2014: The best of Cops Corner

JAN. 4
Air-ing of Grievances
5:51 a.m. — 1800 block of 23rd Street. Suspicion General. A woman said unknown people were going through her ceiling and closing the vents on the air-conditioning unit in her residence. The woman showed officers one of the vents, but said they had opened them up again. The woman has called police in the past, accusing her neighbors of entering through her ceiling and crawling through her attic. Officers found no evidence of tampering.

JAN. 13
Walk Away
11:04 a.m. — 1300 block of First Street.Juvenile Problem. A girl at a library told an employee she was going to walk to Orlando. The employee was suspicious because of the girl’s age and called the police. The girl said she was going to walk to Orlando because she was bored, and that although she did not have issues with her home life, she wanted to get away. The girl’s mother arrived at the library to take her home; the girl said she just wanted to skip school for the day.

FEB. 8
Let Sleeping Dogs Lie
2 p.m. — 1000 block of South Euclid Avenue. Disorderly Conduct. The front-desk employee at a gym said he saw a man sleeping on the couch, which is against the gym’s rules. The employee asked the man to sit up and not sleep, at which point the man became belligerent and disorderly. The man told the employee to kiss his posterior and began to pull down his pants, although he stopped short of displaying any inappropriate body parts.

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 that she leaves her rear door open so her cat can come in and out, and she believes that someone may have reached in and taken the monkey statues. Officers recommended that the woman lock all of her doors and windows at night.

APRIL 17
Dance Like Nobody’s Shopping
9:09 a.m. — 1400 block of First Street.Other Disorderly Conduct. An older woman was reportedly causing a disturbance in a grocery store by dancing around and bothering customers. The woman was gone when officers arrived and could not be found in the area.

MAY 1
Sticky Situation
6:08 p.m. – 2100 block of North Washington Boulevard. Suspicion General. An employee at a convenience store reported a theft after a man walked out of the building with a box of honey buns. As he was leaving, the man threw $2 at the cashier and got into a car. Officers informed the employee that the incident did not qualify as a theft, because the honey buns only cost $1.79.

MAY 26
Cutting Remarks
11:28 a.m. — 1700 block of 34th Street. Dispute/Fight. A man came home from the downtown Memorial Day parade and noticed that the palm tree in his front yard had been trimmed, with the branches left on his lawn. The man confronted his neighbor about the incident. The neighbor cursed at the man, so the man called the police. The neighbor admitted to officers that he had trimmed the palm tree. He said he never stepped onto the man’s property and that the branches were blocking the sidewalk. The police informed the neighbor that he did not have the authority to trim the tree and that he should call the city or speak with the homeowner about trimming the tree. The neighbor reiterated that he didn’t step on anyone else’s property, but eventually cleaned up the branches and agreed to stay away from the man.

JUNE 15
Give It A Rest
2:02 p.m. — 1600 block of Laurel Street. Noise Violation Vehicle/Equipment. A woman said people had been making noise all day in the apartments next-door. She complained about the caliber of the people living in the area and was upset by noise from power tools and leaf blowers. Officers informed the woman using tools during the daytime was not a violation of the city sound code. The woman also complained about a neighbor with a loud motorcycle. She said she is from New York and that in New York someone would go over there and rip their lungs out. She also said that this is why Floridians have a reputation as “hillbilly rednecks” and that she was on the verge of taking care of it herself. Officers advised the woman not to take any action toward the people on the neighboring property.

JULY 28
Brotherly Love
8:45 a.m. — 800 block of Tarpon Avenue. Boyfriend/Girlfriend/Family (living together or not). A woman called the police to report that her brother took her phone. The woman gave her brother the phone to use as long as he made monthly payments, and she shut his phone down because he was behind on paying her. Officers said the woman entered a verbal agreement with her brother and this was a civil matter. Because the phone was shut off, officers were unable to contact the brother.

AUG. 2
Special Delivery
1:20 p.m — 900 block of North Beneva Road. Other Disorderly Conduct. A man at the post office was mad he was not able to pick up a package. The manager of the post office indicated the package had arrived, that that it was mistakenly sent back to Tampa. The manager said the package would be available for pickup in two days. The man was angry but agreed to return. Once the man left, the manager informed officers that the package contained approximately five ounces of marijuana and that a sting operation was in the works at the federal level.

AUG. 9
Casual Theft
11:30 p.m. — 1300 block of 19th Street. Suspicion General/Unknown. A man said an acquaintance, whom he only knows on a first-name basis, stopped by his house at 11:30 p.m. When he woke up at 7a.m. the next morning, the woman had left the residence. Later that day, the man discovered the key to his vehicle was missing. The man suspected the woman might have something to do with the missing key. He could not provide a description for the woman other than her first name, race, gender and age.

NOV 2
Pick Up Pickpocket
2:35 a.m. — 2000 block of Hillview Street. Petit Theft All Other. A man said he met a girl while drinking at a restaurant. They both went to his apartment where his mother arrived home shortly after. The woman left the residence abruptly. The man then noticed his wallet had been moved; when he looked inside, he discovered his money was gone. The man said he ran outside to catch the woman and saw her get into a car with four to five other men. The man was only able to provide the woman’s first name to officers.