Cops Corner: Sarasota

April 12
MONKEY BUSINESS
1 a.m. — 2100 block of Wood Street. Burglary — Structure. A woman said that, during the night, someone took her ceramic monkey statues from her kitchen table. The woman said she leaves her rear door open so her cat can come in and out, and she believes someone may have reached in and taken the monkey statues. Officers recommended that the woman lock all of her doors and windows at night.

FARE FIGHT
3:30 p.m. — 800 block of South Tamiami Trail. Petit Theft. A cab driver said he took a man to a motel, where he said he was going to get his sister’s items. After getting out at the motel, the man returned to the cab without any items, and he asked to be taken to a different motel. At the second motel, the man said he was going inside to get his money, but he never returned. Officers obtained the information of the person renting the room the man said he was staying in; the renter was a black man, while the person in the cab was white. After failing to locate the man in question, the cab driver told officers he declined to make a report.

MELLOW YELLOW
5:50 p.m. — 2500 block of South Tamiami Trail. Dispute/Fight. A man was at a bar, intoxicated, when he called for a cab to pick him up. The man told officers he called a yellow cab, and he was upset when a black cab arrived. The man returned to the bar and told employees that he wanted a yellow cab. When the employees asked him to keep it down, the man became argumentative and threatened the employees. Officers called another cab to take the man home.

SOMETHING’S FISHY
8 p.m. — 900 block of North Beneva Road. Petit Theft — Shoplifting. An employee at a grocery store said a woman came to him at the seafood counter and asked for five pounds of thawed shrimp. After receiving the shrimp, she put the bag into her purse, left the store and got into a car. Officers reviewed surveillance footage and got in contact with the woman, who apologized and said she did not know why she stole the shrimp.

April 13
CURSES!
11:11 a.m. 400 block of St. Armands Circle. Other Disorderly Conduct. Officers received a report of a man sitting in front of a business, cursing and yelling at people. When officers arrived on the scene, the man was sitting on a bench and talking to himself. The man was not intoxicated and did not meet the criteria for a Baker Act. The man asked to be taken to a bus transfer station, and officers transported him there.

COOL YOUR JETS
7:23 p.m. 100 block of Pattison Avenue. Landlord/Tenant Dispute. A man called the police because the air conditioning was off in the unit he’s renting. The owner of the residence said the air-conditioning unit was broken, and that it would be fixed the next day. The man said he was also upset because the landlord was evicting him. Officers informed the man that there was nothing illegal about the broken air-conditioning unit.