Cops Corner: Sarasota

Nov. 15
NO SUCH THING AS A FREE LUNCH
12:52 a.m. — 1900 block Main Street. Defraud Innkeeper. A manager called police to report that a customer used a credit card to pay for a meal and left without paying when the card was declined.

Nov. 17
BOOMING BASS
1:17 a.m. — 1400 block Main Street. Noise Violation. A resident reported that she could hear loud music coming from a club. She said this was an ongoing problem and that the club had kept its doors open, which made the loud music worse. The officer could hear the music through the phone and spoke with the club manager, who said he would turn down the bass and make sure the doors were closed as much as possible. Fifteen minutes later, the officer returned and was unable to hear the music from the edge of the sidewalk with the doors closed.

Nov. 18
BAR BURGLARY
12:15 a.m. — 1500 block State Street. Burglary of a Vehicle. A woman went to a bar for the evening and decided to leave her car there instead of driving home. When she returned to pick up her BMW, the car was unlocked and a backpack was missing from the back seat. Inside the pack was $4,000 in cash and credit cards and a passport. The woman told police she had a set of keys with her while she was in the bar, but she could not recall what happened to them. An investigation revealed that someone entered the BMW without forced entry.

ROOM AT THE INN
7:41 a.m. — 300 block Gershwin Drive. Landlord Tenant Dispute. A renter called police because his landlord was threatening to kick him out of the room he is renting and put his belongings by the side of the road. An officer explained to the landlord that she has to legally evict the renter. The landlord told the officer that she would go the Clerk of Court’s Office and file the appropriate paperwork.

BIKER GANG
6:10 p.m. — S. Tuttle Avenue. Suspicion General. An officer responded to a report of a suspicious incident. A man told the officer that a young man was eyeing his bicycle and had started teasing him about stealing it. Two more young males walked up and pointed a silver revolver at the man, before getting in a car and riding off.

Nov. 19
IPOD LEFT BEHIND
12:30 a.m. — 2200 block Ringling Boulevard. Burglary of a Vehicle. An unknown person entered an unlocked vehicle and stole a wallet that was left on the seat. The vehicle owner thinks that the suspect might have been someone he works with because his iPod was not taken.

IT’S FIVE O’CLOCK SOMEWHERE
4:25 p.m. — 1500 block First Street. Disorderly Conduct. A transient man was intoxicated and disorderly in the area near City Hall and the bus station and harassing passengers there. The man had received a warning earlier for being intoxicated and disorderly. Officers arrested the man for disorderly intoxication.

CIGARETTE CRAVING
10:44 p.m. — 1700 block N. Washington Boulevard. Petit Theft. A store employee reported a young man wearing a blue jacket, dark baseball hat and blue jeans attempted to steal two cartons of cigarettes. The employee had tried to scan the cartons when the man grabbed them and attempted to flee. Another customer then knocked the cartons out of the man’s hands. The suspect fled on a bicycle and headed eastbound on 17th Street. The cigarette cartons were worth about $113. Officers searched the area with no results.

SHRUB SHREDDER
2:40 p.m. — 2000 Ringling Boulevard. Open Container. Local residents complained about a man ripping up shrubs outside City Hall. The man had an open 16-ounce Natural Ice beer in his possession. The man admitted the beer was his. An officer issued a summons.