Cops Corner: Pelican Press

Jan. 13
Easy come, easy go
1:46 p.m. — 900 block of Siesta Key Place. Residential Burglary. A couple in their late 50s reported that between Jan. 3 and Jan. 11, someone had gained entry to their safe and taken U.S. and foreign currency totaling more than $5,000. They reported that they could find no sign of forced entry to their home or the safe. They also said the only other person living in their home is their daughter, who is 22. A deputy could find no fingerprints on the safe; however, he found the sliding glass door to the couple’s bedroom was unlocked and another sliding glass door into the TV room was unlocked. The daughter told the deputy she had no idea the doors were unlocked. The deputy also reported he could find no damage to those doors or the locks on them.

Jan. 14
Said too much already
12:59 a.m. — Intersection of Stickney Point Road and Midnight Pass Road. Driving Under the Influence. A Sheriff’s Office lieutenant was headed northbound on Beach Road when he saw a car heading south at a high rate of speed. The lieutenant turned around, caught up with the driver near Midnight Pass Road, then paced the car at no less than 50 mph in a 35 mph zone. The lieutenant also reported the vehicle was swerving from side to side as well as braking and speeding up erratically.
After the lieutenant stopped the vehicle, the 44-year-old driver said he was coming from a friend’s home; then, he changed his story to say he was coming from a Bradenton bar. Then he said he was coming from a Village bar. He was slurring his words, and the lieutenant smelled alcohol on the driver’s breath, so the lieutenant called for a deputy for assistance.

When the deputy arrived, he asked the driver to step out of the car. The deputy found a slushy alcoholic beverage in the car, which was in a cup from yet another Village bar. The man had a difficult time maintaining his balance and performing sobriety exercises, so the deputy took him to the jail. There, the man underwent an Intoxilyzer test and answered some questions. When an officer asked whether the man thought he really should have been driving, the man would not answer.

Hearing things
11:05 p.m. — Intersection of Avenida Messina and Columbus Boulevard. Noise Disturbance. A woman called the Sheriff’s Office to complain about loud music coming from a Village restaurant, but she said she did not want to talk with a deputy in person. She did say on the phone that she was not sure which establishment had the volume up too loud. The deputy could not hear any music emanating from one of the restaurants she had named; the second dining establishment had only recorded music playing inside when the deputy investigated. The deputy took noise meter readings from the south and west sides of that second restaurant, but the levels were within legal limit. Nonetheless, the deputy spoke with the owner of the restaurant, and the owner agreed to turn down the music, which he did while the deputy was still on the scene.

Jan. 15
Do as I say, not as I do
10:30 a.m. — 7700 block of Sanderling Road. Miscellaneous Officer Report. A doctor called the Sheriff’s Office to report that a 68-year-old woman had phoned him to say she was going to report him to authorities for prescribing medication to her 65-year-old husband. The responding deputy researched medical records at the doctor’s office and found that the woman herself was taking numerous prescription medications. The deputy saw no reason to file charges.

Jan. 19
Letting it all hang out
1:35 a.m. — 5100 block of Ocean Boulevard. Exposure. When a deputy responded to a call about a disturbance at a Village bar, the manager told the deputy he had been inside the club, breaking up a fight. Several women had begun pointing to a 34-year-old man. When the manager shone a flashlight on the man, he saw the man had exposed himself. The man was standing in the club with his arms crossed over his chest. The manager and other bouncers then removed the man from the club and turned him over to deputies, who reported that he appeared intoxicated. They said the man was unable to make intelligible statements.

Jan. 29
Forget that job application
12:15 a.m. — 5100 block of Ocean Boulevard. Impersonating a Law Enforcement Officer. The manager of a Village nightclub approached a deputy on foot patrol and said a man had come into the club, flashed a badge and said he was with the U.S. Marshal’s Office. The man told the manager he had come to the club to serve a search warrant, though he would provide no details about the warrant other than to say, “It has to be serious to cross my desk.” The man also said he had four other U.S. marshals with him in that club and two others at a restaurant across the street.

The manager said the man then walked about 20 feet into the nightclub, turned around and watched the door for about 20 minutes before saying, “They caught the guy somewhere else; we’re done here.”
The manager was able to give the deputy a description of the vehicle in which the man left. The deputy eventually stopped the vehicle at the intersection of Stickney Point Road and South Tamiami Trail. When the deputy asked the driver for his ID and registration, the 29-year-old driver also gave the deputy a white card that said, “Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education,” plus the man’s name, with “Peace Officer License” written directly below the name.

After spotting a pair of handcuffs in plain view in the vehicle’s center console, the deputy asked the man if he was a law-enforcement officer. The man said he had been one in Texas, but he had not been a law officer since moving back to Florida.

When the deputy told the man what the nightclub manager had reported, the man produced a badge that had “U.S. Marshal” imprinted on it. When the deputy then asked why the man had handcuffs, the man said he had forgotten to take them out of the vehicle after returning to Florida.

The man finally admitted he and his girlfriend had broken up and he had been looking for her in the nightclub. He also admitted flashing the badge and said, “It was a stupid thing to do.” He also said he was in the process of completing an application for employment at the Sarasota Police Department.