Cops Corner: Sarasota

Aug. 14
You light up my life
5:20 a.m. — 700 block of South Palm Avenue. Suspicious Incident. Someone outside a condo building was shining a light on a woman while she was inside her condo. The light would follow her around. Everywhere that Mary went, that light was sure to go.

Pantless in Sarasota
12:19 p.m. — 4100 block of South Tamiami Trail. Suspicious Person. A woman without pants or underwear was spotted sitting on a pile of bricks. She appeared to be in pain. Well, she was sitting naked on a pile of bricks.

Aug. 15
Crooked contractor
1:47 p.m. — 2800 block of Sterling Lane. Grand Theft. A woman had hired a man to do some work on a home she owned. One day, she began reviewing the invoices he was giving her and noticed something fishy. She was billed for the installation and purchase of 20 doors. Her home only has nine of them. She was also charged for two hot-water heaters and was billed twice for the installation of the same kitchen sink. When she fired him, he took some building materials the woman had purchased. Deputies were not able to immediately locate the man.

Let’s get physical
2:28 p.m. — 2300 block of Pinehurst Street. Disturbance. A neighbor called the Sheriff’s Office to report two people in an argument. The responding deputy found two 16-year-old girls, who said they were arguing over where to hang out. The girls said they may have been talking loudly, but they didn’t get physical.

Moon river
4:31 p.m. — 100 block of Siesta Drive. Disorderly Conduct. After enduring a parade of kids constantly climbing her fence to jump into the water from an adjacent bridge, a woman called police to complain. She said the kids chase her dogs and bend her fence when climbing on it. On the above date, a girl flipped her the bird and a boy mooned her.

I’ve got a new girl now
6 p.m. — 4600 block of Maceachen Boulevard. Harassing and Obscene Phone Calls. A woman has received three or four harassing phone calls since October. The calls are a recording of a couple having sex. She suspects an ex-boyfriend recorded them and is behind the calls. If that’s the case, he certainly holds a grudge for a long time. She broke up with him five years ago.

Handy coolers
8:55 p.m. — 100 block of South Pineapple Avenue. Suspicious Incident. Complainant reported about 15 homeless people in a park yelling and laughing loudly. The complaint said the homeless people keep ice and beer in the park trash cans.

Back on his feet again
10:46 p.m. — 3900 block of Torrey Pines Boulevard. Impaired Person. A man called the Sheriff’s Office, because he just had “the $&!% kicked out of him” by his daughter. He was lying on the ground and told the responding deputy that his back was broken. When the deputy asked for his name, the man sprung to his feet and began swearing at the deputy. He appeared to be highly intoxicated. He then claimed to have blood on his face, but the deputy didn’t see any. Another woman in the house told the deputy there was no argument — the guy was just drunk. The deputy was taking him to an alcohol-treatment facility, until the man became belligerent and began hitting his head on the plexiglass divider in the patrol car. He was quickly rerouted to jail.

Aug. 16
Love Hertz
12:42 a.m. — 300 block of South Polk Drive. Attempt to Locate Vehicle. A man told police that his girlfriend took his car two days earlier and had not yet returned it. He tried calling her, but she didn’t answer her phone for several hours. Once she did answer, she told her boyfriend that the car had been towed in North Port. Police checked, but there was no report of the vehicle being towed. The man said his girlfriend has a drug problem, and he had given her permission to borrow the vehicle in the past. She always returned it. This time, though, he did not grant permission. The vehicle is still missing.

Swim meet
2:13 a.m. — 2100 block of Payne Parkway. Suspicious Person. Police found a man in the pond at Payne Park. He was lying in the vegetation, asleep and surrounded by beer cans and used cigarettes. Police say he was highly intoxicated. He was asked to leave, but became belligerent. He was handcuffed and escorted to an alcohol-treatment facility.