Cops Corner: Longboat Key

Nov. 18
Feeling a little empty
2:10 p.m. — 6900 block of GMD. Dumping. A real-estate agent told police that Code Enforcement has contacted him in the past about trash that was improperly dumped on a property he is listing. The trash the agent pointed out to police consisted of four empty Coors light beer cans. Police disposed of the cans and told the agent to contact the property’s owner to request regular service.

Safety first
6:26 p.m. — 6600 block of GMD. Emergency Message/Welfare Check. A woman pulled in front of another driver while on her way to work on the Key. The driver of the other vehicle followed her, and as she exited her vehicle he told her she needed to be more careful. The woman asked police to patrol the area because of the event.

Smoke signals
10:14 p.m. — 4500 block of GMD. Fire. Police and firefighters responded to a report of smoke at a condominium and found the source of smoke to be a nearby transformer that had overloaded.

Storm surge
11:42 p.m. — 300 block of GMD. Public Service. Police heard a loud group of people on a golf course but couldn’t find the subjects. The group might have returned to the clubhouse because of the rain.

Nov. 22
Unidentified falling object?
4:32 p.m. — 1200 block of GMD. Property Damage. A man reported that an unknown object broke the glass across the top of his vehicle at an unknown time and unknown place. Police found marks indicating that something had fallen on or struck the glass roof portion of the vehicle, which caused the glass to shatter.

Suspicious vehicle
8:04 p.m. — 700 block of Hideaway Bay Lane. Suspicious Vehicle. Police responded to a report of a suspicious vehicle and saw a man step out of the bushes and into the back of the vehicle. Police told the man about the town ordinance that restricts after-hours commercial work.

Nov. 23
Fraud alert
4:06 p.m. — 1700 block of GMD. Fraud. A man sent $2,450 via Western Union to a Brooklyn, N.Y., location after a man who claimed to be an attorney representing his grandson in a criminal case called. The man’s caregiver became suspicious and attempted to stop the transfer. Police advised the man to check his financial accounts for fraudulent activity and forwarded the case to a detective.

Nov. 23
In denial?
11:07 a.m. — 1900 block of Harbourside Drive. Property Damage. A condominium employee noticed a woman driving away from the property’s parking garage in a Porsche shortly after he heard a crashing sound. The employee noticed damage to a Cadillac and contacted the owner, who called police. The husband of the woman who owns the Porsche approached police and denied that his wife’s vehicle was involved in the crash. Police observed that the Porsche’s license plate frame was secured by bolts of similar shape and size as the indents in the Cadillac’s bumper but completed the case as a property damage report, rather than a crash report, due to denials and a lack of eyewitnesses.

Burning the evidence?
7:58 p.m. — 100 block of GMD. Narcotics Violation. A man told police that they smelled burned cannabis because he had smoked marijuana earlier that day but that he was not the man whom a caller said was smoking in a park. Although police pointed out that the man was the only person who matched the caller’s description, they found no obvious evidence of marijuana on him, and the man left without incident.

Is something fishy?
11:52 p.m. — 800 block of Broadway. Suspicious Person. Police warned a group of youths to stay off private docks after observing them fishing off of a restaurant dock.

Nov. 24
Dial ‘M’ for ‘Misplaced Call’
12:49 a.m. — 5400 block of Sandhamn Place. Abandoned 911 Call. A man told police that his fax machine might have called 911 while he and his wife were sleeping. The man said that he tried unplugging the fax machine after police received repeated 911 calls from the residence over the summer and plans to have his phone lines checked out.

Having a blast
1:04 a.m. — 1100 block of GMD. Fireworks. Police warned a man who was discharging fireworks in the roadway.

Missing wallet
11:57 a.m. — 500 block of Bay Isles Parkway. Lost/Missing Property. A man noticed his wallet was missing on Thanksgiving Day and told police that he probably dropped it the day before at a grocery store. He told police he would call the store the following day.

Broken windows theory
1:58 p.m. — 1600 block of GMD. Property Damage. The longtime owner of a shuttered resort noticed a broken window at one of the property’s former businesses. The man told police that some members of the unit owners association are angered by court proceedings and could have broken the window to show their frustration.

Bicycle theft
3:25 p.m. — 500 block of Hornblower Lane. Larceny from Residence. A man reported that his bicycle was stolen from inside his garage and reported seeing a Toyota minivan pull into and back out of his driveway.

They just want to talk
11:40 p.m. — 500 block of Bay Isles Parkway. Suspicious Vehicle. Two college students who were home for the Thanksgiving holiday told police that they had left their family home to talk and parked their vehicle near a vacant restaurant.

Nov. 25
Clean-up effort
10:41 p.m. — 200 block of GMD. Fire. A restaurant oven caught fire after employees accidentally sprayed an oven with stainless steel cleaner instead of oven cleaner. Employees extinguished the blaze before firefighters arrived.