Cops Corner: Pelican Press

May 26
BEACH BUMMED
11 a.m. — 900 block of Beach Road. Petty Theft. A woman reported that when she went swimming at Siesta Key Beach, an unknown suspect took her purse. The bag was on her towel and contained the woman’s identification and Social Security card.

CINCO DE CITATION
2:14 p.m. — 900 block of Beach Road. Open Container. A man was cited for having an open container of alcohol near Siesta Key Beach. Police spotted him walking from the beach parking lot toward the main beach access with an open can of Corona.

CLOSE CALL
11:56 p.m. — corner of Higel Avenue and Ocean Boulevard. Driving Under the Influence. Police observed a man beeping his vehicle’s horn while running a stop sign and traveling in the wrong lane. After nearly hitting oncoming traffic, an officer pulled over the car. An officer had to catch the man when he nearly fell out his car, into traffic. He was arrested and found to have a blood-alcohol level that was double the legal limit.

May 27
STANDING GUARD
11:40 a.m. — 8900 block of Midnight Pass Road. Battery. The driver of a white Buick struck a woman’s legs twice while she was attempting to save a beach parking spot for her husband. The driver rolled down his window and asked what she was going to do. She replied that she would call the police. The woman did not sustain injuries, and the driver was not found.

STOLEN BLIND
5 p.m. — 900 block of Beach Road. Burglary. Two backpacks were stolen from a vehicle in the Siesta Key Beach parking lot. Prescription drugs and glasses were taken, along with the vehicle owner’s Social Security card.

May 28
WELL, THAT’S A RELIEF
12:20 a.m. — 5200 block of Calle Menorca. Disorderly Intoxication. After being ejected from a Siesta Key Village bar, a man lingered in a nearby parking lot. A bar employee noticed he was leaning on several vehicles and called police. He witnessed the man relieve himself in the middle of the parking lot after being verbally abusive. Police arrested him, fearing for bar patrons’ safety.

LOVE HURTS
1:54 a.m. — 5200 block of Ocean Boulevard. Battery. A woman’s ex-boyfriend approached her and her new partner at a Siesta Key Village bar. A security guard asked the ex to leave, noting that things were not going well. The former flame punched the woman’s new beau while leaving the bar, knocking the victim out. The suspect was not apprehended.

LESSON LEARNED?
2:15 a.m. — corner of Siesta Drive and Osprey Avenue. Driving Under the Influence. Police arrested a man after he was observed weaving his vehicle through lanes after leaving Siesta Key. He told officers he drank six beers over a four-hour period with a roommate at a Siesta Key Village bar, but claimed he left without her. He then admitted he was recently arrested for driving under the influence and asked an officer to let him go. While counting to 10 during a field sobriety test he counted “seven” twice. This was the man’s third arrest for DUI in the last decade.

TOLL-TALLY SURPRISED
11 a.m. — 100 block of Vista Hermosa Court. Stolen Tag. A man received several notices of toll violations upon his return from a two-month vacation in the United Kingdom. The car captured on the toll cameras was not his, and when he checked his vehicle for his license plate, it was missing. The culprit was driving a 1996 red Chrysler.