Cops Corner: East County

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

March 14 
 Pied piper 
12:58 a.m. — 2300 block of University Parkway. Item Found. A deputy responded to a report of a civil dispute. Upon arrival to a home, the deputy found a glass pipe on the armrest of a couch. The pipe contained marijuana residue. The people at the house denied ownership of the pipe. The pipe was destroyed.

Rude awakening
2:35 a.m. — 2900 block of 53rd Avenue E. Suspicious Incidents. A man was found sleeping in his vehicle in the parking lot of a department store. A deputy searched the vehicle due to its strong odor of marijuana. The deputy found items in the vehicle that were suspicious and appeared to be stolen. The deputy took photographs of the items.

March 16
 Horse play
8:52 a.m. — 11000 3rd Avenue NE. Burglary. Unknown person(s) entered a horse stable to gain access to a barn. The person(s) tried to pry open the barn door with an unknown instrument. Unable to open the door, the person(s) left the stable without taking anything.

Pain in the head
1:39 p.m. — 2900 block of 53rd Avenue E. Theft. A juvenile was arrested for shoplifting. He stole items valuing $60.07 from the grocery section of a store. After he was detained, he was transported to the hospital with head pain.

March 17
 Purse strings
4:46 p.m. — 5200 block of University Parkway. Theft. An unknown suspect entered a department store. Surveillance video captured a woman selecting items and concealing them in her purse. She exited the store without paying for the items. There are no suspects or witnesses.

March 18
 Stuck in place
2:12 a.m. — 6600 block of Tuttle Avenue. Criminal Mischief. A deputy responded to a report of a suspicious vehicle. When the deputy arrived, he found a small four-door car and an SUV stuck in the mud. The SUV was about one foot deep in the mud. The deputy also noticed the entire center median at 63rd Avenue East and Whitfield Avenue was damaged by someone driving in the grass.

A man on the scene, the driver of the four-door car, said he had pushed the car to the side of the road after it ran out of gas. The man said a neighbor took him to get gas. When they returned with the gas and filled the car, it remained stuck. He then got a ride to his aunt’s house and borrowed her SUV, figuring the SUV could push his vehicle out of the mud. Ultimately, both vehicles became stuck in the mud. A tow truck removed the vehicles. The driver said he did not cause other damage to the median.