Allen Park
Neighbor stops robbery
An attempted robbery in progress Jan. 23 in the 11065 block of Morningview was thwarted by a neighbor.
A resident said he heard banging noises from outside shortly after 3 a.m. and saw two black males breaking into the front door of Towers Service, 11021 Goddard, with an unknown object.
The resident ran out and yelled at the men, who took off in a white pickup truck and headed east on Goddard.
A black glove presumably belonging to one of the suspects was found at the scene.
Dearborn
Sale turns into steal
A woman in the 24000 block of Oxford still awaits the return of a man who came Jan. 13 to test drive the green 2001 Dodge Stratus she was selling.
A man described as 5 feet 7 inches and weighing 200 pounds with a dark complexion came to her house at 2:30 p.m. and drove off in the car, which contained a title in its glove box.
Sport utility vehicle broken into
A $3,000 in-dash entertainment system and two in-roof digital video disc monitors ($1,000 total) were stolen between Jan. 10 and 12 from a Cadillac Escalade in the 1 block of Boone Lane.
Entry was gained through the rear passenger side window, causing $300 in damage.
A leather, fold-down rear seat valued at $750 also was missing.
Dearborn Heights
‘Scrapper’ suspicious
A green 1998 Buick four-door van sped off after being spotted at 11:30 a.m. Jan. 17 in the 26000 block of Van Born.
The man, who has been seen driving around the neighborhood and walking around a yard in the past, is suspected of taking scrap from the yard.
Work van broken into
An acetylene torch valued at $350 was stolen between Jan. 22 and 25 from a 2006 GMC Sonoma van in the 39000 block of Gertrude.
The van had been parked on the street; its back door was found open.
Lincoln Park
Power, hand tools disappear
A number of power and hand tools was taken between 6 p.m. last Sunday and 10 a.m. Jan. 24 from a trailer parked near a house in the 1300 block of Gregory.
The owner said he had put the items in the trailer last Sunday night and returned the next morning to find them missing. The items included an air compressor valued at $500, a $400 power washer, hand tools collectively valued at $1,400 and a spare tire for the trailer ($150).
Man clobbered with gun, robbed
A 57-year-old resident was robbed of several hundred dollars Tuesday at the northwest corner of Fort Street and Goddard.
He told police he was walking to a nearby gas station when he was approached by a man who demanded money. When the man said he had none, the robber pulled out some type of handgun and struck the man in the head two or three times.
The man then fell to the ground, and the robber went through his pockets, police said. The robber then ran west.
The man suffered a small cut and a bump on his forehead and was taken to Henry Ford Wyandotte Hospital for treatment.
The robber is described as black, about 5 feet 10 inches tall weighing 170 to 180 pounds and wearing dark clothing.
Melvindale
Cold weather crook strikes
A 2010 Ford Edge was taken Wednesday from the 19100 block of Harlow while it was warming up in a driveway.
The owner said she saw someone drive it south toward Outer Drive. A brown designer purse containing the woman’s personal information, credit cards and work keys was left in the vehicle.
Tires slashed
Two tires on a vehicle belonging to a resident of the 17900 block of Ruth were found slashed Tuesday.
The woman said she left the car in her driveway overnight and came out for work to find a single puncture mark on the outer sidewall of both tires.
Riverview
‘Doughnuts’ lead to arrest
A man was arrested for driving with a suspended license after he was stopped Jan. 20 for doing “doughnuts” in the parking lot of a church in the 17100 block of Fordline.
The 19-year-old resident said he had not renewed his license because he lost his job and was unable to pay for it.
Southgate
GPS units go off the grid
Global Positioning System units were stolen from a number of vehicles during the past week.
Vehicles, dates and locations included a 2010 Ford F-150 on Tuesday at Comfort Suites Hotel, 18950 North Line Road; a 2007 Mercury Milan last Sunday at Chili’s Bar & Grill, 15201 Trenton Road; a 2007 Chevrolet Cobalt last Sunday at Red Robin, 15777 Eureka Road; a 2007 Chevrolet Silverado on Monday at 12580 Eureka Road; and a 2010 Ford Escape on Monday and a 2004 Ford Taurus last Sunday at Logan’s Roadhouse, 13240 Eureka Road.
At the latter location, an employee spotted three young males wearing dark hooded sweatshirts were seen getting into a newer white Ford Escort.
A GPS unit and a $100 locked briefcase were taken about 7 p.m. Jan. 21 from a 2005 Dodge Neon parked at Burger King, 15350 Eureka Road. An unknown number of suspects were seen getting into a gray Ford Taurus immediately afterward.
Wallyballers’ wallets rifled
Money was taken from the wallets of two wallyball players at Zodiac Racquet Club, 14795 Dix, sometime before 11 p.m. Jan. 22.
Both had left their belongings outside a court unattended; $50 in cash was taken from one man’s wallet, $34 in cash from another.
Taylor
Comic book buyer gets $100 bonus
A quick-change artist got away with about $100 Jan. 20 from Wonderworld Comics, 22347 Ecorse Road.
A clerk said a man came in looking to buy a $3 comic book with a $100 bill and asked for change. When she gave him $97 in return, he then said he wanted to pay for it with $3 and asked for $100 bill back.
She gave it to him, but he then asked again for change for the $100 bill and made several other requests for change.
She didn’t realize until closing out her cash register at the end of the night that she was $100 short.
The man is described as black, about 6 feet 3 inches tall and in his late 20s or early 30s.
Propane tanks taken
About 18 propane cylinders were discovered missing about 4 a.m. Jan. 21 from Thyssen-Krupp, 21000 Trolley Industrial Drive.
The cylinders are valued at $130 apiece ($2,340 total), and were used to power forklifts.
A lock had broken off the fenced-in area where the cylinders were kept, and a chain had been cut.
Purse snatched from vehicle
A purse containing credit cards, personal identification and cash was stolen between 10:20 p.m. Monday and 1:20 a.m. Tuesday from an employee’s vehicle parked outside Regency Health Care, 12575 Telegraph.
Inside the purse were the employee’s driver’s license, Social Security card, miscellaneous credit cards and $400 cash.
Trenton
Pizzeria employee shortchanged
A man walked out with $80 in cash Jan. 23 from Hungry Howie’s, 3921 West Road, after confusing an employee who was making change.
The employee said about 5:30 p.m. a man came in, asked for a 2-liter bottle of soda and handed him him three $5 bills and five $1 bills, asking for two $10 bills in return. The man then handed him two $5 bills and two $10 bills and asked for two $20 bills, and continued the process several more times, the employee said.
The store was very busy at the time, and the employee told police he didn’t realize until a few hours later that the man ended up stealing the $80.
The man is described as 6 feet 2 inches tall, black, between 40 and 50 years old with a medium build and light facial hair. He was wearing a green sock hat and a light-colored Windbreaker-type jacket.
Debit card numbers misused
A resident of the 3400 block of Plainview reported Thursday that someone had obtained his debit card number and used it to make two purchases totaling $484.
The man’s bank notified him of the fraudulent charges; he then deactivated the card.
Wyandotte
Hit-and-run suspect booked
A 46-year-old resident was arrested last Sunday after a hit-and-run collision.
At 11 a.m., a resident of the 920 block of Maple called to report her vehicle had been struck by a green Ford Explorer, which then continued to drive toward Ninth.
Officers spotted a heavily damaged vehicle matching the description parked at a house on Ninth and spoke with the vehicle owner’s mother, who said her son was asleep in his room. Officers were granted permission to enter the room and saw the man asleep on top of his bedspread, fully dressed.
They detected an odor of alcohol immediately. A pair of snow-covered shoes were on the floor and a trail of wet footprints led from the front door to the room.
The man told officers he had not driven the vehicle, but had loaned it to a friend, whom he refused to name. The man was arrested for failure to report property damage and operating without a license.
He then admitted he hit the vehicle, but later recanted, saying he was warming his vehicle and someone stole it, hit the car, then parked it in front of his residence.
The keys to the vehicle had been found in the home when officers arrived.
Gun found in vehicle
A gun was found Jan. 19 inside a rented vehicle at Enterprise Leasing, 2232 Eureka Road.
A customer who had rented the vehicle two days before from a company office in Woodhaven said he found the vehicle inside of packaging for a cell phone in the back seat of the vehicle. A loaded magazine with two live rounds was also found in the package.
Paperwork affiliated with the cell phone packaging was made out to a Huron Township man. A Trenton woman had rented the vehicle just before the current customer. Officers did not contact either person.
Cyclist caught with drugs
More than 14 grams of marijuana were found Jan. 20 on a 17-year-old boy who was stopped exiting the Indian Village Apartments on a bicycle while carrying a purse.
The boy was carrying 14.4 grams of marijuana in a sandwich bag in his pants pocket. Officers also found and confiscated $250 cash from his pockets.
The purse later was identified as belonging to the boy’s girlfriend. A wallet inside it was empty.
(Compiled by Daniel Heraty, Andrea Poteet and Tom Tigani.)