Dearborn
Yard decoration theft stopped
A woman thwarted the attempted larceny of her Detroit Tigers frog yard decorations about 9:15 a.m. June 7 in the 24000 block of Notre Dame.
The woman was inside her house when she observed a red 2011 Ford Fusion backing into her driveway. She told police that a woman got out of the vehicle and opened the trunk. The suspect then proceeded to walk toward the flower beds in front of the house and pick up several of the frog gnomes.
The woman confronted the suspect by yelling for her to drop the items. The suspect did and quickly got back into her vehicle and drove away toward Telegraph Road. The woman was able to get the license plate number of the vehicle.
The woman did not know who the suspect was but said that it was a white female in her 50s with shoulder-length, strawberry blond hair.
Police are investigating the incident.
Vehicle stolen
A black 2006 Infiniti M45 was reported stolen from a residence in the 23000 block of Lawrence just before 5 a.m. June 9.
The victim told police that the vehicle had been parked in the driveway about 10 p.m. the night before, and that upon walking outside to leave for work around 4:30 a.m. he discovered that the vehicle was gone.
Police searched the area but found no broken glass at the scene.
The victim also told police that the vehicle uses a sensor in a key fob to unlock the doors. Once the key fob is inside the vehicle it can be started by pushing button. The victim was still in possession of a key fob after the theft and told police that it was the only one he was given when he purchased the vehicle.
Dearborn Heights
Home invasion foiled
A woman was able to stop a break-in at her house in the 26000 block of Ann Arbor Trail about 10:30 a.m. June 6.
The woman told police she heard a knock at the front door and looked out of her bedroom window and saw a red Pontiac Grand Am or G6 with tinted windows parked on the street in front of her house. She didn’t recognize the vehicle so she didn’t open the door.
Shortly after this a man forced his way into the house through the front door. The woman entered the living room and confronted the man, who fled the house and traveled east on Ann Arbor Trail in the Pontiac.
The man was described as black, approximately 30 to 35 years old and was wearing a baseball hat, red T-shirt and dark denim jeans.
Police conducted a search of the area but were unable to locate the suspect or the vehicle.
Auto theft attempted
The theft attempt of a blue 2003 Chrysler Sebring was discovered by the owner of the vehicle in the 6900 block of Town Lane just after 10 a.m. June 4.
The owner told police that the vehicle had been parked in the driveway at 6 p.m. on the previous night. When she went out around 10 a.m. she observed that the steering column was damaged and that the ignition had been punched out.
Police also observed scratch marks on the inside of the driver’s door which they said were possibly made by a metal tool or coat hanger being inserted between the door and roof to attempt to hit the unlock button and gain entry into the vehicle.
No suspect information was available.
Lincoln Park
Thieves seen fleeing market
One man was in custody and police expected two others also will soon be charged with breaking into a store Tuesday.
Police responded to a resident’s call that three men had smashed open a window of D & B Market, 1086 Dix, at 3:30 a.m. Monday, and had left carrying a variety of stolen merchandise. Police spoke to a man and a woman who said they’d seen three white men of unknown age and average builds smash the front window with rocks.
Police collected evidence at the scene — including blood found on the inside of the window ledge — and reviewed security video images. According to police reports, one of the men “fit the description” of a suspect who had an active warrant and was soon arrested at his address of record. The man was being held pending warrants from the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office and police are investigating two additional suspects.
Bicycles taken by force
Two men riding bicycles to a friend’s house near the intersection of Dix and Russell Monday afternoon were confronted and assaulted by five men who then took their bikes.
Police responded at 2:45 p.m. to the location and spoke with two men, ages 20 and 21, who said that five men in their early 20s blocked their way and knocked them off their bicycles. Both of the men reported having been hit several times before the thieves took off heading south on Dix.
No medical treatment was needed, and police took note of the suspect descriptions.
Mugger takes iPhone, cash from pedestrian
A 36-year-old man reported to police that he had been assaulted about midnight June 6 while walking along Fort Street.
The man said he was near Outer Drive when a man stepped out from the shadows of a store entrance and struck him in the head. The man said he had been knocked down, and was then punched and kicked repeatedly in the head before losing consciousness. When he recovered he noticed his $600 iPhone 4, $50 in cash and Medicare and bridge cards were missing.
The man had walked home and didn’t report the assault until two days later. His mother had taken him to Oakwood Southshore Medical Center to be examined, and the man reportedly had suffered a concussion, fractured jaw and bruised ribs during the attack. Officers noted the injuries on the man, but he was unable to describe his attacker.
Riverview
Three tractors, lawnmower stolen
Police observed the gates leading to a storage area at Riverview Lawn and Snow, 16639 Fort St., open about 9 a.m. May 26. Police said the business is not open on Sundays, so the gate being left open alerted them to a potential crime in progress.
Police later said that the crime occured sometime between 3 p.m. May 25 and 9 a.m. May 26
Upon further investigation, police observed the lock was missing from the chain on the gates. Officers contacted the owner of the business, informing him of the break-in.
The owner checked the property and told police three tractors and a lawnmower were missing. He believes these were the only things missing. No suspects or witnesses were reported.
The total value of the three tractors was estimated at $5,400, and the lawnmower was estimated at $1,000.
Suspicious person report lead police to graffiti
Police responded to a June 8 report made regarding a suspicious group of teenagers near the basketball court at Memorial Park, 14100 Civic Park Drive. Upon their arrival about 8:40 p.m., police noticed graffiti spray painted on the court. The graffiti was an image of a marijuana plant coupled with various, undisclosed words.
Officers made contact with the teenagers, but concluded they had no connection to the graffiti. Police said there was no spray paint on any of the teenagers’ hands or clothing, and they were released.
The reporting officer noted there was an identical drawing located on the wall of the GE Building, 18075 Krause. The drawing was believed to be done sometime during the hours of 1:30 and 6 a.m. June 8 as well.
Southgate
Copper thieves nearly caught in the act
A real estate agent wasn’t too surprised when she crossed paths with a uniform-wearing man who said he was doing “periodic cleaning” at a vacant condominium in the 16000 block of Rudgate. What did surprise her was when the man suddenly walked out, drove off fast and left behind a duffel bag filled with copper pipes that recently had been cut from the building’s infrastructure.
Police were called at 2:45 p.m. June 5 when the woman said she had stopped at the residence for a meeting with the city’s water department. She provided undisclosed descriptions of the man, the vehicle and a partial license plate number to police, who are investigating.
Taylor
Laptops stolen from home
After spending a day cleaning his garage, a man left a patio door closed but not fully locked, and police said that was how one or more burglars likely made their way inside to steal two laptop computers with a total value of $2,000.
Police were called to a house in the 25000 block of Filmore shortly before 7 a.m. June 6, when a man said he noticed the items missing. He had last seen the laptops at 1:30 a.m. Also reported missing were an iPad and school bag, and the man’s vehicle had been ransacked, as had a neighbor’s who also reported the theft of a Global Positioning System unit.
Police collected evidence and are investigating.
Cash taken from state testing office
Police responded to a report at 6 a.m. June 6 that a safe containing nearly $2,000 in cash had been taken from a Michigan drug and alcohol screening center office.
A supervisor at Jail Alternatives for Michigan Services, 24095 Champaign, said the office had been closed since 8:30 p.m. the day before, and when staff reported they discovered the safe was missing.
Responding officers noted that a safe had been pried from its location, and expected to soon review surveillance video footage. Police collected evidence and are investigating.
Trenton
Teens charged after joy ride
A 19-year-old and 18-year-old were ticketed after taking an alcohol-fueled spin in a pick-up truck early in the morning of June 4.
Police responded to calls shortly after 4 a.m. from the 3000 block of Elmwood Street, where witnesses reported that a vehicle had been driving recklessly, squealing tires and was believed to have struck another vehicle.
Officers identified a 1994 Dodge pickup with its windows down and hood hot to the touch parked in front of a house. The mother and stepfather of one of the suspects spoke with police and checked to see if the teen was hiding in the house, but did not find him. Police followed noises made near the back yard, and soon located the first of the two suspects in a neighboring backyard. The teen smelled of alcohol and was detained by the officer.
Additional sounds took police to another backyard where the second suspect was found.
Police collected evidence, spoke with witnesses who saw the teens checking the truck for damage near where two garbage cans had been knocked over, and administered field sobriety tests which indicated both teens were above the legal limit for drunken driving. Police issued citations for minor in possession and disorderly conduct.
Wyandotte
Carjack victim says attackers came back for him
A Wyandotte man contacted police June 10 in regard to a burglary attempt at his house. The man said he was carjacked in Detroit June 9 and the carjackers took his driver’s license and house keys.
The man said he was contacted by his home alarm company about entry gained about 4:30 a.m. and again an hour later. He said he believed the carjackers entered his house in an attempt to kill him.
Police arrived at the house about 10:30 a.m and searched the premises after speaking with the man. They found no one in the house and said it appeared nothing was taken. The man told police nothing had been taken from the residence, but he recovered a work shirt that he said was not his.
No suspects or witnesses were reported.
(Compiled by Gabriel Goodwin, James Mitchell and Bob Oliver.)