Cops Corner: East County 4.2.2015

56TH AVENUE TERRACE EAST
MARCH 18
3:13 p.m. — 4300 block of 56th Avenue Terrace East. 

Suspicious Circumstance: A mother called police to report that her daughter was walking home from school and was asked by a woman who handed her a business card with the title “office inspector general with the U.S. Postal Service” if she could park in their driveway and monitor suspicious activity. The mother drove straight home after her daughter called her and wrote down the license plate of the vehicle before it drove off. The vehicle could not be located. 

LAKEWOOD RANCH MAIN STREET
MARCH 19
5:41 p.m. — 8100 block of Lakewood Ranch Main Street. 

Possession of Marijuana: Police pulled over a car for a traffic violation and did a walk around of the car with a K9 officer. Police saw a driver’s license on the floor of the car and confirmed it was fake. The dog alerted the officer to search the car for drugs, and the driver was arrested for possession of marijuana.

LOCKWOOD RIDGE ROAD
MARCH 21
10:31 p.m. — 8300 block of Lockwood Ridge Road.

Lost Property: A woman reported that while she was getting her nails done, she noticed her wedding band was missing. She told police the ring had to be resized several times because the size of her finger fluctuates. She believed it must have fallen off in the store before she got her manicure. She wanted the loss documented in a report case someone turns in her ring. 

STATE ROAD 70 EAST
MARCH 23
11:18 p.m. — 2900 block of State Road 70 East.

Shoplifting: A store surveillance video showed a woman only scanned 13 of the 26 items she had in her cart in the self-checkout line. She only paid for the 13 items and put the rest of the items, valued at $74, in shopping bags and left the store. When confronted by a loss prevention officer, she asked the officer several times if she could pay for the other items. When police arrived, she said, “It doesn’t matter, I’m going to jail either way. I was just stupid.” She was transported to jail. 

LAKEWOOD RANCH BOULEVARD
MARCH 24
11:36 a.m. — 8300 block of Lakewood Ranch Boulevard. 

Elderly Abuse: An unknown person called an elderly hotline to report that a hospital nurse hit an 81-year-old patient several times in the head and said the staff treats the patient and her family badly. After investigating, police discovered hospital staff had told the woman she couldn’t be treated at the hospital for the kind of care she needed. Hospital staff also released information stating that the nurse accused of hitting the patient wasn’t working on the days she supposedly hit the woman. There were no signs of abuse reported. 

170TH STREET EAST
MARCH 24
11:38 a.m. — 100 block of 170th Street East.

Burglary: Police reported someone cut an electrical wire valued at $221.23 from a home and fled the scene.