Unlicensed driver arrested after being warned 90 minutes earlier

Saturday, April 25

Warning unheeded

2:46 a.m., 3100 Gulf of Mexico Drive

Vehicle stop: A police officer performed a traffic stop early Saturday morning after issuing a warning to the same driver about 90 minutes before. The officer wrote in a police report that he saw the same black SUV being driven by the same driver he had just issued a warning to, prompting him to pull the driver over. The vehicle had a Tennessee license plate, but a VIN number search showed the vehicle registered in Florida, but that registration had expired in February. The Tennessee plate had a registration validation sticker that expired in July 2025. The five in 2025 had been closed to form a six, likely done with a Sharpie, the police officer wrote in the report. The driver of the vehicle was arrested on charges of driving without a valid license, attached tag not assigned to vehicle and unlawful alteration to a validation sticker, and the license plate was seized as evidence.

Soliciting on Longboat

2 p.m., Firehouse Road

Suspicious person: A solicitor prompted a call to police by a concerned resident in the north end of Longboat Key who told dispatch that a man and a woman were on foot soliciting at condominiums in the area. Police arrived on scene and saw a man matching the description by the caller and wearing an internet service provider badge. The officer informed the man of the town’s ordinance against soliciting and the man said the company had applied for solicitation permits from the town, but they had not been issued yet. The cable salespeople left town, and police closed the case.

Sunday, April 26

Loud hip-hop music

3:02 p.m., Jewfish Key

Noise disturbance: A police officer on marine patrol was dispatched to Jewfish Key after a resident complained of loud noise coming from an unknown vessel on the sandbar. Police arrived on scene and saw a small center console boat “playing loud hip-hop music.” The officer signaled to the boaters to turn the music down. The boaters complied and the officer informed them of the town’s noise ordinance. Police then closed the case.

Tuesday, April 28

Window broken, but how?

7:52 p.m., 2400 block Gulf of Mexico Drive

Property damage: A woman called police when she returned to her truck and found the rear passenger side window shattered. She told police she parked in the parking lot the day before, locked the vehicle and noticed the broken window upon her return. She said she did not think the window was broken intentionally, and police noted that it seemed that nobody had gained access to the vehicle. The two searched for a cause of the broken window to no avail, and video cameras were not seen anywhere in the parking lot. No rock or other window-breaker was found inside the vehicle. Police gave the woman a case number for insurance purposes and closed the case.