Allen Park
Cell phones swiped during burglary
Three men allegedly made off with two cell phones valued together at more than $1,200 during a break-in at a Sprint store, 15441 Southfield, Oct. 17.
About 6:30 a.m. that day officers arrived to find the rear door pried open.
Surveillance footage revealed three men entering the store and leaving with a bag.
Items missing included two cell phones and nine to 12 empty cell phone boxes.
The suspects are described as black, one 6 feet 2 inches tall, weighing 230 pounds and wearing a back hooded sweatshirt; one 5 feet 8 inches tall with a thin build and wearing a light-colored hooded sweatshirt; and one of an unknown height with a thin build and wearing a light-colored hooded sweatshirt.
Woman robbed of clothing in parking lot
A shopper at Meijer, 3565 Fairlane Drive, didn’t make it far from the register with items she purchased before someone allegedly stole them Oct. 20.
About 6:30 a.m. that day, a woman called to report she had been robbed of clothing while loading them into her car. She said a man approached her while loading the items into her car and began grabbing some of the bags before fleeing in a dark-green vehicle.
She said she was not hurt during the struggle. A list of stolen items was being compiled.
The attacker was described as a black male in his 20s, about 6 feet tall and with a thin build.
Park visit leads to theft
A visitor to Champaign Park, 19399 Champaign, returned to the parting lot after playing with her children Monday and found her purse missing.
The driver’s-side back window of her 2002 Pontiac Sunfire had been broken out and her purse was missing from under the driver’s seat.
The purse contained a bank card, Social Security card, identification and various paperwork.
Dearborn Heights
Three of four tires slashed in garage
An alleged attempt to enter a house left a woman with three of her four car tires slashed in her garage in the 25000 block of Pennie Road.
She said she discovered the damage at 2:19 a.m. Oct. 20.
The victim told a reporting police officer that about 10 p.m. on Oct. 19 the suspects arrived at her residence and cut the exterior part of her rear window in what she believed was an attempt to gain entry into the house.
They did not gain entry, but a witness told police that he saw both suspects as they cut the screen and then entered the detached garage. The witness said that he then heard popping sounds and saw them exit the garage and flee the area in a white sport utility-type vehicle. The witness then went into the victim’s garage and found the damage.
Witness alleges seeing car theft
A man stole a car between 4 and 5 p.m. Oct. 20 in the 8400 block of Riverdale.
The thief is alleged to have stolen the Chevrolet Surburban that the owner parked on the street in front of his house.
A witness driving down the street told police he saw the suspect open the victim’s door with an unknown object in his hand, get into the vehicle, start it up and drive away.
The thief was described as a black man, 30 years old, standing 6 feet tall with a thin build and wearing a knit cap and black clothes.
Dearborn
The better to see you with
Two men are accused of stealing eyeglasses valued at more than $1,000 on Oct. 12. from Lenscrafters in Fairlane Town Center, 18900 Michigan Ave.
The men — both described as Hispanic, one about 70 years old, 5 feet 5 inches tall, weighing 170 pounds with a medium build and gray hair, and the other about 24 years old with black hair – walked into the store at 7:43 p.m. and “milled around acting as if they were going to buy something,” according to a statement from the store’s general manager.
The manager told police that while in the store the pair stood near a display of name-brand glasses and at one point several frames fell out of the overstock case; they left shortly after.
The men’s vehicle is described as 1995 blue Ford Ranger.
According to a police report, the general manager contacted the police about the theft one week later after receiving a log of the number of frames that should be in the store.
Gunshots leave car damaged
A woman found bullet holes in her car, parked in front of her house in the 6300 block of Ternes at 1 p.m. on Oct. 19.
The woman told police that between Oct. 18 and Oct 19 she left her vehicle in that spot, but after going out to her car in the afternoon she saw her front windshield and hood damaged.
A reporting officer investigated the car and the victim told the officer that the gunshots damaged her vehicle sometime overnight. The victim said she heard several gunshots from 1 to 1:30 a.m. Oct. 19 but did not call police.
The officer noted the vehicle had a bullet hole in the front windshield. A bullet appeared to travel through the driver’s and rear driver’s-side headrest and the hood. The officer recovered two spent casings nearby and two bullet fragments inside the vehicle.
Lincoln Park
False alarm caller in custody
A teen who reportedly placed a false emergency call and insulted first responders at the scene admitted he made the prank call, and was taken into custody by police.
Shortly after 4 a.m. Oct. 21, police responded to a call claiming a man had fallen in a creek near Goddard Road. First responders sped to a Fort Street bridge that crosses the creek after being alerted by a man who identified himself by a nickname and claimed to be an employee of a nearby construction crew.
Four Lincoln Park cars, a Wyandotte patrol vehicle, a Lincoln Park fire and medical unit, and an ambulance arrived on site.
A teen boy was at a nearby gas station yelling at the officers to “hurry up,” that they should do their job and that they were “lazy cops.” Lincoln Park officers recognized the teen from previous encounters.
When confronted by police, the teen admitted to having made the call from the gas station, which the owner confirmed.
“So what, are you going to take me to jail?” the teen asked.
The teen was taken into custody, cited for filing a false complaint and taken to detention youth services.
Electronics, rifle stolen from home
A man and his son were away from home less than 45 minutes Monday, and returned to find their house in the 700 block of Champaign was burglarized and thousands of dollars in electronics and merchandise missing.
The man told police he was away from about 2:15 to 3 p.m., and discovered a side door and window open upon return.
Items taken from a basement, closets and the smaller bedroom included a .22-caliber German rifle valued at $800, a 52-inch TV valued at $5,000, a $200 camouflage compound bow, $600 laptop computer, video game console and assorted electronics.
Police reported the bedroom window pushed aside, the likely point of entry, collected evidence at the scene and are investigating. A description of the rifle and serial number were recorded.
Melvindale
Robbers leave muddy trail
A trail of mud tipped off homeowners to a break-in of their house in the 1500 block of Grace Monday.
About 1:30 p.m. that day, officers responded to the house after the homeowners said they found evidence of burglary after a six-hour absence.
They found the rear laundry room window pushed in and a flat screen television on the ground outside of it. A footprint and fingerprint were found on the television.
Mud covered the floor of the laundry room and the bedrooms, one of which was ransacked.
Riverview
Beer bottle thief strikes
Someone cut the lock on a back door of Full Moon Bar, 18204 W. Jefferson, overnight Oct. 15 and got away with several boxes of empty beer bottles.
Sixty cases of empty returnable bottles, valued at $144, were discovered missing at 9 a.m. that day.
The door’s lock, valued at $20, also was missing.
Items missing from vehicle
An electronic tablet, digital camera and pair of designer sunglasses were discovered missing from a 2008 Chrysler Town and Country Oct. 19.
About 5 p.m. that day the vehicle owner said she returned to the car parked in front of her house in the 14700 block of Old Town.
The items were valued together at $500.
Taylor
TVs, more taken from home
A woman’s house was broken into in the 15000 block of Wendy Drive within hours of her departure for a brief vacation. The woman’s sister called police at 6 p.m. Oct. 20 to report the theft of two televisions, and likely more after the homeowner returned.
The woman left home about 9 a.m. and her sister dropped by shortly before 6 p.m. and found the rear door had been kicked in. Responding officers reported a damaged door frame and that several rooms and shelves were rummaged through.
Police contacted the woman for more information, collected evidence and are investigating.
Southgate
One of two stolen cars found
Two cars were reported stolen within hours of each other from the 15000 block of Westcott on Oct. 18; one of the vehicles was located by police on another street, badly damaged.
About 5:30 a.m. a Westcott resident called police to report the theft of her 2012 Ford Edge, valued at $18,000 along with its $300 Garmin Global Positioning System. The woman told police she parked about midnight, and when she looked outside early morning the vehicle was missing. She was current in payments and had all keys to the locked vehicle.
A description of the vehicle was entered into the Law Enforcement Information Network.
At 9:30 a.m. on a nearby block, police located a second vehicle taken from the 15000 area of Westcott, a 2011 Buick LaCrosse valued at $12,000. The car was on blocks, its wheels and tires missing; a rear passenger window had been smashed, and officers noted significant damage to the frame, interior and rear bumper.
Police notified the owner and are investigating.
Trenton
Pit bikes, generator gone from yard
Police were called to a house in the 200 block of Detroit Street about 4:30 p.m. Oct. 17 by a resident reporting the theft of two Yamaha pit bikes.
The homeowner was uncertain of the exact date of the theft, having been away from home. Reportedly stolen were two mini-bikes, one red and one blue, and generator with a total value of $2,400. The man told police they were taken from the back yard.
Wyandotte
Stolen car found crashed
A 2001 Cadillac reported stolen from the 800 block of Chestnut was found hours later crashed into a parked car on Maple and 7th.
A witness said the driver had fled the scene on foot about 4 p.m. that day.
Earlier, the owner said he pulled the vehicle into his driveway and an acquaintance, a 20-year-old resident, approached him and punched him in the face. The owner ran to a neighbor’s house and the acquaintance fled in the Cadillac.
Wyandotte Fire Department responded and saw the man’s swollen right eye and lips and bruises and swelling on his forehead.
A witness said a burgundy four-door vehicle pulled up next to the Cadillac just before it pulled off and then left in the same direction.
Girls approached during walk to school
Three students at Wilson Middle School said a masked man with a knife approached them on their way to school Monday.
About 6:30 a.m. that day, the students were walking to school from a nearby fast food restaurant on Fort Street after the bus dropped them off there and their father, who had also been riding it, continued on toward the school with another of his children.
They said they were on the sidewalk when a black car with its lights flashing drove up behind them and stopped.
The driver, a white man wearing a black ski mask and black hooded sweatshirt, got out of the car and told the girls, 10 and 13, to come toward his car. They refused and he pulled out a six-inch folding knife and repeated the request. The girls ran to the school where they said they hid behind a tree until they were let inside.
One of the girls said she had seen the same man, also wearing a ski mask and driving a similar car, while walking on Oak Street three days prior about 6 p.m.
A be-on-the-lookout alert about the man was sent to nearby law enforcement agencies.
(Compiled by Sherri Kolade, James Mitchell and Andrea Poteet.)