Cops Corner: Sarasota

July 13
Indecent proposal
3:30 p.m. — 800 block of Tamiami Trail. Suspicious Person. A man who attempted to rent space at a flea market made the property owner feel uncomfortable when he hugged her for an extended amount of time and kissed her on the cheek. He then said he wished she was not married with children, because she was the kind of woman he “would like to have sex with.” When police contacted the man, he claimed to have sustained head injuries that caused him to forget the incident ever occurred.

July 17
Hack job
7:29 a.m. — 2200 block of Bee Ridge Road. Grand Theft. A car dealership employee notified police when he noticed three Cadillac sport utility vehicles were damaged. When officers reviewed security camera footage, they spotted a thin man with a shirt around his face remove the rear bumper of one vehicle, the front bumper and hood of another truck and the front bumper and side grills of the third car. The employee suspected a chop shop in Port Charlotte was somehow involved.

July 19
Father knows best
2:44 a.m. — 2000 block of Adams Lane. Disturbance. When police responded to a reported disturbance in Payne Park, a young girl, whom the caller had described to police, fled from officers to a car dealership. Police took the girl home to her father after restraining her. Officers said the father seemed angry with the girl.

He said, he said
10:50 a.m. — 3300 block of Tamiami Trail. Disorderly Conduct. Two men involved in a road-rage incident gave police conflicting reports. One man said the other man was driving extremely slow and continually cutting him off when he tried to change lanes, then followed him down a side street and began haranguing him. The other man said he was driving the speed limit and the other man was driving erratically and tailgating him. The first man admitted to yelling at the other driver.

Tool time
10:54 a.m. — 500 block of Beneva Road. Petit Theft. A store employee caught a man attempting to shoplift. The man tripped an alarm trying to cut the security tags off a set of $100 tools. When officers confronted the man he admitted to possession of paraphernalia. Police found items consistent with crack cocaine use in the man’s pocket.