Cops Corner: Sarasota 4.30.2015

April 24

HEAVY LIFTING
8 a.m. — 1800 block of Main Street
Miscellaneous Officer: A city employee reported that a statue had been stolen from a city-owned fountain area. The employee said the statue is solid bronze and weighs approximately 600 pounds. The manager of an adjacent restaurant said that the business’s general contractor moved the statue for a party over the weekend, and had moved the statue to the second floor of a nearby parking garage. The manager said he was unaware he couldn’t take the statue down, and said he would have the contractor put the statue back. The city employee was concerned that the statue may have been damaged in the moving process, and said he would check when it was back in place.

April 27

CALLING CARD
9:50 a.m. — 1800 block of 19th Street
Criminal Mischief: A woman reported that someone wrote on her car door with a marker. The woman told officers that she believed it was her neighbors, because she calls the cops on them frequently. Officers were unable to get in contact with those neighbors, and advised the woman she should be able to wash off the vandalism because it was from a marker.

ROOM DISSERVICE
3:47 p.m. — 4000 block of North Tamiami Trail
Civil Problem: A man rented a room at a hotel, and an hour later returned to the lobby to demand his money back. The man said he did not like the accommodations and wanted a refund. A hotel employee told the man that renters have no more than 10 minutes to decide if they want to stay in the room before they lose the chance to receive a refund. The man was upset and called the police, who informed him he would have to handle the case through civil court.

LOSING FOLLOWERS
5:54 p.m. — 900 block of North Beneva Road
Suspicion Vehicle: A man alerted cops that he believed a car had been following him. As he was traveling northbound, a white van began tailgating him and honking the horn. The van got next to him and almost sideswiped him, the man said. The man then went to a grocery store, where he saw the white van circling the parking lot. The man waited for the van to leave before driving away and alerting the police. Officers were unable to locate the van.