COPS CORNER 09.03.17

WINTER GARDEN

August 22, 13750 block of West Colonial Drive. Around 4 p.m., law-enforcement officers were informed of a man who had been caught attempting to walk out of a supermarket without paying for food products concealed on his person. According to the store's loss-prevention officer, the man roamed around the aisles and placed a bag of chips and a 12-pack case of Select beer in a shopping cart. The man then exited with the items in the shopping cart, which totaled $15.77, before being stopped and escorted back inside. The man was arrested and charged with petit theft.

August 27, 3349 block of Daniels Road. At approximately 3:10 p.m., an officer was dispatched to a home decor store in reference to reports of a possible shoplifting in progress being committed by two women. After selecting several items, the two women reportedly began concealing the store items inside their purses and personal shopping bags. One of the women eventually exited the store without attempting to pay for the merchandise. As the first woman exited, she called someone via cell phone and was overheard saying police were present. A police officer then approached the woman and asked to see the contents of her purse. The woman pulled her purse away and told the officer she didn't have anything. After the woman was secured in handcuffs, the officer searched her purse and found $32.91 worth of merchandise. The second woman eventually exited the store as well, reportedly leaving all the merchandise behind. It was discovered the merchandise concealed in the second woman's shopping bag totaled $399.80. Both women were charged with grand theft in the third degree.

OCOEE

Sept. 2, Old Winter Garden Road and John Young Parkway. At about 2:25 a.m., an officer heading north on John Young Parkway encountered a minivan that had remained stationary while a traffic light cycled from red to green and back to red. The officer approached the driver's side of the minivan and noticed a woman sleeping in the still-running vehicle. The officer rapped on the window repeatedly and shined his flashlight in the female driver's face in an attempt to wake her up, but the driver did not respond. The officer continued attempts to rouse the driver, but the driver would simply open her eyes and fall back to sleep. Eventually, the driver was alert enough to fiddle with the AC and radio controls but made no indication she could hear the officer at her window. Once the driver noticed the officer and rolled down the window, the officer detected the smell of alcohol and asked the driver to shift the gear from drive to park. The woman shifted it to park, but then shifted it back to drive and began rolling forward. The officer yelled 'stop' multiple times, and the driver pushed the brake pedal and placed the gear in park. The driver was then subjected to a physical test to check her level of sobriety and subsequently placed under arrest to be taken to a DUI testing facility. The driver refused to submit to a breath test.

Sept. 2, 10500 block of West Colonial Drive. Around 3 p.m., police officers were dispatched to a large department store following reports of two suspects that had stolen or attempted to steal merchandise. The male and female suspects were reportedly seen on the store's surveillance system removing sticker price labels from three pieces of felt worth $0.23 a piece and placing the labels on three other items: an inflatable boxing glove set, an inflatable float and a beer pong set. The suspects then proceeded to the self-checkout area and paid for the items using the sticker prices they had placed on the items. They were approached upon exiting the store but attempted to flee. The male suspect ran through the parking lot while the female suspect ran to a BMW and left the store. Other officers on patrol in the area assisted in catching the woman in the BMW and the man. The total price for merchandise stolen and recovered was $28.65. Upon questioning, the female suspect stated she had nothing to do with the attempted crime. Both suspects were arrested and trespassed from the store for one year.

WINDERMERE

Sept 3, Main Street. At about 2:15 a.m., an officer conducting speed enforcement observed a vehicle traveling 57 mph on Conroy Windermere Road. The officer followed the vehicle and saw the vehicle travel over the white fog line on the right side and cross the double yellow lines several times before approaching a roundabout and traveling over a raised concrete median. The officer activated his car's emergency lights and the vehicle came to a stop. The officer approached the driver and saw a large amount of vomit on the driver's door and recognized the odor of alcoholic beverage. The female driver stated she was coming from Universal Studios and had consumed two Hard Ciders. The driver submitted a sobriety test but did not perform the exercises adequately. The woman was arrested and transported to a DUI testing center where she took a breath test resulting in readings of 0.181 and 0.168.

Sept. 3, Schooner Way and Maguire Road. At approximately 5:30 p.m., officers responded to a call about a man in a U-Haul truck soliciting work in The Willows neighborhood, which is not allowed in Windermere without a permit. Law-enforcement officers conducted a traffic stop on the truck and approached the driver who told officers he did not have a license and that he has a suspended license out of Massachusetts. The man was charged with driving with a suspended license with knowledge. The truck was then searched and drug paraphernalia, including three used syringes, a small blue baggie containing white residue and a silver spoon with burn marks, was found in a leather purse belonging to the female passenger. The woman had several bruises and track marks on her arms. When asked about the purse, the woman said it belonged to the lady who rented the U-Haul truck. The woman was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia.

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Contact Gabby Baquero at [email protected]