Cops Corner: East County

Cops Corner is a sampling of reports generated by the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office.

Dec. 11
Scrooge steal
6:14 p.m. — 11100 block of Lost Creek Terrace. Criminal Mischief. A man reported two Christmas decorations installed on the front of his apartment unit were vandalized. The items include a door-covering decoration and a Christmas front door mat. The items are valued at $20.

Dec. 12
Briefs thief
5:26 p.m. — 5700 block of 42nd Street E. Burglary. An unknown person(s) entered the rear lanai of a residence. The lanai area is separate from the home and is furnished as a separate living area. The suspect(s) attempted, but did not gain entry to the main living area of the residence. Once inside the lanai, the person(s) stole several wrapped presents from under a Christmas tree. It was later determined that one of the gifts he stole was a pair of boxer shorts.

Dec. 13
Checks and balances
10:17 a.m. — 5500 block of Tara Boulevard. Forgery. An unknown person deposited two counterfeit checks into a bank account. The accounts were issued in the name of an account holder in good financial standing. The checks were payable to a woman the account holder does not know. The bank refunded the account holder’s account for the fraudulent charges. The bank will press charges to recover funds.

Joy ride
3:42 p.m. — 7300 block of 52nd Place E. Theft. A woman reported that a woman to whom she had given a ride stole her purse from her vehicle. The suspect approached the victim at a mini mart. The victim agreed to give the suspect a ride down the road. The suspect eventually told the victim she wished to exit the vehicle. The suspect exited the vehicle and walked away. After the victim drove away, she noticed her purse was missing. The victim will check her bank account statements to confirm any fraudulent use.

Dec. 14
All bark
10:19 a.m. — Central Park Boulevard. Information Only. An unknown vehicle swerved off the road and scraped a small piece of bark off an oak tree. There was no real damage to the tree.

Smash and dash
7:49 p.m. — 300 block of 67th Street N.E. Criminal Mischief. A man reported an unknown person threw a rock that hit the front driver’s side window of his car and broke it. The man did not see a person throw the rock, however, seconds after the window broke, he saw a black male wearing all black clothing hastily riding a mountain bike down the street.