Cops corner

July 23

THIEF HAD GOOD TASTE

6200 block of State Road 64 East, Bradenton

Petit Theft: A theft prevention employee for a department store and grocery reported to the Sheriff's Office that a man stole $107.77 in meat. The man went to the meat department and selected several pieces of rib eye, then was observed concealing them in a shopping bag. He attempt to pass points of sale when he was confronted by store security. In the confrontation with security, the meat was damaged but the man managed to flee the store without the merchandise.  The store, which had video of the incident, is attempting to prosecute.

July 23

DUI WASN'T A BAD DREAM

1400 block of Rye Road, Bradenton

DUI: A Sheriff's Office deputy approached a vehicle that was stopped in the middle of the road. The deputy noticed a man sleeping behind the wheel of the vehicle with the windows up, the doors locked and the engine running. For approximately 10 minutes, the deputy attempted to get the man's attention so he could open the door. Eventually, the man cooperated. After a DUI investigation, the man was arrested and taken to county jail.

July 26

SCAMMER UTILIZES CRYING JAG

5400 block of University Parkway, Bradenton

Suspicious Incident: A man leaving a hardware store made contact with another man who was walking out of a hardware store in a crying fit. The second man said he had no gas to get home to St. Petersburg. The first man felt sorry for him and gave him a $20 bill and another $13 to purchase gasoline. Eventually, the first man realized it was a scam as when the first man got his gasoline, he quickly walked away. The first man contacted the Sheriff's Office to have the incident documented in the hope that others wouldn't fall victim to a similar scam. The first man said at no point was the other man aggressive and he never demanded any money.

July 26

KITTY CONVERSATION CAUSES CALAMITY

7200 block of 55th Avenue East, Bradenton

Petit theft: A woman was shopping in the pet aisle at a grocery store when two women came up to her and started a conversation about the care of kittens. One of the females abruptly said that her mother was calling and the two quickly left. When the first woman was ready to check out, she discovered her wallet was missing. She believes the two females distracted her and one of them took her wallet out of her purse. The wallet was found a short time later on 45th Street East in Bradenton, however, her case and credit cards were missing. Two of the credit cards already had unauthorized charges by the time the woman called her credit card companies. Deputies were checking the store's video.