Saturday, May 18, 2013
A homeless man was crossing S. Tamiami Trail Friday night when he was hit by a truck, police say.
Mark Frederick Heggan, 54, died at the hospital after he was hit by a truck while crossing S. Tamiami Trail, police say. According to the Sarasota Police Department, Heggan was crossing at S. Tamiami Trail and Arlington St. around 9:30 Friday night when he was hit by a Toyota Tundra pickup truck in the southbound inside lane. Three witnesses and the driver of the truck spoke with police while Heggan was taken to the hospital via Bayflite, according to officials. Police say Heggan died at the hospital. There are no charges or citations for th driver of the truck, according to police. The crash is still under investigation. _________________________________________________________________ Sign up for the Sarasota Patch email newsletter to …
Friday, May 10, 2013
John Villecco faces numerous drug charges and is accused of selling cocaine, Oxyocodone and more from his home, police said.
A Sarasota man is charged with selling a variety of drugs, including cocaine and Oxycodone, out of his home, which is located less than 1,000 feet away from a daycare, authorities said Friday. John Villecco, 22, was arrested at his home at 1803 Tarpon Avenue, where members of the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office's Special Investigation Section served him with a search warrant and three arrest warrants stemming from prior drug sales he made to undercover detectives, they said. During the search of his home, they also found marijuana, cocaine, Oxycodone and Subutex, some of which were individually packaged for sale, a sheriff's office spokesperson said. Villecco's home is located a block away from the Kingdom Academy Preschool, 1801 N. …
27.3534
-82.50699
1803 Tarpon Ave, Sarasota, FL
/articles/police-sarasota-man-sold-drugs-from-his-home-near-a-daycare
/locations/9376313
Two men are accused of stealing used cooking and fryer grease from a Sarasota Wendy's, police said.
Two accused grease thieves weren't slippery enough to get away from Sarasota Police. Two men are charged with stealing used cooking and fryer grease from a Wendy's in Sarasota and may be responsible for similar crimes in Pinellas County, authorities said Friday. The duo was seen using a white truck to extract the grease from a storage system attached to the inside of the fast food restaurant at 1601 S. Tamiami Trail around 3:30 a.m. Thursday, authorities said. When the restaurant's manager noticed the men were not wearing the normal uniform and were acting unusual, he called police. A patrol officer found the two men and the truck later that night at Fruitville Road and Shade Avenue, police said. The truck was equipped with four 250-gallon…
27.31893
-82.52973
1601 S Tamiami Trl, Sarasota, FL
/articles/accused-grease-thieves-can-t-slip-sarasota-police
/locations/9375432
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Sarasota Police are calling 10-year-old Alexander Castanon for his actions in helping to save a drowning 3-year-old neighbor last month.
Sarasota Police are crediting a 10-year-old "boy hero" with helping to save the life of a drowning 3-year-old girl last month. Alexander Castanon was swimming in his apartment complex pool at Signal Pointe Circle along with a 3-year-old neighbor, Natalee, and her adult guardian on April 20. According to police, the adult jumped out of the pool when a fire started in a grill nearby. It was then when Castanon noticed Natalee, who was wearing a flotation ring, was floating face down in the water. Castanon quickly pulled the girl to safety and yelled for help. The adult ran over and began CPR, and Natalee began breathing on her own. She was transported to the hospital and is "doing just fine now, thanks to Alexander Castanon's quick response…
Monday, May 6, 2013
The 66-year-old suspect was arrested, after an eight-month investigation. Ch. 10 News Tampa tweeted this photo of the evidence.
A 66-year-old Sarasota man faces a drug charge, after police allege that he ran a large-scale retail marijuana operation that involved receiving weekly deliveries of high-grade cannabis at his home that he repackaged into smaller quantities and sold at a profit. Sarasota Police Chief Bernadette DiPino held a press conference Monday, May 6, to announce the arrest of Anthony Snead, in connection to a six-month undercover operation. He was charged with possession of cannabis with intent to sell. Also arrested was 38-year-old Andy M. Charlton, charged with possession of cannabis with intent to sell and transportation of drug paraphernalia. In an investigation code-named Operation Hammerhead, DiPino said that detectives discovered that Snead …
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Two separate reports of suspicious packages, one near Clark and Beneva roads and another on First Street, shut down traffic as officials investigated Thursday before clearing the scenes.
A suspicious package spotted near Clark and Beneva roads by a passing motorist shut down traffic for about an hour Thursday evening. The scene was cleared and roads reopened shortly before 7:30 p.m. "In the words of the Patrol Sergeant, 'An empty box is a happy box,' " Sarasota County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Wendy Rose said in a media release. The sheriff's Hazardous Devices Unit was called to the scene after the package was found near a fire hydrant and reported around 5:45 p.m., authorities said. The area was closed to traffic, and some residents were notified to stay in their homes until the investigation was complete, according Rose. "Obviously the motorist who called this in was being vigilant and we would rather respond and …
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Police were investigating the incident, which happened overnight in the 1900 block of 32nd Street, officials said.
Updated, 7:48 p.m.: Two men were injured in a shooting Monday night at a home in Sarasota, police said. The incident occurred around 11 p.m. Monday in the 1900 block of 32nd Street, where officers heard gunshots in the area, according to Officer Linda DeNiro, police spokesperson. Officers were called to a home, where they found a 23-year-old who had been shot several times laying outside on the ground. Another 20-year-old man was discovered inside, also suffering from several gunshot wounds. The 20-year-old was airlifted to a local hospital with serious injuries; the 23-year-old was taken to the hospital by paramedics. Police were still investigating the incident. Anyone with information is asked tocall Detective Johnathan Todd at 941-954-…
Monday, April 22, 2013
Sarasota Police are investigating the incidents, including one in which a woman woke up to find two teen suspects in her bedroom.
Sarasota Police are investigating several burglaries reported at homes in the Alta Vista neighborhood, including one in which a woman awoke to find two teen suspects in her bedroom, officials said Monday. The burglaries occurred between the 2000 and 2500 block of Bay Street and the 800 block of South Shade Avenue, police said. The suspected burglars are entering unlocked homes and quietly taking items, so as not to disturb sleeping homeowners. In one case, police said, a victim awoke to find two teens in her bedroom; they ran when she screamed. Items taken include laptops, jewelry, cash, and in one case a car that was stolen and left abandoned in the 2000 block of North Euclid Avenue. "For our community’s safety, it is best to lock all …
Monday, April 15, 2013
The two pedestrians were in a crosswalk but crossing against the light when they were hit Saturday night, Sarasota Police said.
Two pedestrians were hospitalized after they were struck by a driver headed north on Bayfront Drive on Saturday night, officials said. The two men, both in their 20s, were attempting to cross Bayfront Drive at Main Street around 11:45 p.m. when they were hit, according to Sarasota Police. They were in the crosswalk but were crossing against the light, according to a police spokesperson. Tyler Anderson was taken to Sarasota Memorial Hospital with non-life threatening injures, police said. Colton Sherwood was airlifted to Blake Medical Center in Bradenton with serious but non-life threatening injuries. Alcohol may be a factor in the crash, which is still under investigation, said Officer Linda DeNiro, police spokesperson. Sign up for the …
The woman was chased into her North Orange Avenue apartment and shot several times Sunday night, Sarasota Police said.
A 22-year-old Sarasota woman is in stable condition after authorites say a man dressed in camouflage and a ski mask chased her into her apartment and shot her several times Sunday night. Sarasota Police officers responded to the apartment complex in the 1900 block of North Orange Avenue shortly after 11 p.m. Sunday following a 911 call about shots fired. When they got there, they found the victim on the floor of an apartment suffering from several gunshot wounds but still conscious, according to Officer Linda DeNiro, police spokesperson. According to the woman, she had been outside her home with friends when the alleged shooter came out from behind a duplex and began shooting at them. The woman ran into her apartment, where the shooter …
Palmetto Joe
4:25 pm on Saturday, May 18, 2013
Another a@@@hole in a pickup truck ...am i the only one that witnesses these j@@@pffs on 41 ..301 and 75 that drive like there in a nascar race d up on painkillers , xanax and why do these wannabe clowns race to the red light? more ›