Cops Corner: Sarasota 03.17.16

March 11

ON THE WRONG FOOT
10:30 p.m. — 100 block of Halton Place
Property Damage: A woman reported that, sometime during the night, someone kicked the rear passenger door of her car. Officers observed a large indentation on the door where a footprint had been left behind. There was also a fingerprint next to the footprint. Officers lifted the print for further testing. The woman speculated that her mom’s neighbor might be responsible for the damage, as her mom and the neighbor had gotten involved in an argument earlier. The woman said the neighbor might have been attempting to retaliate against her mother, but ended up damaging the woman’s vehicle instead.

March 13

TRUMPED-UP CHARGES
1:30 p.m. — 1500 block of State Street
Theft: An employee with the Donald Trump presidential campaign reported that a man got out of a truck and stole a large sign from in front of the campaign headquarters. The man said earlier, another man had kicked down the sign while walking by. Officers were able to locate the truck after being given the license plate information, but nobody was around the vehicle. The campaign employee requested extra police presence around the headquarters due to concerns about protestors.

SOUR NOTE
6:20 p.m. — 400 block of St. Armands Circle
Suspicion: An employee at a business alerted authorities that a man was playing a ukulele in front of the building. The employee said the man was singing about drugs and sex and using profanity as children and families walked by. The employee also said the man was soliciting money and disrupting her business. The man left the area before an officer arrived, but the officer told the employee to call again if the man returned.

March 14

ONE MAN'S TRASH
4:18 p.m. — 1000 block of Indian Beach Drive
Suspicion: Officers made contact with a man who had been reported for dumpster diving. During a conversation with the officers, the man mentioned he found a laptop in the dumpster. Officers ran the laptop serial number to see if it had been stolen, and the results were negative. Officers took the laptop for safe keeping.