Cops Corner: Sarasota

Feb. 9
PULLING A FAST ONE
5 p.m. — 5200 block of Ocean Boulevard. Grand Theft. A woman reported to deputies that an unknown person broke into her craft tent and stole $500 worth of fan pulls and $100 worth of sun catchers. Officers did not find fingerprints on the remaining fan pulls.

DRINK AND BE MERRY
10 p.m. — 5200 block of Ocean Boulevard. Disturbance. Two men caused a ruckus in a bar, and the manager called deputies. An officer issued trespassing warnings to both men.

Feb. 11
HOMEWARD BOUND
8:41 a.m. — 5200 block of Ocean Boulevard. Found Property. A concerned citizen found a wallet near a bar. Deputies contacted the wallet’s owner.

BOAT BURGLARY
4 p.m. — Bayfront Drive. Burglary of a Vehicle. During the night, someone broke into a docked charter fishing vessel and stole fishing tools from an unlocked cabinet. The suspect then broke into the interior of the cabin and stole several fishing rods and reels and a bull-shark jaw. The boat owner said an ex-employee who has a drug problem may have stolen the items.

Feb. 12
RETURN TO LENDER
12 a.m. — 6000 block of Midnight Pass Road. Grand Theft. A homeowner invited a man he met at a bar to his house to look at his new DJ equipment. The man stayed overnight and borrowed the homeowner’s $250 Schwinn bicycle. The homeowner saw a mug shot of the man, who is an alleged thief, in a local tabloid, and identified him to deputies after the man failed to return the bicycle.

TOILET PAPER, TOO
7 p.m. — 1600 block of Main Street. Burglary of a Structure. A business owner told an officer that he arrived at his office in the morning to find that someone broke in and stole four laptops, two televisions, a lamp, toilet paper and a speaker. The suspect stole about $3,400 in items from the office. The back door to the office had been left open. The officer was able to lift a single fingerprint from a mirror, which had been removed from the wall and left on the couch.

FLOATING LITTER
10 a.m. — Bayfront Drive. Littering. A city employee reported illegal dumping at Bayfront Park. The debris appeared to have come from a boat in the bay. The incident appeared to have occurred during the overnight hours. There were no suspects.

CLOSE CALL
1:20 p.m. — 600 block of Orange Avenue. Miscellaneous. A homeless woman was riding her bike southbound on Orange Avenue when the driver of a pickup truck turned in front of her, causing the woman to lose her balance and fall off her bike. The woman told officers that her bike was not hit by the truck nor did she receive any injuries. No damage was observed on the bike or the truck. The woman said she felt law enforcement needed to be aware that she fell off her bike.

Feb. 13
TICKETS TO THE GUN SHOW
8:20 a.m. — 2800 block of Eighth Street. Miscellaneous. A fifth-grade student showed another student an airsoft pistol at an after-school care program. The second student told a teacher about the incident, who confiscated the gun, which shoots plastic BB’s. The principal told an officer that the student who brought the pistol to school had not been in trouble before. The principal merely wanted the incident documented in a police report.

JUST SMASHING
8:45 a.m. — Bayfront Drive. Burglary of a Vehicle. A woman parked her rented car on the bayfront and took a short walk. When she returned, the driver’s-side and passenger’s-side windows were shattered and her purse had been stolen from underneath the driver’s seat. Just north of the burglary, other vehicle windows had been broken.

BUMPER CARS
11:15 a.m. — 1000 block of Siesta Drive. Miscellaneous. A woman was stopped at a red light when another vehicle bumped into her car, which forced her car forward into the car in front of her. The woman saw a red and silver truck and another vehicle speed past and leave the scene. Due to the fact that there was no damage to the vehicles, an officer advised the parties that it would be considered a miscellaneous report.

Feb. 14
NOT A MORNING PERSON
2:44 a.m. — 5100 block of Ocean Boulevard. Impaired Person. Deputies discovered a man asleep on a bench near what appeared to be vomit. After officers awoke the man he was uncooperative and said he didn’t know where he lived. Deputies transported the man to the hospital, where he was also uncooperative with staff.

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