Allen Park
Mowing equipment bilked
The operator of a riding lawnmower reported items stolen from his equipment trailer while cutting grass at Park Colony Club, 15600 Goddard, Oct. 5.
The mower operator said he left the trailer’s rear door open while mowing the grass about 3:30 p.m. that day and when he returned to it he discovered missing two commercial blowers valued at $800 together, two edgers ($800 together), and two commercial trimmers valued together at $800. His Michigan Operators License and $30 in cash were also missing from the trailer’s ash tray area.
He said he saw an older gold-colored vehicle leave the parking lot just before the items were discovered missing.
Purse snatched from pedestrian
A purse was allegedly grabbed from a woman walking south on Allen about 5 p.m. Oct. 9.
The victim and a male were walking when a white male, described as 16 to 18 years old with short blonde hair and wearing a maroon T-shirt, rode a bike past the pair and grabbed the woman’s purse as he passed, before fleeing east on Demean.
The male walking with the victim called his mother, who called police.
The victim’s Michigan Identification Card, $25 in cash and house keys were inside the purse.
Anyone with information about the possible suspect should contact Allen Park Police Det. Jeff Miller at 313-386-3872.
Car tires swiped
A resident of the 17000 block of Philomene reported at about 7:30 a.m. Tuesday that all four wheels were stolen from her vehicle parked in the house’s attached garage during the night.
She had left the garage door open after falling asleep about midnight and when she checked on it about 7:30 a.m., the tires were gone and the vehicle was sitting on four pieces of wood taken from her garage.
The tires were valued at about $4,120.
The vehicle, which was left unlocked, was not disturbed, nothing was missing from the garage and there were no signs of attempted entry to the house through the garage. There are no suspects.
Dearborn Heights
Robbery thwarted after thieves can’t start car
An attempted auto theft about 9:30 p.m. Oct. 6 in the driveway of a house in the 4000 block of Parker failed when the armed thieves couldn’t activate the vehicle’s stick shift.
The thieves got away with the victim’s wallet, valued at $100, which contained between $60 and $80 and miscellaneous credit and debit cards, and a cell phone ($300).
The victim said he parked the car in the front lot of Comerica Bank, 4401 S. Telegraph while he went into a nearby party store. When he came out, he noticed an older vehicle driving into the bank’s parking lot. The vehicle followed him home, where it stopped in front of his house. Two of the males in the vehicle, one of whom was carrying a gun, got out and approached the victim.
The robbers demanded the victim’s money, cell phone and keys to the vehicle. They forced him to lie on the ground while one of the suspects got in the vehicle.
He said they asked him how to drive a stick shift since they didn’t know how. After they were unable to start it, they threw they keys at him and threatened him, telling him not to call the police.
The victim said they drove past the surveillance camera at the bank’s ATM and may have been seen on video.
Vacant house raided
A picture and a 27-inch television, both of undetermined value, were stolen about 11 a.m. Oct. 7 from a vacant house in the 700 block of Sherbourne.
The homeowner lives in Ann Arbor with a male caretaker. The man said he stopped by the house to get the mail and check on it when he saw the lights were off. He said he always leaves them on so people think someone lives there.
The entire house was ransacked and the man was not sure what else was taken.
Missing cell phone leads to altercation
A cell phone of undetermined value was at the center of an altercation that took place about 8 p.m. Oct. 10 in the parking lot of Van Houten Park, 6045 Fenton.
The victim said he and a friend were sitting in the victim’s 2000 Ford F-150 when they saw three individuals who may have been involved in allegedly stealing the victim’s cell phone during an earlier altercation at a park in the 6000 block of Silvery Lane.
The victim began to take down the suspect’s license plate number when the three approached him and asked him if he was writing down the number. After being told that the suspect didn’t steal the phone but the victim could buy it back for $500, an argument began.
The victim said two other suspects tried to pull him out of the driver’s side door of the truck, but he was able to close the door and drive away.
The victim said there was no robbery, but he wanted to file charges against the three for assault and battery.
Lincoln Park
Woman startles would-be burglar
A 45-year-old woman living in the 1000 block of Montie Road received an unwelcome intruder Tuesday. At about 10:30 p.m. the woman went into her kitchen, and saw a heavyset black male, in his late teens or early 20s and wearing blue jeans and a black shirt, standing in her living room.
When the woman screamed, the suspect ran through a rear patio door. The woman believes she forgot to lock the door, and police observed no signs of forced entry. Nothing of value was reported stolen.
Auto shop looted for equipment
Nearly $10,000 worth of equipment was reportedly stolen Monday from an auto repair shop in the 600 block of Southfield.
The business owner called police after a friend alerted him at about 1 a.m. that the front door appeared to have been pried open. He drove to the shop, found the front door unlocked and called police. The victim told police that the business was previously broken into in July, and that the window was boarded up but not yet replaced. The board had been pried open, and missing from the shop was a hydraulic jack valued at $1,000, an engine analyzer valued at $5,000, and other pieces of equipment.
Information on the merchandise was provided to the police.
Good deed may have allowed theft
A resident of the 4100 block of Ferris Avenue reported the theft of more than $4,000 worth of jewelry, likely taken by a vagrant the victim allowed to stay in the house.
The man called police at 7 p.m. Tuesday to report the loss of a watch, a gold chain and two gold rings — with a total estimated value of $4,413 — were missing from his house.
The victim said he left his apartment that morning, after allowing a man known only as “Carl” to stay with him for a week, and returned at 7 p.m. to find Carl and the jewelry missing.
The man was unable to provide any further information on Carl.
TV, games lost to break-in
A man returned home to the 2000 block of London Avenue shortly after 5 p.m. Tuesday to discover a bedroom window smashed with a brick and the theft of a television, video game players and Canon camera.
The victim told police he left home at 8 a.m. for work, and returned to find the merchandise missing. Responding officers noted a broken-out rear window, which appeared to have been smashed with a brick. The stolen merchandise was valued at about $1,450.
Officers collected evidence from the scene and are investigating.
Southgate
Smash and grab nets hunting gear
An overnight thief broke into a vehicle parked in the 13000 block of Westminster and took off with more than $2,400 worth of hunting equipment.
The victim parked his 2004 GMC Envoy at about 10 p.m. Oct. 6, and discovered at 8 a.m. Thursday the rear window had been smashed. Missing from the vehicle was a hunting bow valued at $1,600, and an estimated $800 worth of assorted gear and equipment.
Responding officers collected evidence and information on the missing items.
Taylor
Keys invite overnight burglary
A 31-year-old Taylor man admitted to police that, upon returning home from a bar at 2:30 a.m. Oct. 9, he “accidentally” left his keys inserted in the front door lock of his house in the 6300 block of Hampden Street.
The opportunity was all that was needed for one of more thieves to make off with a 42-inch TV, a video game system and games, and an estimated $40 in cash.
The victim told police he was alone in the house while his family was on vacation, and was at a bar with friends until 2 a.m. He arrived home about 2:30 a.m., and awoke shortly before 10 a.m. to discover the open door, keys in lock, and loss of property.
Police observed no evidence of forced entry.
Safe missing after break-in
A 54-year-old man reported the break-in and theft of personal property, papers and valuables sometime during the day Oct. 4 in the 11000 block of Lincoln Avenue.
The man’s wife was out of town, and he worked until returning home at 7 p.m. Responding officers observed a rear window where the air conditioning unit had been pushed in.
Missing items included a safe that was beneath the bed which contained an unknown amount of jewelry, savings bonds and personal identification. The victim was to provide police with a more detailed list when his wife returned.
Melvindale
Marijuana found on teens
Marijuana residue was found on a group of juveniles loitering outside Clark gas station, 7200 Allen Road, about 8 a.m. Monday.
Officers responded to the station after a male from the gas station called and said a customer reported a group of about 25 teens were allegedly dealing drugs outside the gas station.
A K-9 officer gave a positive indication near the front passenger seat of a blue Oldsmobile the teens were gathered around and an officer located marijuana stems in the vehicle’s center console. Small pieces of suspected marijuana also were found in the vehicle but the samples were too small to gather for evidence.
The teens, many of whom were students at Academy for Business and Technology, were turned over to the principal, John Kirk, who was advised of the situation and requested to address the matter at the school.
Car batteries swiped
Car batteries were stolen from four vehicles parked in the parking lot of a vehicle repair business in the 18800 block of Dix sometime before 9:30 a.m. Monday.
Batteries were stolen from a 1982 Jaguar, a 1993 Honda, a 1998 Ford, and a 2004 Chevrolet. Specific model names were not provided in the report. A car radio was also missing from the Honda.
The business owner was to provide a copy of surveillance footage to police.
Man knifed in car
A man who flagged down a police officer near railroad tracks on Dix shortly before 3 a.m. Tuesday said he was stabbed by a group of men in a red car who called him a “snitch.”
The man said he had dropped off a relative in Ecorse and had just crossed the Detroit border via Outer Drive when a white or light-colored vehicle pulled in front of him and stopped and a small red car tapped his bumper from behind.
Two men then exited the car and opened the door of his truck. They allegedly punched him in the side of the head and attempted to pull him from the truck. When they failed, they began stabbing him. The victim said he then put the car in “drive” and drove off. He did not see which way the alleged assailants went.
The victim had stab wounds on his neck, the top of his spine, his left arm, the left side of his upper chest and the upper right side of his back.
He said he recently contacted Melvindale police regarding illegal activity he had knowledge of and feels the attack may have been retaliation.
He was transported to Oakwood Hospital by Melvindale firefighters for treatment.
The suspects are described as black and in their 20s, one of them standing 5 feet 8 inches to 5 feet 9 inches tall with a muscular build and a longer-than-usual Afro and wearing jeans and a baggy green T-shirt. The other stood 6 feet 1 to 6 feet 2 inches tall and was wearing a dark-colored ball cap.
Riverview
Ring disappears after move
A man moving from his apartment in the 19400 block of Fort to a residence in Wyandotte reported items missing after the move Oct. 3.
About 2 p.m. that day the man said he noticed a gold wedding ring valued at $300 missing from a sealed dresser. The Wyandotte-based moving company denied knowledge of or involvement in the missing ring.
Wyandotte
Break-in attempt thwarted
A resident stopped a possibly robbery in progress by screaming at would-be intruders to her house in the 1800 block of Fourth about 10 p.m. Oct. 8.
The resident and her daughter were doing laundry when they heard a noise on the patio. She looked out of an upstairs window and saw two black men standing near the door and holding a pry bar. She yelled at them and they ran toward the privacy fence in the rear of the property, where they used a wood pile to scale the fence and fled south through an alley.
Pry marks were visible on the rear patio door.
The resident’s brother, who owns the house, was notified of the incident.
Both men were described as wearing dark-colored T-shirts or hooded sweatshirts.
(Compiled by Daniel Heraty, James Mitchell and Andrea Poteet.)