Allen Park
Driver, passenger ticketed for collision
Police responded to a collision on Southfield Road near Laurence Avenue about 3:40 p.m. Feb. 3. When police arrived, there was a woman in the driver seat of the vehicle that struck the other car.
She told police she was driving and her boyfriend took her son to the doughnut shop down the street. The second driver told police after his vehicle was struck he saw the boyfriend get out of the car and walk down the street while the woman climbed into the driver seat.
The officers questioned the woman again and she admitted her and the boyfriend switched seats. Soon after the confession, police said the boyfriend came back. He told police he had been driving and left the scene because he did not have a license and had warrants.
The boyfriend was arrested for leaving the scene, no driver’s license and failing to stop. Police towed the vehicle and ticketed the woman for interfering with a police investigation, but was released at the scene.
Stray dog bites police officer
A caller reported a stray dog in the middle of Southfield Road near Roosevelt Avenue about 7:15 p.m. Feb. 9. Officers responded to the location and saw the dog running in the middle lane of Southfield.
They attempted to surround the dog to catch him and one officer tried to pick up the dog, but before he could grab the dog it lunged and bit his left hand. The officer said he was able to pin the dog on the ground, but he was bitten three more times.
Police officers were not able to catch the dog and the officer had to leave the scene. He went to Midwest Medical Center because the dog broke the skin of his hand, fingers and wrist through his snow gloves.
He was treated for the injuries, but was not cleared for duties and filled out the necessary paperwork at the police station.
Teenager found sleeping in back of car
An officer driving in the 15500 block of Wick Road about 1 a.m. Feb. 9 saw a vehicle stopped and left running near the corner of Wick Road and Park Street. The officer said he did not see anyone in the driver’s seat, but found a teenager asleep in the back seat.
The officer said he woke up the teenager and asked him to step out of the vehicle. The teenager told police he was 18 years old, but the officer said he smelled like alcohol.
The teenager had slurred speech, the officer said, and stated he had a lot to drink. He was given a preliminary breath test which said the teenager had a .146 blood alcohol content.
He was arrested for consuming alcohol under the age of 21 and was held at the police station until his BAC reached .000 or he made bond. His vehicle was impounded.
Dearborn
Man arrested for warrant during traffic stop
A 24-year-old Garden City man was arrested for an outstanding warrant during a traffic stop that occurred near the intersection of Warren Avenue and Maple just before 5 p.m. Feb. 17.
Officers on patrol observed a silver 2006 Pontiac Grand Prix traveling west on Warren from Miller displaying an illegible paper temporary license plate. The vehicle also swerved back and forth over the center divider and right lane markers several times between Reuter and Schaefer.
The officers then initiated a traffic stop, made contact with the driver and obtained his driver’s license. A check of the license revealed that the man was wanted for an outstanding warrant from Wayne County Circuit Court for forgery.
The man was arrested, handcuffed and searched before being placed in the patrol vehicle and taken to the police department.
The man said no items of significant value were inside his vehicle and it was towed away from the scene and impounded.
Man cited for urinating in public
An officer on patrol stopped and cited a man for urinating in public after spotting him using the parking lot as a bathroom at 7-Eleven, 3850 Monroe Ave., just before 2 a.m. Feb. 13.
The officer had been traveling south on Monroe and was approaching Dartmouth when he observed the man urinating in the north side parking lot of the store. The officer reported that the man was not trying to conceal his action and he was standing in the middle of the lot in plain sight.
The man was confronted by the officer and apologized for going to the bathroom in public. The man also presented his driver’s license to the officer and a check revealed that it was valid and that the man did not have any outstanding warrants.
The officer cited the man for the infraction and released him from the scene.
Dearborn Heights
Items stolen from apartment
Police were called to investigate a break-in with several items reported stolen from an apartment in the 27000 block of Cranford just after 5 p.m. Feb. 15.
The victim said the apartment had been unoccupied between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. while she was at work and upon returning she discovered that the door had been pried open.
She walked through the apartment and noted that a Microsoft X-Box, several X-Box games, a laptop computer, tablet and several pieces of jewelry were missing.
A friend of the victim, who had been the last to exit that morning, told police they were sure that the apartment was secured when they left.
Police checked the apartment and the complex but were unable to find anything of evidentiary value.
Vehicle stolen, recovered in Detroit
A man called police to report that his silver 2001 Dodge Caravan had been stolen from in front of his residence in the 8300 block of Salem Lane just after 8:30 a.m. Feb. 14. It was later recovered in Detroit.
The victim said the vehicle had been parked on the street in front of his house overnight and that he had gone outside in the morning to start the vehicle and let it warm up.
He then returned to the house and said that roughly five minutes later he looked out of a window and saw someone driving away in the vehicle. The victim did not recognize the driver.
Responding officers checked the street and surrounding neighborhood for the vehicle but were unable to locate it.
Later that day, the vehicle was reported found abandoned on Sawyer Street in Detroit by a Detroit police officer.
Several items were reported damaged, including the center console, ignition column and rear bumper.
No suspect information was available.
Lincoln Park
Washing machine targeted by thief
Police responded to calls from an apartment complex in the 4100 block of Drouillard, where residents said a man with a crow bar targeted the coins secured in a washing machine.
One witness told police that shortly after midnight Wednesday he’d heard noises from the laundry room near his apartment. Outside of the door he heard a man say, “I hope there’s coins in there,” and saw a man in a dark coat standing on top of a washer with a crow bar wedged under the coin bank.
The man was seen leaving the complex north toward Goddard, where he was soon met by responding police. Investigators located the crow bar that had been dropped behind the washing machine, and took the man into custody pending charges.
House burglarized overnight
A man returned to his home in the 1500 block of Applewood Avenue at 7 a.m. Feb. 14 and found a side door open and the theft of a variety of items including a 55-inch TV, mountain bike and set of golf clubs.
The man told police he had locked his doors when leaving the home at 2 p.m. Thursday. There was no sign of forced entry, according to police reports, and investigators requested a complete list of stolen items.
Melvindale
Two laptops taken from school
The principal at the Academy for Business and Technology, 19625 Wood St., called police to report two missing laptops. She told police the laptops were used Feb. 13, but they were discovered missing during an inventory check the next day.
She could not provide serial numbers and told police she would review the school’s surveillance cameras. It is believed that a student could have taken the laptops, but the principal said the cleaning crew has access to the classrooms as well.
Vehicle stolen, house broken into on same street
Police were called to the 17100 block of Flora Avenue to take a report about a stolen vehicle and a break-in about 9:30 a.m. Wednesday. Officers spoke to the owner of the vehicle who said the vehicle was parked in front of his house, but when he woke up the vehicle was gone.
Officers checked the area where the vehicle was parked and said there was no evidence left on the ground. The owner told police he was the only one that has keys to the vehicle.
The vehicle was entered into the Law Enforcement Information Network as stolen. The vehicle was reported as a red Ford F-150 with no identifiable markings.
Police also talked to a woman who said someone broke into her boyfriend’s mobile home and took a gaming system, flat screen TV and three credit cards. She said they were not in the mobile home at the time of the break in, but it was locked about 2 a.m.
Riverview
Man hits another vehicle, avoids cops
Officers responded to a collision about 5 p.m. Feb. 1 on Pennsylvania Road near Ray Street. A Chevrolet Silverado with a snow plow was in the median, while a Mercury Grand Marquis was in a snow bank in front of Riverview Towers Co-op Senior Apartments, 13333 Pennsylvania Road.
Police said the door to the Grand Marquis was open and had heavy damage from the collision, but it was empty with footprints leading toward the apartments. The officers spoke to the driver of the Silverado who said he had just finished plowing St. Cyprian’s Church, 13249 Pennsylvania Road, and turned out the parking lot into the left turn lane to go west.
As he turned into the lane, he said, the Grand Marquis entered the turn lane and struck his truck. There was no obvious damage to the Silverado.
He told police the other man got out of the Grand Marquis, called him a name, then ran toward the apartments holding his head. As officers called a tow truck for the Grand Marquis, a woman came to the scene of the accident and said she let her friend drive her vehicle to run errands.
Police searched the apartment complex for the man driving the Grand Marquis, but were unable to locate him. Employees said the man worked for the complex and believed he lived in Southgate, but police could not find a valid address for him. The employees gave the officers the man’s name and phone number.
Officers left a message on the man’s phone to contact them, which he did Feb. 6 because he said he checked himself into a hospital for his injuries. He said he was staying with his brother, but did not give police a current address.
Police issued the man a ticket for driving with a suspended license, leaving the scene, and for an improper lane change and said copies would be mailed to the addresses they have on file for him.
Southgate
Tools taken from garage
A homeowner in the 12000 block of Plum reported the theft of nearly $5,000 worth of tools that had been taken from a locked garage.
The man told police on Monday that sometime after 3 p.m. Sunday someone had pushed or forced open a side window of the garage and made off with an assortment of hand tools, a tool chest, jigsaw, sanders, air compressor and other equipment.
Investigators noted that the garage doors had been locked and secured, checked for evidence and are investigating.
Trenton
Copper thief claimed to be ‘exploring’ factory
Police took into custody a man believed to be stealing copper wire from the old Michigan Cement Co. plant who claimed to be “urban exploring” at the site.
Officers responded to reports of a possible burglar at the West Jefferson Avenue site at 2 p.m. Feb. 11. A resident had called police to say that a white man had parked a silver Ford Ranger on West Jefferson and was last seen walking toward the cement plant.
Investigators followed footprints in the snow that began at Sibley Road and trailed south onto the property. Responding officers did not see exiting footprints, and soon heard sounds of movement from inside on a second floor.
Police saw a man trying to travel down a conveyor belt. When the man saw police he tried to lie flat on the belt, but soon surrendered to police. The man said he was “urban exploring” but police arrested him for burglary.
Once the man was inside the patrol car, officers located a large pile of copper wire near a door as well as tools including wire cutters, screw drivers and wrenches.
The man was taken into custody and charges remained pending. A witness told police she believed the man had been at the cement plant the week before to steal copper, and police are investigating.
Wyandotte
Woman arrested for drug possession
A suspicious vehicle was reported in the Wyandotte Roosevelt High School parking lot about 8 p.m. Feb. 5. When officers approached the school, they saw no event was going on and the vehicle was the only one in the lot at the time.
As officers entered the parking lot, police said the vehicle’s engine started up and it began to exit the parking lot. The vehicle made an illegal left turn onto Eureka Road and police said a traffic stop was made near 6th Street.
Officers said they could smell marijuana as they approached the vehicle. He asked the driver to exit the vehicle and told him about the illegal turn. As he was questioned about the smell of marijuana, the driver told officers there was “a good amount” of marijuana inside the vehicle.
Police said a search of the vehicle produced a backpack with a glass jar containing marijuana, glass pipe and grinder. Officers also found a digital scale and small plastic bags inside the vehicle. The driver was arrested for the possession and his vehicle was impounded.
Bar fight gets out-of-hand
Police officers were called to Do Hickeys Bar, 232 Maple, on a complaint of a large fight about 2:15 a.m. Feb. 16. Police said when the call initially came in all officers were unavailable, but an officer was freed up and was provided assistance from the Southgate Police Department.
When those officers arrived, police said there were between 20 and 30 people loitering, arguing and fighting in the street. A lot of the people ran as officers arrived, police said, but officers were able to detain, arrest and process multiple people.
(Compiled by Gabriel Goodwin, James Mitchell and Bob Oliver.)