Allen Park
Jewelry swiped after encounter
A one-night stand allegedly led to the theft of more than $1,000 worth of property from a house in the 15000 block of Aster July 17.
The homeowner, who reported the incident two days later, said he was in his yard about 6 p.m. that day, when a woman walked by. The two began to talk and he invited her inside his house, where they eventually had sex and fell asleep.
When the man woke up, he said he noticed items missing from his house, including a gold wedding band, a yellow gold ring with a black diamond, a man’s designer silver watch valued at $496, a second designer watch valued at $390 and five other watches valued at $80 each. Two coach purses, valued at $300 each, also were missing.
The woman told the man her name was “Amanda.” He said he had washed the glass she drank out of before realizing there may be fingerprints on it.
The woman was described as white with long dark hair, about 5 feet 6 inches to 5 feet 8 inches tall, 120 pounds, and about 30 years old.
Motorcycle missing
A 2006 Harley-Davidson motorcycle was stolen sometime after 11 p.m. July 17 from the parking lot of Holiday Inn, 3600 Enterprise Drive.
The owner said he had last seen it about that time when he ordered pizza. He discovered it missing about 5:30 a.m. the next day.
The steering wheel was locked and the owner had the key.
No value was given for the motorcycle.
Dearborn
Piping, air conditioner swiped
Three hundred feet of copper piping was stolen between noon July 2 and 3 p.m. July 15 from a house in the 7000 block of Middlepointe.
The owner of the house, which is vacant, said the thieves also stole the outside central air conditioner.
Officers noticed a small pry mark next to the door jamb. A second door leading into the house had a glass panel broken out.
Thieves get away with van
A white 2003 Ford E-130 that contained construction tools was taken between 1 a.m. and 8:15 a.m. July 15 from a house in the 5000 block of Orchard.
The owner said he parked the van in his driveway on the northeast corner of Orchard and Colson, and that he had the only keys.
Copper taken from house under repair
Thieves got away with copper plumbing between 7 p.m. July 14 and 8 a.m. July 15 from a house in the 7000 block of Oakman.
The homeowner’s brother, who is doing repairs on the house, said when he tried to turn the water on, nothing came out. When he went to check the main valve, the water was shut off and the copper plumbing was gone. The suspects also took plumbing from the upstairs bathroom.
Dearborn Heights
Mistake leads to theft
Thieves made off with about $200 from a Dearborn resident’s bank account after he left his card in he drive-up ATM at Bank of America, 24120 Ford Road, about 2:45 p.m. July 9.
He said after he finished his transaction, he left his card in the machine. It was later discovered that someone found the card and used it to take the money.
Thieves make off with appliance
A refrigerator was taken at 1:30 a.m. July 10 from a house in the 4000 block of Tulane.
The homeowner said he noticed a dark blue van parked on Colgate, east of Tulane. He said that he circled the block to get the license plate number. When he got back to his house, he saw that his refrigerator was gone.
He said two white males, one 5 feet 9 inches tall, in his early 30s with a medium build and blonde hair, the other 5 feet 7 inches tall, in his early teens with a sim build and dark hair, were walking past his house, but he didn’t see them take the refrigerator.
Lincoln Park
Mp3 player sold for fake cash
A man who sold his Mp3 player on an Internet bulletin board received 15 counterfeit bills from an unknown buyer.
The victim told police he’d recently posted the Mp3 player for sale on the website. On Tuesday he agreed to meet a prospective seller at the victim’s home in the 1500 block of Russell Ave. about noon. The subject showed up at the agreed-upon time, turned over $700 in cash, and left with the Mp3 player.
The victim then examined the currency, and discovered he was given one legitimate $100 bill along with three counterfeit $100 bills, two counterfeit $50 bills and 10 fake $20 bills.
The victim attempted to call the suspect, but received no answer. He told police he was not given the suspect’s name or any identification during the transaction. The victim described for police the suspect and the black, newer-model Chevrolet vehicle he drove.
Police returned the real currency to the victim, and the counterfeit bills were tagged as evidence.
Melvindale
Gun gone
A revolver pistol and $80 in cash were discovered missing from a house in the 17500 block of Eddon Monday.
The owner reported the theft about 12:30 p.m. that day. He said friends from Detroit had been over the week prior to help him clean his house and he discovered it gone several days after they left.
Fencing disappears
Eight feet of fencing and poles were stolen from the south parking lot of Melvindale High School about 2 p.m. Monday.
The theft was discovered by a school district employee, who said he had reviewed the surveillance footage of the area, near the school’s stadium. The footage, which ran up to the week prior, showed the fence intact.
Riverview
Vacation leads to theft
Residents of a house in the 18000 block of Hamann returned from vacation July 15 to find their house had been burglarized.
Entry apparently had been gained through an unlocked bedroom window. The suspect made off with two pistols, jewelry, a laptop computer and Social Security cards before leaving through the front door, which was then left unlocked.
The family left for vacation July 6.
An ‘explosive’ find
A resident of the 20000 block of Foxboro woke up Tuesday to find his mailbox had been blown up.
The man said he heard a loud noise between 1 and 6 a.m. that day, but when he left the house at dawn, he saw someone had blown up the mailbox. Pieces of PVC pipe were scattered across the lawn, and appeared to have been used as an explosive device.
Southgate
Tools taken from trailer
The owners of a construction company lost nearly $10,000 worth of tools and equipment when someone cut the locks at a storage facility sometime between July 15 and 16.
Southgate Police were called to a recreational vehicle storage facility in the 15000 block of Goddard when two brothers discovered that the adjoining trailers they used to store equipment had been broken into, and an inventory of power washers, concrete saws, drills and other tools was missing. Police noticed considerable damage to the trailers, and a fence surrounding the property had been cut to gain entry.
Police noted the information and descriptions of the missing tools.
Trenton
Cycle stolen from garage
A narrow window of opportunity allowed a thief to take off with a 2009 Baja Heat two-wheel off-road vehicle from a residential garage Sunday.
Trenton police were summoned to the 2600 block of Truwood about 5 p.m. The vehicle’s owner told police he and his father were working in the garage that afternoon, and briefly went inside to cool off. When they returned, they discovered the dark green cycle was missing.
Neither of the men reported hearing the cycle’s engine start, and police believe that the thief or thieves pushed the vehicle down the driveway and onto the street. A helmet and gloves that were on the cycle’s seat were scattered on the ground in front of the house.
The victim’s mother said there were two young people who knocked on the door while the victim and his father were inside cooling off. The youths asked if the homeowners wanted to have their address painted on the curb. The offer was declined. After the cycle was discovered missing, the victim’s mother drove around the neighborhood but could not locate the youths.
Taylor
Golf cart stolen, recovered
Whoever took a golf cart from John F. Kennedy High School in Taylor didn’t get far, and the vehicle was found the same day.
Police were summoned to the school July 13. A maintenance worker reported that, between 10 p.m. July 12 and 6 a.m. July 13, someone broke in to the storage room.
The supervisor told police she’d had problems in recent weeks with attempted break-ins, and two days earlier purchased padlocks to secure the garage entrance. Entry was gained underneath the door, and a blue and white golf cart with “Taylor” stenciled on the side was missing. That afternoon, at 2 p.m., police were called to Heritage Park, where the golf cart was found in the pond. County road crews were called in to pull the vehicle from the water, after which it was taken to the city’s public safety center, where it was picked up by school employees.
Widow loses tools to garage thief
Police were called to the 7500 block of Weddel Street July 17 after a woman discovered the theft of an estimated $2,000 worth of tools belonging to her late husband.
The woman told police that sometime between 12:30 a.m. and 4 a.m., one or more people kicked in the garage’s side entrance door. The woman’s grandson estimated that the missing boxes and cases contained about $2,000 worth of tools, and that most were marked with the initials of the woman’s late husband.
Police took note of the damage to the door and descriptions of the missing tools.
Trailer taken from lot
A larceny resulted in the theft of a trailer from a trucking company last month, one that went unnoticed until an inventory was taken last week.
Taylor Police were called to a dispatch office in the 25000 block of Brest Road, where company officials reported the June 14 theft of a trailer. Last week’s inventory showed a particular trailer missing, which was last seen in June when a heavyset, dark-haired white male hooked up the trailer to his semi and drove off the lot.
The employee said that the parking lot has trucks coming and going all day long, and the drive-away went unnoticed. The trailer is not assigned to any of the company’s drivers, police reported.
The trailer’s license and vehicle identification number were entered into the Law Enforcement Information Network, along with a description of the distinctive American Indian chief logo on its side.
Wyandotte
Bike bandits shown on tape
A teen boy was captured on surveillance cameras Tuesday stealing a bicycling belonging to a 13-year-old boy.
Shortly before 4 p.m. that day, the 13-year-old parked his 20-inch boy’s gold BMX bicycle on the north side of FST Hobby Shop, 3537 Fort St., and went inside the store for a few minutes.
When he came back out, the bicycle was missing.
Surveillance footage from a nearby business showed two white teen boys pass by. One was riding a bicycle with “curled up” handlebars. The other, wearing dark pants and a white tank top and carrying another shirt, was on foot. As he passed, the video shows him getting on the bicycle and riding south on the alley behind the store.
Flasher claims medical problems
A Southgate woman reported a man who exposed himself to her Tuesday while both were parked in a city parking lot facing the Detroit River.
The woman said she was reading a newspaper in her black Ford sport utility vehicle about 2 p.m. that day, when a gray Mercury Cougar pulled into the space next to her. After a short time, its driver, a 63-year-old Trenton man, exposed himself and began masturbating.
The man matched the description of a suspect involved in a similar incident at the same location the week prior.
When officers caught up with the man, he said he did not intend to expose himself, but had a hernia, which required him to “massage” the area.
He was warned and released. The Southgate woman later alerted police that she wished to pursue charges against him.
(Compiled by Daniel Heraty, James Mitchell and Andrea Poteet.)