Cops Corner: Sarasota

March 11
MIRROR, MIRROR
11 p.m. — 500 block of South Gulfstream Avenue. Petit Theft from Building. A maintenance worker at a condominium reported that an unknown person took the large round mirror used by drivers exiting the complex. Two weeks earlier, someone damaged another round mirror and left it behind in the process of removing it. Several lights had been knocked over and damaged on New Year’s Eve, as well. The officer said he would put out a request for a patrol car to occasionally monitor the complex.

March 14
RIP THE LID OFF
5 p.m. — 2000 block of South Tuttle Avenue. Criminal Mischief. A man reported that his scooter was vandalized while it was left in a parking lot. An unknown person ripped the lid on the storage compartment of the scooter. The person threw items from the storage compartment onto the ground, but did not take anything.

CAT FIGHT
6:40 p.m. — 1300 block of 43rd Street. Dispute/Fight. A woman said that she and her neighbor had a verbal argument after her neighbor called animal services on her cat. The neighbor told officers that the cat came into her yard and “does its business,” which she does not like. Officers advised the woman to keep her animals from entering her neighbor’s property.

PARENTAL CONTROL
7:30 p.m. — 2500 block of 10th Street. Dispute/Fight. A man reported that a group of children shot his child with an airsoft gun in the parking lot of their apartment complex. The man said this was an ongoing issue with the children, who he believes do not live in the apartment complex. Officers told the man to speak with management and try to figure out the names of the children’s parents so the issue could be addressed.

March 15
TRAFFIC JAM
1:22 a.m. — 1900 block of Ringling Boulevard. Traffic Hazard. A man called to complain that a dark van was sitting in the thoroughfare. A nearby nightclub owned the van, and the man said he had gotten in a verbal dispute with the staff at the club a week earlier. The man said the nightclub was “getting out of control.” A staff member moved the van after the officer requested it be moved.

POWER PLAY
10 p.m. — 2300 block of Ringling Boulevard. Suspicion General/Unknown. An employee at a business reported that someone switched the building’s power off two times in the previous two days, and she suspected a transient was responsible. The incident occurred at the same time both days. The building’s security footage was too grainy to identify the person, but the officer said patrol officers would monitor the building for loiterers in the future.

SPECIAL DELIVERY
3:32 a.m. — 1000 block of Villagio Circle. Suspicious Person. A woman reported that a man tried to kick her door in. When an officer arrived on the scene, a man who stated he was delivering newspapers approached him. The man said he threw a paper at the wrong apartment by mistake, and when he went to retrieve the paper, the woman began to yell through the door at him. The officer explained the situation to the woman, who insisted that the man tried to kick in her door.

March 17
DIRTY LAUNDRY
5:45 a.m. — 200 block of Bahia Vista Street. Dispute/Fight. An officer was dispatched in response to a verbal dispute at a laundromat. An employee at the laundromat said that a woman refused to leave the business when asked. The woman left without incident after officers arrived.