Cops Corner: East County

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

May 29
Shedding light on the case
12:22 p.m. — 1100 block of W. Faith Circle. Scheme to Defraud. The victim reported an unknown person contacted her, claiming to be an attorney for the Guatemalan consulate. The suspect called and told the victim her grandson had been involved in an accident, which destroyed a light pole on the consulate grounds. He stated his client, the Guatemalan Consulate, didn’t want to pursue any charges against her grandson but needed $2,400 to fix the light. The victim, who borrowed the money, went to Publix and sent $2,400 via Western Union to the suspect in Guatemala City. A short time later, her grandson called and asked how she was. He informed her that he hadn’t been involved in any accident and that she’d been scammed. She immediately called Western Union to cancel the money order, but was informed it already had been cashed. The responding deputy collected the paperwork and receipt for the money order and had the victim complete a sworn affidavit detailing the incident. She also was given a case-card with a case number.

June 1
Storage wars
3:58 p.m. — 6500 block of 24th Avenue E. Burglary to a Conveyance. Unknown person(s) removed property from a storage building, as well as from the back of a boat parked on the property.

June 4
Off-court violation
8 p.m. — 5300 block of 53rd Avenue E. Petit Theft. Unknown person(s) took the victim’s bike, which was unlocked outside, while the victim was inside playing basketball. The complainant located the bike at an unknown location, while looking for the stolen bike. The bike was recovered and turned over to the victim prior to Manatee County Sheriff’s Office arrival. The victim didn’t see anyone take his bike, but suspected another player who had left practice early. The total value of the recovered bike is $200. A deputy responded to the location to get more information regarding the other player, but no one was at the facility. The victim was issued a case number with a victim’s rights brochure.

June 5
Family affair
1:31 p.m. — 2911 53rd Ave. E. Retail Theft. The two defendants concealed property and exited the store, passing all points of purchase without rendering payment. Store security stopped the defendants, and they were later arrested. The two defendants were transported to jail without incident. The defendants’ family was called to pick up the defendants’ children, who were with them during the offense.

Dubious driller
1:30 p.m. — 7395 52nd Place E. Petit Theft. An unknown male entered the store and selected a drill. The suspect was seen on video leaving the store, walking past all points of sale without rendering payment. An unknown customer wrote down the tag of the vehicle the suspect got into before fleeing the area. The responding deputy spoke with loss prevention and received a copy of the video, which was placed into police property.

June 6
Literary brigand
1:50 p.m. — 4700 block of Sabal Key Drive. Petit Theft. The victim reported a book he ordered on eBay was stolen from his front porch. He checked the tracking number provided by the United States Postal Service, and it showed it was delivered May 29. When he asked USPS about it, they claimed it was delivered and left by the front door.