Cops Corner: Sarasota

May 26
ECO-CONSCIOUS INTRUDER
3 p.m. — 2400 block of Novus Street. Burglary of a Structure. At the request of the homeowner, a neighbor went to clean up the owner’s nearby vacant home. While at the house, the neighbor discovered that someone had broken a window to the home. Also, the inside door at the rear of the house had been removed from the hinges and the doorknobs removed. Empty soda cans had been left in the recyclable bin, and a small amount of herbal incense was left inside the home.

May 29
NO CHARGE
3 a.m. — 1600 block of Sixth Street. Burglary/Theft. A resident told officers someone broke into his porch area and stole his laptop. The resident had gone to bed at 10 p.m. and left his laptop charging on the counter in his porch area. When the resident woke up at 3 a.m. and went out to the porch, he saw the laptop was gone, but the charger cable was left. It appeared someone had pushed in the screen on the patio to get inside the porch.

NOT WITHOUT A FIGHT
1:34 p.m. — 3500 block of S. Tamiami Trail. Petit Theft/Shoplifting. A store loss-prevention officer watched a woman remove a plastic bag from behind a checkout counter. The woman then went to the clothing department, removed several pieces of clothing from the rack, and went into the dressing room to put the clothing in the bag. The woman attempted to leave the store without paying for the clothing. When the loss-prevention officer confronted the woman as she attempted to flee, the woman bit, kicked and elbowed the loss-prevention officer, who eventually managed to handcuff the woman and bring her to security. The woman was charged with retail theft and “resisting a merchant.”

SILENCE IS GOLDEN
11:40 p.m. — 1800 block of Siesta Drive. Noise Violation. An officer responded to a complaint about loud music. When the officer arrived on scene, the officer could not hear any music. The officer checked the area, but was unable to find a source of the music.

BLOWN COVER
6:07 p.m. — 500 block of N. Beneva Road. Petit Theft. A store’s loss-prevention officer observed a man take two shirts into the fitting room then exit with only one of the shirts. The other shirt appeared to be underneath the shirt the man was wearing. The loss-prevention officer attempted to confront the man, who then proceeded to flee on foot. As he ran off, the man lifted his shirt to show he was, in fact, wearing the stolen shirt underneath. A store employee then showed police officers the defendant’s Facebook profile, which identified him.

View Sarasota Co. Cops Report 06.06.13 in a larger map