Cops Corner: Longboat Key

May 18
Door-to-door don’t
1:55 p.m. — 500 block of Putter Lane. Soliciting. Police contacted a company representative after receiving a report of soliciting and finding on a mailbox a door hanger advertising a spring air-conditioning service. The representative said she didn’t know about the town’s ordinance and would tell company agents to stop soliciting.

All in a day’s work
3:26 p.m. — 500 Harbor Cay Drive. Suspicious Person. A caller reported that suspicious persons were “eye-balling” boats in the area. Police found two men who matched the caller’s description. Their boss, who owns a vessel detailing company, was picking them up via boat.

Found wallet
4:25 p.m. — 5400 block of GMD. Property Found. A man turned in a brown wallet that only contained a New York driver’s license.

May 19
Fly(er) guys
1:02 p.m. — 500 block of Putter Lane. Soliciting. A man reported that two boys who appeared to be in their early teens were passing out flyers in the neighborhood.

Moving violation
4:16 p.m. — 3400 block of Winding Oaks Drive. Trespassing. A guard reported that a man driving a U-Haul improperly accessed a neighborhood after the guard told him that moving trucks were prohibited after noon on Saturdays. The man told police that he had been moving items out of his grandmother’s house all week and returned that morning to move a dresser but found that the van he rented was too small. The man claimed the guard on the morning shift had agreed to make an exception for him when he returned, but when he got back, he couldn’t find the original guard. The man said that another employee told him to follow him through the gates. Police told him to ask for a supervisor if a similar situation arises.

Swan pond
7:52 p.m. — 3000 block of Harbourside Drive. Trespassing. A man reported that two men were drinking beer and fishing in a golf-course pond and worried that the fishing activity could endanger the pond’s swans. Police warned both men that they were trespassing and told them they could be arrested if they return to the property.

May 20
After hours
3:37 a.m. — 100 block of GMD. Code Enforcement. After finding five people near a park bench alongside the shoreline, police warned them against being in town parks between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m.

RAFT REFUSE
8:52 a.m. — Off the Key. Property Found. Police placed an inflatable raft that was found semi-submersed and unable to be used, at a town dock for Public Works to retrieve.

Late arrivals
3:05 p.m. — 500 block of Putting Green Lane. Missing Person. Police checked nearby waters for two kayakers who ultimately returned home late.

May 21
Tag troubles
6:41 a.m. — 700 block of Tarawitt Drive. Disturbance. A Clearwater man told police that he sold is trailer to a Longboat Key man more than a year ago and allowed him to take his license plate to get the trailer home. The man never returned the tag, didn’t register the vehicle in his name and since then has received multiple SunPass toll violations showing pictures of the trailer and the now expired tag. Police warned the Longboat Key man, who said he had already mailed the license back, that driving the trailer without a properly registered tag could result in criminal charges.

Leaching live-aboard
3:40 p.m. — Intersection of Linley Street and Bayside Drive. Suspicious Person. A restaurant manager told police that a man who has long matted hair and lives on a red sailboat nearby, has been loitering on the property, using the restaurant’s bathroom and asking for free food. The man wasn’t present when police arrived, but the manager said he would call police if the man returned.

May 22
On the hook
1:15 p.m. — 2300 block of GMD. Illegal Fishing. A man who was reportedly spear-fishing snook told police, “I knew it was wrong, can you cut me a break? My son’s in jail. Please?” He voluntarily opened his dive bag for police. It contained a 3-foot snook along with a spear gun and flippers. Police called a wildlife officer for assistance, who issued the man a notice to appear for three fisheries violations.