Cops Corner 6.2.2016

Bail bond bluff
May 18
2300 block of Radcliffe Place
Information only: A woman called the Sheriff’s Office because of a phone scam. She received several phone calls from someone claiming to be a representative of a local bail bond service. The woman’s husband has a bond. The person on the phone said he needed $1,000 or he would revoke her husband’s bond. The price went down from $1,000 to $50 while she was on the phone. She gave the person her debit card number, but there was no money on the card when the man tried to use it. He tried to call her again, using a phone number from a California area code. The woman was already canceling her debit card when she called the Sheriff, wanting to report the interaction.

Hit and run to the Sheriff
April 9
900 block of 21st Street East
Information only: A man contacted the Sheriff’s Office because he believed his car had been stolen. The man claimed he had never let anyone drive his vehicle, that he had been home all evening and had parked it in the parking lot at 7 p.m. Another man who was sleeping in his own car all night told the Sheriff that he did not see any car being stolen during the night, and he was parked right next to where the first man claimed his vehicle was stolen from. When the Sheriff’s Office investigated the vehicle, deputies discovered it had been towed by the Florida Highway Patrol because it had been involved in a hit and run.

Tool thief had screw loose
May 17
5400 block of University Parkway
Theft: A deputy observed a man exiting a store holding a power tool set. He followed the man, who began to run when he saw law enforcement. He refused to stop and ran into a heavily wooded area. The Sheriff’s Office set up a perimeter around the woods, so he was apprehended quickly by another deputy. The man was arrested, and had several prior convictions for theft.

Case for The Rockford Files
May 12
Southbound I-75
Information only: A woman called the Sheriff’s Office to report a dangerous driver who had cut her off several times. She called 911 and gave the Sheriff's Office a tag number from the vehicle. She claimed the other driver was intentionally trying to make her crash at least four times as the other driver would speed up, cut her off and slow down again. The woman is going through a divorce and called her private investigator about the incident. The investigator told her the car’s tag belonged to another private investigator in Sarasota.