Cops Corner

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

Sept. 19
Go bananas
 12:45 p.m. — 8300 block of Lockwood Ridge Road. Petit Theft/Shoplifting. A man who had purchased bananas walked out of a store without paying for items he had put down his pants. He was stopped by members of the Shoplifting Taskforce and was arrested. The items were recovered and returned to the store.

Oct. 4
Customer is always right
 2:16 p.m. — 2000 block of 53rd Ave. E. Trespass Warning. An employee at a store received several complaints that a man outside had approached numerous customers in the parking lot and had asked for money. The employee told police she had given the man several warnings and told him to stop harassing customers. She said would like to issue a formal trespass warning. Police told the man that if he returned to the store within the next six months, he would be arrested. The man said he understood and left the parking lot.

Oct. 5.
Shell shocked
 11:25 a.m. — 2000 block of 53rd Ave. E. Found Property Not Stolen. A customer returned a box of paintballs to a store. Upon closer inspection, the customer had discovered the box also contained some real ammunition. Police separated the 41 rounds of .380 ammunition from the paintballs. The paintballs were given back to the storeowner, and the ammunition was placed into property, by police, to be destroyed.

Oct. 6
A little too close to home
 41000 block of 24th Terrace E. Criminal Mischief. A woman called police to report someone had damaged the entrance area of her home by driving a vehicle onto the median and ripping up the grass. The woman said that she observed grooves in the grass, possibly from a large truck. She believes that the incident was intentional.

Oct. 7
All that glitters
 12:45 p.m. — 6000 block of Anchor Loop. Fraud. A woman reported that someone had used her personal information to open an account with Kay Jewelers.

Oct. 9.
Kicking and entering
 7:45p.m. — 200 block of Cape Harbour Loop. Suspicious Incidents. Police were called to a home where the door had been left open. Upon further inspection, it appeared someone had kicked in the door.

Oct. 10
Keep on truckin’
 8:29 a.m. — 8000 block of Stone Harbour Loop. Information Only. A woman called to report that she saw a tow truck drive through the gate at the entrance of her community — while the gate was closed. When police arrived, they spoke to the driver, who said that the rail began to lower on his truck while he was driving through it. There was no damage to the truck. Police found the rail on the road with its bolts and screws. A property manager was called to check for damage but no one could be reached, however, a case card was left at the front desk of the community golf course.

Ex marks the spot
 1:30 p.m. — 2700 block of 31st Ave. E. Found Property Not Stolen. Police were called when a man came home to find two large garbage bins full of clothes, purses, beauty products and more on his front lawn. Police attempted to contact the owner whose name was on the FPL bill inside the purse and on the Social Security cards, but were unsuccessful. While the officer was putting the items into property and evidence, the owner of the items appeared on the scene and reclaimed her things. She said that her ex-boyfriend had disposed of her belongings at the location.

Oct. 11
He has a way with words
 10:11 a.m. — 7000 block at Eagle Creek Drive. Information Only. A woman reported that she had been receiving unsavory letters from a man whom she met through a meet-up group.