Cops Corner: Longboat Key

Nov. 15
What a waste
3:41 p.m. — 3400 block of Winding Oaks Drive. Larceny. A woman reported that someone took her recycling bin carrier. She called the waste management company, and a representative told her she would no longer need it because smaller bins were being replaced by 60-gallon containers. The woman had purchased the item and believes an employee took it, thinking she would no longer need it. She wants the carrier back.

Role call
9:47 a.m. — 500 block of Ranger Lane. Phone Call. A man who claimed his name was Steve Martin called a Longboat Key man and said he had pending enforcement actions against him from the U.S. Treasury and that the man must cooperate before the matter was sent to a magistrate. Steve Martin had an accent and was difficult to understand. He did not ask for money in his messages but told the man to call him immediately.

Nov. 17
Paid in full
7:35 a.m. — 5600 block of GMD. Traffic. The town’s license camera system alerted police that the registered owner of a vehicle that entered the Key had a suspended driver’s license. The man said he did not know his license was suspended. He said he might have been late on his child support payment, but he ultimately made the payment.

Tree trimming time
6:49 p.m. — 500 block of Gulf Bay Road. Fire. Tree limbs brushed on a power line, causing it to spark. The fire department had already been in contact with FPL to arrange to have the trees trimmed.

Nov. 18
Familiar fraud
1:32 p.m. — 4600 block of GMD. Suspicious Circumstance. A caller told a man he represents the IRS and said the man owes $5,800 in back taxes and that a warrant had been issued for his arrest. The caller told the man he was calling the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office to confirm the warrant and hung up the phone. The man told police he talked with two callers, both of whom had accents.

Under review
10:47 p.m. — 500 block of Bay Isles Parkway. Alarm. After a pharmacy’s alarm went off, police found all interior and parking lot lights on, and a side door was unlocked. The manager reviewed surveillance video and determined that two employees forgot to lock the door before they left for the night.

Nov. 19
Security checkout
1 a.m. — 500 block of Bay Isles Parkway. Security Check. Police found the front emergency door of a grocery store unlocked. Dispatch did not have a keyholder contact, so police monitored the business throughout the night.