Cops Corner: Longboat Key

Dec. 3
Camp nowhere
4:58 p.m. — 5500 block of GMD. Suspicious Person. Police told a man who was setting up camp in Joan Durante Park that camping is prohibited on the Key. The man said he is from Miami and does not have a current address. He gathered his belongings and left the park on foot.

Dec. 4
Screen scam
7:32 a.m. — 7100 block of GMD. Fraud. A woman was having problems downloading the application to renew her passport and received a call from a man who claimed to represent Global Services and said her Microsoft license had expired. The man made a diagnostics screen appear on her computer, and he charged $229 to her credit card after she provided him with card information. The woman continued to have problems with her computer and contacted her daughter, who told her she might have been the victim of a scam.

Tag team
1:30 p.m. — Linley Street. Property Found. A man found a motorcycle tag on the seat of his moped and had no idea who put it there. Police called the Cape Coral woman registered as the tag’s owner, who said the tag was either lost or removed from her motorcycle during a recent ride in Sarasota. She filed a police report at the time and replaced the tag.

Dec. 5
Get pumped up
8:06 a.m. — 500 block of Harbor Point Road. Larceny. A pool company employee discovered that an unknown person(s) removed two control valve actuators from a home’s pool pump.

On the run
4:04 p.m. — 2600-2800 blocks of Harbourside Drive. Suspicious Person. A marina staffer reported that a woman appeared to be under the influence of drugs and alcohol. The woman ran through the golf course toward a shopping center when marina staff approached her.

Dec. 6
Too legit to quit
12:24 p.m. — 3200 block of Bayou Road. Suspicious Circumstance. A woman asked police to verify the legitimacy of a man’s company after he called and said a representative would be inspecting her roof. Police called the man, who refused to believe he was speaking with a police officer and accused police of harassing professional working people for “those rich son-of-a-(expletive) out there.” The man said he would contact his lawyer, hung up, then called back to ask if this was about the “rich (expletive) whose house I went to, and she said she wasn’t home but I know she was.” He said his company is legitimate, does wall inspections and took over the accounts of a company that went bankrupt.

Dec. 7
Neighbor nuisance
10:20 a.m. — Intersection of Gulf of Mexico Drive and Ketch Lane. Disturbance. Police received a complaint about construction noise. The owner of the home said his friends are helping him paint the interior of his home, but they were not operating machinery. The man said he is being harassed by his neighbor who lives behind him.

What would Jesus do?
10:58 a.m. — 6400 block of GMD. Suspicious Person. A homeless man became angry after church members gave him a drink of water but refused to let him enter the kitchen. The man said Jesus would want him to eat and asked them to let him see what was in the refrigerator. Asked to leave, he threatened to burn the church down, saying its members were not real Christians. Police gave him a ride to Sarasota.

Can’t crack this code
11:08 a.m. — 500 block of Ranger Lane. Burglar Alarm. A home’s alarm went off while a rental agent was showing it to a prospective client. He did not have the code to cancel it due to a recent change.

Dec. 8
Safe keeping
11:04 a.m. — 2600 block of Harbourside Drive. Property Found. A marina employee found a wallet with a man’s New York driver’s license and University of Tampa ID. The employee emailed the university, which contacted the student, who said he would stop by the Police Department to pick up the wallet.

Dec. 9
Staying afloat
9:34 a.m. — Off the Key. Abandoned Boat. A caller reported that a boat appeared to be grounded. Police could not get close enough to the boat due to tides but determined that it appeared to be floating and anchored.

Big bang theory
3:02 p.m. — 4300 block of GMD. Civil Disturbance. A man said he was uneasy about returning to his condo alone after an argument with construction workers and asked police to accompany him and speak to the crew. The construction supervisor said the man was the one who began yelling at the crew about loud noise. He said the man put a radio out on his balcony and played loud music while walking up and down the walkway, banging pots and pans. The supervisor said the noisy part of the project would only last a day or two.