Aug. 29
Trespassing
11:03 p.m.
Officer Mathis responded to the 3400 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive in reference to a group of suspicious people at a residence. The homeowner contacted 911 in reference to several unknown subjects seen on camera at his residence while he was away. Upon arrival, Officer Mathis saw several people quickly walk into the open garage of the residence while a man walked up to Officer Mathis’ car. Officer Mathis made contact with the man and introduced himself and advised for the reason of him being there. The man said that this was his residence and that the officer was clearly at the wrong address. Officer Mathis reassured the man that he was in fact at the right address and that the owner had called 911 reporting several people at his residence that he observed on camera. Officer Mathis asked the man for his driver’s license and the man complied and provided the officer with his Florida Driver’s License. At that time, Officer Mathis noticed the man had a different address on his license and it was in Sarasota. Officer Mathis asked again if this was the man’s residence due to the fact that his license displayed a different address. The man responded that no this was not his house but he was the property manager. Officer Mathis explained to the man that if he was in fact the property manager, he needed to contact the property owner via cell phone while the officer stood there. The man responded, “No because he won’t answer.” Officer Mathis again explained to the man the situation and that the actual homeowner contacted 911 and advised suspicious people were at his home and that he saw them on camera around the residence. The man asked who the property owner was in an attempt to deflect. Officer Mathis explained to the man that he was about to be detained until the situation was clarified. It was at this time, he called the owner and explained to him that he was at the residence. The owner confirmed that the man was in fact the property manager but he did not know he would be at the residence or that he would be bringing guests to his residence unannounced. During the incident, the man was extremely rude and tried multiple times to pass the residence off as his own and an attempt to deceive law enforcement while refusing to call the actual property owner. Officer Mathis then ran the information through ELVIS which returned no active wants or warrants. Officer Mathis then returned the man’s license back to him. Officer Mathis then spoke to the homeowner who apologized for the encounter and was thankful police responded so quickly. Case clear.
Aug. 30
Person
1:36 p.m.
Officer Pescuma was dispatched in reference to a suspicious person in a white van parked in the public beach parking lot next to the hotel. The caller said that he was there yesterday and today has no reason to believe that he may have taken a guest’s towel. The caller did not request to meet. Upon arriving on scene, Officer Pescuma made contact with the man in the van who said he was just enjoying the beach. The officer asked the man if he may have picked up someone else’s towel in which he stated he did not. There was another party on scene stating that he took their towel. Officer Pescuma did not observe any suspicious or criminal activity.
Parking
4:14 p.m.
Officer Ericsson was dispatched to Gulfside Drive to contact an individual regarding a parking ticket he received. It should be noted that Officer Ericsson issued a local parking citation for a maroon 2008 Honda CRV parking in a handicap permitted space earlier in the day. Upon arrival, Officer Ericsson contacted the car’s owner who inquired about the ticket and tried to justify why he parked where he did. The man argued that there was enough parking space between the two handicap parking spots. Officer Ericsson showed him the two blue parking blocks/wheel stops in front of the handicap parking signs and pointed out that there was not a third parking block where his car was parked. Officer Ericsson further advised that the reason for significantly bigger space for handicap parking is to accommodate mobility devices and van accessible parking. The man said he understood the officer’s reasoning, but believed there should be better signage. He also asked how to contest the ticket. Case clear.
Aug. 31
Property
7:49 a.m.
Officer Van Dyke responded to the 1200 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive in reference to a found wheelchair. Upon arrival, Officer Van Dyke observed a wheelchair on the shoreline with no unique identifiers other than the wheels specifically designed for the beach. It’s reasonable to assume that a subject borrowed the wheelchair, then forgot or refused to return it. Officer Van Dyke met with the maintenance employee and advised him that he may keep or dispose of the wheelchair as it doesn’t appear to be reported missing, linked to a missing person or involved in a crime. Case clear.
Sept. 1
Property
10:15 a.m.
Officer Ramsaier responded to the 5400 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive in reference to a found wallet. The person who found the wallet said she found the black metal wallet in the 5700 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive and it contained various credit cards, Florida Driver’s license a student ID. The black wallet also had an air tag attached to the outside of it. A property receipt form was completed and put into safekeeping. Officer Ramsaier conducted a LINX search on the owner of the wallet, and found his phone number. Officer Ramsaier made contact with the owner by phone who had tracked the location of the air tag and was in the parking lot at the time of contact. Officer Ramsaier had the man examine the contents of the wallet and complete a property receipt form. Case clear.
Sept. 3
Drone fishing questioned
6:29 p.m.
Officer Troyer was dispatched to the 5200 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive on the report of a suspicious aircraft. The complainant contacted the Sarasota County Dispatch Center and she reported a person was on the beach flying a drone for the purposes of fishing. The complainant did not wish to meet either. Officer Troyer contacted the complainant by phone and she said the person was shark fishing on the beach and was using a drone to pick up bait and fly the bait into the water for the purposes of fishing. The complainant had concerns about FAA regulations pertaining to the drone and wanted the person’s fishing license checked as well by FWC. Officer Troyer informed the complainant that based on the information she provided, no crime appeared to have been committed and the persons were perfectly fine to conduct their fishing utilizing a drone. The complainant later mentioned she knew the persons were within their rights to fish with a drone, but she did not like how the incident appeared because she had to look out her view at the persons fishing and felt they were inhumane. The complainant also said this was an FWC issue and she contacted them for a response. Based on the information the complainant gave to Officer Troyer, he did not observe any crime being committed and therefore had no legal basis to contact the fishermen. Case clear.
Sept. 4
Information
11:08 a.m.
Officer Van Dyke responded to Bay Isles Parkway in reference to a hit and run accident. UPon further investigation, the case was updated to a citizen assist due to the incident occurring outside Longboat Key jurisdiction. Upon arrival, Officer Van Dyke spoke with the caller and her brother for language translation assistance. The caller showed Officers a video of a white truck on John Ringling Boulevard and stated that it sideswiped the rear driver side portion of her vehicle as it attempted to turn left. The iPhone video stated that the recording time occurred at 10:25 a.m. and the dispatch time was 11:08 a.m. Officer Van Dyke advised the caller that the incident occurred within Sarasota Police Department jurisdiction, therefore they need to report the crash. Officer Van Dyke also provided the link for the caller’s convenience. Case clear.
Property
1:36 p.m.
Officer Pescuma was dispatched to the 5900 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive in reference to a crash notification with injuries stemming from an iPhone crash notification with a wireless number. Upon arriving on scene, Officer Pescuma canvassed the area yielding negative results for a traffic crash, however upon searching the area, Officer Pescuma located a blue iPhone on the bike path in the southbound lane of Gulf of Mexico Drive. Officer Pescuma continued to canvass the area, with hopes to locate the owner of the cell phone. A woman was observed walking northbound with her dog that was identical to the dog on the phone’s screensaver. The woman appeared to be searching for something on the ground. Officer Pescuma made contact with the woman and she advised she left her phone on the roof of her car and it must have fallen off. Officer Pescuma confirmed her identity, and she unlocked the phone with her passcode. A property receipt was completed and the officer transferred property to the owner. Case clear.
