Cops Corner: Longboat Key

Nov. 19
Maybe he had a meltdown?
11:18 a.m. — 4100 block of GMD. Lost/Missing Property. A property manager reported that various tools, a can of fuel and a 13-inch snowman were missing from the parking garage.

Nov. 21
Parking problems
8:52 a.m. — 5600 block of GMD. Parking. A truck driver told police he was parking in a manner that partially obstructed the sidewalk because it was safer than the alternatives in a convenience store’s small lot. Police thought the explanation made sense but discussed less obtrusive options.

Nov. 23
Wrong turn
11:55 a.m. — 2100 block of GMD. Property Damage. An automatic gate closed, striking a bicyclist in the head after he tried to ride in after a car. The bicyclist wasn’t hurt and said that he was trying to enter the complex to turn around. He offered to pay for the damages.

Under control
7:11 p.m. — 3000 block of Grand Bay Boulevard. Fire. By the time police and firefighters arrived, a fire that started in a parking garage storage room had been extinguished by sprinklers.

Nov. 24
Shift change
12:05 a.m. — 4700 block of GMD. Suspicious Vehicle. The driver of a reported suspicious vehicle in a hotel parking lot turned out to be an employee waiting for his roommate whose shift wasn’t over yet.

Hide and seek
9:17 p.m. — Gulf of Mexico Drive and General Harris Street. Suspicious Person. A caller said that she saw a suspicious man near a church. The man then walked to the driveway of a sign store and appeared to be trying to hide from the caller.

Dangers of drunk dialing
11:12 p.m. — 4700 block of GMD. Disturbance. An intoxicated woman called police because her intoxicated boyfriend was standing in front of her in an intimidating way. While grabbing the phone to call police, the woman accidentally knocked a lamp off a table. The man left the condo where the couple was staying before police arrived.

Nov. 25
NIGHT SWIMMING?
1:08 a.m. — 300 block of Broadway. Trespassing. Police warned two people who were on the beach after hours and told them that the beach is closed between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m.

Probable claws
1:09 p.m. — 4400 block of GMD. Suspicious Circumstance. A man in a kayak in the Gulf of Mexico was removing crab traps from the water. Police confirmed the man is the owner of the traps.

Where there’s smoke ...
1:39 p.m. — 600 block of Longview Drive. Fire. A group of people who were staying in a house for the weekend burned debris in a fire pit and then took the ashes and dumped them in a grassy area across the street before leaving, causing the grass to catch on fire. A neighbor put out the fire but called the fire department because she still saw smoke.

Loud leaves
10:44 p.m. — 500 block of Chipping Lane. Suspicious Circumstance. A woman was working downstairs and heard a suspicious noise upstairs. Police showed her that the culprits were large palm fronds that were causing noise by blowing against the roof.

Nov. 26
Mailbox came out of nowhere
9:53 a.m. — 700 block of Marbury Lane. Property Damage. The driver of a red Mercedes passed a garbage truck and struck a mailbox, breaking it at the post, before driving away.