Cops Corner: East County

The following information was gathered from incident and arrest reports obtained from the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office. 

March 21
WHAT A TOOL
12:47 a.m. — 8700 block of Spruce Hills Court. Theft. Police suspect a day laborer stole items from a construction site.

March 28
Surprise recovery
9:36 a.m. — 6600 block of Pineview Terrace. Found Property. A man had recovered his vehicle after it was stolen. When he had the vehicle detailed, the car detailer found a PalmPilot device that didn’t belong to the man in the vehicle.

Strike, you’re out
10:14 a.m. — 5300 block of Lakewood Ranch Boulevard. Burglary. Unknown person(s) entered an unlocked shed belonging to a children’s baseball team and took three gallons of gasoline from a small tractor used to maintain the fields. The person(s) also stole candy from a concession stand and the cash box from the office.

April 2
WITH FRIENDS LIKE THOSE ...
9:32 a.m. — 10600 block of Old Grove Circle. Theft. A man reported items valued at $4,800 went missing from his home on the same day he had friends visit the house.

Gas guzzler
2 p.m. — 500 block of Hunter Lane. Theft. A 19-year-old man was arrested for stealing a can of gasoline from a home’s garage. The homeowner witnessed the man steal the red 5-gallon gas tank. The owner also saw the man leave the area in a white SUV and got a partial tag number of the vehicle. Deputies found the man at his girlfriend’s home in Bradenton, where he was arrested. Deputies later found the stolen gas can in the woods.

April 3
Loose change
6:54 p.m. — 8300 block of Sylvan Woods Drive. Theft. A man came to a woman’s house and asked if her roommate was home. The woman thought her roommate was home and invited the man into the house, but the roommate was not home. When the roommate returned, he noticed a large container of change was missing from his room. A witness saw a white male exit the backyard with a large container of change around the same time the man had stopped by the house.

April 4
Howdy, neighbor
3 p.m.­ — 13400 block of 3rd Avenue NE. Burglary. A man stole a flat-screen TV from his neighbor’s home. The man popped the rear sliding-glass door of the house with a tire iron. Once inside, he removed the $800 TV, exited the house and placed the TV in his car. He then drove the TV to a nearby plaza and hid behind a building.

When his neighbor returned home and saw the sliding glass-door open, she called the police. Deputies found the man, and the TV was returned to its owner. 

View East Co. Cops Report 04.11.13 in a larger map