Allen Park
Man in black breaks in
Police are looking for a man who broke into a house in the 17200 block of Anne Avenue July 13 while the resident was asleep.
The woman awoke about 5:30 a.m. that day to find a man wearing black clothing standing over her bed. He had something dark covering his face.
She asked the man who he was and he jumped on the bed and covered her mouth. She screamed and fought the man off and eventually chased him into the living room, where he fled through and open window. She saw him run west on Anne.
The woman, who was uninjured, said she did not see whether the man got into a car. Nothing was missing from the house.
Police think the man entered through the same window he used to leave. He is described as 5 feet 8 inches to 6 feet tall, of thin build and was wearing a black shirt, black gloves, black jogging pants and white shoes. His race is unknown.
A neighbor reported a suspicious man matching the description heading toward the area 30 minutes earlier.
House sitter chases intruder
A house sitter in the 4000 block of Stanley chased an intruder out of the back yard of the house he was watching about 2:30 a.m. July 8.
The sitter was letting the dog out when he heard a male voice yelling. He ran outside and saw a man making his way over the fence from inside the yard. The sitter threw himself onto the fence, but the man was already gone.
The sliding glass door of the garage was opened and a large knife was found behind the garage the next morning.
The suspect is described as a white male 5 feet 10 inches or taller and bald.
Dearborn Heights
Resident treated after fall from tricycle
A man riding a tricycle was found lying in the grass about 9:30 p.m. July 28 on the corner of Beech Daly and Stanford.
Officers said the 44-year-old Heights resident admitted to drinking two fifths of whiskey earlier that evening, and may have fallen as he was attempting to turn from the sidewalk onto the street.
He said that he was hit by a white car, but police couldn’t find any damage to the tricycle.
He was taken to Oakwood Hospital & Medical Center for treatment for a bump on his head.
Flower thief escapes, goods returned
Police are looking for a suspect who stole plants worth $560 at 11:45 a.m. July 9 from English Gardens, 22650 Ford Road.
Witnesses said the suspect, a black man standing 6 foot 3 inches tall and wearing a white t-shirt, left the store carrying the plants. He then fled in a 2003 red Chrysler Voyager.
After tracing the license plates, officers found the van in a driveway in the 9000 block of Minock with the stolen plants in the front passenger seat.
The suspect fled the propery after spotting an officer in front of the house. The owner of the van said the man was using it that day but she did not know where he was.
Employees of the store later arrived at the house to take the stolen plants back.
Truck missing after breakup
A 2005 Ford Expedition was reported missing between 1 p.m. July 13 and 11 a.m. July 8.
Its owner said she lent it to her ex-boyfriend to move his belongings out of their house in the 400 block of Parker during that time frame but he has yet to return it.
Lincoln Park
Running vehicle taken from driveway
A few minutes was all a car thief needed to drive off with a 2001 Nissan Altima from a driveway in the 1700 block of Wilson Ave.
Police responded to the call shortly after 5 a.m. Monday. The victim told officers that her husband started the vehicle, parked by the side of the house, and went back inside to pick up his lunch. When he returned moments later, the Nissan was missing.
The vehicle owner described a black male he observed walking by the home after the vehicle was started. The Nissan, valued at $5,000, was entered into the Law Enforcement Information Network.
Thieves make off with flat-screen TV
Police responded to a burglary call at an apartment in the 1500 block of Ferris Ave. Monday, from which a large flat-screen TV valued at $600 was taken sometime on July 9.
The resident told police her apartment was broken into, although no further damage was reported and nothing else appeared to have been stolen. Police are investigating a possible suspect.
Durango stolen off street
A woman’s 2003 Dodge Durango was taken from its parking spot on the 1000 block of Leblanc Ave. sometime between the night of July 9 and 8 p.m. the next day.
The woman told police she parked the car across the street from her house Saturday night, was in possession of both known sets of keys, and activated an alarm system. She did not remember if she saw the vehicle Sunday morning, but discovered it was missing when she returned at 8 p.m.
Police entered the vehicle into the Law Enforcement Information Network.
Melvindale
Grenade causes evacuation
More than 30 residents in the 17600 block of Clarann Avenue were evacuated Monday after one of their neighbors found a grenade in a bag of clothing.
The grenade, found in a bag belonging to the woman’s late father, still had a pin in it. She took the bag outside and placed the grenade on the grass near the street.
Fearing the grenade could be live, officers evacuated the immediate area.
The residents were out of their houses for less than two hours while the Wayne County Arport Authority’s bomb squad tested the grenade. They could not determine whether it was live, so they disposed of it near Sumpter Township, Melvindale Police Chief Rick Cadez said.
Riverview
It’s in the bag
A pharmacy clerk chased two shoplifters out of the store about 6:15 p.m. July 10 after the pair allegedly stole a package of over-the-counter weight loss supplements from Rite Aid, 19016 Fort St.
A woman, described as white, about 20 and 5 feet 6 inches tall with brown hair in a bun, and a man, described as white, in his 20s with glasses and standing about 6 feet 1 inch tall, entered the store and began to browse around. The clerk overheard them talking about the price of the supplements, and how they were cheaper at another pharmacy chain.
They then left the store and the anti-theft alarm was activated. The clerk chased them out of the store, where the pair got into a white 1996 Ford Explorer where another white male was waiting.
The clerk said he saw the package inside a pink and blue beach bag the woman had carried into the store with her and reached through the open rear window in an unsuccessful attempt to grab it.
The supplements were valued at $59.
Trenton
Video game system stolen
A woman living in the 5300 block of Lathrup Street told Trenton Police on July 9 that a video game system along with a game and controllers valued together at $550 were taken from her home.
Sometime between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., burglars forced their way into the house and took the game equipment. Police observed a prying tool was employed to open her locked front door.
Police noted the serial number of the game system.
Ignoring the signs
Trenton Police reported the theft of signs bearing the message “Police No Parking.”
At approximately 9 a.m.July 10, police were told that signs posted from Elm to Harrison Street on the east side of Third Street were stolen, along with signs posted on Riverside from Atwood to St. Joseph.
About 50 signs were said to have been stolen.
Wyandotte
Messages foretell vandalism
A window on a silver Ford Focus parked in the 1500 block of Oak was smashed between 6 and 10 a.m. July 10.
The owner said she had received numerous text messages and phone calls from a former boyfriend in the 12 hours prior threatening the damage if she did not resume their relationship.
Nude sunbather cited
Visitors to the Copeland Center, 2306 4th, got an eyefull Tuesday.
About 10:30 a.m. officers were called to the center on a report of a resident of an adjacent house in the 400 block of Walnut sunbathing nude on his rooftop.
Several visitors had already complained about the man and about 60 more were expected for a scheduled event. The man also was in view of 11 children attending an event at a park within 100 feet of the sunbather’s house.
The man, 78, said he thought he was obscured because he was on the roof. He was issued a citation for disorderly conduct.
Make like a tree
Three trees and nine shrubs were reported stolen from a house in the 2300 block of Electric Tuesday.
The owner said he arrived home at 7 a.m. that day and they were still in the back yard. When he awoke at 3 p.m., they were missing.
(Compiled by Daniel Heraty, James Mitchell and Andrea Poteet.)