Cops Corner: Sarasota

Feb. 7
Push your luck
3:50 p.m. — 2500 block of North Tamiami Trail.
Counterfeit Currency: The owner of a gas station reported that a woman used a counterfeit $10 bill to purchase $4 in lottery tickets.

Spouting off
5 p.m. — 700 block of Flint River Court.
Dispute/Fight: A woman got into an argument with a teenaged neighbor after the teenager turned on the woman’s outside faucet and left it running. 

The woman had a large water bill in the previous month, and didn’t want the issue to recur. The woman claimed the teenager was extremely rude, kicked the woman’s door and threatened to fight the woman. The teenager left when officers arrived.

Lend me a hand
8 p.m. — 1500 block of Main Street.
Motor Vehicle Theft: A man parked a car in a paid parking lot and returned five hours later to discover the car was missing. The man still had the keys to the vehicle. 

An officer drove the man around to try to locate the car, and called the private toing company for the lot, but was unable to locate any additional information about the car. The man said the car’s owner was out of town, and the owner was letting him use the car.

Feb. 8
Carjacking
12:09 p.m. — 100 block of South Tuttle Avenue.
Dispute/Fight: A vendor at a flea market reported that a man was shopping at his booth, at which time he placed a toy car into his pocket while walking away.

The vendor contacted the man, took the car back and asked him to pay for it. The man paid for the car, but the vendor still advised the flea market operator about the incident. The operator gave the man a trespass warning for the property.

Feb. 9
Hairy situation
4:15 p.m. — 1400 block of First Street.

Petit Theft — Shoplifting: A security guard at a grocery store witnessed a woman take a reusable shopping bag, a six-pack of beer, a bottle of wine and a prepackaged sandwich to the café area of the store without paying.

The woman walked back into the store and took more wine, beer, a stuffed animal and two packages of stick-on mustaches before returning to the café area. The woman began consuming the alcohol and sandwich with another man. When an officer approached her, the woman said she bought the items and couldn’t find the receipt before admitting they had not been paid for.