Cops Corner: Sarasota

Sept. 14
Identity crisis
11 a.m. — 3800 block of South Osprey Avenue. Lost Property. A woman reported that someone stole the wallet out of her shopping cart at a grocery store. She had to file a police report to obtain a new driver’s license.

Mixed hand signals
11 p.m. — 500 block of North Washington Boulevard. Suspicious Person. A police officer made eye contact with a driver and noticed that the man made a scowling face at him. The same man then drove by the officer again and made a hand gesture “that looked more complicated than just a middle finger” before turning around and making the same gesture with both hands while hanging out of the side of the car. Police made a report, noting that the likelihood of the driver being a local gang member was high.

Sept. 15
Over before it began
12:25 p.m. — 500 block of South Pineapple Avenue. Civil Disturbance. A man told police that his restaurant business partner took all of the restaurant equipment to his house and that their deal fell through before they could open a restaurant. He asked an officer to stand by while he retrieved his equipment.

Sept. 16
This isn’t a hotel ...
2:20 a.m. — 1700 block of Main Street. Suspicious Person. Police found an intoxicated and confused individual trying to get into what he believed was his hotel. But the building he was trying to get into was a closed commercial building, and the security guard called police for assistance. The man was transported to his correct hotel.

Pound puppy
4 a.m. — Intersection of Fruitville Road and North Tuttle Avenue. Found Animal. A motorist reported a puppy chasing cars on Fruitville Road. Upon arrival, police found a brave puppy trying to scare a moving van. The puppy had no collar, and its owner could not be located. The puppy was transported to the police station and was placed in a holding cell until Animal Services arrived.

A deal’s a deal
9 p.m. — 600 block of Central Avenue. Suspicious Circumstance. A man told police that he pawned his car for crack cocaine the night before, but wanted to report the vehicle as stolen because he wanted it back. Police advised him that because he entered into an agreement to pawn the vehicle, it was not a theft.

Sept. 17
Who are you calling a chicken?
1:09 p.m. — 1000 block of North Tamiami Trail. Suspicious Person. A gas-station employee reported that a man jumping up and down, wearing a chicken suit and holding a sign was distracting motorists. The chicken was gone before police arrived.

Thorough test drive
2:36 p.m. — 2200 block of Bee Ridge Road. Vehicle Theft. A salesperson for a car dealership reported that a man left on a test drive with a 2006 Mercedes Benz three-and-a-half hours prior and had yet to return with the car. While police gathered information, the man returned with the car and had a lot of explaining to do to the car dealership.

Purse snatcher
11:30 p.m. — 1400 block of Main Street. Grand Theft. A woman reported that while she attempted to purchase a drink on the second floor of a nightclub, someone stole her purse that was hanging from the back of her chair. Security found the purse in the men’s bathroom, but it was missing two credit cards, $10 in cash and her driver’s license.

What a tool
11:33 p.m. — 2500 block of North Tamiami Trail. Criminal Mischief. A man told police that a middle-aged man vandalized his apartment by breaking a window with a pipe. The driver of a pickup truck also told police that the same man “attacked his truck” windows with the same pipe while he attempted to drive through a downtown roundabout. The man and his pipe could not be located.

Sept. 18
Singing the blues
12:14 a.m. — 1000 block of Boulevard of the Arts. Trespassing. A drunken man refused to leave a hotel and kept making lewd comments to the front desk staff while playing his guitar. The man was taken to jail after the only answer he would provide to questions was, “I want to speak to my lawyer.”

I’ve said too much
Noon — Intersection of State Street and Lemon Avenue. Suspicious Person. A man claiming to have worked in China with President Richard Nixon regarding communications equipment told police that he believed his former company was sending undercover operatives to his residence to spy on him. When the man told police he “did not have the liberty to elaborate any further,” police wished him well and decided not to investigate the case any further.

Gun shy
4:30 p.m. — 400 block of South Lime Avenue. Suspicious Circumstance. A woman reported someone firing a BB gun in the area. Police found the suspect — sans BB gun — and he denied ever having one in his possession.

Sept. 19
Park it
9:41 p.m. — 1200 block of North Palm Avenue. Trespassing. Police issued trespass warnings to two teenagers riding skateboards in the Palm Avenue parking garage.

Business blunder
7:30 a.m. — 300 block of Central Avenue. Suspicious Circumstance. A business owner told police that sometime over the weekend, someone overturned his hanging plants and went to the bathroom in the alley behind his business. Police promised to place extra patrol in the area.

Sept. 20
Electric charge
12:40 a.m. — 1700 block of Seventh Street. Theft. A man reported that someone stole a blue electric wheelchair, with the fanny pack attached to the left armrest, from his carport.