Cops Corner: Sarasota

Aug. 9
Don’t shoot yourself in the foot
3:35 a.m. — 800 block of South Osprey Avenue. Miscellaneous Offense. A man took a sleeping aid to help him doze off, and he said it had a strange side effect. He told police that at 10:30 p.m., he went to his dresser drawer, pulled out his 9 mm gun, loaded it and then “must have pulled the trigger.” He said he didn’t remember firing the gun, but there he was with three separate bullet wounds to his own hand. The man iced his wounds and tried to go back to sleep but wasn’t able to do so. He called his girlfriend, who urged him to go to the hospital. Officers asked him why he waited five hours to get medical attention. He replied that he was “old school” and thought he “could tough it out.” That and he was also embarrassed he shot himself. The man appeared to be telling the truth. It’s now up to the State Attorney’s Office as to whether any charges will be filed.

Trailer trashed
9:40 a.m. — 100 block of Golden Gate Point. Vehicle Burglary. A couple of landscapers left the door on their work trailer ajar, while they were performing their duties. When they returned to the trailer, they discovered a weed eater and an edger had been swiped. A condo manager is checking the surveillance tape to see if the crime was recorded.

Impact fee
11:30 a.m. — 2100 block of Bay Street. Criminal Mischief. A construction worker had parked his personal vehicle on a work site. When he returned to his vehicle after a day of labor, he noticed a small group of dents in it, as well as some yellow paint that appeared to have scratched off onto his vehicle after some sort of impact.

Game over
10:20 p.m. — 5900 block of Clark Center Avenue. Grand Theft. A woman was inside a videogame room and placed her purse on the ground to play a game. She walked away from the game, forgetting her purse. When she remembered, she went back to where she left it, but it was already gone. A check of surveillance tape showed a young man picking up the purse and perusing through it. Deputies caught up with the young man, who claimed he thought it was his fiancee’s purse. He said he gave it to his fiancee, who left the establishment with it. Upon further questioning, he admitted that he may have placed the purse in his truck. The purse was not there, but an eyeglass case belonging to the victim was. A quick look around resulted in the discovery of the stolen purse underneath a nearby car. The victim said a digital camera was missing. The young man said the camera may have fallen out of the purse. As he was being arrested, he told deputies, “I should have run when my friends told me the manager was calling police.”

Aug. 10
Honesty is the best policy
1:05 a.m. — Ashton Lake Drive and Clark Road. Driving Under the Influence. A deputy pulled over a driver for an inoperable car-tag light. He asked the driver for his driver’s license and registration and was met with a blank stare. He made his request several more times and, finally, the driver reached into his pocket and pulled out a wad of cash and tried to hand it to the deputy. The deputy told him he needed a driver’s license, but the driver handed over a Florida I.D. card instead. He had no license. During a sobriety test, the driver admitted that he had had “a beer or two.” The deputy told him he wanted to see if the man was OK to drive, and the man responded, “I’m not OK.” Off to jail.