Cops Corner: Pelican Press

Aug. 4
WORKING FOR THE WEEKEND
1:07 a.m. — 5200 block of Ocean Boulevard. Driving Under the Influence. A deputy pulled over a man who was tailgating another vehicle and discovered his license was suspended. He told the officer he was driving home from work, and if he smelled like alcohol, it was because he is a bartender. He then asked the officer to let him park the car and walk away. The man failed a field sobriety test.

ROBBED DRY
2 p.m. — 900 block of Beach Road. Petit Theft. A man wrapped his Tommy Hilfiger wallet in a towel and left it on the beach, but returned to find that it was missing. His Social Security card and $10 in cash were taken with the wallet.

POOR EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS
8:40 p.m. — 8600 block of Midnight Pass Road. Violation of Probation. Police arrested a woman on probation for driving under the influence after she skipped three probation meetings, didn’t do required community service hours and failed to complete traffic classes.

NOT TONIGHT
9 p.m. — 5200 block of Ocean Boulevard. Disturbance. A restaurant manager reported to police that a man, who had caused trouble at his bar for several nights, had returned. Deputies advised the man to leave, and he did so without causing any more trouble.

Aug. 5
CAR-HOP BARHOP
12:33 — 5200 block of Beach Road. Criminal Mischief. A deputy was dispatched to Siesta Key Village in response to numerous acts of criminal mischief. Witnesses reported that a man started screaming in a bar parking lot, then kicked the tailgate and front grill of a pickup truck. He jumped on the roof of another car and smashed two mailboxes while walking to another bar. Police found him in the bar after the $1,150 rampage.

Aug. 6
BEER TODAY GONE TOMORROW
2 p.m. — 900 block of Beach Road. Burglary of a Vehicle. Deputies located a vehicle near Siesta Key beach with all of its doors open and windshield wipers pulled up, with an open can of beer in the center console. Police contacted the owner, who was on the beach, and he said the car was unlocked when he left it. He said that wasn’t how he left the car, and he didn’t suspect it was prank because his friends were with him on the beach. Officers concluded that the suspect had tried to steal the man’s radar detector and sprayed a thick mist of cologne on the car seats. The 19-year-old car owner said the beer wasn’t his, and it was taken in for fingerprint testing.

Aug. 8
INSATIABLE CHARLATANS
4:54 p.m. — 5200 block of Ocean Boulevard. Credit Card Forgery. Two men bought a $200 gift card and $271.79 worth of food from a restaurant using several fake or stolen credit cards. When the restaurant manager notified police, officers located the men in another bar where they had purchased a $50 gift card and ran up a $70 bar tab.