Cops Corner: Pelican Press

Oct. 16
Why even bother with the knee excuse?
9:56 p.m. — Intersection of Stickney Point Road and Gateway Avenue. Driving Under the Influence. A deputy stopped an SUV after he observed it matched the description of a vehicle that reportedly had been involved in an altercation in the 9100 block of Midnight Pass Road. The deputy reported that the occupants admitted to having been in the fight. While the occupants were talking, the deputy said he was overcome by the odor of alcohol coming from the driver. A second deputy who came to the scene as backup said that when he arrived, the first deputy was talking to the driver outside of the SUV. The driver was swaying heavily, the second deputy reported, adding that he also smelled the strong odor of alcohol. When the second deputy asked where the driver had been, the driver said he had been at a restaurant on the Key. The driver then volunteered that he had had three or four mixed drinks. When the second deputy asked whether he had any physical disabilities or was taking any prescription medication, the driver then pointed to one of his knees and said he had had surgery on his right leg. However, the driver said, it affected his range of motion only when he was bending that knee backward. The second deputy then asked if the knee problem was causing the driver to exhibit difficulty in performing the sobriety exercises. The driver said, “No,” and he slurred the word, the deputy reported. After the driver continued to have problems performing the exercises, he was arrested and transported to the jail. There, he blew .245 and .235 when an officer administered the breathalyzer test to him on two occasions.

Oct. 18
Guilty in this case of a temper tantrum
3:25 p.m. — 2300 block of Stickney Point Road. Disturbance. A bank teller told a deputy that a man had attempted to make a transaction at the bank but found he did not have enough money in his account to cover it. He became verbally abusive, the teller said, and was asked to leave the business. When he refused, the teller called 911. The deputy warned the man to leave the premises and not return, but the deputy told the complainant that no crime had been committed.

Drummed off the beach
1:41 p.m. — 900 block of Beach Road. Grand Theft. A woman reported the theft of her purse and its contents from the Siesta Public Beach. She said she laid the purse on the beach while the Drum Circle was performing. She was watching her children, she said, and not keeping an eye on the purse. When she finally went back to get the purse, it was gone. The purse contained her keys, $40 in cash, her driver’s license, her Social Security card and a credit card. The deputy reported no suspects in the case.

Oct. 19
You really don’t have to tell us twice
12:51 a.m. — 7300 block of Point of Rocks Road. Suspicious Incident. A homeless man reported that the owner of a vacant house under renovation had given him permission to sleep outside the house because problems earlier had occurred on the property. Two 21-year-old men and a 19-year-old came onto the property and walked around the wooden fence that separates it from an adjoining property’s clubhouse. When they walked up to the house, the homeless man confronted them. They ran away from him, then went around the fence again. The homeless man reported that he saw the three young men kick the wooden fence to get through it. The responding deputy found boards missing from the fence. However, the deputy said if the men had kicked the boards to get through the fence, the boards would have split or broken. The deputy found the boards near the fence in good condition; they just needed to be nailed back in place. The three young men said they knew the previous owner of the residence and had received permission from that person to fish on the property as well as to use it as a cut-through to the adjacent property. The men denied having taken the boards off the fence. The deputy contacted the current homeowner, who said he did not want the three young men on the property. The deputy warned them not to trespass again. The deputy also told the young men to stay away from the house because it was unsafe.