Cops Corner: East County

Nov. 18
Discount drama
5:32 p.m. — 7300 block of 52nd Place East. Theft. A store manager reported that a juvenile employee was observed giving unauthorized discounts to a fellow employee that was there shopping and pocketing the savings. To date, the staff discovered the employee pocketed $1,204.90 from the scheme.

Nov. 20
Healthy as a horse
11:49 a.m. — 1100 block of 154th Street Northeast. Animal Cruelty. Police responded to a report of an emaciated horse. Police discovered the horse was 27 years old and being fed daily with fresh hay. The horse also had fresh water. No animal cruelty was observed.

Hot pursuit
7:40 p.m. — 8500 block of Cooper Creek Boulevard. Theft. Two men grabbed 10 pairs of pants valued at $1,000 total and began to run out of the store. A loss-prevention officer attempted to stop the suspects, but they sprayed pepper spray in his face as he was trying to detain them. Police found the suspects’ abandoned car in St. Petersburg and recovered the merchandise.

Nov. 21
Steel deal
8:24 a.m. — 6700 block of 26th Court East. Suspicious Circumstance. A recycling employee called police when a man showed up seeking money for construction-grade metal he was selling for scrap. The man told police that his friend Buddy, who works on a construction site, said he didn’t need metal storm drain grate materials any longer. The man’s story checked out, but the construction company changed its mind and asked for the materials back.

Nov. 24
Man sent packing
8:41 p.m. — 11000 block of State Road 64 East. Disturbance. Police responded to a report of a disturbance and found a man with slurred speech and glassy eyes arguing with passerby. The man was on probation. No crime was committed, and the man agreed to move along.

Important documents lost
11:26 a.m. — 8100 block of Cooper Creek Boulevard. Lost Property. A man reported his Venezuelan relatives lost a bag while shopping that contained the passports they needed to return to Venezuela.

Parting shot
4:56 p.m. — Interstate 75 Northbound. Lost Property. A man told police he was in an accident on Interstate 75 earlier that day and his truck and boat on a trailer were towed away. The man reported his shotgun was missing from his boat when he went to retrieve his truck and boat.

Nov. 26
Dinner drama
7 p.m. — 5500 block of 61st Street East. Domestic Disturbance. A married couple began arguing over who was going to make dinner for their two kids.

Nov. 29
Police remove paraphernalia
7:16 a.m. — 4700 block of Raintree Street Circle East. Suspicious Circumstance. A man called to report he had a drug addiction problem and returned home to find a syringe he wanted removed from his house so he didn’t relapse. Police removed the syringe and the man left for a plane ride to Arizona to seek help for his addiction. The man also told police where he used to buy his drugs.

Gate crasher
11:53 p.m. — 8000 block of Stone Harbour Loop. Suspicious Circumstance. Police observed a car hit and knock down a community gate pole at the community’s entrance. The pole was knocked out of the socket and fell to the floor. Since there was no observed property or vehicle damage, a traffic citation was not given. Security agreed to stay at the site until the gate could be repaired in the morning.