- January 14, 2026
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8:47 a.m., 2000 block of Orchid Street
Property damage: While driving for a restaurant delivery service three days prior, a man said he parked his vehicle in a privately operated parking lot in downtown to briefly make a delivery nearby, and upon returning learned the vehicle had been towed. After having a friend take him to retrieve the vehicle, he was driving the next day and noticed the engine overheated, so he left it in a parking lot overnight.
Upon arriving on this date, he noticed the radiator had been damaged and suspected it was inflicted by the towing company. An officer inspected the damage, took several photos and advised the complainant to contact both the towing company and his insurance carrier.
11:42 p.m., 200 block of North Tamiami Trail
Suspicious incident: After a “guest” rented two rooms at a downtown hotel, management became suspicious when it learned the $1,500 tab was reserved online with a stolen credit card. Checking in at 3 a.m., the front desk clerk failed to verify the credit card and provided keys to the room.
The man who reserved the rooms was accompanied by his “girlfriend,” the nature of their relationship left in question by the time they were prompted to flee the hotel in haste.
During their stay, multiple men were observed arriving and leaving the two rooms. When the manager confronted the subject about the credit card issue, the pair quickly left the hotel in an unknown direction and with no vehicle on file. The manager then entered the rooms where he discovered an unwitting — but likely not innocent — unknown male whom he told to pay for the accommodations or vacate the premises.
The astute manager suspected the rooms were being used for prostitution or some other illicit activity, having found lingerie and other “adult items” scattered throughout. Also left behind were many business cards, among them one for a budget lodging establishment elsewhere in the city.
The entire discovery began when the manager received a phone call from a man stating his credit card, of which he still had possession, had random unauthorized charges from the hotel. Investigating the credit card fraud, the officer spoke with the man by phone. He stated he had recently visited two bars where he used the card, but did not recognize the male subject by description. He was advised to cancel the credit card.
The officer then visited the no-tell motel identified by the business card found in the room. Staff confirmed the pair had been guests there, having stayed for a week paying daily with cash. They were eventually told to leave over suspicion of illegal activity. The staff showed security footage of the pair, which matched the description provided by the defrauded hotel manager.
Having requested a mugshot lineup to be reviewed by the complainant, the case was then referred to the Criminal Investigations Division for further investigation.
11:46 p.m., Ted Sperling Park
Suspicious incident: After having locked up facilities at the South Lido Beach park for the night, a security officer complained that two unknown males, who had been launching bottle rockets, shot them in the direction of his vehicle.
The guard has just secured the bathroom structure and headed for his car. When he entered the vehicle, a barrage of bottle rockets began striking it from an unknown direction. There was no damage to the vehicle and the complainant was unable to identify the pair because of the darkness.
Two officers, including a K-9 unit, arrived on the scene to assist, canvassing the area but locating no suspects.
