Cops Corner: Sarasota

Jan. 18
PALLET CLEANSER
1:13 p.m. — 1100 block of Highland Street. Ordinance Violation. A caller informed officers that a man was throwing wooden pallets from a van into an empty lot. An officer was unable to locate the van, and the license plate provided did not match any registered vehicles. The officer requested that the solid waste division of the city be alerted to clean up the vacant property.

BAD RECEPTION
8:20 p.m. — 1200 block of North Palm Avenue. Suspicion General. An anonymous caller alerted police that something was being set up on the top of a parking garage. An officer made contact with a man on the roof, who was setting up a satellite for a broadcast of a seminar the next morning. The man informed the officer he had clearance for the satellite dish, and the officer judged that the equipment seemed legitimate.

Jan. 19
ENTER SANDMAN?
6:30 a.m. — 2100 block of Harvard Street. Suspicion General. A man reported that a person has been entering his window every night while he sleeps and stealing his belongings. The man said he reported an earlier break-in, though officers were unable to locate any previous reports regarding it. An officer observed that the man’s bed sits against the window he claims the person is entering through, and asked how the person would enter without waking up the man. The man said he did not know, but reasserted that the person comes in every night.

HIDDEN GEMS
10:50 a.m. — 1200 block of South Tamiami Trail. Petit Theft — Shoplifting. The assistant manager at a gift store reported that, after a customer purchased several items and attempted to leave the store, the alarm system activated. The assistant manager took the customer into the back room and had her walk through another theft prevention gate without her bag or purse; she set off the alarm again. The customer then removed two small bracelets and several decorative stones from her pockets, valued at $63.35. The customer admitted to the crime and stated she just made a bad decision.

Jan. 23
WATERWORKS
4:40 p.m. — 1400 block of South Tamiami Trail. Trespassing. The employee at a hotel contacted police because a man was being disruptive and would not leave the property. The employee said the man came into the reception area acting irritated, and used vulgarities when asking if the hotel had any water. When the employee asked if the man was a guest at the hotel, the man became angrier and refused to leave. After arriving, an officer trespassed the man from the property.