Cops Corner: Longboat Key 4.9.2015

March 25
Cut and run
10:35 a.m. — 6300 block of GMD

Code Enforcement: A town employee learned from one of his crews that approximately 20 seagrape trees were cut down illegally at a beach property. The house that stood to benefit most from the clearer view is vacant. The work was probably done at night using a handsaw to avoid detection.

March 26
Dog wild
2:42 p.m. — 3200 block of Bayou Sound

Animal: A woman was walking her small dog when a neighbor’s German shepherd got loose from its collar and charged toward her dog. The woman said the owner took charge of the dog but did not apologize.

March 27
Can’t catch a break
9:28 a.m. — 600 block of Bay Isles Parkway

Injury: A man was driving his work van and braked for an elderly man on a bicycle, who became startled and fell. The bicyclist refused treatment.

Client clash
6:01 p.m. — 5400 block of GMD

Battery: An interior decorator said her relationship with a client began to deteriorate two weeks earlier and that he had touched or grabbed her buttocks area. The decorator said the client became increasingly dissatisfied with the work she was doing on his unit, and issues culminated when a worker who was scheduled to install a countertop and move items into the home was unable to do so because he was arrested. The decorator moved what items she could to the residence, but she told police the man became angry, grabbed her arm and said, “I will bury you, your children, your family and destroy your company.” The decorator’s attorney advised her to file a report. 

March 28
Dog’s day out
10 a.m. — 6900 block of Longboat Drive South

Animal: Police caught a dog running loose on the streets and found the name of the owner on his tag. The officer drove the dog home, where his owner was outside looking for him. The owner said the dog had gotten loose from the backyard and apologized.

Safety screening
10:05 p.m. — 600 block of Sutton Place

Suspicious Circumstance: A woman called about a possible burglary after she returned to her condo and noticed a window screen lying on the walkway next to her neighbor’s bedroom window. The window was open, but the blinds were down, and she could not tell if anyone was home. The tenants said they had company staying in the bedroom and said the screen must have been knocked down.

March 29
Rest stop
6:24 p.m. — 5300 block of GMD

Suspicious Person: Police recognized a man who had been caught camping overnight in a shopping center more than a year earlier walking around the upstairs office area of the same shopping center. The man told police he entered the offices to use the restroom and was on his way to Sarasota. Police gave the man a ride to his destination.

March 30
Scam savvy
10:43 a.m. — 5100 block of GMD

Public Service: A woman received a call from a man claiming to be her eldest grandson. The caller said he was in the Dominican Republic with friends and had been arrested and was now in the American embassy. The woman knew it was a hoax and asked the man what his mother’s name was, prompting the caller to hang up. The caller did not ask for money, and the woman did not provide any personal information. Police suggested she contact her carrier to block anonymous numbers.

Leftover bill
10:10 p.m. — 200 block of GMD

Fraud: A restaurant manager said a man ordered $40 worth of food and beverages, but his credit card was declined. The man said he must have spent more than the daily $2,500 limit. The customer told police he planned to return the next day to pay but did not want to hand over his driver’s license as the manager requested.

March 31
Flat out feud
2:10 p.m. — 4500 block of GMD

Disturbance: A man reported that three days earlier, he had driven to a friend’s home in Sarasota and noticed his tire was flat when he arrived. He asked another man for help, but the man became verbally abusive. After he finished changing the tire, he went into his friend’s house and saw the other man inside. The man jumped up from his couch and pointed his finger at him and became verbally abusive again. Since then, the man has sent him several threatening texts. The man who reported the incidents wanted them documented in case the conflict escalates further.

April 1
Road rage
5:31 p.m. — Longboat Pass Bridge

Disturbance: Callers reported that occupants of two northbound vehicles made threats to one another involving a firearm. Police interviewed the driver and passenger in a black Nissan, both of whom said they had pulled off to the side of the road to call a friend. They tried to merge back into northbound traffic, which angered the driver of a pickup truck, who felt they had cut him off. The driver of the truck told police that it seemed like the driver was trying to avoid a traffic backup and cut in front of the other vehicles. After an argument, all three men got out of their cars, and the Nissan driver told the pickup truck driver that he had a gun. The man in the truck threw a plywood board at the car, and all three men threw cans back and forth. All three signed waivers of prosecution.