Hotel staff concerned about man who left suddenly with 2 'call girls' still in room

Friday, Sept. 6

Car in the bushes 

11:42 a.m., 500 block of Broadway Street

Officer Public Service: Officers were dispatched to investigate a reported suspicious vehicle. The caller stated the vehicle was parked in bushes and he was unable to see into the vehicle. The responding officers found the vehicle in question in an alley, but it was not all that suspicious. The vehicle was parked legally on private property with sunshades on the windows. Officers ensured the vehicle was not reported stolen and the owner had a valid license so the case was closed. 

Late-night fishing 

9:09 p.m., 7100 block of Longboat Drive East

Suspicious Person: A citizen called to report suspicious fishermen who arrived by boat and were fishing from the caller’s dock. Upon arrival, the officer spoke with four men who were fishing from a boat. The group said they were aware that the dock was private property and said they did not fish from the docks. 

Saturday, Sept. 7

Suspicious noises around the house

5:11 a.m., 4300 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Suspicious Incident: Dispatch sent an officer to respond when a resident reported hearing loud banging throughout their condo. An officer was nearby and responded quickly, noting that no one was at the residence’s front door or in the area at the time. The caller asked the officer to search the residence and the closets, but nothing appeared out of place to the officer. 

Sunday, Sept. 8 

Second stop, still no license

9:45 p.m., 2400 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Vehicle Stop: While on patrol, an officer noticed a vehicle driving with a dimmed headlight that was almost completely out. The officer pulled behind the vehicle and ran the license plate to find that the driver did not have a valid driver’s license. This led to the officer conducting a stop of the vehicle, and the driver admitted that he did not have a driver’s license. Further, the officer discovered that the same driver had been issued a criminal citation by another Longboat Key officer a month prior. This time, the driver was given another criminal citation and a court date. The driver then parked his vehicle in a nearby public parking lot and had to call a friend to give him a ride. 

Tuesday, Sept. 10

Left in a hurry

3:26 a.m., 1000 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Officer Public Service: A Longboat Key officer was dispatched to a local resort about a civil issue. The officer met with resort staff who advised that a male guest paid for a room and then invited two female guests, who the staff members speculated were sex workers. The staffers said the male guest returned to the lobby after a short time in the room and appeared to be intoxicated by his demeanor. He appeared distraught, according to the staffers’ account, and waited in the lobby for an Uber to pick him up and take him home. 

The man left the resort, leaving behind all of his items in the room with the women. Staff members insisted the women were "call girls" and also speculated the man left a briefcase with a firearm up in the room. All of these events happened three hours before police were contacted. The officer advised the staff members that this was a civil matter but said they should call LBKPD if assistance is needed later. 

Wednesday, Sept. 11

Where's the bathroom? 

11:55 a.m., 1900 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Officer Public Service: A citizen called 911 to report two men walking around a house. At the scene, an officer spoke with the caller who gave descriptions of the two men and said they seemed suspicious. The officer then walked down the street to where the caller said she saw the men, and the two men were found. They stated they were working for the homeowner and were looking for a bathroom, but were pointed in the wrong direction. The officer did not observe anything suspicious, and the case was closed. 

Thursday, Sept. 12

Overnight parking

10:52 a.m., 6800 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Suspicious Vehicle: Officers responded to a suspicious vehicle call and spoke with the complainant at the scene. The complainant said there was a truck left overnight and it was blocking part of a parking lot. An officer searched the vehicle’s VIN, which was owned by a rental company. The officers advised the complainant that the vehicle was on private property, so the property manager would have to be the one to tow the vehicle. 

Resident insists no exceptions

8:15 p.m., 6600 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Noise Disturbance: After-hours construction noise prompted police response. At the scene, an officer saw two trucks belonging to an electric company and two unknown work trucks getting ready to leave. The officer spoke with the foreman at the scene, who said he and his electrical crew arrived a couple hours previously to assist the other contractors. He said they ran into many problems along the way and his boss told him the job needed to be finished. The foreman also said the resident — the complainant — had come over and harassed the workers for working past 5 p.m. and would not listen when the foreman tried explaining the situation. According to him, the harassment was so bad that when the wires were determined to be safe, he decided to wrap up and come back the next day to finish the job. 

The officer then spoke with the complainant, who began yelling at the officer about the issue. Although the officer tried explaining the work was necessary to ensure power lines were safe, the complainant insisted the officer should give the crews citations. The officer reiterated that he would not be issuing any citations, and the disgruntled resident demanded the officer’s name before walking away.