07/20: Two juvenile delinquents have been arrested and arraigned in court. One admitted he broke into a vehicle and stole money and a .38 special pistol. The second was arrested after being fingered by his buddy - and his fingerprints were found inside a victim's vehicle. There was money and a .357 magnum pistol stloen from that vehicle. A third juvenile - a GIRL - was being interviewed (and probably arrested by now) by the Sarasota Sheriffs Department after admitting to being part of the criminal activity. Thus far the .38 special has been recovered by the Sarasota Sheriffs Department. To my knowledge, the .357 magnum has not been recovered - yet.
--Joe Tortorella

07/21: The two juvenile delinquents are now behind bars - and will be there for the next 21 days until their next hearing! Apparently they were refused bail - or bonding. At this point both juveniles have been charge with 2 - 1st degree Felonies! They are in a heap of trouble. Apparently these two are 'Frequent Fliers'. Both of their fingerprints were found on both vehicles - as well as the recovered .38 special. The detective in charge of the case said she had a mound of paperwork that will take her 3 weeks to get through. Also, much stolen property has been recovered - but not the .357 magnum. The Sheriffs Department is sending in some divers in the Intercoastal Waterway on Tuesday in an attempt to retrieve the .357 magnum. The juveniles apparently admitted to throwing the gun into the water. The female juvenile has admitted to being a part of buglaries that took place in June - along with the two male juveniles already in custody - just adding to their misery. Apparently some bebee and pellet guns were stolen then. It seems, at this point, that she was not a part of the buglaries that took place on 07/13.
--Joe Tortorella

07/24: Well, now we know why the second juvenile already has a lawyer. He was arrested on June 5, 2006 for driving without a license. It was one day after his 15th birthday! I found his record out on the Sarasota County Clerk's Office web site. He is due to appear in court TOMORROW - 07/25/2006 on that charge. He will be appearing in an orange jump suit and cuffs! He hasn't even stood up for the charges in June - and he is already under arrest for the two 1st Degree Felonies! As the Sarasota Sheriffs Deputy said - he is a 'Frequent Flier'. I know the name and address for this little alleged fellon. I will not give that information here. He was, however, arrested by the Sarasota Sheriffs Department on July 20th - and his picture and charges are found on their web site - page 75 - or search for the age of 15. He will stand out - he is a little red head punk with jug ears. Do you see him adapting well to jail? I don't.
--Joe Tortorella

07/25 Well, juvenile #2 was in front of a judge this very morning - for the charges of Driving Without A License. He allegedly did this in early June. It was also confirmed to me that both boys are in jail for 21 days - until their next hearing. The Sarasota Sheriffs Department is going to dive on Friday morning to retrieve the .357 magnum. The two victims in this incident will both be there to watch the endeavor. There will be FOUR (4) divers going in the water to find this gun. Good luck to those dedicated and talented officers.
--Joe Tortorella

07/28 Today the dive team went into the Intercoastal Waterway and did not find the .357 magnum. The Sarasota Sheriffs Department did a fantastic job - and really put a serious effort to find the missing gun - but as usual Mother Nature takes over. The current from the flooding tide was so strong that divers could no longer make headway. There was a large area to search because juvenile #2 was not cooperating in any way. If more information becomes available - and the search area can be reduced - then the Sheriffs Department indicated they would be willing to go back in the water. Hopefully, but unlikely, juvenile #2 will cooperate.

08/04 Well, we found out today that juvenile #2 is quite the frequent flyer! He was arrested in June for 'Grand Theft Auto' and 'Driving without a License'. He was also arrested in June on a separate burglary charge - which included stolen BB Guns. This juvenile is just begging to become a permanent fixture at the penitentiary. His parent thinks she is doing the right thing by not cooperating with the legal system. She thinks she is protecting him - SHE IS NOT - she is simply enabling this juvenile to continue his reprehensible behavior. She is morally weak - and is obviously raising a child with zero morals or values as well.

It is my understanding that after this juvenile completes his (hopefully very long) jail sentence here in Florida - he will be moving 1500 miles away - up to New York State. God bless us all - 1500 miles should be enough for us all to sleep better at night.

Separately, as part of the BB Gun burglaries in June, the female juvenile has been arrested and charged. The parent of this juvenile is doing the right thing. Hats off to her. She is allowing her juvenile to 'Face The Music'. She is forcing her juvenile to cooperate with law enforcement. It is tough love - but this juvenile will probably become an upstanding citizen because her parent(s) are showing that doing the 'RIGHT' thing is always the right thing to do. They are showing leadership, courage, and setting the right moral tone for the future development of their child. What a stark contrast to the other juvenile's parent.
--Joseph Tortorella

Fisrt,thanks to JoeT for this web site.
Second, the one kid plead guilty to all charges. The other kid had no lawyer and was assigned a public defender and will face the music soon.
--Joe P

08/08 - Big happenings today. Our two juveniles were in front of a judge today in Sarasota County Court. Juvenile 1 - 14 year old - was released from jail after 21 days and is under 'House Arrest'. He was not allowed to return to his father's house in Nokomis - because the judge determined that the father was a major part of the problem. He was released into his mother's custody - in Sarasota. House Arrest means he can go to school, a job, then home - that is it. He will be watched very carefully by the Juvenile Detention System. It is fully 20 miles from our community - not an easy bike ride to be sure. He was awarded a Public Defender - and will be going to trial sometime in September.

Juvenile #2 - our ring leader - had an interesting day. He pled GUILTY four times in a row! He was charged and pled guilty to the following charges: 1. Grand Theft Auto, 2. Burglary of a conveyance, 3. Armed Burglary of a Conveyance, 4. Armed Burglary of a Conveyance. The judge told Juvenile #2 - that if he were 3 years older - charges #3 & #4 would have gotten him 2 life sentences! When asked about his past - Juvenile #2 told the judge that he already served 9 months in jail for a Battery charge! Obviously this boy is troubled.

In my conversations with the Asst. State Attourney - Juvenile #2 will NOT have his record expunged when he turns 18. His record stays ACTIVE for 5 years after his 18th birthday. His juvenile record will now count as 'TWO STRIKES'. If he is convicted of a Felony within that 5 years - he earns his 'THIRD STRIKE' and will be instantly be serving a LIFE sentence.

Editorial: In my opinion - this will happen - after this juvenile turns 18 he will commit a felony - and the only variables are how long after his birthday, which crime, and who the hapless victim will be. Pray to God he does not wound or kill anyone along the way.

It was difficult to see such a young person having to plead guilty to such serious charges. It is obvious he is a troubled juvenile - and his parents are incapable - for whatever reason - of caring for his specific needs. I am not a wishy washy liberal - but I think his family, friends, and school let this boy down. These crimes did not occur in a vacuum. The people around this juvenile HAD to know he was troubled - but none of them had the nerve to stand up and 'Blow the Whistle'. They allowed him to be unleased upon the whole community - and we have all suffered for it. It can be tough - but please show some backbone - take action when you see something is wrong. Do something to get the juvenile some help. I can't help but inject a little religion in here. I don't care which religion - take your choice - they all teach love, compassion, and responsiblity. Show some love, compassion, and responsibilty and help others around you when you see they need assistance. To not do that - is simply immoral and wrong. A whole bunch of people let this juvenile down. It is a terrible shame.
--Joseph Tortorella

Well, there continues to be incidents of crime here in Venice East. On Thursday evening - Oct 12th - several cars were broken into and items taken. Apparently the crimes occured on Sunnyside and Pineview. Also, on Saturday night - Oct. 14th approximately a half dozen mailboxes on Capri were kicked down and broken - A FEDERAL OFFENCE I might add. On both occasions the Sarasota Sheriffs Dept was called - but nobody arrested. It is tough to catch these juvenile delinquents. They move through our development like a pack of wolves - using the darkness and early morning hours to go un-noticed.

I have noticed a pattern to these crimes and will detail them here.

1. The juveniles are usually on foot - or bicycle.
2. They are using primarily using Sunnyside and Pineview as main thoroughfares. Many times they go down Mt Vernon - because it is darker.
3. They seem to be going between Dorchester and the library on Jacaranda. Not that they are going to the library - because I am sure they are not big readers. They are just entering and exiting out onto Jacaranda and Windmere that way.

The Sarasota Sheriffs Department knows about the drug house on Dorchester - and these little criminals are accessing that drug house by passing through Venice East. They are drug users and criminals that are committing crimes, and causing damage as they walk or bicycle their way through our development.

We need to pull together as a community and exterminate that drug house. We are counting on the folks that live on Dorchester to buck it up - and call the Sheriff when you see criminal activity.

We all will have to pay attention to ANY juveniles you see walking or bicycling through Venice East. Call the Sarasota Sheriff if you see ANY juveniles - especially a group of them - after dark - as they are criminals, drug abusers, and are up to no good. Don't stick your head in the sand - call the Sheriff!
--Joseph Tortorella

There continues to be incidents throughout Venice East. Apparently there was a huge drug bust on Dorchester this past weekend - November 10th & 11th. I know at least one person has been arrested and charged with multiple crimes.

Mailboxes were knocked down and smashed on Capri and Sunnyside. Approximately ten mailboxes were affected. Sheriff's Dept was called - nobody arrested.

Two vehicles egged on Willowick. Sheriff's Dept was not called - nobody caught.

Several vehicles were burglarized on Bellaire. The vehicles were left unlocked. Sheriff's Dept was called - nobody arrested. Don't leave your vehicle unlocked!

One man arrested on Sunnyside for Domestic Battery.

One man arrested on Mt. Vernon for possession of drugs as well as DUI.

One woman arrested on Golf Club Ln for Battery - touch or strike.

One man arrested also on Golf Club Ln for Domestic Battery and a drug charge.

One man arrested on Alsace fo DUI.

Note: All of the above individuals are assumed to be innocent until proven guilty in court. This only is a list of the arrests. The information is taken from the public domain - Sarasota Sheriff's Dept - Arrest Card - Working Copy.




--Joseph Tortorella

Multiple mailboxes were broken and damaged on 11/30/06. My neighbor said she heard noises at 01:30, but didn't go out to investigate. Mailboxes on Sunnyside Dr. and Venice E. Blvd were damaged. My wife contacted the post office and was informed that it is not a Federal crime and they were unable to investigate.
--Ron S.