A man reported a suspicious blue truck on the south side of Emerald Harbor Drive. The owner couldn’t be located, and the vehicle was noted as abandoned.

May 15
Shore thing
10:07 a.m. — 100 block of North Shore Road. Public Service. Police dismantled three shelters that were built in the vicinity of the closed North Shore Road beach access.

Naked ambition
2:50 p.m. — 3900 block of GMD. Sex Offense. Police found a naked beachgoer sitting in a chair near the Gulf of Mexico. Upon seeing police, the man got up, held his chair in front of his groin area and ran for some sea oats. He was charged with public nudity and issued a notice to appear in Sarasota County Court.

Retaining water
6:34 p.m. — Intersection of GMD and Outrigger Lane. Public Service. A man’s canoe began taking on water, and police helped him transport the canoe to the police department.

Suspicious sailors
10:58 p.m. — 6000 block of GMD. Suspicious Persons. Police found four teenagers on a boat that was tied after hours to a dock at a marina. Police said the boys acted suspiciously when approached and said they were looking for fish near the dock when their boat broke down, even though they had no lines in the water. Police called the boy’s father, who came to the marina and determined the boat was in working order. The boys were advised not to come back to the marina after hours.

May 17
Real Christmas-tree car scent
1:56 a.m. — 600 block of GMD. Traffic Violation. Police pulled over a woman leaving the Chart House parking lot late at night. It was discovered the woman was a receptionist for a real-estate agency and was working late. Police, however, found it odd that the woman had a dead Christmas tree lying in the back of her car. She said it was too heavy for her to carry.