Cops Corner: His car was open . . . for business

Oct. 12

Open for business

8:39 a.m., 600 block of Dream Island Road

Suspicious vehicle: While on patrol, a pair of officers spotted a suspicious vehicle in the parking lot of a condo community. The windows were open, the trunk was ajar and a wallet was sitting on the front seat. Officers soon found the owner – a boat detailer working nearby. He was advised about his vehicle being open.

Oct. 13

Piling on

7:30 p.m., 800 block of Marbury Lane

Public service: Police responded to a neighborhood on a report of a large piling floating in the canal. The officer spotted the piling, about 15 feet in length, but couldn’t retrieve it. He notified the U.S. Coast Guard at Cortez and the department’s marine unit.

Oct. 14

Elusive

9:25 a.m., 5700 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Animal report: Police were called about a sighting of a coyote walking south on the beach. When an officer arrived, he didn’t see the animal, nor did several people on the beach.

Loud music, and more

1:30 p.m., 6400 block of Gulfside Road

Disturbance: An officer sent to investigate a report of loud music on the beach arrived to find a boat playing loud music, along with two dogs on the beach and several people with open containers of alcohol. Once informed of the list of illegal activities ongoing, the group agreed to head back to their nearby house. The boat operator agreed to turn off the music. One individual argued about police jurisdiction but was told by his acquaintances to let it go.

Steering him right

3:51 p.m., near Jewfish Key

Public service: A boater told a marine patrol officer his vessel’s power steering system was leaking and low on hydraulic fluid. The officer transported the boat operator to a marina, where the boater purchased supplies to make repairs. The officer returned the boat operator to his family, where he fixed the problem and got underway.

Under his own power

8:47 p.m., 4600 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Animal call: A caller to police reported an injured raccoon in the middle of the roadway. The caller told police she came upon the animal and could only think to call police. When an officer tried to use a snare to remove the raccoon from the road, the animal scampered off into nearby trees.

Oct. 15

Crash investigation

7:26 a.m., 4500 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Traffic: A motorcyclist was sent to Blake Memorial Hospital after a collision on Gulf of Mexico Drive. The motorcyclist told officers he was driving south on GMD and remembered the crash but didn’t understand what had happened. The driver and passenger of a PT Cruiser told police they were southbound on GMD and were turning left into Longboat Harbor when they were hit in the driver’s side. The cyclist was cited for improperly changing lanes.