These East County horses are supposed to be skinny

Aug. 15

THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO BE SKINNY

5500 block of Lorraine Road, Lakewood Ranch

Call about abused animals: The Sheriff's Office was contacted and told the horses at the listed location were abused and skinny. Upon arrival, a deputy found the horses in question were "12 mini horses" that were in great shape, along with one regular-sized horse in excellent condition. The deputy found five large trash cans filled with feed and a large stall filled with hay on the premises. The horses were fed twice a day and given hay between meals. The deputy found no further investigation was needed.

Aug. 3

STOLEN ID NETS JEWELRY

13000 block of Luxe Avenue, Bradenton

Identity theft: A man reported to the Sheriff's Office that an unknown person used his personal information to open a credit card account with a jewelry store and made an unauthorized purchase of $7,501. The victim was notified of the above account by a bank representative who had opened the victim's line of credit.

Aug. 5

SEEKING SPRINKLER STOMPER

4500 block of 62nd Terrace East, Bradenton

Criminal mischief: A man contacted the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office to report an unknown person had broken his sprinkler pipe. The man said he realized his sprinkler was spraying water straight up and when he checked it out it looked like someone had stomped on it. He said it couldn’t have been from his lawn service because those employees are very good at their job. The man had not received an estimate to fix it. A deputy issued the man a case number.

Aug. 10

GOOD-HEARTED CAT BURGLER?

6300 block of State Road 70 East, Bradenton

Information only: A male student at Manatee Technical College went to his van after school and discovered his cat was missing from the van. The man leaves his cat in the van while he is in class. The cat is 20 years old, brown and tan with green eyes and black stripes. The man was irritated and demanding the deputy find his cat. The man did not feel his crime of leaving the cat in the van was important. The deputy started to investigate more, but the man left the scene.

Aug. 13

PARTY CUT SHORT BY ARREST

2900 block of 53rd Avenue East, Bradenton

Petit theft, possession of cannabis: A loss prevention employee for a department store watched as a woman entered the store and began  selecting items, concealing some of them in her purse. The woman proceeded to the checkout where she paid for items she had selected other than the items in her purse. She started to leave the store where she was confronted by loss prevention. The stolen items amounted to $69.05. A deputy arrived at the scene and searched the woman's purse, where he found the stolen items and a clear plastic baggie containing a green leafy substance consistent with marijuana. The woman admitted it was marijuana. The deputy also found an electronic cigarette with a brown liquid in it that the woman admitted was cannabis oil that she inhales. All items of evidentiary value were seized and the defendant was arrested. The green leafy substance was weighed and a presumptive chemical test was completed on the substance. The substance tested positive for marijuana and weighed approximately 6 grams. The cannabis along with the electronic cigarette were placed into property and evidence.

Aug. 14

EMAIL MISDIRECTION

1700 block of Lakewood Ranch Boulevard, Lakewood Ranch

Attempted scheme to defraud: A man told the Sheriff's Office some suspicious activity had been discovered relating to his company`s email. After reviewing documents, the man confirmed an unknown person(s) used his employees information and slightly changed the company`s email address. The person(s) sent emails to the man's clients requesting to forward payments to a different account. The man was told to file with the FBI, via its website.

Aug. 14

MISSING GREEN CARD

2800 block of 31st Avenue East, Bradenton

Petit theft: A man came to the Sheriff's Office to report his Green Card had been delivered to his old residence and had not been forwarded to his new address.  The man called immigration officials, who told him his Green Card had been successfully delivered to his old address. It was never returned to the immigration.

Aug. 15

COMING TO A KITCHEN NEAR YOU

7300 block of 52nd Place East, Bradenton

Grand theft: A hardware store employee reported to the Sheriff's Office that a man had entered the store and loaded up $995 in water faucets. He proceeded to take the faucets from the location without paying for them. The suspect fled in an unknown direction.

Aug. 15

LOOKING FOR CATS, AND MORE

13000 block of Purple Finch Circle, Bradenton

Suspicious incident: A man was awoken by his dogs barking at 2 .m. He went outside to investigate and found a man walking toward his neighbor's house holding a flashlight. The man with the flashlight approached a parked car and the first man yelled at him to see what he was doing. The man with the flashlight said he was looking for a missing cat. The first man asked if his cat was inside the car and the man with the flashlight said he thought the cat might have jumped into a car's window. The first man, suspicious, notified law enforcement after obtaining the other man's license plate number when he left. Deputies identified the man as a burglar who had recently been arrested in the area. Several units saturated the area but could not find anything stolen.

Aug. 13

MEET ME AT HOME

53rd Avenue East at Natalie Way, Bradenton

Attempting to elude a law enforcement officer: A deputy attempted to stop a red Dodge vehicle for unlawful speed. The deputy flashed his lights and ordered the man to stop through verbal commands over the P.A. system. The vehicle kept driving forward, maintaining speed and not breaking any other traffic laws. The deputy followed at a safe distance and was joined by other deputies, who followed the driver until he reached his home. After he pulled into the driveway, he was taken into custody.