Allen Park
Batteries bilked
Four engine batteries were stolen from two school buses in the parking lot of Inter-City Baptist High School, 4700 Allen, sometime before 10 a.m. Dec. 7.
The battery compartments were found open that day by a church maintenance employee and the wires had been pulled out.
The batteries are valued together at $600.
Armed robbery nets cash
An armed robber made off with an unknown amount of money from Little Ceasars Pizza, 23110 Dec. 8.
About 10 p.m. that day a man walked into the store and pulled out a handgun with a wood grip. He demanded the clerk give him the money and the clerk handed over all that was in the register. The man then allegedly asked where the rest of the money was and the clerk responded that it was in the safe. The man then ran out of the store and was seen running east on Hamilton and getting into a two-tone sport utility vehicle that turned north onto Larme and left the scene.
It was unknown if there were any other occupants of the vehicle but the clerk said the man got in on the passenger side.
Security footage was being transferred to police at the time of the report.
The robber was described as a black man, about 6 feet 1 inch to 6 feet 2 inches tall and wearing a blue long sleeve shirt and a black vest and a black ski mask covering all but his eyes
Short absence leads to break in
A resident of the 17400 block of Russell arrived home about 8 p.m. Dec. 10 after being away for less than two hours to find his house had been broken into.
The front door was kicked in and the house was ransacked. A computer, keyboard and recording equipment were missing.
The rear sliding door to the bedroom had been left open by the intruders, police said.
No evidence was left at the scene.
Tire refill invites purse theft
A customer of a Shell Gas station at the intersection of Quandt and Southfield roads reported her purse was stolen about 3 p.m. Dec. 12.
The victim said she sat the designer purse, valued at $375, on top of her car parked on the south side of the building while she attempted to put air in her tires. A man grabbed her purse and ran west on Southfield.
The purse contained the woman’s credit and debit cards, driver’s license and Social Security card.
There were no witnesses and surveillance footage did not capture the alleged incident.
The thief was described as a white man about 18 years old, standing about 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighing 140 pounds. He was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt.
Dearborn
Thief gets away with $120
A man allegedly stole about $120 from a shopper at Burlington Coat Factory, 16301 Ford Road, about 5:20 p.m. Dec. 12.
The victim said she was approached by the suspect, described as a black man wearing a brown sweater and black knit cap, who offered her a discount on her purchase. He asked for the cash up front, left to allegedly complete the transaction and did not return.
The victim said she thought the suspect worked for the store, but said he was not wearing anything identifying him as an employee.
Van stolen from driveway
A 2003 green Chrysler Town & Country was stolen about 9:14 p.m. Dec. 10 from the driveway of a house in the 5000 block of Horger.
The victim said he stopped by his mother’s house at about 8:30 p.m. He parked the vehicle in the driveway and forgot to lock his doors. When he went to leave, he found the van missing.
Change stolen from car
Between $5 and $10 in change was stolen sometime before 7:15 p.m. Dec. 11 from the driveway of a house in the 6000 block of Reuter.
The victim said he discovered the car’s driver’s-side window shattered. His belongings were scattered, with only the change missing.
Neighbors who live next to the victim’s driveway said they didn’t see or hear anything suspicious.
Dearborn Heights
Home invasion leads to pot bust
About 30 marijuana plants were found about 3 p.m. Dec. 11 in a house in the 5000 block of Merrick.
Officers responded to a caller who reported an unidentified pickup truck backing into the driveway, where a white man was seen taking a furnace from the house. Officers found the furnace and ductwork of an undetermined value in the open bed of the truck.
The man told officers he was alone and had a key and permission to be inside. While searching the house, officers found marijuana plants throughout the house.
Officers also found a clear plastic bag containing 30 acetaminophen pills in the suspect’s pocket.
Thief takes Christmas gifts
Jewelry valued at $30 and boots ($40) were stolen about 11a.m. Dec. 7 from an apartment in the 23000 block of West Warren.
The items were gift wrapped and left under her Christmas tree.
The victim said she left the apartment sometime before 11:30 a.m. When she returned, she discovered someone got in the apartment through a siding glass door and took the items.
Ladder taken from yard
A 16-foot extension ladder valued at $189 was taken sometime before 6 p.m. Dec. 17 from a house in the 6000 block of Heyden.
The victim said the suspects also stole an undetermined amount of scrap aluminum from his backyard.
Electronics missing after home invasion
A 42-inch television and a video game system of an undetermined value were stolen sometime before 6 p.m. from a house in the 6000 block of Mayburn.
The victim said she came home from work and found a bedroom window smashed out and the items missing.
Lincoln Park
Frat pack nabs Jesus
A plastic infant Jesus statue was among the items grabbed by three would-be fraternity members during a string of petty thefts that resulted in citations for larceny and concealing stolen property.
Police officers monitoring traffic near Victoria and Fort streets shortly after midnight Dec. 11, watched a blue 1998 Buick Regal circle the parking lot of Downriver Tire, 1014 Fort St. After stopping in front of the closed business, one of the car’s three passengers got out, grabbed something from in front of the store, and jumped back in. Officers followed south on Kaiser and west onto Montie before pulling the Buick over.
The backseat was filled with a plastic infant Jesus statue with electric cord attached, a pedestal ashtray, a tool box, and a wooden paddle labeled OT (Theta Tau).
The paddle marked the Wayne State University fraternity the car’s three occupants — a 20-year-old Lincoln Park Man and two 19-year-old men from Warren and Detroit— were trying to join. The stolen items were parts of a scavenger hunt list, the men said. The ashtray was from Downriver Tire, and the Jesus statue was from a front yard of a residence.
The suspects were processed at the Police Department, and are scheduled to appear in 25th District Court at 9 a.m. Monday.
Drive-through thievery
Lincoln Park Police investigated a burglary at Kentucky Fried Chicken, 1217 Dix Ave., after an alarm sounded at 2 a.m. Dec. 11.
Responding officers and the restaurant’s manager entered the building and observed the drive-through window had been forced open. The office, cash drawers and counter areas were in disarray, and an unspecified amount of cash was missing.
The manager told police that the surveillance camera revealed little due to the lighting conditions. Officers collected evidence from near the window, the office and counters. Detectives were following leads as to the suspect’s identity.
Smash-and-grab nets TV, more
One or more burglars smashed the rear window of a house in the 1800 block of Capitol Avenue Monday afternoon, and left with a 42-inch flat-screen TV and other items.
Police responded to the woman’s call shortly after 3 p.m., and observed that the patio door was smashed with a rock. Inside, trash was thrown around and rooms were ransacked; the victim was to provide police a complete list of stolen items.
Store hit for smokes
Someone took a mini Louisville Slugger baseball bat to the window of Vegas Market, 1470 Fort St., and took off with up to 40 cartons of cigarettes shortly after 1 a.m. Tuesday.
Officers found the small bat outside the window, and observed the damage to the window. The store owner told police an estimated 40 cartons of cigarettes, valued at $3,000, was missing. A complete list of missing merchandise was to be provided.
The store security camera was not functioning, the owner said. All doors appeared locked and secured.
Melvindale
TVs taken
Thirty-two televisions were stolen from the storage room of a motel in the 17300 block of Raupp Dec. 8.
About 10:36 a.m. that day, the owner said he went into the storage room where the televisions were kept and found them missing. A window on the south of the building was broken out.
The owner suspects two former residents who worked as handymen for him and helped load the televisions into the storage room. Both had recently moved out.
Storage unit burglarized
An air compressor was stolen from a storage unit in the basement of an apartment complex in the 23900 block of Outer Drive about 4 p.m. Dec. 11.
The storage unit’s owner said someone had entered the fenced-in unit by forcing the gate latch aside. The air compressor is valued at $100.
Truck theft nets GPS unit
A Mr. Rooter truck was burglarized while parked in the 19500 block of Roger Avenue about 8 a.m. Tuesday.
The driver’s-side window of the truck had been smashed out and a global positioning system unit was missing. Pieces of the broken window were found on the ground.
Southgate
SUV taken overnight
A locked 2011 Fort F-150, valued at $20,000, was taken from a driveway in the 13000 block of Veronica, as reported to police shortly before 7 a.m. Dec. 10.
The victim said the sport utility vehicle was locked and all keys accounted for when it was last seen at 4:30 p.m. Dec. 9. Police reported seeing tracks leading east on Veronica toward southbound Fort Street. The vehicle’s information and description was entered into the Law Enforcement Information Network.
Taylor
Burglar takes bonus, jewelry
A family spent 45 minutes away from their house in the 23000 block of Baker Street for a shopping trip, during which time a burglar broke in and stole a reported $3,800 in cash — the victim’s holiday bonus.
Taylor Police were called to the house at about 10:15 p.m. Dec. 9. The family left about 9:30 p.m., and returned to find a back window open and screen broken. From an upstairs bedroom, someone stole the cash and a jewelry box containing an unspecified list of items.
Responding officers noted the broken window, and checked the area for evidence. A detailed list of stolen items was to be provided.
Trenton
Items, info taken from apartment
Selective thieves broke into an apartment in the 1800 block of South Trenton Drive shortly after 11 p.m. Wednesday, taking the victim’s bank statements and other financial documents, medication and an assortment of food, books and other items.
Police responded to the call from the Brentwood Apartments, and noted pry marks surrounding the doorknob. The 47-year-old man living in the apartment told police that he’d heard similar noises in the past, and that the listed items went missing over a period of two or three months. After hearing someone turning the doorknob recently, he looked through the peephole, which was covered from the outside, and heard people running away from his door.
Wyandotte
Lanterns vandalized
A resident of the 1500 block of 13th said someone stripped her front porch lanterns and damaged the bases.
The damage was reported about 2 p.m. Tuesday but the homeowner, who recently purchased the house, said the damage probably occurred overnight.
Fraudulent tax form filed
A resident reported Dec. 8 that someone allegedly filed a tax return using her Social Security number.
The woman said she had waited six months for her federal tax return and when she contacted Internal Revenue Service representatives about it, they said a return had been filed using her Social Security number but another address.
She was given a fraud form to fill out and checked her credit reports, but saw no fraudulent purchases.
(Compiled by Daniel Heraty, James Mitchell and Andrea Poteet.)