Cops Corner

February 24, 2011

Feb. 15 Card shark 2:35 p.m. — 3800 block of South Tamiami Trail. Petit Theft Shoplifting. A greeting-card store employee caught a middle-aged woman stuffing four or five cards into her purse and walking out the door. She was driving a Lexus SUV but didn’t want to pay for $15 worth of cards. They were Hallmarks, so the thief cared enough to steal the very best.

Cops Corner

February 17, 2011

Feb. 7 Midnight meeting 1:36 a.m. — 5000 block of Circled Oak Drive. Grand Theft Auto. When a father went to check on his 15-year-old son about midnight, he noticed the teen was not asleep in his room and, in fact, he was not in the house at all. His wife's car was also missing. The mom called the Sheriff's Office and told them to search near the boy's girlfriend's house. Sure enough, there was her son … and her car. The boy was arrested.

Cops Corner

February 10, 2011

Feb. 1 Dog dazed 3:50 p.m. — 4000 block of South Tamiami Trail. Theft. An employee of a store that sells puppies said a man with a toddler walked into the store and began playing with a 10-week-old dachshund. The man asked the employee what it cost. The employee allowed the man and child to play with the puppy while he left the room to check on the price. When he returned, the man and child were gone. A customer walking into the store said he just saw a man hurry outside with a dachshund stuffed in his shirt. A check of the store revealed a dachshund was missing. Someone was able to get the man's license-plate number before he could drive away.

Cops Corner

February 3, 2011

Jan. 15 How do you spell relief? 1:25 p.m. — 1000 block of Central Avenue. Public Urination. A police officer saw a man relieving himself against a building, just two feet from a sidewalk busy with passing pedestrians.

Cops Corner

January 27, 2011

Jan. 17 Clean freaks 5:30 p.m. — 8400 block of South Tamiami Trail. Shoplifting. Four 20-something men were walking together through a supermarket. They were acting suspiciously and were headed toward the exit carrying a bag. An employee asked if he could look in the bag. One man dropped the bag, and all four men scattered and disappeared. Inside the bag — two bottles of Dove body wash.

Cops Corner

January 20, 2011

Jan. 7 Sweet little girl 9 p.m. — 8200 block of South Tamiami Trail. Battery. A 13-year-old girl began yelling at a 14-year-old girl, because she didn’t like the way that the older girl looked at her. The 14-year-old turned and walked away. The 13-year-old grabbed the girl's hair and began slapping her in the face. The younger girl was arrested.

Cops Corner

January 13, 2011

Jan. 1 As a jay bird 12:12 a.m. — 1100 block of John Ringling Boulevard. Suspicious Person. A nude man was seen running down the street. Well, that's one way to start off the new year.

Cops Corner

January 6, 2011

Cops Corner

December 30, 2010

Cops Corner

December 23, 2010

Dec. 16 Shot in the dark 1:08 a.m. — San Remo Terrace. Suspicious Vehicle. A pickup truck carrying construction material was swerving while it approached the Siesta Drive bridge. Once at the apex of the bridge, the driver stopped, although there's not much to see at 1 a.m.