ALLEN PARK
Trying to pass clay-filled boxes for computers
Police arrested an 18-year-old Detroit woman Feb. 8 for retail fraud after she attempted to return a computer that was really a box filled with clay. Authorities were called to Best Buy, 3349 Fairlane Drive, when the woman allegedly tried to return a MacBook Pro that she bought at a Roseville Best Buy for $1,799. Upon further investigation, employees found the box was filled with clay instead of a computer.
Witnesses said the woman was accompanied by a black male driving a white van. There were two other people in a vehicle in the parking lot at the time, but neither was deemed to be involved in the fraud.
The pair allegedly would buy a computer, remove it from the box, put clay inside and reseal the box with shrink wrap. Then they would attempt to get a refund on the computer and use that money to buy another computer and repeat the process.
Violating road laws … while officer is watching
When jumping curves and speeding, it is best not to do it in front of police. Authorities arrested a 35-year-old Dearborn Heights man Feb. 13 at I-94 and Oakwood Boulevard for allegedly violating road laws.
An off-duty Melvindale sergeant in a fully-marked patrol vehicle was traveling west on Oakwood, attempting to enter the ramp to I-94. As the officer entered the ramp, the suspect vehicle was eastbound on Oakwood and made a U-turn, going over the curb and heading straight for the police car, causing the officer to veer into oncoming traffic. The driver then got behind the sergeant before speeding past him. The officer stopped the vehicle and called Allen Park police, because the stop was in Allen Park.
The driver said he was upset from losing his son a couple days earlier. When checking his license, police learned it had been suspended since 2002.
Talking trash
A resident called authorities Feb. 7 to report their trash can full of trash was missing from the 100 block of Manor Avenue. The victim said he put the black garbage can outside the previous night and found it missing the next morning before trash was picked up. The victim wanted to make a report in case other cans were missing from the area.
Dangling in wrong place
Police stopped a 2000 Chevrolet Impala for items dangling from the rearview mirror. The driver, a 25-year-old Allen Park woman, couldn’t give the officer proper proof of insurance for her vehicle. Police reported smelling a strong odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle, and the woman said she had some in her purse.
Upon further investigation, police found three baggies of medical marijuana in a prescription battle. The woman was arrested for driving on a suspended license. Her vehicle was impounded.
LINCOLN PARK
The car was open
Police arrested a 14-year-old boy Feb. 17 after he allegedly broke into vehicles in the 1500 block of College. A 20-year-old female resident reported that a purse was taken from her 2004 Chevrolet Malibu. Police said a Jeep Cherokee also was broken into in the same area.
Police recovered the woman’s pink and black change purse and wallet on the ground near the vehicle. There was no damage to the vehicle because it was unlocked at the time of the theft. The items were returned to the woman.
Just the cash
Credit cards and a gift card were tossed away when a culprit broke into a 2014 Chrysler Town & County van Feb. 17, but the thief took $10 in change from the center console.
Police were called to the 1400 block of Paris Avenue about 5 p.m. for a larceny report. The van owner said the van may have been unlocked at the time. The victim, a 45-year-old woman, said the crime occurred between 8 p.m. Feb. 16 and 8 a.m. Feb. 17.
Truck found, before reported lost
By the time a 31-year-old man reported his vehicle stolen Feb. 18, it was already in the impound in Melvindale. The man notified police about 8:46 a.m. that his green 1999 Dodge Ram was stolen from the 2000 block of Regina sometime after 8 p.m. Feb. 17.
The victim said the keys were left inside the console and that the truck didn’t have insurance on it. Police discovered Melvindale police impounded the vehicle earlier on Feb. 18, and the person driving was cited for drunken driving.
Another vehicle found before owner reports stolen
Police were called to the 1500 block of Liberty when a 30-year-old man discovered his 2013 Honda Accord stolen from his driveway. After checking the plate, police found Michigan State Police found the vehicle about midnight on I-94 at Haggerty and had it towed. MSP reported the vehicle was left abandoned in a ditch.
Jeep window smashed while owner inside paying
While a 38-year-old woman went inside a BP Gas Station, 682 Southfield Road, to pay for items about 9 p.m. Feb. 18, someone smashed the front passenger window of her 2002 Jeep Liberty. After hearing the glass smash, she turned to see an older model black Chevrolet speed off. Police were told that the person who drives the suspect vehicle is a regular customer.
Damage was estimated at $200. Police planned to review surveillance video of the incident.
Where’s my tunes?
A 27-year-old woman told police that a side window on her 2006 Chrysler 300 was smashed while the vehicle was parked outside her boyfriend’s house in the 1700 block of McLain Avenue.
The woman said the window was broken sometime between 10 p.m. Jan. 19 and 9 a.m. Jan. 20. The damage was estimated at $300. The thief also took a touch-screen stereo valued at $500.
Police found the window shattered and the center dash ripped out. The woman told police she didn’t see anything missing other than the stereo.
TRENTON
Drunken driver mistakes Trenton for Greektown
A woman who left a bar in Novi, and tried to drive to Eight Mile and Gratiot, ended up in front of the Trenton Police Station, 2872 W. Jefferson, at 1:48 a.m. Feb. 14, told the officer who walked up to her car, which was stopped on the shoulder of the road, that she thought she was in Greektown.
The officer noticed her eyes were red and watery, and her speech was slurred. She had difficulty trying to locate her driver’s license and registration.
She exited the vehicle, and was unsteady on her feet. She failed field sobriety tests. A preliminary breath test was administered, and the woman had a blood alcohol content of 0.281, three-and-a-half times the 0.08 limit for legally drunk in Michigan.
She was cited for operating while intoxicated, booked and held. Her vehicle was impounded. She was also found to have two felony warrants for fraud out of the 36th District Court in Detroit.
Not the ride he was expecting
While waiting for his wife to pick him up about 11 p.m. Jan. 24 at McDonalds, 1581 Van Horn, a 29-year-old Brownstown man found a ride with police instead. Police saw the man pacing outside the restaurant entry door and stopped to talk to the man. The officer checked the man’s name against active warrants and the man had a bench warrant for contempt of court for failure to display a valid license.
WYANDOTTE
The unkindest cut
Three tires on a man’s vehicle were slashed last week on his birthday when he was at his girlfriend’s home. Officers were called to the 200 block of Stoll at 9:31 p.m. Feb. 10, where the victim said they heard the alarm go off on his 2004 Chevrolet Trailblazer, and found the two passenger side tires and the front driver’s side tire had 4- to 5-inch slits in the sidewalls of the tires. They said they did not hear any vehicles or noises prior to the vehicle alarm going off. The couple said they had no suspects. Police checked the area, but did not find anyone walking around nearby.
Multi-tasking
Police on routine patrol at 11:31 p.m. Jan. 27 observed a man urinating on the south side of My Place Bar, 806 Biddle Ave. When officers approached the man, he continued to urinate. Asked what he was doing, he replied, “Peeing while smoking.”
Displaying slow speech, red and watery eyes, the man said he had consumed between six and eight beers inside the bar. He was arrested for disorderly conduct.