COPS CORNER 02.24.19

WINTER GARDEN

Feb.18

29 W. Garden Ave. Robbery. At 2 p.m., an officer responded to a call about a strong-arm robbery. The male victim stated he sat down at a park bench occupied by a woman to do some paperwork. When another woman sat joined the other woman on the bench, the woman told the victim to leave so they could have a private conversation. The victim stated they would not leave, and the woman told the victim she would “fix that.” The woman then rushed over to her vehicle and grabbed an item from within. At this point, the other woman still seated on the bench warned the victim to leave because the woman was “having a really bad day.” When the other woman returned, she placed her hand behind her back as if to retrieve a weapon and again demanded he leave. When the man refused, the woman yanked his iPad from his hands and threatened to throw it in the nearby lake. Both women then ran off and fled in a vehicle. When the woman turned around, the man recognized the item behind the woman was a knife. The women later returned to the incident location to retrieve the vehicle belonging to the woman who threatened the man. A waiting officer placed her under arrest and charged her with robbery, aggravated assault with a weapon and 3rd-degree grand theft.

Feb. 20

Stoneybrook Parkway. Traffic Violation. At 4 p.m., an officer traveling on Stoneybrook Parkway spotted a stopped vehicle in the road. The officer assumed the vehicle was either broken down or someone was in distress and pulled over behind the vehicle. The officer approached the driver-side window of the stopped vehicle and asked the male driver if he was OK. As the officer moved closer, he realized the driver’s pants were unzipped and the driver was holding his genitals. The driver’s jean shorts were completely saturated. The driver then looked at the officer, and the officer noticed his eyes were half-shut, and bloodshot. The officer also detected the odor of urine and alcoholic beverage emitting from the vehicle and realized the vehicle was still running and in the drive position. The officer instructed the driver to put the vehicle in Park. It was discovered the man's license had been suspended since 2008. Due to the driver’s level of functioning capacity at the time, the officer did not think it safe to request he perform field sobriety exercises. The officer instead transported him to jail and charged him with a moving traffic violation while knowingly driving with a suspended license.

OCOEE

Feb. 18

400 block of W. Franklin St. Battery on a law-enforcement officer. At about 11 p.m., Winter Garden dispatchers received a call about an unwanted guest at a gas station who was allegedly bothering customers. An officer arrived and spotted the male suspect behind the business in a wooded area. The officer commanded the suspect to exit the wooded area and then noticed a pocket knife in the suspect's hand, but the suspect put the knife away and started to walk away. The officer grabbed the man’s arm and the man began swinging his elbow and struck the officer in his chest. The man broke free and started running away, so the officer deployed his taser and brought the suspect to the ground. The suspect was told to remove his hands from behind his back and into view, but he did not comply. The officer deployed his taser once more. Officers then rolled the suspect over onto his back and detained him. The 57-year-old suspect was transported to a hospital for treatment related to the electrical weapon darts in his back and left leg. The suspect was later placed under arrest and charged with battery on a law-enforcement officer, violently resisting an officer with a weapon, and resisting an officer without violence.