Cops Corner: Longboat Key 3.5.15

Feb. 14
Tow truck time
8:29 p.m. — 3000 block of GMD.

Traffic: Police pulled over to assist the driver of a vehicle on the side of the road with the car’s hazard lights on. The woman told police her car shut off while she was driving southbound on Gulf of Mexico Drive. Before the car died, the woman noticed the gas gauge moving around. Police were unable to jumpstart the vehicle and waited with the woman until AAA arrived.

Feb. 18
In search of scratches
10:56 a.m. — 4600 block of GMD. 

Property Damage: Someone scraped the side of a man’s rental car while it was parked in a hotel lot. A driver operating a white vehicle apparently caused the damage. Management walked the property in search of a white vehicle with red paint transfer but was unable to find one.

Feb. 21
It's what's inside that counts
5:32 p.m. — 5400 block of GMD.

Found Property: A man found a wallet near a boat ramp that contained $283 and several credit cards. Police located the owner’s wife, who said her husband would pick up the wallet from the station. The owner confirmed that all of his possessions were inside.

Feb. 22
Flip-flopper
7:09 p.m. — 4700 block of GMD. 

Lost/Missing Property: A woman left her pink Ralph Lauren flip-flops on the beach and returned to find them missing.

Feb. 23
Reputation control
11:16 a.m. — Intersection of Gulf of Mexico Drive and North Shore Road. 

Civil Disturbance: A construction foreman fired an employee and asked him to leave after arguing with him about his attitude. The man told coworkers that he planned to call the town’s code enforcement to ruin the foreman’s reputation. The foreman called the former employee to resolve their differences, but the employee became more upset and mentioned at the end of the conversation that he owns a gun.

Feb. 24 
It’s illegal to have a blast 
2:19 a.m. — 100 block of N. Shore Road. 

Fireworks: Police found two young males who acknowledged setting off bottle rockets from the end of North Shore Road. Police told them it’s illegal to set off bottlerockets and that beaches are closed after 11 p.m. An officer drove them to a Bradenton Beach property, where they were staying with family.

Tag team 
10:23 p.m. — 4200 block of GMD.

Traffic: License cameras showed that the registered owner of a vehicle had a suspended driver’s license and there was also a “seize tag” order on the vehicle if the operator was the owner. The driver said he didn’t know his license was suspended and didn’t believe he was late on his insurance payment, which was why his license was suspended. Police issued a citation and seized the tag, and dispatch contacted a towing company to remove the vehicle.

Foot patrol
7:52 a.m. — 1500 block of Harbor Cay Lane. 

Civil Disturbance: A man is unhappy about the construction mess from a neighbor’s home. He called police to report that he stepped on a piece of roof material with an attached nail that went through his shoe and punctured his foot, requiring medical treatment two days earlier. The man said he and his neighbor have an ongoing feud. The construction site supervisor said the man’s dumpster was crossing onto the neighbor’s property, so he did not think having construction materials crossing onto the property line was a big deal, but he agreed to move the materials.

Reasonable suspicion
8:23 a.m. — 200 block of GMD. 

Suspicious Circumstance: A man allegedly tried to steal items from a gas station store while police were en route to the business in response to a suspicious person complaint. The man had recent jail paperwork but no outstanding warrants. The clerk did not want to press charges. Police offered him a ride, but he declined and left on foot.

Coming unhinged
9:55 a.m. — 5400 block of GMD. 

Property Damage: A man returned to his home after being away for nine months and discovered a fence gate that separates his property from a shopping center had been removed from the hinges. The gate had apparently been removed to trim bordering trees and had not been put back in place. 

Lost by lunchtime
2:20 p.m. — 1900 block of GMD. 

Lost/Missing Property: A man left his condo unit and walked to the property’s clubhouse for a meeting, then realized his wallet was missing when he went to lunch with friends. He couldn’t find it after retracing his steps and had already canceled his credit cards, but he needed a police report to replace his identification.

Ex marks the parking spot
5:45 p.m. — 600 block of Cedars Court. 

Disturbance: A man said his neighbor has been taking pictures from her condo of the front of his residence and sending them to his ex-girlfriend in Canada. The neighbor and her husband said they met a woman who introduced herself as the man’s girlfriend at the pool around Valentine’s Day and exchanged phone numbers. After the woman returned to Canada, the neighbor started getting texts from the woman inquiring about other women who could be coming and going from the man’s home. The neighbor sent her a picture after seeing a vehicle in front of his home but then received multiple texts that made her uncomfortable. The couple apologized and agreed not to take additional pictures.