Cops Corner: East County

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

FEB. 4
Caught red-handed
6:31 p.m.— 5200 block of University Parkway. Theft. An employee caught a woman stealing $197 worth of clothing form a specialty store. A deputy forced the woman to return the items, and the employee told her she is no longer welcome at the store.

Feb. 5
Road rage
10:06 p.m.— 6100 block of 33rd Street E. Person Uses a Deadly Weapon. Two men got in an argument while driving southbound on Interstate 75. The first man held a machete to the second man’s back, causing an abrasion.

Feb. 8
Welcome home
1:15 p.m. — 5500 43rd Street E. Criminal Mischief. A woman returned home to find her window screens and frames had been bent by someone trying to enter her home. The windows were still locked. Police found no fingerprints, and the woman’s neighbors did not see or hear anyone trying to enter the home.

Feb. 10
Parenting problems
8:10 p.m. (address blocked out). Child Neglect. A child disappeared from her friend’s birthday party at a movie theater in a mall. Deputies found the child in her home. The child said she had walked more than 10 miles in the dark, because her friend’s mother told her she could not have a ride home because she was “acting like a witch.” The child did not have a cell phone and had to walk through a high-crime area. The friend’s mother said she told the child to find her own ride home and did not call the child’s mother, who didn’t know her child was missing until more than an hour after she had last been seen. A deputy contacted the Florida Abuse Hotline and left a report.

Feb. 11
All falls down
7 p.m. — 4600 block of 401st Street E. Lost Property. A man reported he lost his wallet while he was pumping gas. He believes he left his wallet on top of his car after getting gas. He then drove off. He did not realize his wallet was missing until he later arrived at the mall in Brandon. The man quickly canceled his credit cards.

Feb. 12
Bitter separation
2:30 p.m. — 8100 block of Nature’s Way. Identity Theft. A woman reported that her husband used her identity to file taxes while they were separated but still legally married.

Feb. 13
Fierce rivalry
2:50 p.m. — University Parkway and U.S. 301. Assault. Two habitants of the same homeless camp aggressively confronted each other. An argument ensued, in which the defendant retrieved a large blunt object and threatened the victim. There were no injuries.

Feb. 14
Company love
11:25 a.m. — 7300 block of 26th Court E. Criminal Mischief. A man reported that unknown person(s) smashed his cellphone screen and cut his cellphone charger. The victim had left his phone charging behind a machine inside the break room of his office.

Feb. 16
Secret admirer
11 a.m. — 900 block of 134th Street E. Information Only. A woman reported she was being followed by an unknown person who did not live in her neighborhood. The woman said she knew she was being followed because the person arrived at a department store at the same time she did. The person also shopped in the same aisles, she said. The woman said there have been recent vehicle burglaries in her neighborhood, and the follower is targeting her vehicle. The two people have never interacted, except for one time when the follower waived at the woman.

Missing envelope
1:25 p.m. — 600 block of 67th Circle E. Lost Property. A woman reported she lost an envelope with money and other miscellaneous documents. The woman, who was eating at a restaurant, said she left the envelope on the table at which she ate. She returned later to the table, but the envelope wasn’t there. The manager of the restaurant checked trash bags for the envelope but found nothing.

Hero dog
2:02 p.m. — 13600 block of 11th Terrace E. Burglary. Unknown person(s) entered the rear lanai of a home. Once inside, the person(s) attempted to remove a 42-inch flat-screen television from the wall. A dog alerted the homeowner by barking. The person(s) then fled through the rear screen door to an awaiting vehicle. The television was left hanging by the wires.

 

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