—Oct. 24
—Elevated Tensions
—9:15 a.m.
—Officer Van Dyke responded to the 7000 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive in reference to a trespass warning. Officer Van Dyke spoke with the complainant via phone as he is currently out of state. He advised that his neighbor has entered his property on several occasions without authorization. The complainant provided video footage of the neighbor entering his property with a Planning and Zoning employee at approximately 9:15 a.m. The activity is related to an ongoing civil dispute with the neighbor due to the complainant lifting his home for flood protection. According to the complainant his residence will now have a direct line of sight onto the neighbor’s property causing privacy issues. It was determined that the neighbor willfully entered and remained on the property without authorization after being verbally advised by the complainant to stay off the property. Officer Van Dyke responded to speak with the neighbor. The neighbor was advised that he was formally warned to cease trespassing on the property and a signature was obtained and a copy of the trespass warning was provided. Case clear.
—Oct. 25
—Uber and Out
—12:53 a.m.
—Sgt. Butler and Officer Pescuma responded to the 3800 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive for a traffic stop. Upon arrival, officers observed a black Toyota Scion parked illegally at Bayfront Park and they found the registered owner sitting in the driver seat of the vehicle and she was issued a warning for being parked after hours when the park was closed. During the investigation, FCIC/NCIC alerted that the driver’s license was suspended. Sgt. Butler told the woman not to drive and the woman said she was going to arrange for a ride. A few moment’s after talking with her, Sgt. Butler while on patrol observed the vehicle traveling southbound on Gulf of Mexico Drive and initiated a traffic stop. Sgt. Butler cited the woman for driving while license suspended and followed her to a parking lot where she was picked up by an Uber.
—Oct. 27
—Too Early for Hammer Time
—7:51 a.m.
—Officer Castro was dispatched to Hideaway Bay Drive in reference to a suspicios incident. The complainant called 911 and reported that an individual was in the roadway, screaming at other people. The caller further advised that the individual was shouting profanities, crying and asking for help. Upon arrival at the address, Officer Castro observed a woman standing in the roadway visibly crying and yelling. Upon contact, the woman said she ws upset about ongoing construction noise from her neighbor. Despite police presence, the woman continued to yell at the contractors working on the neighboring property. While speaking with the woman, Officer Castro detected a strong odor of alcoholic beverages emanating from her person, noted slurred speech and observed that she was unsteady on her feet, all of which were indicative of intoxication. The woman also complained of chest pain and an ambulance was requested to respond to the scene. The woman’s husband was at the residence and was asleep during the incident. He later said that he didn’t hear the commotion outside. The husband agreed to care for his wife and signed a refusal of medical treatment on her behalf. Based on Officer Castro’s observations of the woman’s erratic behavior and apparent state of intoxication, he determined there was probable cause to believe she violated Florida Statute for Disorderly Intoxication. Accordingly, Officer Castro issued the woman a Notice to Appear for the offense. The woman signed the notice. As part of the investigation and to address the noise complaint made by the woman, Officer Castro spoke to the owner of the home where the construction noise originated. The homeowner admitted to allowing the construction crew to begin work prior to the permitted hours. He was issued a warning for violation of the town’s noise ordinance and advised that a citation would be issued for any further violations. Case clear.
—Oct. 28
—Packing Light
—10:22 a.m.
—Officer Miano was dispatched to Sands Point Road for found property. On scene, Officer Miano spoke with the Director of Security. The complainant stated that house cleaning staff observed a beige firearm sitting on the bottom left side shelf of the entertainment center. The complainant was advised by the cleaning staff and responded to the room and took possession of the firearm and unloaded the weapon on scene. The firearm was observed as in a black Tulster SS AXG DH3 holster, a beige 9mm P365 Sig Sauer and a 17-round capacity 9mm magazine with 15 9mm luger rounds in the magazine. Officer Miano took possession of the gun and property for safekeeping. Further investigation revealed that a male guest from Ohio had checked into that room and checked out on Oct. 25. Several attempts were made to contact the man with negative results. While exiting the room, Officer Miano was approached by a man stating his left his firearm in the room. The man was able to properly describe his missing firearm which is the same firearm in Officer Miano’s possession. NCIC/FCIC checks concluded negative results for the gun and the man. The gun owner had changed rooms due to refrigerator issues and said he didn’t realize he left the firearm in the previous room and noticed it this date. Officer Miano returned the firearm to the man and no further action needed. Case clear.
—Storage Wars
—11:33 a.m.
—Officer Miano was dispatched to Bayou Road for a verbal dispute with a former neighbor. Officer Miano when on scene spoke with the woman at the tennis club where she says she was approached by her former neighbor who began a verbal dispute with her. She said she used to be neighbors with the woman until March of 2025 when the woman moved away after her divorce. She said the woman asked her if she could keep some property at her residence until she got herself situated, and the woman said yes. The complainant stated she hasn’t heard from the neighbor in over a year and yesterday was her first contact with her since she left her personal property at her home. The complainant was advised by the tennis club staff to make a police report documenting the incident for future reference. According to the complainant the neighbor wanted to show up randomly to take possession of her property but the complainant advised her not to do that and she would be available next week with at least a day’s notice. This started an argument and the complainant advised she was concerned about her former neighbor’s mental health. Officer Miano attempted to contact the neighbor via cell phone with negative results and left a voicemail advising her to refrain from visiting her residence without approval. Case clear.
—Oct. 29
—Plumbing the Depths
—9:37 a.m.
—Officer Troyer was dispatched to the 3800 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive in reference to a harassment call. Officer Troyer met with the complainant who stated her neighbor was harassing her and putting a camera into her house. The incident started the previous evening when the complainant was in her condominium and heard someone talking outside of the front door. The woman also heard the front doorknob wiggle. The complainant walked out and saw her neighbor walking away. The complainant had been having issues with her neighbor because of some plumbing renovations in the building. The renovations entailed the plumbing company accessing the neighbor’s residence to repair plumbing to the complainant’s residence. This morning, the complainant was apprised by the plumbers of the neighbor’s actions. The complainant said the plumbers told her they saw the neighbor sticking a camera into the access hole they were using for plumbing repairs. The access hole led from the neighbor’s residence to the complainant’s residence. Officer Troyer met with one of the plumbers who informed him that yesterday while repairing plumbing, he saw the neighbor sticking a camera through the access hole and talking to herself about filing the plumbing. The plumber said they covered the hole with insulation. When they returned this morning, the insulation was moved and at the time Officer Troyer spoke with him, the hole was filled with concrete. The complainant also said she knew the neighbor could see through into her condo from the hole because she looked into the hole and saw blue tile in the neighbor’s home. Officer Troyer informed the complainant the incident did not appear to be criminal at this time, due to the access hole being on both ends of the home and lawful access of such said hole. Officer Troyer informed the complainant of her options as obtaining an order for protection if she felt she needed such protection from the neighbor. The complainant completed a sworn statement which was entered into evidence by Officer Martinson, the pictures of the access hole were uploaded to the case files. Case clear.
—Oct. 30
—Plate Expectations
—8:33 a.m.
—Officer Castro while on patrol in the 400 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive, received notice from a license plate reader regarding a vehicle whose registered owner had a suspended driver’s license. The vehicle was a white Volkswagen Tiguan traveling north on Gulf of Mexico Drive. As the vehicle passed Officer Castro’s location, he initiated a traffic stop in the 1000 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive. Upon contact, Officer Castro confirmed that the driver was the registered owner. The owner said that he didn’t have his driver’s license in his possession because it had recently been seized by law enforcement during a previous traffic stop. He acknowledged that he was aware of the suspension and believed it was due to a parking violation issued by the Longboat Police. Officer Castro later confirmed that the suspension was related to a separate traffic citation. A citation was issued to the driver for knowingly operating a motor vehicle while his license was suspended. The man contacted a coworker who arrived on scene to take the vehicle and drive it from the location. Case clear.
