Cops Corner

May 30
In the closet
Midnight — 1800 block of Bayonne Street. Disturbance. A mother has refused to allow her daughter’s boyfriend into the house. On the above date, the mom suspected the boyfriend was in the house again and searched for him. She found him hiding in her daughter’s bedroom closet. Mom asked police to give him a trespassing warning from her home. Officers complied.

May 31
Scratch that
12:47 p.m. — 1700 block of South Tamiami Trail. Criminal Mischief. A man and a woman were in separate cars and waiting for the same restaurant parking spot to become available. He had been waiting longer and entered the spot. The woman yelled something at him and searched for a different spot. When the woman found a parking space, the man was inside the restaurant. He watched her walk out of her way to walk next to his car before she entered the restaurant. The man said he didn’t think anything of her detour, and he opened the restaurant door for the woman. It wasn’t until he went back outside that he noticed a long scratch on his car, and he remembered that the woman had keys in her hand when she walked by his car. He called police, and officers questioned the woman. She denied keying his car, and there was no physical evidence to back up the man’s suspicions.

Rocks in her head
6:31 p.m. — South Tamiami Trail and Webber Street. Reckless Driving. An officer in his police car saw a woman drive up on a sidewalk to avoid two cars stopped at an intersection. She almost hit a small child, who was on the sidewalk at the time. The woman continued on and was driving erratically. The officer turned on his emergency lights and siren and began to follow her. She would not pull over and nearly caused another accident before speeding into a crowded coffee-shop parking lot and locking up her brakes. The officer caught up with her and found a prescription bottle on her lap. Inside the bottle were several rocks of crack cocaine.

June 1
Nightmare landlord
5:16 p.m. — 2400 block of Paulstan Court. Aggravated Assault. A pregnant woman said her landlord appeared intoxicated while he opened her front door without knocking. She was holding her toddler when the landlord began berating her and calling her a bad mother and a thief. She said he even raised his hand a few times, as if he was going to hit her. He walked out the door a few times but came back to argue some more. The last time he left, he slammed the door so hard that it broke. Police wanted to interview him after the incident, but he was not home.

Stripped down
11:35 p.m. — 1700 block of South Tamiami Trail. Petit Theft. A man and woman consumed an appetizer, three drinks and their entrees, then told employees they were going out for a smoke. They must have left their cigarettes at home, because the two took off, without paying their bill. Restaurant staff believed the man was a tattoo artist and the woman was a stripper.