Rowdy teen leaves cellphone in ride-hailing after turbulent trip

Thursday, Jan. 25

Justice delayed

11:31 a.m., 1700 block of Benjamin Franklin Boulevard

Property damage: Finding his rear car window smashed months earlier, a complainant told police the vehicle had been parked in the residents' parking facility of a beachfront condominium building. He advised the cost to replace the window was $400. 

An officer asked the complainant if there was surveillance video at the location and was told that there was, but because the incident occurred several months prior he was told the video was no longer available. A check with the building management revealed there was no one available to access the property security system. 

The complainant was issued a victim's services brochure and an SPD case number.

Saturday, Jan. 27

Very mobile phone

7:50 p.m., 1000 block of John Ringling Boulevard

Dispute: A 14-year-old called police to report a ride-hailing driver had kept a cellphone he had left in the front seat of the car, which he said the driver claimed to have turned in at SPD headquarters. 

The complainant said he was in the front seat with friends in the back seat when they hurriedly exited the vehicle short of their destination of St. Armands Circle, leaving the phone behind. He acknowledged he and his friends were “acting rowdy,” which prompted the driver to cut the ride short.

He contacted the driver through the app, who told him the phone had been turned in. However, a tracker on the phone indicated it was still traveling throughout the city.

At approximately 10:18 p.m., the responding officer located the vehicle on University Parkway near North Tamiami Trail and advised the driver of why she was stopped. She said she wished to file a police report for damage done to her vehicle by the passengers in question, saying that when she stopped the vehicle and told them to exit because of their behavior, a portion of the weather stripping was pulled from a rear door. 

The officer contacted the complainant at a downtown hotel and returned his phone, advising him that the driver was satisfied with the outcome of the investigation and requested no further action be taken.

Alcohol was involved

4:18 p.m., 300 block of Central Avenue

Disturbance: In a case of overconsumption leading to disruptive behavior at an apartment complex pool, an officer met with an employee who advised she had received multiple complaints from residents that the man was heavily intoxicated, using foul language, and drinking and smoking in the pool area, which are in violation of apartment rules. 

The complainant had attempted to resolve the matter but, being met with resistance, called law enforcement. An officer located the offender, who was accompanied by a woman. The subject said he was a resident of the complex, which was verified by staff. According to the police report he was described as “extremely intoxicated to the point where he needed assistance walking.” 

With some encouragement and assistance from his companion, the man was escorted back to his apartment without further incident.

Sunday, Jan. 28

Someone to blame

4:40 p.m., 2900 block of Fruitville Road

Disturbance: Multiple callers reported a man yelling at everyone he could contact at an apartment complex. Upon arrival, the officer was directed to the subject who was yelling profanities and blaring music from his stereo. According to the report, as the officer approached him, he turned the radio off, grabbed his backpack and started to leave the property.

He advised that he blames all the residents for him being evicted from his apartment at that location several months earlier. The officer reported that based on numerous prior contacts with the subject, he may be either using narcotics or not taking prescribed medications. “Either way,” the report reads, “at this point, I don't believe he meets Baker Act criteria, but he may be getting close.”

Projectile planter

9:31 a.m., 1700 block of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Way

Civil dispute: An officer met with a complainant who advised that he believes his upstairs neighbor is intentionally throwing items from the stairwell balcony down onto the ground near his vehicle. A pile of potting soil was present on the sidewalk near where the complainant’s vehicle was parked. He advised his vehicle was not struck by the tossed planter, but that it is the second time an incident like this has occurred.

The same resident, the complainant suspects, tossed a miniature pink wooden rocking chair on the sidewalk near his vehicle. Said rocking chair was also found on the ground near the potting soil.

The complainant said the female neighbor is often up late at night yelling, slamming things and causing a general disturbance. He said he believes during these outbursts that she must come outside and toss his neighbor’s belongings.

An officer met with that neighbor who reported his tropical vine planter was thrown from the stairwell balcony, where he keeps all his potted plants, sometime during the prior night. He advised the plants are fine, however the plastic planter itself is broken, estimating the cost to replace it at $6.

The officer attempted to make contact with the subject, however no one answered the door and it appeared no one was home at the time. Both the complainant and the neighbor said they wish to document the incidents pending positive identification of the subject. If further incidents occur, the neighbor whose property was tossed advised he may seek to prosecute for criminal mischief.

The officer called the landlord and left a voicemail requesting the video surveillance footage from the camera on the stairwell balcony.