Cops Corner: Sarasota 2.14.19

Feb. 8

RED LIGHTS, RED FLAGS
9 a.m. — 2600 block of Coconut Bay Lane
Suspicion: A woman received a letter in the mail from an attorney group stating her driver’s license was in danger of being suspended if she did not pay a ticket for red light violations in Sarasota. The woman said she got nervous, but when she looked at one of the dates listed, she realized she did not live in Sarasota County at the time. An officer looked at the letter, which did not include pictures or locations where the violations allegedly occurred. The case numbers did not match other case numbers in the area. When the officer looked up the attorney’s office, he saw articles describing the operation as a scam.

SHOUTING MATCH
Noon — 1600 block of Alderman Street
Dispute: A man reported a dispute he got into with another man in his neighborhood. The man said he saw the other man yelling at a woman on the street. The man told the other man not to talk to her like that, at which point the two men got into an argument. The man said nothing physical happened, but he wanted the argument documented.

Feb. 9

HIT & HIT & HIT & RUN
12:39 a.m. — 3300 block of Bailey Street
Property damage: A caller reported that a black truck crashed into a mailbox in front of a home. When an officer arrived at the scene, she noticed multiple mailboxes on the street had been hit. A telephone pole had also been struck. The officer spoke to a resident, who said he heard the vehicle hit the mailbox but did not see the incident. The officer was unable to find an eyewitness.

Feb. 10

SETTLING A DEBT
2:08 a.m. — 800 block of South Tuttle Avenue
Dispute: A man called the police after getting into a dispute with his roommate. The man said he was upset because the roommate has owed him $10 for the past few weeks. When he got home, the man began banging on his roommate’s door for some money. The man said his roommate opened the door, pushed him out of the way and threw money at him. The roommate told an officer he was trying to sleep when the man banged on his door. He said the man tried to walk into his room when he opened the door, so he pushed him out of the way and threw the money on the ground out of frustration. The roommate said he just wanted to go back to bed. The man, whom the officer described as highly intoxicated, agreed to go back to his room for the night.