Cops Corner

Feb. 6
Road rage
7:55 a.m. — 1000 block of John Ringling Boulevard. Improper Exhibition of a Firearm. A driver going south on U.S. 41 near Gulfstream Avenue reported a man in a Jeep following closely behind her, honking his horn and flipping her the bird. She turned to go over the Ringling Bridge, and he followed her, still honking and gesturing. She said he drove up next to her and flashed a handgun, before speeding away. Police caught up to the man, and he admitted the confrontation. He said, however, that he did not own a gun. He allowed an officer to search his car, and no gun was found. The man said he was upset with the woman, because she ran a red light at U.S. 41 and 10th Street. He defended his actions as appropriate under the circumstances. The officer told him his actions were not appropriate and that he should control his anger.

Feb. 7
Midnight meeting
1:36 a.m. — 5000 block of Circled Oak Drive. Grand Theft Auto. When a father went to check on his 15-year-old son about midnight, he noticed the teen was not asleep in his room and, in fact, he was not in the house at all. His wife’s car was also missing. The mom called the Sheriff’s Office and told them to search near the boy’s girlfriend’s house. Sure enough, there was her son … and her car. The boy was arrested.

Forget me not
5:06 p.m. — 5600 block of Swift Road. Petit Theft. A man leaving work placed his wallet on the top of his car, while he changed his shirt. He got into his car but forgot to get his wallet. After a few blocks, he realized his mistake. By then, the wallet was gone. The man drove back to his work and searched the parking lot, but his wallet was not there. One of his co-workers was standing outside at the time, and the man insisted the co-worker took the wallet. The co-worker denied the accusation.

Feb. 8
Teenage angst
9:17 a.m. — 7000 block of Lago Street. Criminal Mischief and Petit Theft. The operations manager of a park reported extensive damage due to vandalism. A trash-dumpster enclosure, four picnic tables, four garbage-can holders and two trash cans sustained large dents. Two other trash cans were stolen. The manager believed some neighborhood kids were responsible.

Cash ’n’ carry
3:23 p.m. — 5400 block of Clark Road. Suspicious Incident. A man walked into a bank and wanted to exchange $2,500 in $1 bills. A bank employee thought it was suspicious and told the man he’d have to open an account first. The man became belligerent and started to swear. He left, but the bank asked the Sheriff’s Office if it would issue a trespassing warning against him. A deputy contacted the man and reported there was nothing suspicious about him. The man exchanged his money at a different bank.

Wise choice
10:20 a.m. — 1000 block of South School Avenue. Juvenile Disturbance. A sheriff’s deputy was called to a high school because a special-needs student was refusing to go to in-school suspension. The assistant principal told the teen that if he didn’t go, he would be suspended. The boy still refused. The deputy warned the boy that if he continued to disrupt school operations, he would be taken to jail. The boy replied, “I don’t care.” After being handcuffed and walked toward the deputy’s cruiser, the boy said he didn’t want to go to jail and would go to in-school suspension.

Lights, camera, action
8:29 p.m. — 3100 block of Novus Street. General Suspicion. A man became upset when he noticed his neighbor had a video camera in his window that appeared to be trained on the bedroom of his 11-year-old daughter. The neighbor told the man he had the camera, because he was part of the neighborhood watch. The father called police, and an officer asked to inspect the camera. The officer saw that the camera was focused on the neighbor’s own driveway and yard. When the camera was zoomed in to the father’s house, the image became too grainy to make anything out.

Feb. 8
Lassie wannabe
12:12 a.m. — 2700 block of Wood Street. Animal Problem. A neighbor complained that a dog at a nearby home had been barking for the last three hours.