Cops Corner: Pelican Press

June 22
TRUNKS SHOW
3 p.m. — 900 block of Beach Road. Suspicious Incident. A Polish woman was swimming in the Gulf of Mexico and an unknown man with a scorpion tattoo on his hand approached her and started a conversation. The woman, who speaks little English, became uncomfortable with the dialogue. Then, a large wave struck the man, pulling down his swimsuit. Officers could not find the man.

LOST POT-PERTY
6:24 p.m. — 8500 block of Midnight Pass Road. Found Property. Police found 1.5 grams of cannabis near a roadway and could not locate its owner. The marijuana was not contained in a bag and was destroyed by the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Department.

June 23
WHAT A TOOL
8 a.m. — 700 block of Canal Road. Residential Burglary. A leaf blower, some cordless power tools, a television and a laptop were stolen from a rental property. Police found that an unknown burglar used a crowbar-like instrument to pry open a sliding-glass door. The intruder also removed a wall safe containing $400, credit cards and a key.

SLEEP AWAY
1:32 p.m. — 3900 block of N. Shell Road. Trespassing. A home caretaker reported that three men hanging out on a nearby beach had been sleeping inside the house for which he was looking after for the owner, who was vacationing in France. An officer asked the men for identification and learned they were homeless. He issued trespassing warnings after the men denied being inside the home.

MAKE LIKE A TREE
6:49 p.m. — 600 block of Venice Lane. Property Damage. A moving truck backed into a woman’s shrubbery while attempting to avoid a low-hanging tree branch. The truck then became stuck under the branch, and the woman called police.

BAR-RED FROM ENTRY
11:30 p.m. — 5200 block of Ocean Boulevard. Disturbance. A man tried to enter a bar with an open container of alcohol, and a bouncer instructed the man to leave the premises. The man, who was described as “severely intoxicated,” became belligerent and began disturbing bar patrons. Police found him in a nearby parking lot and issued a trespassing warning. The man left the area without incident.

June 24
INSTIGATING IMPOSTER
2:54 a.m. — 5200 block of Ocean Boulevard. Disturbing the Peace. A woman began causing a disturbance in front of a bar, which prompted a bystander to call the police. An officer arrived and found her yelling obscenities at a crowd of onlookers and attempting to lure a member of the group into a fight. When the deputy tried to disperse the crowd, the woman directed her profanity-laden tirade in his direction. She tried to leave the scene and was handcuffed by the officer. When police searched her purse, they found identification that did not resemble the suspect. She told an officer it was her stepsister’s ID and that she has used it more than 50 times to illegally consume alcoholic beverages.

June 25
DEBBY DOWNER
10:52 a.m. — 900 block of Beach Road. Vehicle Crash. Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office deputies found a maroon car stalled in a flooded roadway with water reaching as high as its doors. A 911 dispatcher advised the woman who owns the car to stay a safe distance away from it to avoid being splashed by cars. A tow truck arrived within 30 minutes and transported the vehicle to a storage facility.

THE SKY IS FALLING
2:25 p.m. — 6100 block of Midnight Pass Road. Vehicle Damage. An awning fell onto a woman’s rental car causing damage to the vehicle. The awning was removed by a maintenance crew at the site and did not cause a traffic hazard.