Cops Corner 09.30.10

The following information was gathered from incident and arrest reports obtained from the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office.

CANDLEWOOD
Sept. 21
 6:12 p.m. — 2800 block of 48th Way East. Criminal mischief. Someone cut a “T” in the victim’s screen door to his lanai. The victim thinks this probably occurred at 11 a.m., when someone knocked on the front door. The victim and his wife decided not to answer because they were busy. The victim believes the cut may have been an attempted entry, but the perpetrators were scared away by the victim’s dogs.

MANATEE OAKS
Sept. 21
 10:49 a.m. — 3100 block of 47th Avenue East. Occupied burglary. The victims are husband and wife. The wife, who uses a chairlift to get up and down the stairs of their two-story house along with a walker, was upstairs. Her husband had run an errand and was not home. The wife heard a continuous knock at the front door but did not go downstairs to answer it. The wife then heard loud banging and noise from the back of the house and yelled down, thinking it was her husband. She was able to look out the window and saw an unknown male wearing a white T-shirt and dark pants riding away on a black bicycle. When her husband did not respond, the victim went downstairs and discovered the rear sliding door had been removed.

QUAIL RUN
Sept. 20
 10:51 a.m. — 4300 block of 74th Avenue East. Petit theft. The victim reported that on Sept. 4, an unknown party took from her mailbox an envelope that contained a check for stamps. The victim stated the check had not been cashed, and she put a stop on it. A report has been filed with the U.S. Postal Service.

OTHER
Sept. 20
 1:23 p.m. — 6500 block of State Road 70 East. Possession of marijuana and possession of paraphernalia. A student was found in possession of marijuana and paraphernalia on school grounds.

Sept. 21
11:52 a.m. — 2900 block of 53rd Avenue East (Walmart). Retail theft. The defendant entered the business and selected several DVD movies. The defendant wrapped the merchandise in aluminum foil and concealed the items inside his pants. He then exited the store without paying for the merchandise. The security gate failed to activate the security system because the merchandise was wrapped in foil.

 2:30 p.m. — 5400 block of University Parkway (Home Depot). Retail theft. Store security observed the defendant concealing items (cutting blades) between the sheets of drywall in his cart. The defendant then proceeded to checkout and paid for the drywall but did not pay for the concealed items. He was stopped outside the store and escorted back in. The concealed merchandise was valued at $80, and all items were recovered. The defendant was arrested and transported to jail without incident.

4:15 p.m. — 8700 block of State Road 70 East. Operating motor vehicle without valid license. While on routine patrol, the deputy observed a pickup truck with an obscured tag. The tag had three decals on the license plate, with the current decal sticker attached to the bottom left side. The deputy initiated a traffic stop, and when he asked for the driver’s license, the defendant responded, “I can’t; I don’t have a license.” After obtaining a name and date of birth from the defendant, the deputy made multiple attempts to locate a valid license. No record of a license or ID card were found. The deputy then returned to the defendant’s vehicle and asked if he had been arrested for driving with no license before. He stated he had received a court summons about 18 months ago but had never been arrested. He was given a written warning for the obscured tag, and the deputy placed the defendant under arrest for operating a motor vehicle without a valid license. The defendant was transported to the jail. The vehicle was left in the parking lot with the registered owner, who was a passenger.