—Thursday, Oct. 1
—What a drag
—7:15 a.m.
—Officer Dallas Troyer was sent to the waterway at the Linley Street boat ramp after a caller reported two boats tied together dragging anchor and drifting close to the Mar Vista restaurant dock. The caller only wanted police to be aware. The officer told him it was an ongoing issue and that the two sailboats were known derelict vessels. From the dock, the officer saw the boats were very close and about to make contact with it. They were in a different spot than they had been recently, never appear to be occupied, and both registrations were long expired. One had fiberglass damage on the starboard side and sat low in the bow, as if taking on water. The officer photographed the boats. He called one owner several times and received only a text message reading “Hello,” with no reply after he explained the reason for the calls. He found no phone number for the other owner. Each owner was issued two boating citations, for anchoring on public waterways with an expired registration and for having an at-risk derelict vessel. The citations were left with police records to be served by certified mail. Case clear.
—No vacancy
—1:27 p.m.
—Officer Nazareno was sent to a condominium in the 400 block of Longboat Club Road after a unit owner, who was out of state, heard from his cleaners that the front desk had given a key to an unauthorized guest. The building manager said a front desk employee had mistakenly handed the key and door code to a woman who showed a confirmation receipt for a one-week rental of the unit, without checking with the owner. The manager confirmed the unit was not rented to anyone and is listed for sale. The woman later returned and was told the unit is not for rent. She said she had booked it through Booking.com on Sept. 17 from her home in Colorado and was charged $2,600 for the week. She turned the keys over to the manager and was advised to file a fraud report with her local police department. Case clear.
—A few after work
—8:56 p.m.
—Officer Miano was southbound on Gulf of Mexico Drive when he saw a black GMC fail to stay in a single lane and noticed its passenger-side brake light was out. He stopped the vehicle in the 1900 block. The officer reported a strong odor of alcohol from the driver, slurred speech and unsteadiness as he stepped out. The driver said he had had a few drinks after work. He showed multiple signs of impairment on field sobriety exercises and was taken into custody at 9:32 p.m. A search turned up a foil bag in his front pocket holding 1.6 grams of marijuana, which field-tested positive for THC. He was taken to the Sarasota County Jail, where breath samples measured .123 and .124. He was charged with driving under the influence and possession of marijuana, along with the traffic violations. Case clear.
—Don’t leave home without it
—10:56 a.m.
—Officer Ivan Zunz took in an American Express Platinum card from a man who did not want to give his name. The man said he had found it moments earlier outside the coffee shop in the 3200 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive. The officer found a phone number for the Longboat Key resident named on the card and left her a voicemail asking her to contact the police department if she had lost an AmEx card. As of the report, she had not called or stopped in. The card was placed in a property and evidence locker for safekeeping. Case clear.
—Friday, Oct. 2
—Fuel for thought
—9:39 a.m.
—Officer Jorge Castro Agis was sent to a condominium on Harbourside Drive on a report of criminal mischief. A resident said someone had opened the gas tank door of her 2023 Lexus while it was parked in front of her garage sometime between Aug. 26 and Aug. 28. There was no damage to the door and no sign it had been forced open, and she did not recall whether any fuel was missing. She said she was concerned because of an earlier incident this year, when she found a beheaded snake in her driveway near her car, and she suspected a neighbor with whom she had a previous disagreement. She had reported that incident to police at the time. She also reported finding nails near her car that had damaged her tires, though she acknowledged they could be accidental because a construction company is repairing the property’s roof. There were no cameras in the area and no witnesses. The management office said no other gas tank doors had been reported opened. No evidence of a crime was found. Case clear.
—Long-distance call
—3:26 p.m.
—Officer Simon Maple was sent to a home on Exeter Drive on a fraud call. The man there said a contractor had stolen a check off his kitchen counter at his other home in New Jersey and cashed it for $50,000. He had tried to file a report by phone with the police there, and the dispatcher told him to go to the police department where he is now. The officer explained that the crime did not happen on Longboat Key and that the report would have to be filed by phone or in person with the New Jersey agency, under its policies. The man agreed and said he would contact that agency directly and possibly take it up its chain of command. Case clear.
—Gone fishin’
—7:21 p.m.
—Officer David Martinson was sent to Harbourside Drive on a trespassing call and met the caller and a security officer at the gatehouse at 1950 Gulf of Mexico Drive. The caller said he saw two young men, about 17 and 18 years old, fishing on the private property, and that there had been problems with them in the past. The security officer said the two had come onto the property about an hour earlier with a third person in the back seat of the car, and had left southbound on Gulf of Mexico Drive in an older Ford four-door sedan with a loud muffler. She later emailed the officer a security camera photo of the car, which appeared to be a blue-gray Ford Focus. She said she would call back if they returned. Case clear.
—Saturday, Oct. 3
—Hook, line and trespass warning
—4:19 p.m.
—Officers Maple and Castro Agis were sent to the Bay Isles community for a report of a young man fishing on the golf course. A Bay Isles security officer said a resident driving by saw him fishing and told him to leave, then reported it to security, whose captain asked that he be trespassed. Officer Maple found the young man near one of the ponds with a bike and a fishing pole, though he was not fishing at the time. He said he had been fishing, that he was visiting a home in Bay Isles and that the driver who complained claimed to have told him before not to fish there. He said he had arrived that morning, was leaving the next morning and had had no other dealings with the driver. At security’s request, he was issued a written trespass warning good for one year. Police were unable to reach his parents. He was given a copy of the warning, had the process explained to him and left with no issues. Case clear.
—Sunday, Oct. 4
—Ride canceled
—7:50 a.m.
—Officer Castro Agis was northbound on Gulf of Mexico Drive when a routine plate check on a silver Honda CR-V ahead of him showed the registered owner’s driver’s license was suspended. He stopped the car in the 1600 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive and confirmed the driver matched the owner’s license photo. The driver appeared surprised and said he did not know his license was suspended. He said he was an Uber driver dropping off a passenger at the St. Regis resort. A seize-tag order was also in effect. He was cited for unknowingly driving with a suspended license, and his license and license plate were seized and placed in a property and evidence locker. Hotel staff allowed him to leave the car at the St. Regis until a tow truck could pick it up. Case clear.
—Wrong number
—1:05 p.m.
—Officer Maple was sent to Euphemia Haye restaurant, 5540 Gulf of Mexico Drive, on an alarm call. An employee met him at the north entrance and explained that he was a recent hire, had set off the alarm when he and a co-worker arrived for work and then gave the security company the wrong access code. He had silenced the alarm and cleared it with the manager and the security company just before the officer arrived. The officer walked the restaurant with the employee, double-checked the entry, rear kitchen door and interior motion areas where the alarm had been triggered and found no sign of forced entry or criminal activity. Case clear.
—Monday, Oct. 5
—Tag, you’re it
—10:55 a.m.
—Officer Dallas Troyer received a license plate reader alert on a black Ford Explorer whose registration had expired June 30. He confirmed the expired registration, found the SUV northbound in the 3100 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive and stopped it in the 3400 block. The driver said he did not have a driver’s license and produced a Florida identification card. Asked why he was driving, he said he had to work. After a license and warrants check, the officer placed him under arrest. A man the driver called came to take the vehicle, with Officer Dexter Nazareno helping coordinate. The driver was taken to the Sarasota County Jail and charged with driving while license suspended with knowledge. Case clear.
—Tuesday, Oct. 6
—Permit me
—8:56 a.m.
—Officer Troyer was sent to a condominium in the 3800 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive on a reported disturbance between a homeowner and a contractor. A plumber said his crew had been replacing cast iron pipes and doing fireproofing in one unit since the day before, and a woman kept following them, filming them and accusing them of doing unpermitted work. He said the crew had to leave early the day before because she kept them from finishing. He showed the officer a Town of Longboat Key permit on his tablet and said there was no big argument, only that he kept asking her whether what she was doing was necessary. The woman, who lives in another unit and does not own the units being worked on, at first refused to identify herself. She said no permits were posted on the doors and that she had filed complaints with the town, the Attorney General’s Office and the state building department. The officer and the woman went to the complex office, where the manager showed them the town permit for the pipe replacement, issued Sept. 24, and explained that a neighboring unit was being used only to reach the pipes and did not need a permit. The manager said she had confirmed this with the town several times. The officer gave the woman a copy of the permit. She remained unhappy and was told to take any complaints about the permits or the work to the town or state regulators. Her filming was lawful, and no crime occurred. Case clear.
—Wednesday, Oct. 7
—Take two
—3:15 p.m.
—Officers Castro Agis, Martinson and Maple went back to the same condominium in the 3800 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive after a worker called 911 to report that a woman was recording him and his co-workers at close range and arguing with them while they worked in a unit. He said they had been hired by the homeowners association’s management company to replace the water pipes throughout the units. The woman, the same resident from the day before, told Officer Castro Agis about numerous leaks in the building that she said were not being addressed, said she had contacted the HOA and several government officials about what she described as unsafe conditions, and said the HOA and contractors lacked the required permits and were responsible for the leaks. The management company representative said all necessary permits had been obtained and that town and county inspectors had inspected and approved the work. The worker called a second time after the officer left, because the woman had returned to the unit and started recording again, and the two calls were merged. The officer advised her to consult a lawyer about her concerns over the HOA’s response to her complaints. No crime was committed. Case clear.
—Curb appeal
—9:07 p.m.
—Officer Martinson was sent to a complex in the 3700 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive on a disabled vehicle call. He found a man standing in the parking lot beside a black Chrysler van that had hopped the curb and was bottomed out and stuck on the grass and sidewalk. The man said it was dark and rainy, his wife had missed the turn into the parking lot and everyone was OK. The driver confirmed she had missed the turn and said she had already called AAA for a tow. The van was out of the roadway and not blocking traffic. Case clear.
—Thursday, Oct. 8
—Designated driver
—1:09 a.m.
—Officer Martinson responded to assist Officer Brett Miklos on a 911 call about a reckless driver southbound on Gulf of Mexico Drive. He spotted the gray Nissan Kicks in the 1000 block and stopped it in the 300 block. The 23-year-old driver said he did not know why anyone would call 911 about his driving, and that he had picked up a family friend’s daughter and her friends and was taking them home. The passengers were all about 14. The driver had a valid license, and he and the car came back clear of wants and warrants. Officers had the teens step out and give their names and their parents’ names, and each one called a parent, who spoke with officers and gave permission for the driver to take their child home. All were released. The officer saw no reckless driving, and the driver did not appear intoxicated. Case clear.
—The fast and the suspended
—8:19 a.m.
—Officer Castro Agis was running speed enforcement in the 100 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive when he saw a northbound car he estimated at 55 mph. His laser speed gun clocked it at 50 mph in a 35 mph zone, and he stopped it in the 300 block. The driver immediately admitted he was speeding and apologized. A check showed his license had been suspended Aug. 3 for failing to pay a traffic ticket, which he said he did not know about. He was cited for unknowingly driving with a suspended license and for unlawful speed, and his license was seized and placed in the evidence locker. His car was left secured at his nearby workplace. Case clear.
—Words on the beach
—8:54 a.m.
—Officer Castro Agis was sent to the beach in the 2000 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive after a man called 911 to report a verbal dispute between a man and a woman. While the officer was on his way, the caller said the pair were leaving a nearby parking lot in a silver Tesla Cybertruck. The officer saw the truck northbound and followed it into Bay Isles but lost sight of it after the gate. Dispatch said nothing physical had happened. The caller said he was walking on the beach with his family when he saw the couple in a heated argument, and the man threw a bottle of water to the ground that struck the woman on the leg. The two then walked off in opposite directions, and when the caller asked the woman if she was OK, she said she was, though she appeared clearly distraught. With help from Bay Isles security, the truck’s gate tag was traced to a home on Bayou Road, where the officer found the couple walking from the driveway. The man said he knew why the officer was there. The two, who have been together seven years, were interviewed separately. The man said he argued with the woman because he was feeling unwell and that nothing physical happened. The woman said the water bottle was thrown onto the sand, not at her, and did not hit her, and that nothing physical happened. Neither showed any sign of injury. No crime was committed. Case clear.
