Dearborn
Suspect gets away with cash
About $1,300 in cash was stolen about 9 p.m. Dec. 17 from a house in the 6000 block of Coleman.
A neighbor told police a suspicious man entered the house, located across the street. The caller said the man turned off the porch light by unscrewing the bulb and closed the blinds after entering the house.
The homeowner told officers a bedroom window found open on the southeast side of the house was closed when he left. He said the money belonged to a visiting relative who was using the room.
An attempt to track the suspect stopped in the area of Barrie Street and Hemlock Avenue, where a set of keys were found.
Dearborn Heights
Thief takes propane tanks from gas station
About 12 propane tanks of an indeterminate value were taken about 3:15 a.m. Dec. 20 from a Marathon gas station, 20015 Ann Arbor Trail.
The station’s owner said surveillance video shows a black man driving a maroon Chevrolet Monte Carlo with a sun roof and a missing passenger-side wheel cover cutting open the cage where the tanks were held and placing them in the car. The man also sawed off the catalytic converter from under a 2001 Chevrolet van parked in the lot.
The owner said the same man allegedly stole a catalytic converter from a different vehicle in the same parking lot Dec. 13.
Kitchen utensils stolen from camper
A knife set and silverware valued together at $100 were stolen about 4 p.m. Dec. 20 from a recreational vehicle parked in the 26000 block of Van Born.
The victim said sometime before Dec. 20, thieves broke a door window to a 1975 Travco motor home and stole the goods.
Thieves get away with electronics
A laptop computer, an Mp3 player and two television sets of indeterminate value were stolen sometime before 8:15 p.m. Dec. 20 from a house in the 8000 block of Riverside.
The victim said she returned home about 8:30 p.m. and found the side door and the rear glass sliding door open. There were no signs of forced entry and the victim said she thought she locked the doors.
A neighbor said she saw two men in dark clothing standing in the houses’ driveway about 7 p.m. They entered the house, but she didn’t see them carrying anything. She told officers they left in a dark-colored sport utility vehicle.
Thousands worth of jewelry stolen
Assorted jewelry valued at $5,000 was taken about 8 p.m. Dec. 20 from a house in the 7000 block of Gulley Road.
The victim said she returned home about 7:45 p.m. and found her bedroom window open. Jewelry boxes in the bedroom were found thrown around and emptied.
Lincoln Park
Christmas thief strikes
The owner of a 2008 Chrysler 300 told Lincoln Park police that one or more thieves broke into the vehicle, stole a $1,500 navigation system and caused another $1,500 worth of damage.
Police were called to a house in the 1500 block of Cleveland about 9 a.m. Dec. 25, to report the attempted theft of his vehicle. Police observed the car in the driveway with a damaged dashboard and missing navigation system and radio.
Melvindale
Poker thieves nabbed
A Chicago man; a Detroit man; and a Harvey, Mich., man were arrested after allegedly breaking into two video poker machines at a bar in the 17100 block of Allen about 3 p.m. Dec. 23.
The men, who matched the descriptions given by the bartender, were found in another bar later that day and were arrested.
Car vandalized
A Ford Taurus parked in the 23900 block of Outer Drive was keyed sometime before 8:20 p.m. Dec. 23.
A large “X” was carved into the hood of the car, which had been parked in an assigned parking spot while its owner visited a friend who lived in the complex. The owner said a person, for whom a description was not available, approached her friend the day prior and demanded they move the vehicle. When she returned the next morning, she saw the damage.
Officers requested the friend follow up with further details about the person in the parking lot.
Riverview
Vandal strikes vehicles
Three vehicles parked outside a house in the 17400 block of Hamann were scratched sometime between 11 p.m. Dec. 17 and 6 a.m. Dec. 18.
The rear window of a 2003 Ford Windstar was scratched along with front windshields on a 2008 Dodge pickup truck and Dodge four-door car. The vehicles belonged to the homeowner and houseguests.
Total damage is estimated at about $2,000.
Money taken from machines
More than $1,000 in quarters was found stolen from 10 vandalized washing machines in an apartment complex in the 19300 block of Fort Dec. 14.
About 9:45 a.m. that day, the apartment manager contacted police after a resident called to report the machine in her building was tipped over. A search of all buildings revealed nine more machines had been vandalized.
Marijuana found on driver
More than 40 grams of marijuana were found during a traffic stop of a vehicle driving west on Pennsylvania about 8:30 p.m. Dec. 17.
The driver, an 18-year-old resident, parked on the shoulder in the 13100 block of Pennsylvania in a marked “No Parking” zone to pick up a friend when officers stopped him.
A search of the vehicle revealed the marijuana in clear plastic sandwich bags stowed underneath the driver’s seat and in a dashboard compartment of the vehicle.
He was arrested for possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver.
Taylor
Break in nets cash, cigarettes
Police responded to an early morning alarm at Mitch’s Party Store, 16950 Allen Road, Dec. 20, where one or more burglars made off with an estimated $1,730 in cash and merchandise.
With assistance from the Brownstown Township police, officers responded to a 3:48 a.m. alarm and, upon arrival, discovered the front door had been pried open, with clear evidence of tool marks near the lock. The store manager said that at least 15 cartons of cigarettes were taken, along with cash and other merchandise.
The owner said there was no working surveillance camera.
Laptop stolen from school
The holiday break from studies began with a break-in on Dec. 21 at the Baptist Park School. After the students’ final day Tuesday, staff discovered Wednesday morning that the rear doors had been forced open and at least one laptop computer stolen.
Responding police observed the damaged, pried-open rear door and several rooms that had been ransacked. Staff said that small amounts of cash were also taken.
Police reported that the school was targeted recently with a similar break-in, and that a suspect is being investigated.
Trenton
Boat burglarized in lot
A Trenton angler reported to police the theft of more than $8,000 worth of fishing equipment — including a $1,500 global positioning system unit— from his boat that was stored for the season.
Police responded to a call from U Stow N Lock storage facility, 1260 W. Jefferson, about 4:15 p.m. Dec. 22 from a man reporting the theft of equipment from his Team Pursuit boat that was stored in the yard. Police observed that part of the covering was removed, and a lock was cut off the cabin door.
The missing equipment includes several salmon and walleye rods, trolling riggers and reels.
The man said he last checked on the boat in July, and was uncertain when the equipment might have been taken. Reportedly the storage lot fence was repaired over the summer, and the victim believed that his boat had been moved during that time.
Wyandotte
Christmas Eve ax man arrested
An ax-weilding man was arrested for disorderly conduct after yelling outside of an apartment door about 9:30 p.m. Dec. 24.
The 27-year-old resident, who police said seemed “highly intoxicated” said he was looking for his sister, who he believed lived in the apartment. He said he found the ax on his way there and thought it would be “cool to take home.”
The man registered a blood alcohol content of 0.00 percent but told police he had taken prescription anxiety medication.
Contact could not be made with the apartment occupant.
Gas tank filled
A resident of an apartment complex in the 190 block of Ford said someone put a sandy material in the gas tank of his 1996 Buick Rivera sometime Dec. 13.
The man said at about 11 a.m. Dec. 14, he was driving away from his apartment when his car began to malfunction. He took it to a local garage, where the maroon-colored substance was found in the tank.
The substance is similar to material in potted plants around the complex and was also found in the man’s parking spot.
He suspects his wife, with whom he is separating.
(Compiled by Daniel Heraty, James Mitchell and Andrea Poteet.)