Allen Park
Woman arrested for prostitution
A 34-year-old Inkster woman was arrested Aug. 16 for prostitution after telling an officer she “was in the business” during a traffic stop of her alleged client on Southfield and Oakwood.
Officers stopped the Cadillac there about 1:30 a.m. that day after running its Ohio plates and finding they came back to another vehicle.
According to the report, the woman appeared nervous and the officer asked the driver, a 56-year-old Toledo man, why. He responded that they had just met and he didn’t know her. When the officer asked if she was a prostitute, he said yes and admitted to paying $40 for oral sex.
The woman told the officer she was “in the business” but denied having sex with the man for money. She said they had sex and he gave her $40 because “he was a nice guy.”
The man was arrested for solicitation. Both were transported to the Allen Park Police Department.
Lawn spray painted
A resident of the 15500 block of Garfield found an unpleasant surprise on her lawn Aug. 19.
About 10 a.m. that day, the woman exited her house to find an obscene word spray painted on her front lawn. She had last seen the lawn secure at 8 p.m. the night prior.
There are no suspects.
Money missing during transport
More than $3,900 is missing from a local bookstore and the armored car company charged with transporting it suspects one of its employees.
About 3 p.m. Monday an employee of Total Armored Car service went into the station to report that he suspects one of his employees of taking $3,912 he was charged with transporting from Barnes and Noble, 3120 Fairlane.
According to the report, the employee was responsible for picking up two packages — one containing $3,852 and the other containing $3,912 — from the store but once inside the truck only scanned the former, which was also the only one deposited at the bank.
Surveillance footage shows the employee accept the two packages, go to the bathroom, then leave the store.
The car service company interviewed the employee and provided a copy of the interview to police.
Dearborn
Thief steals cash from vehicle
A suspect stole $5 in loose change from a woman’s unlocked vehicle between 4 p.m. Aug. 18 and 8 a.m. Aug. 19 in the 18200 block of Audette.
The officer met with the woman who said an unknown person entered her vehicle and removed the center console tray containing assorted coins. The officer found the discarded tray in the middle of Audette Street in front of the victim’s house. The officer looked over the vehicle and the victim confirmed for the officer that nothing else was stolen and the vehicle did not have any damage to it.
Vandal floods basement of vacant house
A real estate agent reported a vandalism at 9:20 a.m. Aug. 19 by an unknown person who went into a vacant house in the 7700 block of Miller between Aug. 10 and 18.
The agent said the person kicked in the house’s front door and turned on all the faucets in the house and flooded the basement with water. The reporting police officer said that he noticed heavy water damage to the floors in the house. Neighbors told the police officer they didn’t see any suspicious activity.
The real estate agent said the house is periodically checked and it was last checked about 8:30 p.m. on Aug. 10. No property was stolen.
Catalytic converter stolen from car
A catalytic converter was stolen from a 1999 Chevrolet Cavalier between 5 p.m. Aug. 16 and 6 a.m. Aug. 17 in the 7000 block of Payne.
The victim of the theft said the theft occurred after he parked his vehicle at 5 p.m. Aug. 16. At 6 a.m. Aug. 17 he discovered it was missing.
Dearborn Heights
Bicycle stolen from yard
Neighbors notified a woman that an unknown person stole her daughter’s bicycle; the theft occurred about 4 p.m. Aug. 17 in the 5600 block of Mayfair.
When the woman checked to see if the bicycle was stolen, she saw someone had removed her daughter’s mountain bike, which she kept in the yard near her shed. The woman told police she last saw the bicycle about 8 p.m. Aug. 16. The woman said she was unsure of the manufacturer, model and size of the bike, but she did tell the police the bike was about 18 inches tall.
Woman accused of stealing documents
A man reported to police that his ex-girlfriend stole important paperwork from him about 4:30 p.m. Aug. 17 in the 25000 block of Andover. The victim said his ex-girlfriend took all of his paperwork and his customers’ paperwork before leaving his business, which was not named in the report. The victim called his ex-girlfirend in an attempt to retrieve the paperwork and she refused to give it back, according to the report. The victim said his ex-girlfirend now threatens and texts his cell phone throughout the day.
Family dines and dashes
A family of three skipped out on paying their bill about 9:45 p.m. Aug. 16 at Beruit By Night, 22700 Ford Road. The mother and her teenage sons left without paying the $66.38 bill, according to the police report, and they allegedly left the restaurant with one of the restauant’s plates. A witness saw the family leave in a dark-colored foreign vehicle heading west on Ford.
There is no more information on the suspects.
Lincoln Park
Thieves caught in the act
While on patrol on Dix Avenue Aug. 8, police watched a man throw a duffel bag and backpack over the wall of a closed-in garden section of Meijer, 3710 Dix. On the other side of the wall, another man gathered the bags and began walking on Dix.
The suspect with the bags crossed northbound on Dix, across the street from a patrol car. Officers quickly caught up to the man, and inside the bags discovered more than $600 worth of merchandise. Police returned to Meijer, where loss prevention officials confirmed the items—mostly clothing—was from the store.
Police were told of two similar suspects from a similar theft at the Allen Park Meijer last month in which more than $1,700 in merchandise was taken.
The man caught with the bags — 35-year-old Scott Alan Reeves, 35, of Lincoln Park — and partner Matthew Levi Lipford, 27, of Canton Township, were arraigned and are awaiting a preliminary examination in 25th District Court on charges of retail fraud.
Break in nets cash, smokes
Police responded to an alarm about 5 a.m. Monday at Candy Mart Smokers, 1777 Dix, and discovered both the front and rear garage doors had been forced open.
Police met with one of the store’s owners, who confirmed that a shelf of cigarette cartons had been emptied, and police noted the cash register drawer was open with little money inside.
The co-owner was unable to provide a complete list of missing items. Police expect to review a copy of the surveillance camera video, and are investigating.
Melvindale
Officers catch metal thieves
Two men were arrested after allegedly stealing 300 pounds of scrap metal from GLE Scrap Metal, 25435 Outer Drive, Tuesday.
Officers recovered 300 pounds of metal valued at $210 about midnight Tuesday after an off duty police officer saw the men, later identified as a 49-year-old Ecorse man and a 25-year-old Romulus man, push shopping carts into the driveway. Knowing the business was closed and had had various theft problems, he called in backup. The officers hid and waited for more than 40 minutes as they watched the men load scrap metal into the carts.
They were arrested.
Truck broken into
An unoccupied truck was found with its passenger side door open and that door’s window smashed out about 3:30 a.m. Tuesday in the 2500 block of Bloomfield.
A brick was sitting on the passenger-side floor.
Contact was made with the owner who said tools and a tool box were missing from the bed of the truck. He said the brick used came from the truck bed as well.
He said he parked it there about 9 p.m. the night prior. A model was not provided for the truck.
Trenton
Ghost seeker busted
A Wyandotte teenager offered a novel excuse when asked why he was trespassing on the grounds of Riverside Hospital, 150 Truax.
“He heard it was haunted and was looking for ghosts,” responding police reported.
Police were dispatched to the hospital property about 6:45 p.m. Aug. 17 when two suspects were seen entering the fenced-off property.
A perimeter was established but the two suspects were not found. About 7:25 p.m. a patrol car saw one of the suspects near the corner of Church Place and Helen. The teenager was breathing heavily. At first the teen said he was walking to Elizabeth Park; police confronted the suspect with knowledge that his vehicle was parked near the hospital grounds.
“OK, there’s no reason for me to lie,” the teen said, and told police he’d heard the hospital was haunted and hoped to see a ghost.
The teen was taken into custody and issued a trespassing citation.
Band gear stolen from SUV
Several thousand dollars worth of music equipment was stolen sometime early Sunday morning from an unlocked 2003 Ford Excursion.
About 9:30 a.m. police were dispatched to the 100 block of Detroit Street, where the owner reported the overnight theft from his vehicle. Among the missing items were a Global Positioning System unit, an Mp3 player, and music equipment including a music mixer, amplifiers, Yamaha speakers, Corwin floor monitors, cable and public address system.
The man said he believed the thief saw him loading the band’s equipment the night before, and that the locks were broken on the rear doors of the vehicle.
Police collected information on the missing items, and the owner said he will monitor online sales sites.
Taylor
Break-in crashes through business door
Police responded to a 4 a.m. alarm from Wallace Superior Outdoor Services, 21600 Pennsylvania, after one or more burglars forced open an overhead garage door.
Police met with a keyholder at the business early Sunday, Aug. 19, and discovered a canopy door smashed open far enough to allow entry. A company pick-up truck that was parked in front of the bay door had been forcibly moved, and among other evidence police noted skid marks from where the truck had been parked.
The keyholder told police that a vehicle battery was taken along with other, unspecified items. Police collected evidence and are investigating.
Wyandotte
Boys arrested with ‘fake marijuana’
Two teen boys were cited after attempting to sell “fake marijuana” to a 15-year-old girl in Pulaski Park Aug. 20.
Officers cited the boys, 13 and 14, after the girl called about 6 p.m. that day to report one of the boys had attempted to sell marijuana to her.
When they caught up with the boys, they found a pipe containing suspected marijuana residue and the “fake marijuana” the boys said they had made from the buds of a tree that looked similar to marijuana. One of the boys had cigarettes.
The pipe smelled of marijuana residue, according to the report.
The boys were released to their parents, one of whom was also cited for her child’s continued drug-related run-ins with police.
Trailer taken
A barbecue trailer and equipment valued together at $11,000 was stolen from a house in the 22400 block of Electric sometime before 10 a.m. Aug. 16.
The resident, who runs a catering business from his house, said he left for an out-of-town party Aug. 12 and when he returned the next day, it was missing.
Police said the theft was “clearly not a random act,” as the trailer was hidden behind the house and whoever stole it must have been familiar with the family’s comings and goings.
(Compiled by Sherri Kolade, James Mitchell and Andrea Poteet.)