Cops Corner: East County

The following information was gathered from incident and arrest reports obtained from the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office. 

Dec. 8
Road rage
11:59 p.m.— 5800 block of 53rd Avenue E. Discharge Firearm from Vehicle with Intent to Commit a Felony. Deputies responded to a call of road rage. A person fired a handgun at a vehicle, while trying to run it off the road. The person shot the gun from his own vehicle and was driving drunk. No one was hurt. The person who fired the gun was arrested without incident.

Dec. 12
Double trouble
6:28 p.m.—6200 block of State Road 64. Shoplifting and Possession of a Controlled Substance. A woman at a department store concealed items in a bag and then exited the store without paying. Deputies searched her and looked through her purse. They found a morphine pill inside the purse.

Dec. 12
Home invasion
9:10 p.m.— 4300 block of Fairfax Drive. Burglary. Authorities are looking for a man who forced his way into an East County home at gunpoint and demanded money, before fleeing.A police report states the suspect rang the doorbell to the residence. The victim answered the door, but did not see anyone. The suspect forced his way into the home at that time, demanding money and other items.The victim complied with the demands and was forced into her bedroom closet while the suspect fled.

Dec. 13
Scam alert
3:33 p.m.—6700 block of 66th Avenue East. Information Only. In March 2009, a man received a phone call by a person claiming to be with Microsoft. The company charged nearly $400 per year to help the man with his Microsoft O.S. Two years later, the customer told the company he wanted a refund. The company said they would disperse a refund of $230. They never did. Later, the company abruptly withdrew $499 from the customer’s account. The customer contacted his bank. The bank returned the money. The company continues to pester the customer with phone calls. Law enforcement is investigating the case.

Dec. 13
Who’s home?
3:38 p.m. — 6600 block of 38th Street East. Information Only. A person(s) entered a residence that had been purchased as a short sale and is undergoing renovations to be put on the market. The person(s) changed the front door locks of the home and cut the home’s grass. A rear kitchen window was found unlocked. Her handyman who said the locks had been changed sometime after he had worked on the home contacted the home’s Realtor. The Realtor suspected the bank might have mistakenly thought the home was in foreclosure. The Realtor put a sign in the yard and left her business card inside, stating she is the Realtor for the property.

Blood mystery
6:06 p.m. — 3500 block of 55th Place East. Information only. A woman parked her car in her driveway. The next day, a large pool of blood was discovered next to her car in the driveway. There was blood on the bumper of the car. Also, drops of blood led down her driveway and into the street. A cracked eyeglass lens sat in the blood next to the car. No other information was available.