Allen Park
Unlocked car invites thief
A man left his car unlocked while going into the Fairlane Green Meijer about 7:30 p.m. Oct. 8 and he returned to find someone had taken his backpack containing his keys, mail and $50 in cash.
The store’s surveillance video showed the driver of a black Ford Thunderbird going up to the car and rummaging through the vehicle and exiting with the backpack.
They probably weren’t even roofers
Police were called to the 14000 block of Markese Avenue when a resident saw a man coming out of his house and later discovered his dresser ransacked and an envelope with $80 missing from inside.
The resident told police that a man and woman, both described as Hispanic and in their 30s, came to his house while he was working in his garage on the afternoon of Oct. 8. The man said he did roofing work on the house years ago and wanted to check the shingles. They told the resident they were with a Trenton roofing company. The resident said he has dealt with the owner and his son in the past, and asked the couple to provide the owner’s phone number to see if they were legitimate.
While the woman appeared to write down the number, the resident noticed the man had left. The woman said he went next door to give the neighbor a roofing quote. Within a few minutes he saw the man exit his house, and he grabbed the man’s arm and told him to get off his property and shoved the couple off his property until they were inside the vehicle.
Dearborn
Pedestrian hit, injured by car
A pedestrian was hit by a car at the intersection of Warren Avenue and Chase Road just after 8 p.m. Oct. 6.
The driver was heading west on Warren toward Chase and signaled to get into the left lane to turn south on Chase. He told police was going to a mosque on Chase from his home.
The driver said he didn’t see the pedestrian standing on Warren and struck him with the left side of his vehicle. His passenger mirror was broken and there was damage on the left side of the front bumper.
The driver said he was driving about 30 to 35 mph. He pulled into a gas station near the incident right after he fit the pedestrian.
The pedestrian was in the left turn lane of Warren east of Chase. He was unresponsive and was bleeding from his head and face, according to the police report.
Fire rescue personnel told the officer the pedestrian was breathing and placed him on a stretcher to take him to Oakwood Hospital.
A witness confirmed the driver’s story.
Elementary school windows shot with BB gun
Two glass windows at Miller Elementary School, 4824 Lois, were damaged by shots from an air rifle between 2 p.m. Oct. 1 and 1 p.m. Oct. 2, police said.
The incident could of happened in between Oct. 1 at 2 p.m. and Oct. 2 at 1 p.m. Police went to the school where they were met by the engineer.
The two main floor windows were on the east side of the school. They were double pane windows. The outer pane was penetrated by the nine BBs while the interior pane was not damaged, according to the police report.
The school engineer told police there has been an increase in damage and criminal activity on the school grounds at night lately. He couldn’t provide suspect information.
Dearborn Heights
Items stolen during home break-in
Police were dispatched to a home on the 25700 block of Currier for a breaking and entering.
The victim said he left the house at 1:30 p.m. Oct. 12 to pick up his girlfriend from work and returned 90 minutes later. The side screen door on the east side was open. He told police he never leaves any of his doors or windows open when leaving his residence.
The southwest corner bedroom window was broken with glass on the bed below the window. There was also a rock just smaller than a volleyball in size on the ground.
The victim noticed many of his valuables were stolen. Among those stolen were two TVs, a used Playstation and Xbox 360, wireless PS3 controller, Google laptop, computer monitor, Marc Jacobs watch and five pairs of designer jeans.
He told police he might know who the suspect is. He said the suspect expected him to be gone and the two recently had been in a fight. He said the two fought on Oct. 10 when the suspect tried to break into the victim’s residence and take his safe.
The victim said the suspect made a comment that he would get him back.
There were no surveillance cameras in the area.
Dog stolen from car
A dog was stolen from a car in the parking lot at Joe Randazzo’s Fruit and Vegetable Market and Nursery, 24135 Joy Road, just after 6:30 p.m. Oct. 10.
The victim told police she had her windows cracked to keep her dog cool while she was shopping. She returned from shopping to find her dog missing.
A witness said she saw a black male about 25 years old reach into the vehicle, take the dog and flee in a black Chrysler 300 with a dent on the passenger door.
The dog is a silver and gold Yorkshire terrier who is about 8 years old. The dog has no collar or chip.
There were neither visible fingerprints on the vehicle nor surveillance cameras in the area.
Lincoln Park
Man held for drug possession
A 56-year-old Lincoln Park man was taken into custody after admitting to police he purchased and then swallowed a quantity of heroin after being pulled over for a traffic stop.
An undercover officer had been watching an area near the intersection of Fort Street and Outer Drive — “a high narcotic area where street drugs are openly bought and sold all hours of the day,” according to police reports — and at 8:20 p.m. Monday observed the 56-year-old man stop his 1998 Dodge Dakota and speak with someone for about 15 to 20 seconds.
When the Dakota was driven from the intersection, police observed the vehicle weaving between lanes and not using directional signals. A traffic stop was made by a uniformed patrol officer, and the driver said he did not have a valid license.
A check with the Law Enforcement Information Network revealed that the man’s license had been suspended and that he was wanted on warrants from the 26th District Court and Wayne County Circuit Court.
When the man exited his vehicle he appeared to be trying to swallow something, and the officer asked to see inside of his mouth.
“I just swallowed heroin,” the man said. He told police that he had just bought the drug, and was scared when pulled over.
The man was taken into custody for further processing.
Melvindale
Tough day
A 24-year-old Wixom woman was stopped at Allen Road and Outer Drive Monday evening and cited for no insurance, expired plate and suspended license out of Hazel Park.
She handed the officer her license, registration, insurance card and said she was going to pay the fine to Hazel Park in the next week. After calling the woman’s insurance agency the officer further learned her insurance was expired.
Lunchtime vandals
An employee of Valve Reconditioning Service returned from lunch Oct. 11, to find several windows broken at the business at 17180 Francis St.
The man told police that two male teenagers and a female teen were in the vicinity before his lunch break and after he returned. The employee said the windows were intact when he left.
When police arrived they saw one of the possible suspects leaving in a nearby vehicle and initiated a traffic stop. The officer escorted the teen back to the business but the employee was unable to confirm that that was one of the teens he saw in the vicinity.
Southgate
Truck, trailer stolen from lot
Police responded to reports of a stolen pickup truck and trailer that were last seen in an apartment parking lot in the 13000 block of Village Park Drive.
A man called police at 7 a.m. Oct. 9 and said that during the night someone had driven off with his 1997 Chevrolet Silverado, valued at $5,000, and attached Netter trailer valued at $2,000. The bed of the truck contained a distinctive job box filled with concrete tools. The truck was locked and secured, and the man had all keys in his possession.
Police checked the area for evidence, entered a description of the missing vehicles into the Law Enforcement Information Network, and are investigating.
Taylor
Drive-in looted for cash
One or more burglars broke into a fast-food restaurant through what might have been a previously broken door and made off with more than $400 in cash.
Police responded shortly after 9 a.m. Oct. 12 to calls from Arnold’s Drive-In, 20524 Ecorse, reporting the break-in. Police spoke with the manager, who said that sometime after 9 p.m. Oct. 11 a screen door had been forced open and a cash register drawer was missing. According to police reports, the screen door had been forced open, but management said it had been damaged prior to that weekend.
Investigators checked the area for evidence, and were told that the drive-in does not have surveillance video images or an alarm system.
Trenton
Repeat driving offender taken into custody
Patrol officers observed a motorist weaving over the fog line shortly before 3 a.m. Oct. 12 and soon determined that the driver’s license had been suspended for previous infractions.
According to police reports, the 30-year-old man was driving a 2000 Plymouth Neon north bound on Fort Street near King Road. The vehicle crossed over the line several times, and was abruptly corrected before the officer made a traffic stop.
The patrol officer noticed an odor of intoxicants, and asked if the man had been drinking. The man admitted to having had “a few beers,” and that he did not have a valid license.
“I’m going to prison,” the man said when asked to exit the vehicle. “This will be my fourth,” he said of prior drunken driving charges.
The man was given several field sobriety tests which he failed, and a test at the station revealed a blood alcohol level of .20, more than twice the legal limit of .08 for drunken driving in Michigan.
The man was taken into custody for processing.
(Compiled by James Mitchell, Zeinab Najm and Tereasa Nims.)