Cops Corner: East County

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

Feb. 10
Just browsing
11 a.m. — 6402 Shoal Creek Street Circle. Unarmed burglary to an unoccupied conveyance. Unknown suspect(s) entered the Chevrolet van via an unlocked passenger front door, which had broken window. Nothing was taken from the van, but the glove box had been ransacked, and papers were about the inside of the vehicle.

Feb. 13
Minor details
12:01 a.m. — 4600 block of 30th Avenue East. Fraudulent use/possession of another’s ID without consent. The victim stated her bank notified her a person had made a fraudulent check using her information and cashed it out of state. She provided images of the check, which had her routing number and checking number but a different bank and name and address of another individual. The complainant researched the address and discovered it was registered to the person whose name was on the check. It is undetermined if the name on the check also is fraudulent.

Feb. 16
Stolen spirits
4:17 p.m. — 8500 block of Cooper Creek Boulevard. Petit theft from building. The complainant reported the suspect, an employee, stole alcohol from the discount liquor store. The complainant stated the suspect entered the store and retrieved the vodka from the sales floor. He then placed the item in his jacket or pants to conceal it. The suspect then left the store and got into a waiting vehicle. The incident was recorded on the store’s surveillance. The suspect has stolen from the store before. The vodka was valued at $30. The complainant was able to provide the vehicle tag, but the tag provided didn’t come back to a registered vehicle. The complainant wasn’t able to provide a description of the vehicle’s driver. The responding deputy advised the complainant to contact the Sheriff’s Office if the suspect returns to the store, and to let the Sheriff’s Office know as soon as a copy of the video surveillance is available.

Five-finger discount?
5:09 p.m. — 14400 block of Arbor Green Trail. Trespass warning. The complainant advised there were two young females in the store she suspected of stealing items. The responding deputy entered the store and found the two juveniles. He asked them if they were attempting to conceal items. One of the suspects explained she had some nail polish in her pocket; however, she had money and explained she was going to pay for the items. It was determined she did have money on her. The manager advised she was not going to sell them anything and took possession of all of the items the girls had with them. She then trespassed the girls in the responding deputy’s presence. He then escorted the two suspects outside and obtained their information. Fingerprints weren’t obtained because of the girls’ ages. The trespass warning was explained to them. The girls were released from the scene and allowed to walk home. Both girls were negative for wants or warrants.

Fake Filings
Reported Feb. 15
 10:58 a.m. — 3500 block of 55th Place East. Fraudulent use/possession of another’s ID without consent. The IRS contacted the victim on Dec. 14, 2011, and advised unknown person(s) obtained her personal information and filed a fraudulent income tax return in an attempt to receive a refund for several thousand dollars. The victim was advised she was the victim of identity theft. IRS officials stated the agency caught it before any refund was paid. The victim has been doing everything she has been instructed to do to prevent any further fraud using her identity.

Feb. 16
 9:43 a.m. — 4900 block of 79th Street E. Fraudulent use/possession of another’s ID without consent. Unknown person(s) obtained the victim’s personal identification and used it to file a fraudulent 2011 tax return. The victim received an email after filing his tax return stating it had already been filed. The IRS advised the victim to make a police to file the return again.