Cops Corner: Sarasota 4.2.2015

March 29 
OUT OF THE PARK
4:03 p.m. — 2100 block of 12th Street

Civil Problem: While attending a baseball game with his family, a man paid $20 to park his car in a nearby lot. After the game, the man discovered that his car had been towed, and no attendants were present in the parking lot in which he left his vehicle. The man was upset by the cost to retrieve his vehicle from the towing company, and began yelling and swearing at employees and, later, an officer who arrived at the scene. The man said he would contact an attorney and sue everyone, including the officer.

March 30
GOLD HEIST
8 p.m. — 0 block of Horton Circle

Burglary — Structure: A man reported that, while he and his wife were out of town, someone took eight rolls of gold dollar coins from his bedroom. The man said that, before he left, he placed the coins in a locked coin box in his dresser, installed locks on his bedroom door and placed a sign on the bedroom door instructing nobody to enter.
     The man said his stepson lives in the house, but was told specifically not to enter the bedroom. The man kept the key to the lockbox in a box on top of his headboard, and said it appeared whoever took the coins used the key to access the coins, relocked the box after taking the coins and returned the key to the box it was originally in.
     When the man confronted his stepson about the missing coins, the stepson said he held a party with 20 to 25 people present, and that one of those individuals must have taken the coins. When an officer spoke to the stepson, he denied taking the coins and repeated that a party guest must have been responsible.

LOCKED INSIDE
4:39 p.m. — 1500 block of 19th Street

Dispute/Fight: A woman reported that she was behind on her rent, and her landlord changed the locks on her front door when she was asleep. An officer met with the landlord, who said the woman has not paid rent in three months and is attempting to scam him. The officer informed the man that he had to go through the county eviction process, which he said he would begin soon.

March 31
SMASHED & GRAB
7:11 p.m. — 3500 block of Webber Street

Strong-arm robbery: An employee at a restaurant reported a robbery occurred when he was attempting to assist an intoxicated customer. While he was talking to the customer’s husband, the customer took the employee’s wallet out of his back pocket; the customer and her husband then fled the area. Deputies located the couple’s vehicle and positively identified the suspects as the individuals responsible for the robbery.