Cops Corner: Longboat Key

Jan. 18
The devil’s in the details
9:35 a.m. — 700 block of Dream Island Road. Suspicious Person. A resident called police after a man knocked on the door of his home and scared a family member. The man said that he details the residents’ vehicles. The resident confirmed that the man does detail his vehicles but said that he had no work for the man that day.

Returned credit card
11:37 a.m. — 600 block of Longboat Club Road. Property Found. Police returned a credit card to its owner after a man found it while taking a walk.

No butts about it
2:35 p.m. — 3100 block of GMD. Public Service. A man reported that a woman was smoking cigarettes on the beach and discarded cigarette butts in the sand. The man showed police several hundred cigarette butts that appeared to be old. Police found the smoker, who apologized and said she would not revisit the beach access or throw more butts in the sand.

Jan. 20
Suspect search
11:33 a.m. — Off the Key. Assist Other Agency. Police helped Sarasota officers search the waters for a burglary suspect.

Labor dispute
1:05 p.m. — 600 block of Putter Lane. Disturbance. Two workers got into an argument on the job. The project manager told police he would keep the two men apart.

Cart caper
4:21 p.m. — Linley Street. Larceny from Public Property. A woman said that she and her husband went kayaking after taking their vessels to a boat ramp on two small carts. When they returned from kayaking, they found that one cart was missing. Police were unable to find the cart or the culprit.

Tools of the trade
6:25 p.m. — 3500 block of Bayou Circle. Suspicious Vehicle. Police responded to a report of a suspicious vehicle. A man told police he was retrieving equipment for the dock-and-seawall company for which he works.

Security check
11:50 p.m. — 5300 block of GMD. Security Check. During a routine check, police found that a restaurant door was unsecured and located the key holder.

Jan. 21
Safe and sound
11:43 a.m. — 6100 block of GMD. Missing Property. A woman reported her rented bicycle missing. Police found that the bicycle had already been returned to the rental shop because someone thought that it had been abandoned.

A drink that packed a punch
3:10 p.m. — 3500 block of Bayou Circle. Battery. A woman told police that she and her boyfriend drank alcohol and then got into an argument during which he punched her in the arm. The woman, who was visiting from Ohio, told police that she would stay with a friend in Sarasota until flying home and said she didn’t want to prosecute. Police tried to speak with the suspect but couldn’t get him to open the door and were unsure if he was at the residence.

Jan. 24
Biting the dust
9:10 a.m. — 500 block of Putter Lane. Public Service. A construction foreman agreed to take steps to mitigate concrete dust after police received a complaint.

Out of line
9:48 a.m. — Intersection of Gulf of Mexico Drive and Companion Way. Fire. Police and firefighters responded to a report of arcing wires but found nothing arcing. They asked dispatch to notify FPL about a lose wire, which turned out to be a cable line.

Sharp turn
11:20 a.m. — 500 block of Dream Island Road. Parking violation. Police spoke to two women who said that a sharp turn on their street prevents drivers from seeing pedestrians and bicyclists. Police relayed the concerns to a Public Works official, who agreed to do a site survey to determine proper signage.

Police presence
8:42 p.m. — Off the Key. Disturbance. A woman reported that a group of people on Jewfish Key was drinking, being loud and had started a fire. Longboat Key Fire Rescue and the U.S. Coast Guard weren’t immediately available to transport police to the island, but by the time police called the woman back, she reported that she had scared the group off by telling them police were on their way.

Jan. 25
Need to belong
4:28 p.m. — 7000 block of GMD. Suspicious Circumstance. A man reported that an unknown man and woman were walking down a street with an 18-pack of Busch beer and “didn’t belong there because they’re not residents.”

Safety concerns
7:43 p.m. — 2500 block of GMD. Traffic Violation. A man flagged down police to report that an elderly woman was talking to herself and repeatedly getting in and out of her car. The woman said that she was talking to herself because of family issues and told police that she was fine. Police activated emergency lights after they saw her exit her parking space with no headlights, however, the woman kept driving at 5 mph without the lights on before eventually rolling to a stop. The woman repeatedly reached under her dash instead of the headlight switch after police told her she was driving without headlights. Police issued the woman two written warnings, sent a request for re-examination form to the Division of Drivers Licenses and drove the woman home.