Cops Corner: Sarasota

Dec. 4
LIGHT SHED
5 p.m. — 1500 block of South Drive. Burglary. A man said the shed at the back of his property was burglarized. The shed door was unlocked, and the suspect took yard and carpentry tools, including chainsaws. The man said a tree-trimming crew had been in the area recently; he thought a member of the crew might have been the burglar because the crew could have seen into the shed.

Dec. 7
PASS-IVE AGGRESSIVE
10 a.m. — 4000 block of South Tamiami Trail. Battery. A man said after he steered his car from the middle lane into an outside lane, the driver of a passing vehicle started honking his horn and yelling. The man went back to the middle lane and moved ahead of the passing car, which started following too closely. The man stopped his car and got out, asking the other driver what his problem was. The man said the other driver charged at him and pushed him into his driver’s seat. The other driver said the man cut him off without using any signals, and after he pulled ahead of him, the man slammed on his brakes as if he were trying to get hit. The other driver admitted to pushing the man back into his car, but said the man was waving his arms and running in a threatening manner when he got out.

SAFETY FIRST
5:30 p.m. — 2500 block of Fruitville Road. Suspicion General. An anonymous complainant was concerned after seeing a child on the back of a motorcycle. The complainant said the woman and her child were driving slowly on Frutville Road, going westbound. An officer found the woman and her son, who were wearing helmets, riding an electric scooter on their way to the downtown Christmas parade. There were no further issues.

Dec. 8
NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH
5:50 a.m. — 3600 block of Colorado Street. Criminal Mischief. A woman said her neighbor witnessed a car crashing into her mailbox. The neighbor said another woman who lived down the block hit the mailbox. The other woman said she would pay for the damage to the mailbox, but denied hitting it.

LOSING ARGUMENT
11:02 p.m. — 900 block of Beach Road. Disturbance. A man and a woman were engaged in a verbal argument about her phone. The woman said she lost her phone in the sand during the argument and was having difficulty recovering it. The man said he lost his backpack and its contents during the argument. He also had injuries under his eye and on his arm, which he could not say how he got. The man appeared to be extremely intoxicated. A witness said he saw the man trip and fall on the ramp leading to the beach after the argument. Both parties found their missing items.