Cops Corner: Sarasota

Oct. 17
SUPPORTING ROLE
3 p.m. – 100 block Gulfstream Avenue. Theft. A maintenance worker arrived at work to discover that the aluminum support-beams were missing. At least 60 aluminum support-beams were taken from the job site, where they were used to support a condominium’s structure during construction. The construction area was closed off and locked.

Oct. 21
HE BOOKED IT OUT OF THERE
6:40 p.m. – 3900 block Tamiami Trail. Petit Theft. A store manager reported that a man with a buzz cut and goatee, who was wearing a green shirt, dark-colored shorts and work boots, came in and stole a carton of cigarettes. The suspect left in a small, blue car. Just after police received the first call, a manager at another store called police about someone who came into the store and tried to steal a Nook tablet from a display table. The tablets are secured to the table with safety devices, and the subject had attempted to use a screwdriver to pop the safety device off the Nook. The suspect ran out of the store when a store employee confronted him. According to the store manager, the same suspect had attempted the theft several times.

Oct. 22
SPARE CHANGE
7 a.m. – 1700 block Ninth Street. Burglary. Two laptops, two TVs, a Playstation and some quarters were taken from inside a home.

Oct. 23
CUDDLY CLOTHES
2 a.m. – 800 block N. Tamiami Trail. Lodging Out-of-doors. An officer contacted a homeless man, who was using a shirt for a blanket and his backpack as a pillow. The officer transported the man to a homeless shelter.

DOOR’S ALWAYS OPEN
6:34 a.m. – 1600 block Main Street. Trespass. While on routine patrol, an officer issued a verbal trespass warning to a man sleeping in a doorway.

DON’T BANK ON IT
9:38 a.m. – 3500 block Fruitville Road. Suspicion Panhandling. A couple reported to police that they thought they saw a homeless woman give a man a purse that might have been stolen from a bank customer. Officers found that the purse belonged to the homeless woman, who was giving it to her friend to hold as she stood in the road asking motorists for money. The bank wanted a trespass warning issued to the couple.

FREQUENT NUISANCE
5 p.m. – 100 block North Shade Avenue. Suspicion General. A property manager reported to police a local transient who is a frequent visitor on the property. Garden articles and tree limbs have been moved, and fecal matter was found on the property. The property manager reported that the transient is usually on the property late in the evening.

SOCK SURPRISE
2 p.m. – 2000 block Main Street. Possession of Cocaine. Officers observed a driver and a passenger leaning forward in their car to hide that they were not wearing seat belts. Officers pulled the car over and discovered that the driver has had a suspended driver’s license since 2011 and was listed as a habitual traffic offender. While placing the driver under arrest, officers smelled a strong odor of marijuana. Police found a marijuana cigarette at the bottom of the suspect’s sock and a bag of rock cocaine in a small compartment in the athletic shorts he was wearing.

Oct. 24
STARING CONTEST
6:05 a.m. – 1500 block Main Street. Suspicion Person. A store worker reported to police that for the past few weeks a black male, age 30 to 35, about six feet two inches tall, wearing a hooded sweatshirt, has stopped his bicycle in front of the store and stared through the window at her for a long period of time. Police checked the area, and told the worker to call them as soon as the man arrives.

FASHIONABLE FIND
4:45 p.m. – Iroquois Drive. Suspicion Incident. Neighborhood watch found a purse.

TROUBLE LETTING GO
8:42 p.m. – 2100 block N. Washington Boulevard. Threats. A man got upset when another man began dating his ex-girlfriend. The man began calling the new boyfriend at his work and making threats. The man was also seen driving past the boyfriend’s home with another unknown male in the passenger seat. The man said he has someone with him and they will “get him.”

Oct. 25
MANHUNT
12:10 a.m. – Blvd. of the Arts. Suspicion General. A woman was standing at an intersection when a male approached her, grabbed her purse and ran north on Cocoanut Avenue. The purse contained $6 cash and a bank debit card. The woman went to her friend’s house, and together they drove around looking for the male. The woman then rode her bike to the police department and reported the theft. Because of the delay in reporting the theft, officers were unable to investigate it in a timely manner.