Cops Corner: East County

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

Aug. 12
 Marijuana meltdown
2:26 a.m. — 7100 block of Montauk Point Crossing. Possession of Marijuana. A woman reported her 17-year-old daughter was arguing over the phone with her boyfriend and she overheard her daughter say she was using her head to put holes in the wall. The mother found several dents in the wall when she entered the room, but her daughter said she used her fists to make the dents. Police observed red marks on her head and located marijuana and a pipe in her bedroom. She was taken to the hospital for observation and cited for possession of an illegal substance.

Aug. 15
 Southbound surveillance
11:42 p.m. — Interstate 75 Southbound. Driving Under the Influence. Police received a reckless-driving report about a driver going southbound on Interstate 75. A driver followed the reckless driver from a safe distance until police caught up with the reckless driver. After pulling him over and administering a test, the driver was arrested for driving under the influence and taken to jail.

Aug. 19
 Bag lady
11:47 a.m. — 8300 block of Lockwood Ridge Road. Theft. A woman shoved $298.37 worth of merchandise into shopping bags she had brought into the store and attempted to exit the store before employees intercepted her. She was issued a written warning to appear in court after she informed police she had a small child at home and couldn’t be taken to jail for processing immediately.

Aug. 21 
 You dirty rat
2:10 p.m. — 8300 block of Lockwood Ridge Road. Robbery. A woman was waiting for the bus when a man grabbed her purse and tried to run away with it. The woman, though, held on tightly to her purse, and the man finally let it go. Refusing to give up, the thief then grabbed the woman’s Home Depot bag, which contained $11 worth of rat traps. After a struggle, the man fled with the rat traps and sat down on a bench in front of Walmart to check out his stolen loot. Police arrested the man and returned the rat traps to the woman.

Domestic disturbance
3:10 p.m. — 7300 block of 52nd Place East. Harassment. A woman reported her husband came to her work and started demanding to know where their children were. The woman told police she is separated from her husband and going through the divorce process. He then left the office and took off in her car.

Aug. 22
 Family feud
2:56 a.m. — 2600 block of Twin Rivers Trail. Battery. A brother and sister got into a physical fight after the brother blamed the sister for their father’s death. The comment led the sister to throw water on her brother, which led the brother to punch his sister in the head and slam her into a wall. The brother was arrested for domestic battery.

Broken promise
3:42 p.m. — 5800 block of Clubside Drive. Scheme to Defraud. A woman reported she gave some money to a man with a promise of a percentage of ownership in his realty business. The woman has not received any profit or paperwork stating she has potential ownership in the company.

Locker loot
4:14 p.m. — 8400 block of Lockwood Ridge Road. Theft. A man reported someone cut the lock off his locker at the gym while he was working out and stole several items.

Runaway repeat
8:07 p.m. — 7600 block of Eagle Creek Drive. Runaway. A woman called to report her daughter left home for several days before returning and then left again in the middle of the night. Police verified the daughter was at school in her pajamas. After school, police verified she left a Wing House restaurant with her friend and was still on the run.