Cops Corner: Sarasota

Sept. 22
Cut off
2:22 a.m. — 3400 block of North Tamiami Trail. Disorderly Conduct. A bartender told police that a man was causing a disturbance while he was trying to close up the bar. Officers transported the intoxicated man back to his hotel room.

Mobile upgrade
2:25 p.m. — 2800 block of South Tamiami Trail. Robbery. A man told police he was waiting for a bus when a man on a red bicycle approached him and asked for a cigarette. While the man attempted to get him a cigarette, the bicycler snatched the bus pass out of the man’s hand and ran away.

Police presence
8:05 p.m. — 500 block of Gillespie Avenue. Noise Disturbance. A woman complained of loud music coming from a car that was surrounded by several men. The music was turned down by the time police arrived, and police advised them to keep it that way.

Sept. 23
Keeping the pace
8:33 a.m. — 1500 block of First Street. Suspicious Person. A security guard told police he had an uneasy feeling about a man who was pacing pack and forth from the bus station to the sidewalk. The pacer, who appeared to be homeless, told police he was “nervous and scared someone was going to hurt him.” The man promised he would enter a nearby facility if he felt the need to hurt himself or anyone else.

Sept. 24
Father knows best
9:20 p.m. — 100 block of South Pineapple Avenue. Dispute. A father told police that his daughter’s boyfriend has been driving by his home and screaming obscenities at him. The dispute might have something to do with the fact that the father doesn’t want the boyfriend to date his daughter. The father planned to file a restraining order against the boyfriend.

Sept. 25
When a craving hits ...
3:20 a.m. — 1100 block of Central Avenue. Burglary. The owner of a convenience store told police someone broke into his establishment by breaking a plexiglass window and stole $165 worth of Newport cigarettes from above the cash register.

Change of heart
9:15 p.m. — 1000 block of Cocoanut Avenue. Family Dispute. A woman told police that she was in the middle of a fight with her aunt, who was trying to kick her out of her house. The aunt told police she is tired of her niece hanging out with the wrong crowd, and if it continues, she is no longer welcome to live with her. When police offered the niece a ride to a youth shelter, she told police she would comply with her aunt’s request.

Sept. 26
Dog on the loose
8:15 p.m. — Intersection of Alta Vista Street and Lincoln Drive. Lost Dog. A woman flagged down a police officer and explained that while she was dog-sitting, the dog ran away when she removed the leash at her apartment. Henry, a white border collie/German shepherd mix, couldn’t be located.

Sept. 27
Circling around
11 p.m. — 1700 block of South Tamiami Trail. Suspicious Person. A hospital public safety officer told police officers that he saw a suspicious man on a bicycle circling the Arlington Street parking garage, near a neighborhood where several burglaries have occurred. The officer promised to alert police if he saw the man again.

Sept. 28
Batman strikes again
2:05 p.m. — Intersection of Central Avenue and Myrtle Street. Suspicious Circumstance. A man told police he was walking westbound on Myrtle Street when he was struck in the head with a plastic Batman figurine while a school bus passed him. Police discovered to which school the bus had been loaned, and the school planned to pull its seating chart and interrogate students likely to have thrown the Batman figurine.

The door’s always open
5:01 p.m. — 1700 block of Ingram Avenue. Suspicious Circumstance. A woman reported an open front door at a neighbor’s home. Police found the door open and discovered the home was mostly empty, although some furnishings remained and a car was parked outside. Police secured the home and left a business card behind.

Ten-se moment
5:21 p.m. — 6900 block of Beneva Road. Worthless Document. A gas station employee reported receiving a fake $10 bill from a customer. The customer told police she got it from a nearby McDonald’s. The bill was taken into evidence.

Nailed to the crime
6 p.m. — 8200 block of South Tamiami Trail. Theft. A woman told police she saw a customer take some nail polish from a shelf and put it in her purse. Mall security discovered two bottles of unused nail polish in her purse valued at $17. The woman was arrested.

This is not a sit-in
8:30 p.m. — 3400 block of Fruitville Road. Trespassing. A hotel manager told police that a man sitting on the sidewalk on the east side of the hotel refused to leave. Police transported the man to jail for trespassing and violating an open container law by being in possession of a malt liquor beverage.

Sept. 29
Time to grow up
12:45 a.m. — 1300 block of Daryl Drive. Suspicious Circumstance. A mother asked police to check on the welfare of her daughter. Police knocked on the door of her home, but no one answered. When police walked around back, they saw a large pot with several marijuana plants growing inside. When police knocked on the window, the blinds opened and then were quickly shut. The daughter and her boyfriend refused to come to the door, so police confiscated eight marijuana plants and planned to try and lift fingerprints off the pots.