Cops Corner

Oct. 24
Take me to your leader
11:39 p.m. — 1800 block of South Tamiami Trail. Suspicious Person. A caller reported that a person on a bicycle was looking into store windows. The suspect was wearing a football jersey and a green alien mask. Or was it a mask?

Oct. 25
Of little concern
12:45 a.m. — 1800 block of Fourth Street. Disorderly Conduct. Two men flagged down an officer, saying another man had been chasing them. They described the man as “sweaty and only spoke Spanish.” When the guy approached them, he appeared drunk, and the men said they felt threatened. The officer located the suspect and said he was a known drunk. However, he was not drunk enough to be taken into custody, so the officer took him home. When the officer returned to the original scene and told the two men how he handled the situation, one of the men became upset and pointed his finger in the officer’s face, demanding the man be arrested. He said he had felt threatened. However, the officer pointed out that the two men were both 5 feet, 10 inches tall, and the drunk man was 4 feet, 11 inches tall and weighed 130 pounds.

Oct. 26
Someone’s been sleeping in my bed
Midnight — 9500 block of High Gate Drive. Suspicious Incident. The complainant owns a condo, but only stays there seasonally. She left town in May and returned on the above date and noticed that her furniture was moved around, the floors were dirty and there was food in the kitchen that she did not leave there. But nothing was stolen or damaged. Three people were allowed in the condo, while she was gone — a painter, a maid and another woman who was supposed to check the appliances. A deputy told the woman that it was possible the painter moved the furniture to do his job and he or the two women may have put food in the kitchen and forgot about it. The deputy told the woman to call the three people about the changes to her condo.

Opa!
12:45 a.m. — 8200 block of South Tamiami Trail. Petit Theft. A waiter said after a customer had finished eating his meal, he shoved his plates off the table and onto the ground. The waiter went to grab a broom, and the customer took off out the restaurant’s back door and drove away. The waiter was not able to get a license plate number.

Creep alert
5 a.m. — 1700 block of Siesta Drive. Suspicious Person. In the middle of her early-morning jog, a woman noticed a man on a bicycle was following her. He would pass by as she ran and then circle back. Whichever road she turned down, he would follow. She finally ducked behind some bushes next to a home and hid there for an hour. When the lights came on inside that house, she knocked on the door and asked to use the phone to call her husband. The stalker could not be located.

Suspect fingered
4:04 p.m. — 13000 block of Tamiami Trail. Grand Theft. A discount-store security guard reported that a known suspect had stolen six televisions and one computer from the store. At the scene a deputy was able to get fingerprints, which are being compared to the suspect’s prints.

Hungry man
7:40 p.m. — 3900 block of South Tamiami Trail. Shoplifting. A scruffy man with long gray hair walked into a drug store and headed straight for the frozen-food case. He grabbed six frozen dinners and walked to the checkout line. The man asked for two packs of cigarettes and then told the clerk he was going to another checkout line, because that one was too long. Instead, he walked right out the front door. Police will be reviewing the store’s surveillance tape.