Cops Corner: Sarasota

March 22
PREEMPTIVE STRIKES
2:31 a.m. — 5200 block of Ocean Boulevard. Battery. Deputies observed a man punch another man in the face in front of a pizza restaurant. The man then punched the other man’s friend. The man told deputies he was acting in self-defense.

FREUDIAN BRAKE SLIP
5:34 p.m. — 5800 block of Midnight Pass Road. Vehicle crash. A driver told a Florida Highway Patrol officer she crashed into another vehicle because her foot slipped off the brake pedal. Both vehicles were traveling 5 miles per hour in heavy traffic.

HEAVY TIPPER
10 p.m. — 5200 block of Ocean Boulevard. Theft. A woman left her iPhone at a restaurant and it was missing when she returned. Deputies tracked the phone to the residence of several of the restaurant’s staff members, who returned the phone.

March 23
MUSIC MASHUP
8:54 p.m. — 8900 block of Midnight Pass Road. Vehicle burglary. A man left work and found his window had been smashed and a case with 100 CDs was missing. Deputies checked the area for suspect but could not find any.

LAUNDRY LIST OF PROBLEMS
9 p.m. — 1200 block of Shade Avenue. Burglary of a vehicle. A woman told police her medication was missing from her car. She said she keeps it in a laundry basket in her vehicle because she is distrustful of her roommates.

March 24
RICE-A-PHONY
6 p.m. — 600 block of Tropical Circle. Suspicious incident. Two families informed a property owner on separate occasions that they had rented his home from John Rice for Spring Break. The man told them he had never heard of John Rice. Deputies could not determine John Rice’s identity or whereabouts, or how much the families paid.

March 26
UNHAPPY CAMPER
12:46 a.m. — 1500 block of Sixth Street. Lodging out of doors. Police told a woman sleeping with a blanket and pillow that it was against a city ordinance. An officer cited her upon the next happening.

JARRING DISCOVERY
8 a.m. — 300 block of Orange Avenue. Possession of a controlled substance. Police arrested a man for a parole violation after discovering marijuana cigarettes in a jar in his pocket. The man told police it was a legal, synthetic substitute for the illegal drug.

STOP, COLLISION TIME
11:26 a.m. — intersection of Midnight Pass Road and Stickney Point Road. Vehicle Crash. A driver stopped suddenly, causing a three-car collision.

THE RING
7 p.m. — 1500 block of Main Street. Lost property. A man told his wife he lost his wedding ring at a sushi restaurant. The couple filed a report in case it turns up at a pawnshop.

March 27
HOT HEADS
1:37 a.m. — 600 block of Lime Avenue. Possession of a controlled substance. Police responded to a report of a man and woman arguing and discovered a pipe used to ingest drugs. Officers noted the pipe was warm to the touch.

MOONLIGHT SAYONARA
2:13 p.m. — 5300 block of Ocean Boulevard. Disturbance. A hotel worker complained about three guests constantly using the pool after hours. Deputies issued trespassing warnings to the guests. They gathered their belongings and left the hotel.

ROLLING STONES
2:59 P.M. — 1500 block of Main Street. Trespassing. Police found a man and woman sleeping on the steps of a business. They asked them to move along.

A HOUSE DIVIDED
6:23 p.m. — 900 block of Beach Road. Aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill. A man and his father-in-law began arguing about politics while arriving at a wedding. The man pulled a pocketknife and told his father-in-law he would cut his throat. Wedding guests tried to intervene, which made the man angrier. The man’s son was in the backseat and declined to give a written statement.

WELCOME BACK PARTY
10:45 p.m. — 2200 block of Ringling Boulevard. Trespassing. A homeless man refused to leave a gas station months after police barred him from the property. Officers transported him to jail.

View Sarasota Co. Cops Report 04.04.13 in a larger map