Cops Corner: Play something quiet

JULY 6

Oh, sorry

12:21 a.m., 4200 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Noise: An officer was sent to a vacation rental to investigate reports of a noisy group. The officer found a small gathering of people, talking under a cabana. Members of the group said they had been playing guitar and didn’t realize they were being loud. They agreed to be quiet.

A common scam

10:16 a.m., 1200 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Phone scam: A woman called her lawyer and police after receiving a phone call from an unknown number saying her grandson was in trouble and needed money sent to him. Officers arrived to say this was a common scheme to get money from unsuspecting people and to never agree to send money or provide personal information. She assured the officers she had not.

Bad timing

2:50 p.m., 1000 block of Bogey Lane

Suspected vandalism: A caller to police suspected someone had tampered with or vandalized her pool equipment. The pump timer was off its usual schedule. An officer said there was no evidence of tampering or vandalism, and that a mechanical issue could be to blame. The caller said she would have her pool service check things out.

Not here

3:45 p.m., 3100 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Lost/missing items: A shopkeeper discovered two necklaces missing from a shelf and called police. She said she noticed the items were no longer hanging on display busts but had been there before she began taking a phone order and helping another customer with a cash sale of a similar item. No security video was available.

Happy July 6th

10:13 p.m., 5300 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Fireworks: An officer on patrol spotted aerial fireworks and located the people responsible for launching them behind a vacation rental resort. The officer told them fireworks were illegal in Longboat Key. The people returned to their rooms after receiving a verbal warning.

JULY 7

Catch and release

1:42 a.m., 7000 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Fishing: Police were sent to the Longboat Pass Bridge after a boater complained about someone on the bridge throwing fish into the water near his boat. The officer spoke to the person on the bridge, who said he was just throwing the fish back after catching them, and denied throwing anything else into the water. The officer reminded the man and his son that fishing from the bridge is prohibited and issued a verbal warning.

Boats on the loose

8 a.m. and 8:41 a.m., Off the Key

Abandoned boats: On marine patrol duty, an officer spotted two boats that appeared abandoned in the waters near Longboat Key. The first was a sailboat that once was tangled on a dock near Linley Street and then drifted and ran aground. Its condition led an officer to believe it was abandoned. The second was a sailboat found aground in mangroves near the south end of the key. With registration information gleaned from the boats, attempts were made to contact the owners.

Mixed message

11:29 a.m., 6000 Gulf of Mexico Drive

Dog on the beach: An officer spoke to a new guest at a resort about dogs on the beach. The guest said that he assumed his pet was allowed on the beach because the resort allowed pets. Not so, said the officer. The guest said he understood.

Out of gas

7:06 p.m., 700 block of Norton Street

Suspicious circumstance: An officer responded to a report of a suspicious incident and found a resident had helped a group of young boaters who ran out of has in a canal. The resident assisted the group get gas and they had left the area before police could arrive.

JULY 9

Return to sender

1:24 p.m.,  300 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Fraud: Police were alerted to a potential case of fraud. A resident told police he found in his mailbox a notice his mail was to be forwarded to an Alabama address. He arranged for the mail-forwarding request to be cancelled and reported the incident to the police. He told officers he has no idea who might be at the Alabama address and said he had not had any discussions about his address with anyone.

Doggone violation

8:40 p.m., 700 Bayport Way

Disturbance: A dog barking inside a home for a reported two hours brought police out to investigate. Officers could hear the dog barking inside but could not find any humans on the property. The owner arrived several minutes later and reported being at the beach. The owner was advised of the town’s noise ordinance and agreed to comply.

JULY 12

Nuisance no longer

7:28 p.m., Greer Island

Noise: Police were sent to the Greer Island area to look into reports of loud music playing from a red and white boat. Upon the officer’s arrival, no such boat was spotted in the area of the Longboat Pass Bridge. The officer subsequently canvassed the gulf side of Greer Island via North Shore Road, which also yielded negative results. The officer heard back from the original caller, saying the boat had recently left the area.