Allen Park
Battery shoplifter caught
A Meijer employee was in the shoe aisle about 12:15 p.m. Tuesday when she saw a 49-year-old Willis resident putting some sandals into a white store plastic bag.
Following the woman to the media and women’s departments, the employee saw the woman place several packages of batteries and a pair of jeans into the bag before walking out the front door without paying.
The employee confronted the woman, finding about $440 in store-brand products in the bag. Among them were 69 packages of batteries, a camping mattress; a pair of sandals and jeans; deli mash potatoes and gravy; and boneless wings.
The woman had numerous larceny convictions against her and was arrested without bond.
Ex eggs new Mustang
While sitting on his porch with a 19-year-old Frankenmuth woman about 10 p.m. Monday, an 18-year-old resident saw his 17-year-old ex-girlfriend drive past.
The man lives in the 16100 block of Wick Road, west of Allen Road, which dead-ends at a set of railroad tracks. The man heard a thud as the ex-girlfriend drove past, and went over to his vehicle to find a broken egg had struck the blue 2011 Ford Mustang.
The man decided to take his Mustang to a car wash and clean the vehicle before the egg could stick to the paint, but when he pulled away from his house, his ex-girlfriend followed him for a short time. The man cleaned the car and was traveling south on Pelham Road near Wick Road when his ex-girlfriend pulled up along the passenger side of his vehicle and threw two more eggs at his car while yelling obscenities. The ex-girlfriend then turned off and the man came to the station to report the incident.
While making the report at the station, someone egged the 19-year-old woman’s vehicle, which was still parked at the man’s house.
Dearborn
Car stolen from dealership garage
A 2010 Honda CR-V was stolen about 10 a.m. July 15 from LaFontaine Motors, 2245 Telegraph.
Witnesses told police they noticed a suspicious-looking man walking around the grounds of the dealership, especially in front of an open service garage door. While no one was near the service door, the suspect jumped into the vehicle, which had the keys in it, and fled north on Telegraph.
Police describe the suspect as a clean-shaven white man in his 40s, about 6 feet tall with a medium build. He was wearing a Detroit Red Wings baseball hat, a red polo shirt and shorts.
Lawn jockey beheaded, body stolen
A 3-foot-tall lawn jockey was stolen sometime overnight July 18 from a house in the 1800 block of North Rosevere.
The homeowner told police he was in his backyard the next day when he noticed something at the bottom of his pool. Upon further inspection he realized it was the head to his lawn jockey statue. When he went to the front of his house to check on the statue, it was gone.
Neighbors told police that the night of the theft, they heard a loud splash and then saw a white man running through the victim’s backyard. The statue is valued at $300 and the homeowner said he has no enemies or any idea who may have done it.
Dearborn Heights
Police investigating break-in at medical office
Police are investigating a July 12 unlawful entrance and possible burglary at Arbor Lane Medical, 8555 N. Silvery Lane.
Officers were dispatched to the building about 3:30 a.m. after the building’s alarm system was set off. There was no broken glass or obvious signs of disturbance. A doctor who works at the building arrived on the scene and told police that nothing appeared to be missing.
The next day, however, another doctor at the office arrived and reviewed surveillance footage that showed a 20-something white woman wearing a pink sundress and no shoes entering the building. She went into his office and then to another office before leaving with an unidentifiable object in her hand.
The doctor also said he didn’t notice anything missing from his office, but added that if a prescription pad or just a few prescription sheets were missing, he probably wouldn’t notice.
The facility manager saw the video and said the woman looked like the daughter of the building’s maintenance worker. He said the daughter previously had done some maintenance work at the building as well, and might have a key.
Lincoln Park
Would-be thief caught in act
Police were called to the 1500 block of Morris just before 9 a.m. last Sunday on word that a man traveling by bicycle was breaking into a 1993 Chevrolet pickup truck.
Officers arrived in time to spot a 17-year-old resident matching the description they were given as he was exiting the truck. He then got on a bicycle while carrying a car radio and rode north through a front yard.
Shortly afterward he jumped off, and the radio slipped out of his hands in the process.
Police caught up with him as he was on foot near Lafayette and Morris. He had discarded the hooded sweatshirt he was wearing and left it in front of a house.
Officers then arrested him and recovered the radio.
BB gun looks too real
A 20-year-old Romulus man with what witnesses described as a firearm stuck in his waistband drew the attention of police Monday afternoon.
He was walking in the area of Montie and Porter when he was spotted.
Police ordered him to the ground and ordered him to turn over the weapon, and as they did so he kept telling them it was only a BB gun.
While officers confirmed that he was telling the truth, they described the gun as “realistic-looking” and had its safety off.
They then arrested him for brandishing a gun.
Riverview
Employee’s car stolen at golf course
A 21-year-old Grosse Ile employee at the Riverview Highlands Golf Course, 15015 Sibley Road, parked her Chrysler Concorde in the lot about 1:30 p.m. July 25 before her shift.
She discovered the car missing when went to leave about 7:30 p.m.
Video surveillance showed a small, dark-colored car turning into the parking lot about 4:30 p.m. from westbound Sibley Road and pulling up behind the Concorde. A white male in a white T-shirt got out and lingered near the Concorde’s driver door for a minute before getting into the vehicle. Both vehicles then exited the parking lot.
Chain saw taken from unlocked garage
A chain saw, an 18-inch bar, a three-saw chain and casing were discovered missing about noon July 25 from a garage in the 18200 block of Riverview Street.
The owner said he had put the saw away about noon July 13. Total value of the items is estimated at $675.
The door to the garage facing the alley was latched, but not locked. There was no damage to the garage door.
Melvindale
Underage drunken drivers caught in act
An officer on patrol about 10:45 p.m. Tuesday saw a vehicle head west on Oakwood Boulevard and turn north onto Raupp Road despite a “no turn on red” sign.
While pulling over the vehicle, the officer saw it strike the curb and then observed a 24-ounce beer can on the floor behind the driver’s seat. The 20-year-old Detroit man who was driving and the 18-year-old Detroit woman also in the vehicle both smelled like alcohol.
The officer asked the driver if he had been drinking, and he said he had had two beers. A computer check showed the man had a suspended license and two warrants for minor in possession. The man passed two field sobriety tests, but registered a 0.08 percent blood-alcohol level on a breath test, which is considered intoxicated under Michigan law.
A preliminary breath test of the passenger showed a blood-alcohol level of 0.097 percent. Another 24-ounce beer can was found three-fourths full under the passenger seat.
Both suspects were arrested on multiple charges.
Fast-food debris nearly floods apartment
Damage left behind by evicted tenants was discovered last week by an apartment manager in the 100 block of Gale Boulevard.
When they left the apartment July 7, the manager had the locks changed and the apartment freshly painted.
About 10 a.m. Tuesday he entered the secure apartment with maintenance staff and found the toilet had been intentionally clogged with fast-food wrappers in an attempt to flood the apartment. The carpet was also wet with the smell of mold.
Southgate
Paperwork stolen, valuables left in SUV
Sometime during the past three weeks, the registration, owner’s manual and proof of insurance were taken from a 2002 Ford Escape in the 12000 block of Plum.
The owner waited until last Sunday to report the theft. He said the thieves left several items of value intact.
Man steals wedding gifts
Wedding gifts were taken about 11:40 p.m. July 24 from a party at Grecian Center, 16300 Dix-Toledo.
Witnesses saw a man carrying a box containing gifts out to the parking lot and load them into a beige, late 1990s model Ford Windstar. The box contained a soap dish, tissue holder and a mosaic and envelopes containing anywhere from $1,000 to $10,000 in checks made out to “cash.”
The man was wearing a beige polo shirt and khaki pants. He is described as white, about 6 feet tall, weighing 200 pounds and between 40 and 50 years old.
A similar-looking van parked at a nearby nightclub was checked out by police shortly afterward, but was found to belong to a club employee.
Trucks rocked on freeway
About 9:30 p.m. July 24, police pulled alongside three semitrucks parked on the shoulder of I-75 just north of North Line Road.
Two had sustained windshield damage. The drivers said objects were thrown at their windshields as they passed Goddard Road.
The driver of 2009 Freightliner suffered facial cuts and was taken to a local hospital for treatment. The other driver, at the wheel of a 2007 Freightliner, was uninjured.
Police believe the damage was caused by rocks thrown from some nearby railroad tracks, but could find no suspects in the area.
Trenton
Shoplifter’s ride returns, gets arrested
A 24-year-old Gibraltar man was arrested for aiding and abetting a larceny Tuesday at 7-Eleven, 1901 King Road, after driving a 22-year-old Trenton woman away from the scene and then returning.
The store owner said he became suspicious of the two after they walked around the store several times. He said he saw the woman put candy and gum in her purse, and that the man came to the register and placed two 24-ounce cans of beer and a pastry on the counter. The woman then came and placed a can of alcoholic malt beverage on the counter.
The store owner then asked for her identification and asked her to return the items she had taken. She then placed two more candy bars on the counter, at which point he told them he was calling police.
The pair then left in a vehicle that the man backed out of the driveway in order to keep his license plate from being seen.
He returned a few minutes later and was confronted by police. The man denied stealing anything and said he had driven the woman home and returned to “clear things up.”
Police explained that in transporting her from the scene, he had aided and abetted a crime; they then arrested him.
Bicyclist struck near stop sign
A 76-year-old woman said that about 3:15 p.m. July 23 she had just begun to pull away on Harrison after stopping at a stop sign at Trenton Drive when a girl suddenly appeared on her windshield and then the hood of her 2007 Ford Fusion.
The 14-year-old resident told police she was riding on the sidewalk on Trenton Drive just south of Harrison and had come to a complete stop while still on the sidewalk before proceeding across the crosswalk. The girl said she believed the driver had seen her and was waiting for the girl to ride past.
As the girl approached, however, she said the driver of the car started to pull away. The girl said she tried to swerve away to her left but was struck, landing on the windshield.
The girl was able to walk to the side of the street and use her cell phone to call her mother. The girl was taken to Oakwood Southshore Medical Center to be treated for injuries.
The car sustained most of the damage, particularly on the windshield. The bike was mostly intact, police said.
Wyandotte
Stolen car, gun recovered
A black 2009 Ford Focus was discovered missing about 6 a.m. July 25 in the 10 block of Walnut.
A resident who had parked the car about 2:30 a.m. said her keys were missing from her house. She suspected that the four or five people who were drinking on her deck with the woman who rents her boat well could be involved.
The resident said her car payments were current, and that the only other person who may have taken the vehicle was her husband, who was supposed to be on a boat in Canada but had not answered his cell phone.
A loaded black Glock 9 mm handgun was in the woman’s purse under the front seat of the vehicle, along with her permit to carry it. The gun was registered to her husband, who is a police officer.
After briefly searching the area the woman found the car about 8:15 a.m. at the Pier 500 Marina parking lot, 525 Biddle Ave. It was undamaged and the gun and purse were intact. The only items missing were the car keys and house keys on the same key ring.
Midday drunk screams at children, drivers
Officers were sent to the 3000 block of Ninth Street, near Maple Street, about 1 p.m. July 21 on reports of a 43-year-old man who was highly intoxicated and shouting obscenities at children.
The man, who lived two blocks away from the incident, was traveling on foot and also yelling at people who were driving past.
Police saw the man stumble to the Citgo Gas Station, 1166 Eureka Road, where he was in the parking lot asking patrons for money. The officer had made contact with the man on several occasions in the past and verified several outstanding warrants before arresting him.
A search turned up an open bottle of vodka in the man’s left pant pocket, adding the charge of open intoxicants to the charges against him.
(Compiled by Chris Jackett, J. Patrick Pepper and Tom Tigani.)