Cops Corner: Sarasota

July 29
Bicycle bully
2:20 a.m. — 1700 block of South Tamiami Trail. Suspicious Circumstance. Police observed a pickup truck, carrying multiple people in the bed of the truck, drive by a bicyclist, at which time one of the truck occupants threw a can and struck the bicyclist. The truck was pulled over. The mother of the suspect, who admitted to throwing the can, came to pick up her son. The bicyclist couldn’t be located and no charges were filed.

Coleslaw criminal
1:23 p.m. — 1800 block of Morrill Street. Suspicious Circumstance. A man told police that someone entered his locked home, opened up a new plastic tub of coleslaw and ate a little bit of it. He told police this is not the first time someone has entered his apartment and ate some of his food. Police promised to watch the area carefully.

Porch shut-eye
6 a.m. — 400 block of South Osprey Avenue. Disorderly Intoxication. A man reported a drunken man sleeping on the porch of his apartment complex when he left for work. Police couldn’t find the man upon arrival.

Sail away
10 a.m. — 10 block of Bayfront Drive. Derelict Boat. Police gave a man a warning to remove his boat from the area within five days. The boat broke free from its mooring during Tropical Storm Debby and was left neglected until the owner arrived more than a month later to remove the boat. The motor was stolen and the boat had been stripped, leaving the man to remove what was left of his boat, using makeshift sails to move.

Stolen sunset
8:41 p.m. — 100 block of South Palm Avenue. Vehicle Theft. A man reported that someone stole his 2003 Chrysler minivan on Palm Avenue after he parked it and walked to the bayfront to get some sunset pictures.

July 30
Prescription plot
1:55 p.m. — 1200 block of South Tamiami Trail. Suspicious Person. A pharmacist told police a man dropped off a prescription that looked suspicious. The hospital confirmed they had issued no such prescription. Police urged the pharmacist not to fill the prescription and to call them if the man returned.

July 31
Sleeping beauty
8:56 a.m. — 3800 block of Chapel Drive. Suspicious Person. A man sleeping on the front steps of a church told police he was just resting. He agreed to go rest somewhere else.

Hungry shoplifter
11:45 a.m. — 1300 block of South Tamiami Trail. Shoplifting. Grocery store employees caught a woman shoplifting and detained her until police arrived. She was issued a trespass warning and a court summons.

Sugar shows the way
9 p.m. — 3300 block of Eighth Street. Criminal Mischief. A man showed police where someone put sugar in the gas tank of his Ford sport utility vehicle. A trail of sugar was in the grass and led to the rim of the vehicle’s gas tank. The man told police he had just informed his daughter’s boyfriend that he was no longer welcome in their house

Locked and confused
9:05 p.m. — 400 block of Seeds Avenue. Suspicious Person. Police responded to reports of a neighbor screaming, “Help me!” She was found in her front yard and told police she was locked out of the house. Police found the door unlocked and the woman made the long embarrassing walk back into her house.

Aug. 1
Clutter conundrum
10:05 a.m. — 3200 block of Fruitville Road. Family Dispute. An apartment manager reported clutter in front of a tenant’s apartment. Police advised that wasn’t a criminal offense. The tenant eventually gave the manager permission to haul the clutter away.

Repeat offenders
8:50 p.m. — 3800 block of South Tamiami Trail. Trespassing. A fast-food manager asked police to trespass two men from the property after they were repeatedly found hanging out at a picnic table in the parking lot. Police found they had previously been issued warnings and were taken to jail for the repeat violation.

Aug. 2
Sticky situation
3:30 a.m. — Intersection of State Street and Pineapple Avenue. Criminal Mischief. A woman reported that her white Kia was covered, inside and out, with raw eggs and syrup. Police also noticed what appeared to be chili and powdered sugar strewn about the car as well and a flattened front right tire. Fingerprints proved to be impossible to lift, due to the stickiness of the car. The woman couldn’t think of anyone that would pepper her car with the breakfast ingredients typically used to make French toast.