Cops Corner: Sarasota

Oct. 17
TAKING A TROLL
10 p.m. — 800 block of Siesta Key Circle. Burglary — Vehicle. A man said, sometime between 10 p.m. Oct. 17 and 5 a.m. Oct. 18, a person took the trolling motor from his boat. The man believes the person possibly came by boat and walked onto the boat adjacent to his before cutting the wires from the motor. He said there were muddy footprints on the boat next to his, but they had been washed off by the time the officer arrived.

Oct. 18
BOXSPRING BREAK
2:52 p.m. — 4000 block of North Tamiami Trail. Civil Problem. A manager at a motel said he had a box spring mattress sitting in a parking lot, leaning against a tree while he was cleaning a room. A man drove his car into the motel’s parking lot and struck the mattress. An officer told the men that this was a civil problem, because the man should have seen the mattress and the manager shouldn’t have left it in the parking lot where a car could hit it. Both men said there wouldn’t be any further problems.

Oct. 19
FOOD FIGHT
7:26 a.m. — 700 block of South Washington Boulevard. Other Disorderly Conduct. Officers were called to a fast-food restaurant because a customer was being disruptive. The customer said she was upset because of a sign in the restaurant that said patrons could stay for no longer than 20 minutes. The customer said she felt that was outrageous and complained to management.

SHOUTING MATCH
6 p.m. — 300 block of South Pineapple Avenue. Dispute/Fight. Officers responded to a complaint about a verbal dispute between 10 to 20 transient individuals. A group of people were observed at the location yelling at each other in a playful manner, and most left upon the arrival of an officer.

Oct. 20
GO CART
1 a.m. — 100 block of Columbus Boulevard. Grand Theft (Auto). A woman said a resort’s golf cart was taken from the property between 1 and 6 a.m. She said the cart isn’t secured at night and the key is broken, so anyone could have gotten on it and driven away. The cart was found around the corner with an estimated $400 in damage done to the vehicle.

NEARLY HIT-AND-RUN
5:59 p.m. 5000 block of North Tamiami Trail. Suspicion General. A woman said another car swerved at her and almost ran her off the road. She followed the car to a motel and saw a man get out of the car and enter a room. The man left the room before officers arrived, but the woman wanted the man arrested. The woman was upset when she was told officers could not arrest the subject and that a crash report could not be produced because there was no contact made with her vehicle. An officer told her it was not a good idea to follow the vehicle.