—July 24
—Alarm
—12:33 a.m.
—Officer Troyer was dispatched to Firehouse Lane in reference to a burglary alarm with living room motion. Upon arrival, Officer Troyer observed an upstairs light on inside of the residence. Officer Troyer knocked on the front door but did not receive an answer. Officer Troyer also observed the house was for sale as there was listing information visible through front door glass. Officer Troyer walked around the property, checking for doors and windows. Officer Troyer located an unlocked garage door. Upon entering the garage, Officer Troyer observed an interior door unlocked, which led to the inside residence backed out and held the perimeter until backup arrived. Sgt. Mathis arrived and officers cleared the residence. Officer Troyer was able to secure the unlocked the garage door also and attempted to contact the homeowner by phone but did not receive an answer.
—July 25
—Incident
—2:12 a.m.
—Sgt. Mathis by cell phone in regard to several people on the beach at Gulfside Beach access and requested backup. Upon his arrival, Sgt. Mathis spoke to several men at the beach access in regards to the reason they were present after 11 p.m. Sgt. Mathis observed two piles of clothes, two cell phones, a watch and some empty bottles. During the conversation, a white male approached from the south wearing only dark colored shorts. The man said he ran with several other people when he saw the police car approach the beach access. The man also said he did not know the other people, had arrived via an uber and showed up to relax and pray. During the conversation, the man made several conflicting statements as to who owned the other clothes and the keys found in the pile. After repeated request clarification, the man said he did not know the other people and was trying to claim the keys to help out the driver. The man was issued a town ordinance citation for being on the beach after 11 p.m. and was allowed to depart. Sgt. Mathis collected the abandoned property which consisted of jeans, cell phone, keys, pair of socks, white tennis shoes, underwear and a t-shirt. During his investigation, a black Honda Accord was located in the church parking lot. The vehicle had a Florida license plate, and while canvassing the area, the owner located his vehicle. The man was issued a violation for being on the beach after 11 p.m. Case clear.
—July 26
—Persons
11:05 p.m.
—Officer Castro was dispatched to Bogey Lane in reference to a report of suspicious persons. The property owner at the address and reported to the police that a man and woman were observed walking behind the house. Upon arrival, Officer Castro was unable to locate anyone in the area. Officer Castro contacted the property owner by phone and he said that he was out of town but had been alerted by his security cameras to suspicious activity. He stated that the video showed the subjects walking behind his residence near the seawall, then toward his neighbor’s backyard. The owner shared the video footage with Officer Castro. The video depicted what appeared to be a young adult white man and woman. The man was wearing a red t-shirt and the woman was wearing a black tank top. The video did not provide a clear image of their faces. The subjects appeared in the video for approximately 25 seconds before leaving the area. The video was attached to this report. A thorough canvass of the entire neighborhood was conducted with negative results. Case clear.
—July 28
Marine rescue
—8:13 p.m.
—Officer Troyer while on marine patrol in Big Pass, overheard on the radio the Sarasota Police Department was dispatched to a marine rescue in the area. A sailboat was capsized and taking on water. The caller reported they had one occupant from the vessel on board their boat but the captain was still on the sailboat. Officer Troyer asked Sgt. Butler if he could assist and the Sarasota Police Department supervisor also requested Longboat Key assistance as they did not appear to have an immediate marine unit available. Officer Troyer responded with the scene and was unable to make contact with anyone on board due to not having a capable vessel to get int he shallow area where the vessel was located. Sarasota Police Marine units also arrived on scene and were able to get approximately 20 away, but not able to make contact with anyone. Police units confirmed the vessel was not capsized, but not able to make contact with anyone. Sarasota police units confirmed the vessel was not capsized but was grounded and kept swaying back and forth. Eventually phone contact was made with the captain of the vessel who did not wish to leave the vessel. When Officer Troyer arrived on scene, he made an attempt to get to the vessel, however, the breakers were too strong to get through into the vessel. Officer Troyer observed the sailboat appeared to be beached on the keel and was taking breakers on the starboard side almost causing a capsize. Officer Troyer met with Officer Dixon and met with land units to come up with a better plan and speak to the captain. Officer Dixon and Officer Troyer came up with a plan to approach the vessel as the breakers coming into Big Pass were the biggest obstacle along with water depth as the area was shoaled out. Officer Troyer requested Air 1 to assist with providing spotlight over the vessel to guide us as well. Officer Dixon and Officer Troyer were able to approach the vessel, however the breakers became too much for the patrol vessel, therefore Officer Troyer hung back and let Officer Dixon approach due to having a due to having a larger vessel. Officer Dixon was able to get the captain off the vessel and he safely made it to the Sarasota Police vessel. Officer Dixon transported the man back to land and the vessel was left anchored in the pass. Case clear.
—July 29
—Vehicle
3:13 a.m.
—Officer Troyer while on patrol observed a silver Nissan SUV traveling southbound onto Longboat Key. Shortly after, Officer Troyer pulled out onto Gulf of Mexico Drive simply traveling southbound. Officer Troyer eventually caught up to the vehicle as they appeared to be driving slowly. Once Officer Troyer caught up to the vehicle, the vehicle quickly made a right turn into an address at the 6200 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive. Officer Troyer drove past the address and made a U-turn to see what the driver was possibly doing. Officer Troyer observed the vehicle pulled up to a closed gate. The vehicle was off and all lights to the vehicle were turned off. Officer Troyer also observed the vehicle was not occupied and there were open containers of twisted tea alcoholic beverages and bottles of sealed corona alcoholic beverages int eh vehicle. Officer Troyer rung the gate phone and spoke with the homeowner. The homeowner told Officer Troyer she was not expecting anyone and no one had permission to be on the property. The homeowner gave permission to the officer to check the property. Officer Troyer canvassed the property for a while but did not locate anyone. As Officer Troyer was walking past the gate entrance on the property, observed a Hispanic female walking out of the bushes on the property with her hands in the air. Officer Troyer detained her for further investigation. Officer Troyer read her Miranda rights and said she had been at a restaurant drinking and met a guy who was the driver of the vehicle. The driver was giving her a ride home to her house in Sarasota and they decided to go for a drive. The woman said the driver told her there was a cop behind them so he pulled into the driveway. Once in the driveway, the woman told the driver not to be there because it was suspicious. The driver then told her to run and to follow him. the woman said she did not follow him because she was fearful because her kids were at their father’s house and he would eventually be leaving. Officer Troyer learned she had an active warrant for her arrest out of Hillsborough County for DUI. Officer Troyer contacted the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office and confirmed the active warrant for her arrest. Officer Troyer contacted the homeowner and asked if she wished to pursue criminal charges against the woman for trespassing, however the homeowner refused and only wished for her to be warned. Based on investigation, Officer Troyer found probable cause for Loitering and Prowling and was arrested and transported to the Manatee County Jail. Due to the driver not being able to be located and the vehicle in a private driveway, the vehicle was towed. Upon returning later, Officer Troyer observed a man appearing to be registered owner of the vehicle walking northbound on the sidewalk wearing a black shirt and flowery shorts. Officer Troyer pulled over and made contact with the man. Officer Troyer called the man and he turned around. Officer Troyer asked the man why he was walking and where his vehicle was. The man said he was walking on the beach and his girl took his car for a spin. Officer Troyer asked him why he ran which he said he did not run. The man said he was walking on the beach and his girl was taking his car for a spin again. The man repeated this statement multiple times and he was sweating. Officer Troyer informed him his car was impounded and his girl was arrested. Based on the circumstances, Officer Troyer did not have probable cause to arrest the man. Case clear.
—Fishing
—9:00 p.m.
—Officer Castro while on patrol in Russel Street was approached by a juvenile who reported witnessing two unidentified men fishing behind an unoccupied lot. The juvenile subsequently guided the man to the location. Upon arrival at the address, Officer Castro confirmed the presence of two adult men actively fishing behind the vacant lot. Officer Castro initiated contact with the individuals. Both people said they were unaware fishing was prohibited in the area. A routine warrant check was conducted on both subjects yielding negative results. The individuals were formally advised of the legal implications and potential consequences associated with entering private property, particularly when it constitutes an active or designated construction site. At the time of contact, the parcel in question was devoid of construction equipment, building materials or any standing structure. Both individuals departed the premises voluntarily and without further incident following the advertisement. Case clear.
