Cops Corner: Sarasota

Sept. 19
FRIEND OR FAUX?
11:35 a.m. 1100 block of Four Seasons Circle. Dispute/Fight. A woman said she had had an ongoing problem with her friend for a few weeks. The woman said she thought her friend had gone into her house and taken her clothes, and that the friend had been calling her and hanging up. The woman said someone took the valve stem caps off her van twice, and she thought the friend was responsible. The friend said she had been friends with the woman until she started accusing her of taking things from her apartment. The friend said she had accidentally called and hung up on the woman once, and that she did not know what valve stem caps were.

Sept. 20
SHOULD I STAY OR SHOULD I GO?
6:50 p.m. 2400 block of North Tamiami Trail. Suspicion General/Unknown. A man and a woman received a notice of their eviction from a motel. When officers arrived, both vehemently denied calling the police. The woman wanted to leave that night, but the man disagreed. They were given five business days to vacate, and the woman said they had no place to go. Officers advised it would be wise to remain at the motel until they had a place to stay, and the man and the woman agreed.

MIRROR, MIRROR
2:38 p.m. 1300 block of 13th Street. Criminal Mischief. A woman said her girlfriend was moving out of her house. In the process, she said the girlfriend hit the side mirror on the driver’s side of the woman’s car with a chair and broke it. The girlfriend left the area after breaking the mirror.

Sept. 21
CRIME RIB
1 p.m. 200 block of North Lime Avenue. Petit Theft — Shoplifting. An employee at a grocery store saw a man walking out of the store with a concealed item. The employee confronted the man and found he was hiding a slab of ribs. The employee said he was able to recover the item, which was in the man’s waistband, without it being damaged. The man said what he did was stupid and he didn’t know why he did it.

LOCKED INSIDE
6:33 p.m. 2200 block of Browning Street. Landlord Tenant Dispute. A woman said she had found mold in her apartment, and that her landlord refused to repair the damage and told her to move out if she didn’t like it. The woman had moved most of the belongings out and came back to move the rest only to find the locks had been changed. The woman’s pet snake and gecko were still inside the apartment. The landlord said the woman told him she would be moved out three weeks earlier, and he only changed the locks because he found the door wide open.