Cops Corner: Longboat Key 7.23.15

JULY 9

DRYWALL DUMPING
1:46 p.m. — 3000 block of Grand Bay Boulevard
Dumping: A woman reported that someone dumped drywall into a dumpster she rented for a tile job. Police couldn’t locate anyone who would confess to dumping the drywall and asked her to call back if another incident occurs.

HOUSE HUNT
7:57 p.m. — 500 block of Ketch Lane
Suspicious Circumstance: A woman told police people outside in a car were taking pictures of her house. The occupants told police they were house hunting and using a mobile app called “Home Snap” to take pictures of property that helped them confirm home values of neighboring properties.

BAMBOO FIRE
10:38 p.m. — 5100 block of GMD
Fire: Police discovered bamboo leaning on power lines, which caused a small fire that was extinguished. The power company was called to have the vegetation trimmed away from the power lines.

JULY 10

JUST PASSING THROUGH
9:57 a.m. — 5300 block of GMD
Trespassing: A property owner told police that a woman and her son used his property to access the beach even though he asked them not to do so. Police told the woman she must use a public access to get to the beach.

PAY UP
10:48 a.m. — 5400 block of GMD
Public Service: A man told police the owner of a painting company owes him $600 in cash for his help painting a Key condominium complex. Police told him was a civil matter but left a message for the owner in an attempt to broker the peace.

BICYCLE THEFT
1:56 p.m. — 5400 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive
Larceny: A man told police his $150 black bicycle was stolen from his condominium’s parking garage area.

SWEEPSTAKES FRAUD
2:14 p.m. — 5400 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive
Fraud: A man received a letter with an endorsed check saying he won a lump sum sweepstakes prize valued at $360,600. He received a check for $5,640.89, which was to be deposited into his account, and the letter asked him to send back a check for $5,100for the lump sum of the taxes. He didn’t enter the sweepstakes, and police took his winning checks into evidence for a fraud case. 

CADILLAC CONUNDRUM
6:20 p.m. — 6800 block of GMD
Suspicious Vehicle: A woman reported a suspicious white Cadillac in her condominium parking lot. Police couldn’t locate the car.

SUSPECT IS A NO SHOW
10:35 p.m. — 5300 block of GMD
Lost Property: A woman told police she left her Vera Bradley purse on top of the car while she buckled her children into their car seats and forgot about it when she drove off to a restaurant for dinner. The purse contained a $200 cellphone, driver’s license, credit card and debit card. She called the phone several times until someone answered. The man on the line confirmed he had her belongings and asked her to meet him at a Sarasota bus station. She waited at the station for two hours, and the man never showed. She canceled her credit cards.

JULY 11

COMPLAINT LINE
9:17 a.m. — 800 block of Evergreen Way
Civil Disturbance: A woman called police to report she wasn’t happy with the service performed by an air conditioning company and wanted a report on file in case there are issues with the company in the future. 

SUSPICIOUS VISITOR
10:50 a.m. — 3800 block of GMD
Disturbance: A couple reported that a man they didn’t recognize who was driving through their condominium parking lot had slurred speech when they approached him to determine why he was in the complex. Police found him at a neighbor’s apartment, who confirmed that he spends the weekends at her condo. The man had a beer in his hand and slurred speech. Police advised him not to drink and drive.

CABINET CONFUSION
3:51 p.m. — 3000 block of Fair Oaks Lane
Civil Disturbance: A property caretaker for a Key condominium told police that a contractor the owner hired to refurbish cabinets won’t return his cabinets to the condo. She worried he took 50% of the owner’s money and didn’t do the work because she can’t find a valid address for him online. Police left a message for the contractor.

JULY 12

TURTLE TROUBLE
8:34 a.m. — 5100 block of GMD
Public Service: Police searched for someone who was tampering with sea turtles on the beach but couldn’t find anyone.

JULY 13

PROTECTION GRANTED
11:22 p.m. — 4400 block of GMD
Suspicious Circumstance: A man who just got out of jail asked for a police escort to pick up his belongings at his former girlfriend’s house. He was told that wasn’t possible because his former girlfriend filed an injunction for protection against him. An hour later, the former girlfriend told police someone was banging on her door, and she believes it was her former boyfriend. Police found the man’s car in the parking lot but the hood was cool to the touch. He couldn’t be found on the property.

JULY 14

SHOPPER SENT HOME
8:34 p.m. — 500 block of Bay Isles Parkway
Public Service: A caller reported a drunken man stumbling around the grocery store. Police found a man with blood shot glassy eyes and an odor of an alcoholic beverage on his breath. He accepted a ride home from police.

JULY 15

HERE I AM
6:36 p.m. — 5400 block of GMD
Public Service: A woman was surprised to hear from police that her neighbor, whom she barely knows, reported her missing.