Allen Park
Red paint thrown, tires ruined
Two front tires of a 1997 GMC box van were flattened sometime between 4 p.m. Jan. 11 and 9 a.m. Monday while it was parked in a driveway in the 15000 block of Cleophus.
The owner found the tires flattened and two plastic bags filled with red paint on his front porch.
Both bags had been thrown at the house, causing the paint to splash on the vinyl siding. The value of the tires is $120.
House burglarized
A house in the 14000 block of Horger was burglarized and ransacked sometime between noon Jan. 10 and noon last Sunday.
The owner was at a friend’s house overnight and his wife was out of town. When he returned he found the glass of a bedroom window shattered and the frame raised.
The house was ransacked and several items were missing.
Footprints in the snow circled the house, which police said indicated the suspect checked all of the windows before breaking in.
Police believe the suspect may have knocked on the door and waited in the neighbor’s yard to see if anyone answered.
Expensive electronics stolen
A television and a DVD player was taken from a house in the 15000 block of Pleasant sometime between 10 a.m. Jan. 6 and 8:30 p.m. Jan. 9.
The owner is out of town indefinitely, and his sister is watching the house and picking up mail. The sister’s son went to the house and found the $500 TV and a $300 DVD player missing and the kitchen window broken.
The sink under the window was damaged, and a drop of blood was found next to it. The suspects apparently tried to close the front room curtains, because blood was found on them.
Dearborn
Electronics stolen from van
More than $5,000 worth of electronic devices was stolen from a 2005 Ford Windstar in the 15200 block of Payne sometime between 6 and 8 p.m. Jan 5.
An unknown object was used to smash the passenger side window and made off with a Global Positioning System unit, digital camera and laptop computer.
Contractor’s tool cache hit
A trailer containing thousands of dollars in tools was broken into in the 5200 block of Reuter at 12:30 a.m. Jan 5.
The trailer was parked in the driveway of the owner’s house. He reported hearing noises about 12:30 a.m. although he didn’t investigate. As he was preparing to leave for work the next morning, he noticed the clasp to the rear door of the trailer was bent off.
The burglary netted five circular saws, 11 nail guns and an air compressor. The owner estimated the cost of the stolen goods at about $5,000.
Dearborn Heights
Man breaks down doors for love
A man suspecting his girlfriend of cheating on him damaged doors to three rooms looking for her at the Heights Motel, 6560 Telegraph, at 2 a.m. Jan 10.
The hotel clerk told police the man came to the front desk demanding to know where “his woman” was. After the clerk told him he didn’t know, the man proceeded to kick and beat three doors before the clerk called police.
The suspect fled before police arrived, but the clerk said he believed the woman he was seeking was in fact at the hotel.
Gun stolen from house
A .22-caliber rifle, $1,000 in pearls, and a $700 camera were stolen from a house in the 6100 block of Cambourne about 11 a.m. Jan 7.
A neighbor called police after noticing an unknown green Cadillac pull into the driveway of the house after driving up and down the street several times. The witness said a man got out of the passenger seat and knocked on the front door before making his way to the back. Minutes later he came walking down the driveway with a duffle bag and got into the car, which was driven by a woman.
Police were unable to lift fingerprints from the window that was broken to gain entry into the house.
Lincoln Park
Pickups picked on
Dodge Ram pickups were a favorite target of vandals last week.
The steering column was damaged and the ignition removed from a 2007 truck parked in a driveway in the 1400 block of Gregory between 8:30 p.m. Tuesday and 7:30 a.m. Wednesday.
Between noon and 6:30 a.m. Tuesday, the driver’s-side door handle was ripped off a 2003 truck parked in the 1500 block of Empire, causing $250 worth of damage.
Alarm goes off, but nothing goes out
An alarm was activated at Riverside Tire, 644 Southfield at 1:49 a.m. Monday.
Police said a window panel on a garage door on the building’s northeast corner was broken out. Footprints were found leading to and away from the scene, but nothing appeared missing from inside.
Damage is estimated at $100.
Riverview
Car stolen from street
A green 1997 Chevrolet Cavalier parked in front of its owner’s house was stolen sometime between 10:30 and 11:45 p.m. Jan. 9 from the 18000 block of Marsha.
The car was unlocked because it is incapable of locking. The owner is two months behind on his car payments. However, police were not notified of repossessions taking place that night.
Business door broken
The front door of Rent-A-Center, 19036 Fort, was broken when someone attempted to burglarize the business at 6:30 a.m. Jan. 8.
The assistant manager noticed a 46-inch liquid crystal display television was pulled off the shelf, but still was attached to the wiring. Nothing else of value was touched, including the cash drawer.
Southgate
Pallets pilfered from business
The owner of L&M Hardwood Skids, 15361 Goddard, discovered 600 wooden pallets missing while doing an inventory Jan. 10. The pallets were valued at $8 each for a total of $4,800. The gate lock had been cut, police said.
Garage cleaned out
Several items were taken between Jan. 2 and Jan. 10 from a garage in the 13000 block of Veronica.
Among them were a $180 snowblower, a $250 battery jumper/charger, a $250 electric log splitter and a $130 lawn edger. The owner told police the garage usually is locked.
Car robbers strike twice
Two car break-ins involving electronics were reported Jan. 9.
A navigation system was taken at 2:30 a.m. that day from a 2002 Chevrolet Blazer parked in the 13000 block of Castle.
A CD player was taken from the dashboard of a 2002 Jeep Cherokee in the 13000 block of Edison; an iPod also was taken.
Both cars’ driver’s-side windows were broken out.
Taylor
Driver scares girl, arouses suspicion
Police were met by a Huron Street resident Tuesday afternoon in the parking lot of Wal-Mart, 7555 Telegraph, who said that a man had been driving through his neighborhood for two days trying to talk to children.
The man told them he spotted the 56-year-old Taylor man driving a 2003 GMC Savana that day and followed him into the store’s parking lot. The driver got out and entered the store 10 minutes before police arrived and was inside while the man spoke to the officer.
The man said his daughter had seen the driver in the parking lot of West Middle School, 10575 William, about 5 p.m. Monday and was “very frightened” of him.
The driver came back to his car, where police questioned him. He told them he works clearing snow in the area and was checking the complainant’s street to see if a job had been completed.
Police verified that the driver has a commercial driver’s license. He also had a semiautomatic handgun, several knives and two canisters of pepper spray. One 3-inch knife was button-operated and spring-assisted, police said.
Man makes one bad deal too many
A 26-year-old Wyandotte man approached police in the parking lot of Ford Lanes, 23100 Van Born in Dearborn Heights, to say he was about to meet a man who previously had defrauded him.
A friend arranged for the two to meet again that day in the parking lot of 7-Eleven at Monroe and Van Born in a few minutes to buy a video game, the Wyandotte man told police. He also told them a Taylor detective had been working the case and that warrants were out for the man’s arrest.
The Wyandotte man said the man who defrauded him would be arriving in a newer blue Chevrolet Trailblazer or a silver Pontiac G6.
The officer waited in a nearby parking lot and saw a Trailblazer enter the 7-Eleven lot and exit to Monroe going south. The officer paced the driver, a 28-year-old Dearborn Heights man, at 47 mph in a 40 mph zone and stopped him. He was arrested based on the warrants and also was cited for speeding.
Trenton
Window shot out
Sometime between 2 and 3 p.m. Monday, the back hatch window of a 1997 black Ford Explorer was shot out while it was parked in the owner’s driveway in the 2200 block of Gorno.
Snowblower taken
A snowblower was stolen sometime between 8:30 p.m. Jan. 10 and 5 p.m. last Sunday from a garage in the 3200 block of Patton.
The owner finished blowing snow on Jan. 10 and then put the blower in the garage. When she returned home the next day, she noticed something wasn’t right with her gate.
She then saw that the bottom half of her garage door was missing, then found the blower missing.
Cars scratched, tires flattened
Three cars were vandalized sometime between 11 p.m. Jan. 7 and 8 a.m. Jan. 8 while parked in a driveway in the 2200 block of Cambridge.
A 2002 Mercury Villager and 2007 Ford Focus were keyed the entire length of the driver’s-sides and the driver’s-side tire of a 1990 Chrysler was punctured.
Wyandotte
Lottery tickets stolen
Two men broke into the Valero gas station, 72 Biddle, at 2:30 a.m. Monday.
The building was forced open through a piece of styrofoam and wood just left of the front door. A security tape showed the men taking 19 bundles of scratch-off tickets that cost $20 each. Damage to the building is estimated at $1,000.
Footprints in the snow led toward Mill Street in Ecorse and then ended.
One of the men was caught later trying to cash in some of the tickets at a Marathon on Southfield by Ecorse police.
He told police he found them in an alley in Ecorse. The serial numbers of the cashed in tickets matched those that were stolen.
Guitar taken
A guitar was taken from a house in the 3300 block of 22nd sometime between 9 p.m. Monday and 7 p.m. Tuesday.
The owner of the guitar is staying with his friend who resides in the house. Both of them left for the night, and when they returned the $1,000 gold Epiphone Les Paul was gone.
There were no signs of forced entry into the house; police believe the side door may have been left open.
The word “used” is stamped into the headstock of the guitar, making it unique.
is stamped into the headstock of the guitar, making it unique.
Elderly woman robbed
Over $3,000 in jewelry was stolen from a 86-year-old resident of the 150 block of Biddle while she was out with her son.
Her son picked her up at 8 a.m. Jan. 8 to take her to breakfast and then out shopping. When they returned at 2 p.m. they found the home broken into.
The front door pane had been broken out and a bedroom window had been left partially opened. All windows and doors were locked before they left.
The house was ransacked and every door and drawer was opened. The contents of three large jewelry boxes were taken. They included old custom items that her late husband had made for her.
Earlier in the week the woman hired a man in his late teens or early 20s to shovel her driveway. She believes she told him she lived alone; he is the only suspect.
Nothing taken in burglary
A house was burglarized sometime between 9:30 a.m. Jan. 10 and 9:30 a.m. Monday in the 2300 block of 22nd Street.
The owner is in the process of moving into the house. She found the rear sliding door glass smashed.
Several boxes were tipped over and drawers were pulled out. She doesn’t believe anything is missing, because she hasn’t brought anything of value to the house yet.
Footprints in the snow led from the house to another on 21st street and then ended.
Bedroom ransacked
Jewelry and medication were taken sometime before 11 p.m. Tuesday from a bedroom in the 2400 block of 10th.
The owner came home to find her side door open, and when she walked upstairs she found her bedroom door also was open, which she said is uncommon because she locks the bedroom door every time she leaves.
Her dresser drawers were pulled out and her personal belongings were thrown around the room.
(Compiled by J. Patrick Pepper, Brooke Stevenson and Tom Tigani.)