Cops Corner: Pelican Press

Oct. 21
Why walk when you can ride?
4:32 p.m. — 6400 block of Midnight Pass Road. Grand Theft. A man reported that an unknown person had stolen his bicycle and bike lock from Beach Access 12. The man said he had been on a walk on the beach. When he returned, the bike and lock were gone.

Oct. 22
Rappin’ rabbits in the woods
3:24 p.m. — 5300 block of Ocean Boulevard. Petit Theft. A man reported that his iPod had been stolen from a Village nightclub about 10:15 p.m. the previous day. He said he had put down the iPod on the washbasin ledge while he washed his hands. About five men he did not know came into the restroom and in about five seconds, the man reported, one of them had taken the iPod. The man said Apple Inc. had supplied him with a GPS location for the iPod; it reportedly was in Venice, on a curve in the road by some trees. A deputy met the man at that location, but the iPod was not there.

Oct. 23
Circumstantial evidence
9:08 a.m. — 1000 block of Crescent Street. Criminal Mischief. A 20-year-old woman reported she was visiting friends the previous night, when her 19-year-old ex-boyfriend arrived and began arguing with her. One of the woman’s male friends asked them to come inside, because they were disturbing the neighbors. The ex-boyfriend indicated he was ready to leave anyway, the woman said, so she went inside. However, the woman asked her male friend in the home to make sure the ex-boyfriend really was leaving. The friend looked out and saw the ex near the woman’s SUV. When the woman checked the vehicle later, she found a large scratch on her driver’s side door. The damage was estimated to be $300. When a deputy spoke with him, the ex-boyfriend said he had left the friends’ home because his ex-girlfriend was drunk. He also told the deputy he had not damaged the woman’s car. The deputy then spoke with the male friend, who confirmed that the woman and her ex-boyfriend had been arguing and that he had asked them to go inside his residence. He did go outside later at the woman’s request, and he confirmed seeing the ex-boyfriend walk away from her vehicle. However, he said he did not see the ex-boyfriend touch the woman’s SUV. The deputy reported he could find no evidence that the ex-boyfriend had damaged the vehicle, so he filed no charges.

Oct. 24
Just a little license problem
1:45 a.m. — Intersection of Avenida Messina and Ocean Boulevard. Driving While License Suspended with Knowledge of the Suspension. A deputy reported that he was in his vehicle facing westbound in the 5100 block of Ocean Boulevard when he saw a sedan closely following a convertible; the sedan was only about 10 feet behind it. The deputy stopped the sedan and asked the driver for his license. The driver handed the deputy an identification card instead of a driver’s license. The deputy then determined the man’s license had been suspended in 2007, which the driver knew. The deputy arrested the driver and took him to the jail.

Telltale shoes
4:50 p.m. — Intersection of Beach Road and Avenida Navarra. Grand Theft. A woman reported that someone had stolen her bag holding her car keys, cell phone, clothing and wallet, which contained two credit cards and her driver’s license. She said she was swimming at the beach when someone took the items, which had an estimated value of $535. Witnesses had seen a suspicious man in area where the theft had occurred, so they detained him. When a deputy arrived, the man, who said he was homeless, admitted to the theft but said he couldn’t remember where he had put the stolen items. At least the man was wearing a pair of sandals he allegedly had stolen from another person who had filed a report with the Sheriff’s Office.