Dearborn
Drunken driver arrested
A 25-year-old Taylor man was arrested for operating while intoxicated after a police officer observed him trying to navigate a vehicle through a ditch near Miller and Rotunda at 12:16 a.m. Dec. 16.
The officer was on patrol in the area when he spotted a black 1996 Saturn in the ditch between the north and southbound lanes of Miller, just south of Rotunda.
Based on track marks left in the snow, the officer determined the driver had been traveling south on Miller before veering into the ditch. Once in the ditch, the vehicle traveled al least 100 feet before burying its tires in the snow and getting stuck.
The officer parked on the roadway above the vehicle and activated his traffic lights, after which the driver exited the Saturn and climbed up the embankment to the road. As the driver approached, the officer noted that he was having difficulty balancing, had a flush face and spoke with a noticeable slur.
The officer gave the driver a field sobriety test, which was failed, before obtaining permission to administer a test to check the man’s blood alcohol content of the man. The man was determined to have a blood alcohol content of 0.20 percent, which was 2.5 times the legal limit allowable of 0.08 percent for operating a motor vehicle in Michigan.
The man was arrested, handcuffed and transported to the police department while his vehicle was towed away and impounded.
Man arrested for possessing stolen property
Police arrested a 45-year-old man for possessing stolen property after spotting him traveling in the 18000 block of Hubbard Drive just after 2 p.m. Dec. 17.
An officer patrolling in the area of Town Center Drive and Northwood reported seeing a green 1998 Dodge Ram with a flat tire traveling on Town Center Drive toward Hubbard.
The officer pulled behind the pickup truck and a check of the license plate revealed that the plate has been reported stolen from a Ford pickup in Washtenaw County on Dec. 15.
After initiating a traffic stop, the officer spoke to the driver of the vehicle, who said he didn’t have his driver’s license with him but admitted that it was currently suspended. The man said the vehicle belonged to his girlfriend.
When asked about the license plate, the man said it was stolen from a neighbor’s vehicle by his son, who wanted to be able to drive the truck.
The man was arrested for possessing stolen property, driving with a suspended license and having no proof of insurance.
The vehicle was impounded and a passenger who had been traveling with the man was released from the scene after an identification check.
Dearborn Heights
Home invaded
Officers responded to a report of a possible home invasion recently discovered in the 8400 block of Virgil at 1:30 a.m. Dec. 17.
The victim told police she believed someone entered the house sometime between 10 p.m. and midnight through an unlocked window leading into a back bedroom.
Officers checked the property and located a set of footprints through the snow in the backyard leading to the window of the back bedroom. They also observed that the screen on the window had been torn approximately 6 inches.
The victim said the damage to the window screen was new and she had found the screen open when she returned to the house about midnight. She also said she had observed a gold Toyota Avalon parked across the street from her house facing south when she returned home.
The victim said she did not recognize the vehicle but could not be certain of whether it was a possible suspect vehicle for the home invasion.
After a check of the house, the victim did not discover anything missing, but noticed that a closet door in a bedroom had been opened and items had been moved.
No suspect information was available.
Items stolen from vehicle
A man returning to his vehicle just after 5 p.m. Dec. 16 called police to report that it had been illegally entered and several items had been taken in the 3300 block of South Beech Daly.
The victim said he had parked his 2012 Chevrolet Equinox in a parking lot earlier in the day and upon returning observed signs that someone had searched the vehicle.
Items reported missing were $652 in cash, a Garmin GPS unit and three checkbooks from Comerica, TCF and Chase banks with multiple blank checks still in them.
The victim told police the vehicle had been left unlocked, but that no one had permission to enter it.
Nothing of evidentiary value was found at the scene by police.
Lincoln Park
Electronics, tools stolen from home
A man preparing to move out of the city returned for final arrangements to find a double-pane window shattered and nearly $2,000 worth of tools and electronics missing.
Police responded to a condominium complex in the 1800 block of Horger Avenue at 6 p.m. Tuesday. The owner said he had also lived in one of the units but was nearly moved out and into a new home in Wyandotte. He had last been at the residence on Dec. 13, but had not gone inside and had only been there to pay a snow removal company.
When he returned Tuesday he found a side window broken and saw that a Dell computer and tower, Westinghouse monitor, Sony 47-inch TV, DVD player and assorted tools were missing from the living room and basement.
Police checked the residence for evidence, noted information on the missing items and are investigating.
Coffee shop burglarized
One or more burglars smashed a $1,000 window at Starbucks, 1845 Southfield Road, sometime between closing time Monday at 4:30 a.m. Tuesday.
Police responded to the call and spoke with employees who reported to work and found the damaged window. The northern glass door was smashed, and investigators said cash drawers had been opened but it was unknown how much if anything had been taken.
Police noted footprints in the snow and arranged to view video surveillance images taken both inside and outside the shop.
Melvindale
Gaming console, 50 movies stolen from house
Police responded to a burglary complaint in the 17000 block of Clarann Avenue at 3:50 p.m. Monday. The owner said his son arrived home about 3 p.m. and discovered someone had broken into the house.
The son told police he was the last to leave the house about 7:30 a.m. and was the first one home about 3 p.m. He tried to enter the front door, police said, but was unable to, and walked to the back of the house to find a sliding door partially opened. A pipe used to prevent that door from opening was in the corner, the son told police, but he did not find anyone inside the house.
The owner said a gaming system was missing from the basement, as was a new work coat and about 50 DVDs from the television stand in the family room.
Police said the three bedrooms were in disarray and the dresser drawers were pulled out. The screen in the family room window was bent and set beneath the window, police said, along with another screen in a first-floor bathroom.
The sliding glass door and pipe was processed for fingerprints, police said, while a jewelry box and perfume bottle were taken as evidence.
Tires stolen off vehicle
A woman called police at 10:24 a.m. Dec. 11 after she found all four tires missing from her vehicle in the 3200 block Patricia Drive.
The woman said the vehicle was parked at the house about 7 p.m. the night before. It was not reported whether the vehicle was parked in the driveway or in the garage, but police said a patio brick was thrown through the rear window. Officers said the individual climbed into the vehicle and took the wheel lock key from the glove box.
There are no reported witnesses or suspects. The woman was given a copy of the police report to make a claim with her insurance.
Riverview
Man steals hand tools during scenic tour of businesses
A police officer patrolling east on Longsdorf Street near Electric Street about 2 a.m. Dec. 18 and observed the gate of Filion Trucking, 11821 Longsdorf, was left open. The officer knew the gate is normally shut and called the owner of the property, who is another officer, who confirmed the gate should be locked and would be on his way.
The two officers walked through the property and observed a set of tire tracks in the property and a single set of footprints seen throughout the property. Police said a U bolt was unscrewed to give the individual access into the property because the padlock was still locked and attached to the gate.
The assumption was confirmed, police said, when they found the nuts lying in the snow. Police said it did not seem like anything was taken and the individual just went through the property to gain access to a nearby cement company using a ladder taken from the trucking company.
The footprints continued into the cement company’s property and appeared to have approached work trucks. The individual is believed to have accessed the unlocked work trucks and toolboxes, police said, and took miscellaneous hand tools.
Police said a generator was slid in the snow from the back of one vehicle toward a fence, but they believed the individual could not lift the generator over the fence and left it behind. The footprints continued to the parking lot of Electric Power Systems, 11861 Longsdorf.
At the time of report, police said, nothing was believed to have been taken from the power company, but they contacted the owner of the companies to inform them of the theft. An initial inventory taken at the cement company revealed several hand tools were taken, but the owner said he would update police if anything else was discovered missing.
Police believe the individual started at 11881 Longsdorf and climbed the barbed wire fences between each business, took the items, then unscrewed the lock at the trucking company, opened the gate and left in a vehicle. There was a video surveillance system at the bus garage at Riverview Community High School, 12431 Longsdorf, that might have captured the suspect or the suspect’s vehicle, police said, because of its proximity to the scene of the incident.
Woman pumps gas, drives off
A clerk at Valero, 12674 Pennsylvania Ave. called police after a Grosse Ile Township woman filled her vehicle with gas then drove off about 10:10 p.m. Tuesday. Police searched the area, but could not locate the woman immediately after the call.
The woman went into the station, the clerk said, asked him to turn the pump on and he did, then he went outside to finish smoking a cigarette. When the woman finished pumping her gas, the clerk told police he went back inside so she could pay for the gas. He said she got back in her vehicle and sat for a moment before she drove off, but the clerk had her license plate and called police with the information.
Police said charges would be filed by the gas station owner if the woman did not pay for the gas. They called the Grosse Ile Police Department and asked them to try and make contact with the woman at her house. Grosse Ile officers spoke to her husband, who said she was not home, but had never done anything like that before.
The husband told police he would go to the gas station and pay for the gas. About 11 p.m. the husband arrived to paid for gas, police said, and no charges were filed. The case was subsequently closed.
Credit card used then returned to owner
A resident filed a complaint with police about her credit card being used without her permission. About 5:30 p.m. Dec. 12, the resident said she left her wallet on the counter at Circle K, 12705 Pennsylvania Ave., but an officer attempted to return it the next day. The woman believed nothing was missing, but found out later that the card was used twice Dec. 12.
The transactions occurred at Valero, 12647 Pennsylvania Ave., totaling $300, police said, but the woman said the credit card was in her wallet and believed the individual took the wallet, used the card, then returned the wallet.
Taylor
TV taken during break-in
A woman returned to her house Dec. 15 to discover that someone had entered her home through a bathroom window and left with a flat-screen TV.
Police responded to the 6600 block of Pine Avenue at 2:45 p.m. and were told the woman had been away since 7:20 p.m. Saturday. Police noted a garbage can that had been overturned beneath a rear bathroom window, which the woman said was closed but not locked. Investigators checked for signs of forced entry, noted footprints left near the trash can, and are investigating.
Trenton
Erratic driver held on warrants
A man who told police he had been swerving back-and-forth on the road because he’d been, “driving the vehicle with his knees,” was determined to have two warrants out for his arrest.
A patrol officer spotted the white 2005 Pontiac weaving in and out of a Fort Street lane shortly before midnight Dec. 11. The officer made a traffic stop and Fort and Sibley and was told that the driver was steering with his knees.
A check with the Law Enforcement Information Network revealed that the driver’s license had been suspended and that criminal bench warrants had been issued by Brownstown Township and Southgate. The man was taken into custody, cited for driving on a suspended license, and awaited transport by Brownstown police for processing.
Wyandotte
Man kicks in door, steals jewelry
A man was seen kicking in the door of a house in the 1800 block of 12th Street Dec. 13. A neighbor called the police about 9 a.m. and said he saw the man standing at the front door of the house, but he thought it may have been the homeowner’s young son.
The neighbor told police the man was in the house for several minutes before he exited and went toward the back of the house. The neighbor saw the man jump the fence and said that was when he realized it was not the homeowner’s son.
The man was seen by the neighbor walking south on 12th toward Ford Avenue after a failed attempt to enter a second house. Police said they searched the area and did not find anyone before returning to search the houses.
Police searched the first house and found the homeowner’s son asleep inside in a bedroom upstairs. Officers alerted the son of the incident and he called his mother.
The mother told police her costume jewelry, her boyfriend’s hunting license, and a wedding ring from a previous marriage were taken. No other items were reported missing.
Police also searched the backyard and around the second house. They searched the second house, did not find anyone inside, and believed the man did not gain entry into it.
The jewelry was valued about $1,200. The man was described as white, between 5 feet 10 inches and 6 feet tall, with a thin build, wearing a brown leather jacket, blue jeans, and a hat.
Man reports six watches stolen
A man said he arrived home from work and discovered his watches were missing from his house about 8:35 p.m. Dec. 13. Police interviewed the man at his house, in the 1300 block Oxford Court, and he told them he thought his mother might have moved them. He went into the kitchen to get his phone and call his mother, he said, but noticed the back door appeared to be forced open and called police.
Officers did not locate any suspects, and no witnesses were reported. The six watches were valued about $2,800.
(Compiled by Gabriel Goodwin, James Mitchell and Bob Oliver.)