Cops Corner: A lot of foot traffic at the Colony

MARCH 9

ROOM AT THE INN

1:14 a.m., 4700 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Suspicious person: Police were called to the lobby of a hotel to determine the intentions of a man staff felt was acting in an out-of-the-ordinary way. The responding officer located the man, who said he was looking for a room for the night. Hotel security related that the man had arrived, left and returned a short time later, only to sit down, eat an apple and begin unpacking his bag. The man, who had no criminal background, apologized for the misunderstanding and checked in.

BETTER PLACE TO PARK

2:29 p.m., 3300 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Parking: An officer on patrol delivered a verbal warning to the owner of a trailer, parked improperly in the front yard of a property. The owner said the personal-watercraft trailer would be moved.

MARCH 10

TWO TOO MANY WHEELS

10:20 a.m., 5200 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Parking: A caller alerted police to the presence of a car improperly blocking the bicycle lane. The officer arrived to find an abandoned vehicle, parked in the bicycle lane, with a flat left-front tire. The officer left a written warning.

COLONIZING

12:34 p.m., 1700 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Trespassing: A caller from an adjacent property reported seeing seven people trespassing on the site of the former Colony Beach & Tennis Resort. When officers arrived, security at the adjacent property said the people had left. They were described as six men and one woman, wearing pants and hooded sweatshirts and carrying backpacks. A search turned up nothing.  About an hour later, police received a report of three male trespassers in their 20s on the property, this time wearing swim trunks. They, too, disappeared before police arrived. The next day, a police officer spotted two juveniles within the property and ordered them to come down from the third floor of the high-rise building. They were escorted off the property and issued verbal trespassing warnings.

SHORT DAY

2:40 p.m., 4500 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Noise: Police responded to a report of work-site noise. When the officer arrived, he alerted the work crew to the town’s ordinance requiring them to be finished with work by 5 p.m. and that a mid-afternoon complaint had been made. The crew said they would respect the neighbors and stop work on their own for the day.

DIAMONDS ARE NOT FOREVER

4:52 p.m., 7000 block of Longboat Drive

Missing property: A resident called police to report the loss of a 1.5 carat diamond pendant. The resident said it was worn to an event at the Longboat Key Education Center but only the gold necklace could be located the next day at home – it was found in a bathroom. Police searched the home and advised the resident to notify the Education Center.

IT’S FOR GOLF, NOT FISHING

5:33 p.m., 2000 block of Harbour Links Drive.

Trepassing: Responding to a report of trespassing, police located three children fishing at a water hazard on the fourth hole of the Longboat Key Club Harbourside golf course. They were told they were on private property, and they left.

MARCH 11

IS IT YOURS?

10:42 a.m.,  1900 Gulf of Mexico Drive

Found property: A man reported finding a wet, brown wallet on a walkway near a condominium community’s swimming pool. It contained a Georgia drivers’ license, a Visa card and several business cards. The wallet was taken to the police station for safe keeping.

MARCH 14

HORIZONTAL BUT OK

12:46 p.m., 500 block of Spinnaker Lane

Suspicious person: Police and fire-rescue units were called to check on the well-being of a man seen lying down on the sidewalk. The dispatched officer had spoken to a man in a similar position about 10 minutes earlier. That man, from Palmetto, said he was fine and was waiting for a bus. When fire-rescue and police arrived, they determined it was the same Palmetto man who was still OK.