—Oct. 10
—Happy landing
—5:01 p.m.
Officer Albert Miano and Sgt. Adam Montfort responded to a report of a possible kite-glider struggling to stay afloat in the Gulf off the 2400 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive. Sgt. Montfort advised that the person made it to shore without any issue, and Officer Miano saw the swimmer out of the water with nothing to report. No further police action was needed. Case clear.
—Sunday, Oct. 11
—Key issues
—10:46 a.m.
Officer Miano was sent to a home on Gunwale Lane for a burglary alarm. While he was on his way, dispatch advised that the homeowner had asked to cancel the response. The officer reached the homeowner by cell phone, and he said the keypad was having issues and there was no emergency at the home. Case clear.
—Monday, Oct. 12
—Fall alarm
—9:12 a.m.
Officer Jorge Castro Agis was sent to a home on Tarawitt Drive after ADT Security reported a burglary alarm from a window at the rear of the house. Sgt. Michael Mathis and Officer Simon Maple also responded. Officer Castro Agis checked the outside of the house and found all doors and windows secure, with no sign of forced entry or attempted burglary. Through the doorbell camera, he spoke with a man who identified himself as the listed property owner and said a window sensor had fallen and set off the alarm. The officer tried calling the owner at the number in the call notes, got no answer and left a voicemail. A vehicle parked in the driveway was registered to the address. Case clear.
—Tuesday, Oct. 13
—Foreclosed, not burgled
—2:38 p.m.
—Officer Maple and Sgt. Mathis were sent to a home on General Harris Street for a possible residential burglary. A man said that over the previous two weeks numerous items had been stolen or gone missing from the family’s home, which was going through foreclosure. He said his partner had gone to the home, which is uninhabitable because of hurricane damage, on the evening of Oct. 12 and found the rear sliding door open and items missing, including fishing nets, an end table, tools, a washer and dryer and a small ice maker. She said she believed she knew who had some of the items. The officers walked through the house but, because of its poor condition, could not tell whether a crime had occurred. The home had not been lived in full time for two years, was scattered with personal belongings, construction materials, tools and furnishings, and had evidently not been cared for since the two hurricanes. A locksmith hired to change the locks then put Officer Maple on the phone with the representative handling the foreclosure for the bank, who said the home had been sold in foreclosure Sept. 24 and the man had been given a 10-day redemption period to pay what was owed and regain the property. The 10 days passed without word from him, and the foreclosure date covered the date of the reported theft. After the department’s detectives were briefed, it was determined the property had been transferred through legal proceedings and the man was not a victim. The bank’s office said the remaining belongings were of no value to the bank and it would prefer the former owners remove them, and the man was told the bank would give him more time to get what is left and provide some financial support. The couple filled out witness statements, and the case was filed as an information report. Case clear.
—Uber-suspicious
—10:49 p.m.
—Officer David Martinson was sent to a condominium in the 5000 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive on a suspicious incident call. The caller did not want to meet with police, so the officer phoned her. She said she and her friends had taken a multiple-stop Uber ride from IMG to her condo, and that on Cortez Road the driver said his app was not working and pulled over to reset it, which they found suspicious, before driving on. When they reached the condo, all of her friends got out with her, planning to order a different ride home because they no longer felt safe in the car. They walked to the elevator but held off going to her unit so the driver would not see which one she lived in. They watched him drive through the parking lot to the stop sign at Gulf of Mexico Drive, turn around, come back and park near the elevator for about 10 minutes before abruptly peeling out and heading north on Gulf of Mexico Drive in a gray Volkswagen. She said the driver did nothing criminal, but she believed he was acting suspiciously and feared he was trying to see which unit they went into. They had reported it to Uber, and she wanted it documented. The officer drove north on Gulf of Mexico Drive to North Shore Road but did not find the car. Case clear.
—Wednesday, Oct. 14
—Not a peep
—7:48 a.m.
—Officer Miano was sent to the 5900 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive on a complaint of construction starting before 8 a.m. He saw no power equipment in use and heard no construction noise before 8 a.m. —The project manager said he was aware of the town ordinance and had been following it. Case clear.
—Signs of a camp
—2:06 p.m.
—Officer Dallas Troyer was sent to a condominium in the 1700 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive on a report of a transient person living behind bushes on the property. A condo employee said that about an hour earlier, workers at a neighboring condominium reported seeing signs of someone living on the property, and he found them in the bushes on the right side of the entrance: a blanket, bed sheets and a cardboard box. No one was there at the time. The employee said he believed the person might return during the night and that he, or another person with authority at the community, would sign a trespass form. The information was passed on to other shifts. Case clear.
—Hose-tile driving
—2:41 p.m.
—Officer Miano interviewed a woman at the Longboat Key Police Department about a suspicious incident. She said that at about 10:58 a.m. she was southbound on Gulf of Mexico Drive behind a white Chevy pickup when water appeared to shoot out of the truck bed in what she described as a direct and purposeful spray. The water never reached her car because of the distance between them. She said the truck tried to turn left into the Cannon’s Marina parking lot but did not make it, kept going south and then turned right into a driveway, and a few minutes later it was traveling south behind her. She reported no further trouble with the truck and said she did not know anyone with that vehicle. She asked for a report because she has had several suspicious incidents in other jurisdictions and may need to refer to it later. Case clear.
—Thursday, Oct. 15
—Pink slip at Sips
—6:39 a.m.
—Officer Troyer was sent to Sips, 6828 Gulf of Mexico Drive, on a suspicious person call. The owner had reported that he fired an employee the day before, and the former employee was making suggestive comments about showing up at the business even though he had been told not to come back. An employee at Sips said the man was not there and there were no problems. By phone, the owner told the officer the former employee had been texting him that he was owed money and was going to show up because he wanted to work. The owner said he had told him not to come, did not want him at the business and had paid him. The officer advised the owner of the trespass laws that apply if the man shows up. Case clear.
—Spring-loaded
—9:28 a.m.
—Officer Castro Agis was sent to a home on Buttonwood Drive on a civil dispute. The homeowner said his garage door stopped working, so he searched online and called the first company listed. On Oct. 13, a technician told him several parts needed replacing. He asked about the cost before the work began, and the technician said he would provide it after assessing the repairs. The technician replaced several parts, including a new roller, two springs rated for 70,000 cycles, two drums and a middle bracket, and also did maintenance on the door. The bill came to $3,818. The homeowner agreed to the charges and paid by credit card, but later felt the amount was excessive. He tried calling the company and got no answer, and he had opened a dispute with his credit card company. He confirmed the technician explained the repairs before he agreed to pay. The officer found no evidence that a crime had been committed and advised him to keep trying to reach the company and to send an email documenting his efforts. While the officer was there, the homeowner reached someone at the company, who said a manager would call him back. Case clear.
—Finders keepers?
—10:03 a.m.
—Officer Troyer went to a home on Bogey Lane after a resident submitted an online inquiry about a kayak she had found. She said that on Oct. 8 or 9 she was on the beach when she spotted a blue Pelican fishing kayak in the water, pulled it onto the beach and left it for its owner. When it was still there later in the day, she took it home. She said she would like to keep it but wanted it to go through the proper channels first. The officer took the kayak, logged it into property and evidence as found property and ran a search that turned up no owner. Case clear.
