—Sept. 18
—Suspended Animation
9:18 p.m.
—Officer Castro Agis received a license plate reader alert for a northbound vehicle whose registered owner’s license was suspended. Officer Castro Agis confirmed the registered owner’s license status. The vehicle passed Officer Castro Agis in the 6400 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive and Officer Castro Agis spoke with the driver, who it was confirmed was the registered owner of the vehicle. Officer Castro informed him that his license had been suspended since November of 2025. The driver appeared surprised and said he was unaware of the suspension. Officer Castro Agis notified him that the vehicle was under a seized tag order. Officer Castro Agis seized the man’s driver’s license and the vehicle’s license plate, placing them into property for proper disposal. The man will arrange for a tow truck for his vehicle. Case clear.
—Sept. 19
—Musical Chairs
1:13 a.m.
—Officer Castro Agis while on patrol in the 5600 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive, observed a vehicle traveling southbound approaching with its high-beam headlights activated. The driver failed to dim his high beams upon approaching oncoming traffic. The glare from the headlights impaired both Officer Castro Agis ability and Sgt. Montfort’s ability to see the roadway ahead. Sgt. Montfort conducted a U-turn and initiated a traffic stop on the defendant’s vehicle. Officer Castro followed to assist. As the vehicle came to a stop, Sgt. Montfort observed a man in the vehicle move from the driver’s seat to the driver’s side rear seat. A female passenger switched to the driver’s seat. The man was asked to exit the vehicle. Once he was outside the vehicle, Sgt. Montfort observed signs of impairment and advised Officer Castro of the findings while he was on scene. Based on this information, Officer Castro initiated a DUI investigation. While speaking to the man, Officer Castro detected the distinct odor of an alcoholic beverage emanating from his person. Officer Castro observed that his eyes were bloodshot, his speech was slurred and he was unsteady on his feet. The man denied operating the vehicle, however the woman admitted that she and the man had switched seats after the vehicle was stopped. Her statement confirmed that the defendant was the driver of the vehicle at the time of the traffic stop. The man stated he was visiting from Texas for the birth of his grandchild. When asked about his alcohol consumption, the man initially stated he had consumed one beer and later changed his account and stated he had consumed one glass of wine. These inconsistent statements regarding his alcohol consumption were noted. Officer Castro asked the man to voluntarily perform the Standardized Field Sobriety Exercises to ensure he was safe to operate a motor vehicle. The man refused to perform the exercises. Based on the totality of the circumstances, Officer Castro developed probable cause to believe the defendant was driving under the influence of alcoholic beverages to the extent his normal faculties were impaired. The man was placed under arrest for DUI. He was handcuffed, and the handcuffs were checked for proper fit and double locked. He was transported to the Manatee County Jail where Manatee County Sheriff’s Office intake deputies assumed custody. All arrest paperwork was turned into MSO booking. After his arrest, Officer Castro asked the defendant to submit to a lawful test of his breath and he refused. Officer Castro then read Florida’s Implied Consent warning to the defendant, advising him of the consequences of his refusal. After hearing Implied Consent, the defendant continued to refuse to submit a breath sample. Case clear.
—Sept. 20
—Catch and Release
12:46 a.m.
—Officer Castro while on patrol in the 400 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive observed a pickup truck parked in the lot. Officer Castro made contact with the driver who had a Florida Driver’s License and he said that he was preparing to fish and believed it was permitted. Officer Castro informed him that the marina is private property and fishing is not allowed. The man acknowledged the information and left the area without incident. A warrant check on the man yielded negative results. Case clear.
—Crash Detection, Minus the Crash
8:20 p.m.
—Officer Maple and Sgt. Mathis were dispatched to the 2300 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive for a traffic crash with injuries. Prior to officer’s arrival on scene, Longboat Key Fire Department Rescue 92 arrived and were unable to locate any vehicles involved in a crash. An iPhone was located by the Fire Department personnel in the northbound lane of Gulf of Mexico Drive. When the number associated with Apple Crash notification was called the found iPhone rang. The Fire Department personnel turned the phone over to the officer. No signs of a traffic crash was located and the Fire Department and Law Enforcement personnel closed their cases. Shortly after receiving the iPhone it rang and Officer Maple spoke to the owner who confirmed it was his phone and it had fallen off his motorcycle while riding home and there was no accident. A time was set up for the officer to meet with the man to transfer the phone back to his custody but shortly prior to the scheduled time he called back and stated he would not be able to make it. He was informed his phone would be placed into property and he could retrieve from Longboat Key Police Department at a later time. Case clear.
—Sept. 22
—Half-Lit Trailer
8:25 a.m.
—Officer Troyer while on patrol observed a gray truck pulling a gray trailer in the 6400 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive and saw the trailer being towed had a defective passenger side trailer stop lamp. The driver pressed the brakes and only the driver side stop lamp illuminated. The vehicle turned southeast on General Harris Street and conducted a traffic stop. Officer Troyer walked up to the vehicle and explained the reason for the stop and asked the driver for his license. The driver said he did not have a license, but he identified himself with a Mexican passport. Officer Troyer searched the DAVID database for the name which showed the man was unlicensed. Based on his investigation, Officer Troyer found probable cause to believe the man was in violation of Operating a Motor Vehicle Without a Valid License. He parked the vehicle and contacted a friend to help him remove the vehicle. Case clear.
—Sept. 23
—Cooking the Books
—11:22 a.m.
—Officer Martinson was dispatched to the 3100 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive for a trespass. Upon arrival, Officer Martinson was met by the caller outside of the business. The caller stated there was a man and woman in the store who had been caught switching price tags on books for a third time and the business now wanted them trespassed. The caller informed the couple that they had to leave the business and that he was going to trespass them from the property for one year for switching price tags. Officer Martinson identified the couple and gave them trespass warnings. Officer Martinson printed copies of the trespass warnings for all parties involved however, the two refused to sign the agency copy because they said they had not switched any price tags in the books. The two left the store and the area and the trespass information was entered. Case clear.
—Mustang Migration
—4:36 p.m.
—Officer Zunz while walking in the parking lot of the Police Department was approached by a resident who needed assistance with a VIN verification. He advised he is in the process of moving from Southern California to his new home in Country Club Shores and wished to have his Ford Mustang registered to his new Longboat Key address. As the other units were not available, officer Zunz went back into the Police Department and ran his tag for wants/warrants with negative results and then signed his DMV form and sent him on his way. Case clear.
