Cops Corner: Longboat Key

Oct. 10
Keep it civil
2:35 p.m. — 700 block of Broadway. Civil Disturbance. Police learned that a man’s ex-girlfriend was the co-registrant of his truck after the man reported that the truck was stolen from the parking lot of the restaurant where he works. The man’s ex-girlfriend reported that they hadn’t been able to work out possession of the truck yet and provided police with the title for the vehicle. Police told the man and woman that the issue was a civil matter.

Oct. 11
Fender bender
3:45 p.m. — 1000 block of GMD. Property Damage. A man reported that his rental car was damaged by an unknown object or vehicle. The man and his wife said that they had parked the car in their designated space several hours earlier and that it had no damage at that point. There were no witnesses to the incident.

Oct. 12
Lock and key dispute
9:37 p.m. — 4700 block of GMD. Civil Disturbance. A hotel manager called police after a heated dispute with a hotel guest, who reported that he and his wife heard a male and several females open his door and enter the room the night before. The male then said, “There is someone in the room,” and left. The next morning the front desk clerk said that it was the hotel’s mistake and apologized. The couple’s keys weren’t working when they returned to the room later that day and they became angry, leading the manager to call police.

Oct. 13
Bathing beauty
4:11 p.m. — 1600 block of GMD. Trespassing. A man who was sunbathing on the beach at a shuttered resort said that he had permission to use the beach from the resort’s longtime owner. Police have spoken to the man about the issue before, and the longtime owner has confirmed that he gave permission.

Rules of engagement
6:16 p.m. — 5700 block of GMD. Trespassing. A man told police that another man became belligerent and made rude comments to him after he warned the man and three others that he wasn’t allowed to enter the beach through his condo’s property. The belligerent man told police he and the others were staying at a hotel across the street. He apologized for being rude, saying that the group was trying to be clandestine because his daughter was about to be proposed to, and they wanted to watch.

Alternative arrangements
6:29 p.m. — 3400 block of GMD. Disturbance/Noise. A homeless man who had been drinking told police he got to the Sarasota area three days earlier and planned to sleep on the beach. The man told police that he would rather die than go to the shelter that police suggested when they told him he couldn’t sleep on the island’s beach or other public properties. Police then drove him to the other side of the Cortez Bridge, when he decided to head toward Bradenton.

Electric issue
8:33 p.m. — 700 block of Broadway. Fire. Police and firefighters responded to a reported restaurant fire but found there was no fire. Firefighters checked for an electrical problem, instead.

Artistic vision
8:08 a.m. — 700 block of Marbury Lane. Vandalism. A woman reported that an unknown person splattered paint on her driveway. It was the second time such an incident occurred. The woman was able to wash paint off her driveway with her garden hose and said she had no idea why someone would splatter paint on her property.

Oct. 14
Buffer zone
1:39 p.m. — 3800 block of GMD. Sex Offense/Indecent Exposure. A woman tried to ignore a nude sunbather near the area where she was fishing but could no longer ignore the naked man when he began to touch himself. She described the man as in his 50s, 5-foot, 9 inches and, not surprisingly, very tan. He walked toward a vacant lot and was gone by the time police arrived.

Oct. 15
Getting canned
8:53 a.m. — 500 block of Golf Links Lane. Lost/Missing Property. A man returned to his property after leaving for July and found his trash can missing. The garbage collection told him that it would give him a new one if he filed a police report.

Stolen sunglasses
12:13 p.m. — 4700 block of GMD. Larceny From Motel. A man reported that his sunglasses went missing while he was in a hotel hot tub two days earlier.

He’ll rock this exam
1:09 p.m. — 5300 block of GMD. Suspicious Person. A 22-year-old man who was reportedly throwing rocks at vehicles while waiting at a bus stop told police he was trying to burn the nervous energy he had about an upcoming dog-grooming exam he is planning to take. The man apologized and offered to pick up the rocks before leaving on the bus en route to a bookstore, where he planned to study for the exam.

Oct. 17
Damage delivery
11:29 — 7000 block of Longboat Drive E. Property Damage. A woman reported that someone damaged her mailbox while she was out of town during the summer and wasn’t sure whether the damage was intentional. The woman wanted a report in case there were similar problems in the neighborhood.

Backup plan
1:01 p.m. — 500 block of Birdie Lane. Property Damage. A man was concerned that his irrigation or sewer pipes were been damaged when construction workers tried to back a cement mixer trailer onto a site. The construction company owner apologized for the employees who backed onto the man’s lawn and agreed to pay for any damages.