Allen Park
Robber seen during exit, but gets away
About 11:15 a.m. Monday, a resident in the 23000 block of West Outer Drive reported her husband had seen an unknown white male walk across their lawn carrying items.
The husband told officers he saw the man walking away from the house and across his lawn while carrying a box and small sack from a neighbor’s house, where the crime was committed.
When the husband walked outside to question the man, the man set the items down on the corner of Outer Drive and Shenandoah as if he were waiting for someone. The man then walked east on Outer Drive, leaving some of the items on the ground.
The resident grabbed the items and began to walk back to his house when he saw the man coming back. When the suspect saw the resident with the items in hand, the suspect turned around and began to walk faster in the opposite direction.
Shortly afterward, a 65-year-old woman returned to the house that was robbed and told police she had just returned from out of town the day before. Her grandson then said $100 cash and an MP3 player were missing. The neighbor recovered two laptop computers and assorted jewelry.
Officers saw damage to the woman’s side-door deadbolt lock, which had been smashed open.
A patrol alert was put out for the suspect, described as about 5 feet 8 inches tall, weighing 160 pounds, in his mid-20s and wearing a plain white T-shirt and blue shorts.
Suspended speedster carrying long blades
A stop for speeding Monday resulted in the arrest of 41-year-old River Rouge woman for violations that included possession of illegal knives.
Police made the stop about 9:30 a.m. after seeing her driving a black 1998 Chevrolet Monte Carlo at 74 miles per hour in a 55-mph zone on northbound Southfield Freeway near Oakwood Boulevard.
After failing to produce her driver’s license, registration and proof of insurance, the woman said she had a suspended license and was driving her daughter’s vehicle. Police arrested the woman after a records check showed a previous conviction for driving with a suspended license.
An inventory of the vehicle produced a large butcher knife with a 7-inch blade and red handle stuffed between the front passenger seat and door. The woman’s purse contained a knife with a 3 1/2-inch blade and silver handle. Both knives were longer than the 3-inch limit under Michigan law, earning the woman additional citations.
She was placed in a detoxification cell with two separate bonds set at a total of $1,100.
Dearborn
Confrontation sends car thief fleeing
A suspected attempted auto theft on July 12 was foiled when a woman confronted the would-be thief as he was tampering with the vehicle’s console in the 7600 block of Indiana.
The woman called police about 6:30 a.m. and reported that a man was inside of her son-in-law’s blue 2008 Dodge Caravan parked in front of her house. By the time officers arrived, the man already had fled due to the woman asking him what he was doing. The driver’s-side door lock was punched and an in-dash Global Positioning System unit was tampered with, police said.
The woman said the man drove away with another man in a silver sport utility vehicle. She described both as black men in their early 20s. At the time of the incident they were wearing dark clothing.
Dearborn Heights
Burglar assaults resident
An 18-year-old man was rushed to a local hospital Aug. 7 after a confrontation with a burglar in his garage in the 4600 block of Katherine turned violent.
The man told police he was in his bedroom about 7 p.m. when he heard a noise in his backyard. When he
went to investigate he found the garage door open and the suspect inside.
The man said the suspect immediately started throwing punches and after a short tussle threw the victim’s head through a glass window, causing “severe” lacerations to his hands and face, police said. The man said he tried to chase after the suspect, but was overcome by his injuries and fell down in his driveway.
Police tracking dogs followed the burglar’s scent to a house a block away on Dudley, where witnesses said they saw a man enter a silver Ford Taurus with two people already inside before driving away.
The burglar is described as a black man, about 18 years old, 6 feet tall and weighing 170 pounds. At the time of the incident he was wearing a black shirt and hat – both with FUBU insignia – as well as black shorts and black gloves. Police recovered one black glove in the victim’s driveway.
The victim also told police he believes the suspect is the same person who assaulted him with a hammer during a burglary in June.
Teens assault man for making theft allegations
A 22-year-old man suffered bruises and a cut lip July 31 after being assaulted by two teenage boys at Municipal Park, 6044 Silvery Lane.
The man said he had just finished playing street hockey and was on his way back to his car when he saw the two boys walking suspiciously slow nearby. He told police he recognized one of the boys as the person who previously had stolen his cell phone and said, “Hey, you’re the one that stole my cell phone.”
Upon his utterance, the two boys ran up to him and began punching him in the face and chest before fleeing on foot.
Using the victim’s description of his assailants, police found the suspects walking near Midway and Parker. The boys admitted being in an altercation, but said they were chased and did not initiate it. Police said the boys did not offer any explanation why they hadn’t called to report the assault and noted neither had visible signs of being in a fight. They were subsequently arrested.
The suspects – ages 14 and 17 – were taken for booking without incident and the 14-year-old later was released into the custody of his grandmother.
Lincoln Park
Insurance firm’s equipment gone
Office electronics were the target of thieves last week at Premier Insurance, 1700 Fort St.
Police said that between noon last Sunday and 9 a.m. Monday, the building was broken into. A fax machine valued at $100 and a $500 computer were missing.
The front wooden door had been pried open, causing $300 worth of damage.
Open window leads to lots of bling
Approximately $4,100 worth of jewelry was taken Tuesday from a house in the 1900 block of Liberty.
The owner said a bathroom window had been left open while he was gone between 11:30 a.m. and 5:40 p.m.
Missing items included two gold chains collectively valued at $950, two gold pendants collectively valued at $660. a wristwatch ($500) and a gold ring ($2,000). The items had been kept atop a dresser in a bedroom.
Melvindale
Disgruntled employee might have removed computer
A keyboard and computer monitor were discovered missing Monday from the front dispatch desk of a business in the 2900 block of Greenfield Road.
The company’s chief executive officer reported about 9:30 a.m. that he and employees came to work and discovered the apparent theft. The lock on a sliding window was missing and the window was ajar. The main door to the office also was found unlocked.
The CEO said the afternoon shift dispatcher – who was not happy about having his shifts recently changed to afternoons – was supposed to lock up the office at 11 p.m. Aug. 6, but that the dispatcher had not shown up for work since that day.
Angry drunk cited
Officers were called to the White Rhino Sports Bar, 4328 Oakwood Blvd., about 1:45 a.m. Aug. 7 because a drunken 27-year-old resident was being disorderly outside the bar.
Patrons in the parking lot said the man was highly intoxicated while shouting profanities and threats at them, including the threat to assault them with a gun.
The man admitted to causing a disturbance at the bar and said he was angry because they wouldn’t let him inside. Officers transported the man home and issued him a citation for being drunk and disorderly.
Riverview
Truck stolen a month after keys go missing
A blue 2000 Chevrolet 1500 was stolen between 10:30 p.m. Aug. 6 and 1:15 a.m. Aug. 7 from the 18000 block of Country Club Circle.
The owner said he parked the truck on the street, but may have left it unlocked. Police found no evidence of forced entry.
The owner also said he lost an extra set of keys about a month ago. The son of a family friend was over doing landscaping work when the keys disappeared, but the man does not suspect the friend’s son stole the keys or the vehicle.
Car cleaned out by thieves
A Global Positioning System unit, a set of golf clubs, power tools and hand tools totaling $1,100 in value were taken from a silver 2007 Dodge Charger in the 18000 block of Hamann between 1 a.m. and 2 p.m. Aug. 5.
The owner discovered the items missing when he noticed the driver’s-door lock was punched.
Southgate
Garage relieved of yard items
A garage door left open by a resident in the 13100 block of Peach proved irresistible to thieves last week.
The resident said he left the door open about 8 p.m. Aug. 5. Just before noon the following day, three yard items turned up missing. They included a lawn mower balued at $300, a $450 weed trimmer and a $100 bicycle.
Thieves strike church maintenance room
Maintenance items were stolen last week at St. Pius X Catholic Church, 14101 Superior
An employee arrived at work just after 8 a.m. Monday to find that locks had been removed from two electrical transformers. The transformers and the boxes that contain them were undamaged.
No signs of forced entry were found in the maintenance room, but a cordless drill valued at $450, two battery chargers collectively valued at $100 and four batteries with a combined value of $280 were missing.
Taylor
Trio raids company’s scrap bin
A man and two women were caught on surveillance video about 7 p.m. Aug. 5 as they loaded scrap metal into a pickup truck at the rear of Veltec Laboratories, 12255 Universal Drive.
The company performs tests on steel and aluminum and discards the metal into a receptacle once tests are complete. Another company picks up the metal and pays Veltec for it.
The video shows a man and two women pulling up in an older model Ford F-150. The man and the younger of the two women got out of the truck and into the receptacle and began loading metal into the bed of the truck, police said.
The older woman stood outside the receptacle and helped load the metal into the truck.
Police said the younger women can be heard on the surveillance audio complaining about a cut on her hand. The man, who was wearing gloves, was called “Dave” by one of the women.
The value of the missing metal is undetermined.
Wedding ring, pot taken
A wedding ring and some medical marijuana were taken last week from a house in the 23700 block of Wohlfeil.
The door on an addition at the east end of the house apparently was kicked open, and all rooms had been rummaged through.
A computer monitor and computer had been removed from their places in preparation for removal. A laptop computer was missing from a bedroom, as was the wedding ring belonging to the mother of a woman who lives in the house with another woman.
The two residents of the house are licensed as a medical marijuana patient and caregiver, respectively.
A storage box containing about 2 grams of marijuana were taken, as were three of seven marijuana plants growing in the basement.
Trenton
Reckless driving leads to arrest of man, prostitute
A resident’s bad driving drew attention from neighbors and police Aug. 6, leading to bigger problems as well as his arrest.
Residents in Bristol Hills Apartments, 3372 Van Horn Road, saw the man’s silver Jeep Cherokee speeding through the parking lot three times about 3:40 a.m. When police arrived it swerved twice in front of them at the intersection of Van Horn and Fort Street before pulling into the complex.
When they stopped him, he said he had allowed his insurance to lapse and appeared extremely nervous, police said, and was shaking as he handed them his information. He told police he had gone to Detroit to pick up a prostitute and some crack cocaine to “calm his nerves,” and that the prostitute may have left drugs or weapons in his car.
The man invited police to search the car, and they found two crack pipes and two small packets of suspected crack.
Police then arrested him, and as they did so the prostitute came out of the apartment complex looking for the man, saying he owed her $300 for the night. They found a crack pipe and 12 pieces of drug paraphernalia among the three bags of items she was carrying.
Police then arrested her for prostitution and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Woman can’t use man’s jewelry gift card
A woman tried to use a stolen gift card about 3:15 p.m. Tuesday at Trenton Jewelers, 2355 West Road.
An employee said the woman used an expired driver’s license as her identification to use the card, which was registered to a man who had reported it stolen. The employee said the card had a balance of just over $1,700 and told the woman that police would be notified.
The woman then left the store with another woman who had accompanied her.
Wyandotte
Drugs found on man after car drags street sign
A woman called police about 1:30 p.m. Aug. 5 to report she was following a 37-year-old resident man’s red 1988 Plymouth Sundance on Fort Street when it crossed over into oncoming traffic and struck a sign on eastbound Oak Street.
The woman said the man continued driving, dragging the sign underneath the car.
Officer stopped the driver on 22nd Street, south of Oak. In the process the traffic sign being dragged came loose about 20 feet from where the car stopped. The driver got out and met officers halfway between the vehicles. The man said he had not consumed alcohol or medication, but police said he was acting nervous and sweating profusely.
They then arrested him for reckless driving. A search of the car found a wallet on the driver’s seat with a marijuana bag sticking out. It contained 1.9 grams of marijuana and was seized. A smaller bag with 0.1 grams of crack cocaine was found inside it, adding additional charges to the arrest.
Dog, medication disappear
A resident returned to his apartment in the 480 block of Baumey to Aug. 3 to discover his front door had been kicked open.
He had been at work between 6:30 and 9 a.m. Missing were his 3-year-old male beagle, $250 in cash and 11 different types of prescription medications, including 249 total tablets and an inhaler.
(Compiled by Chris Jackett, J. Patrick Pepper and Tom Tigani.)