Cops Corner

Resident calls police, accuses neighbor of cutting sprinkler lines

After receiving a high utility bill and finding a cut sprinkler line, a resident was suspicious that her neighbor was to blame. This and other Longboat Key Police reports in this week's Cops Corner.


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Friday, Sept. 20

Case of the cut sprinkler 

12:50 p.m., 500 block of Lyons Lane

Property Damage: A resident called for assistance from the Longboat Key Police Department after she said her sprinkler lines were cut, and her neighbor was her prime suspect. Upon arrival, the officer spoke with the resident and learned that, while the resident was away living part-time elsewhere, she received a $600 water bill, which prompted her to have plumbers and landscapers investigate the issue. But when she returned to the residence, she discovered that the sprinkler lines appeared to be cut. She said the neighbors were potentially a suspect since she recently caught them putting a decorative rock on her property as well. 

The officer went next door and, though the neighbor was not home, she spoke with the officer through the Ring camera. She denied knowing that there were sprinklers on the property next door. Due to a lack of information and evidence, the case was closed. 


Saturday, Sept. 21

Turn of the valve 

6:40 p.m., 600 block of Norton Street

Officer Public Service: Dispatch sent a Longboat Key officer to a citizen assist call in reference to a seasonal resident reporting water spilling from the water meter into the roadway. At the residence, the officer saw the water shooting out of the pipe in front of the residence, and Longboat Key Public Works was asked to assist. Someone from Public Works instructed the officer to turn the valve off, which the officer did, and the Public Works employee said he would inform the resident that the pipe needed to be replaced. 


Sunday, Sept. 22

Smartphone too smart

2:38 p.m., 7100 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Officer Public Service: An officer was dispatched to a potential vehicle crash after an iPhone sent an automatic crash alert. At the potential scene, the officer saw a man handing a broken iPhone to another driver. The officer canvassed the area but did not see any crash. 


Monday, Sept. 23

Found credit card 

4:21 p.m, 500 block of Bay Isles Parkway

Lost/Found Property: An anonymous good Samaritan went to the Longboat Key Police Station to turn in a credit card she found outside of Publix. A department employee was able to find the phone number of the owner by using the name on the card, and the owner realized she must have dropped the card outside of Publix. The owner arrived shortly after at the station, presented her driver’s license to prove her identity and retrieved her lost credit card. 


Tuesday, Sept. 24

Questionable gas smell

2:06 p.m., 900 block of Longboat Club Road

Assist Other Agency: An “odor of gas” was reported by a caller, and a Longboat Key PD officer arrived on the scene to assist the Longboat Key Fire Rescue Department. At the scene, LBKFRD advised that their scanners showed negative results for natural gas, and no further investigation was necessary. 


Sandbag quarrel

8:37 p.m., 200 block of Broadway Street

Suspicious Vehicle: While on routine patrol, an officer was flagged down by a citizen. She told the officer that she was getting sand at the sandbag station when a lifted pickup truck drove in recklessly and almost hit her and her three children. According to her account, the driver was rude and might have been impersonating a law enforcement officer. The Longboat Key officer spoke with the driver in question who said he did not see the children and there was a brief argument that ensued between the parties. The officer did not witness any further incident, and no other drivers reported an issue, so the case was closed. 

Wednesday, Sept. 25

Can’t camp here

1:14 a.m., 500 block of Bay Isles Parkway

Suspicious Vehicle: An officer on patrol noticed a car parked with its windows down, the passenger seat fully declined and the motor running. The officer spoke with the owner, who was asleep in the back of the van. He said that he had work early in the morning and stopped to sleep. The officer advised the owner that he could not camp in his vehicle in Longboat Key, and he left the area without incident. 


Beach chair bust

1:50 p.m., 4700 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Officer Public Service: An anonymous caller reported that, while looking through a beach camera, they saw a suspicious person using a beach chair on the beach. At the scene, officers spoke with the beach chair user who said she was an owner of a nearby unit, and that she would put the chairs back after she and her friends were done using them.


Thursday, Sept. 26

Suspicious storm prep

9:20 a.m., 800 block of Spanish Drive South 

Suspicious Vehicle: A citizen called to report a suspicious vehicle outside of her residence and a male and female unloading wood from the vehicle. She felt the activity was suspicious, according to dispatch. Upon arrival at the address, the officer saw the suspicious truck. Initially, there were no other people in the area, but later the officer met with the two people in question. They told the officer that they were assisting a relative to prepare his residence for the storm and that they would be leaving soon. No suspicious activity was observed by the officer. 

 

author

Carter Weinhofer

Carter Weinhofer is the Longboat Key news reporter for the Observer. Originally from a small town in Pennsylvania, he moved to St. Petersburg to attend Eckerd College until graduating in 2023. During his entire undergraduate career, he worked at the student newspaper, The Current, holding positions from science reporter to editor-in-chief.

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