ALLEN PARK
Child told to steal to help pay bills
A woman was issued a violation for contributing to the delinquency of a minor and her son was charged with retail fraud at 5:57 p.m. Sept. 19 when he allegedly was directed to steal at least $200 worth of merchandise from Target, 3100 Fairlane Drive, to help her pay bills.
Loss prevention personnel said the boy was involved in a similar incident two weeks earlier at the Woodhaven Target. The boy selected two Star Wars action figures, three Marvel action figures and a can of soda pop and took the items to a self-checkout lane. He then scanned and paid for the beverage but not the toys, bagging all the items. He was detained as he attempted to exit the store with $148 worth of stolen merchandise.
Ohio man stopped with Oxycodone
A 49-year-old Ohio man who was stopped for driving 73 mph on the southbound Southfield Road at 2:08 a.m. Sept. 22 had an inconsistent story when questioned and was very nervous. When officers asked him to step out of the car and searched him and his vehicle, they found 84 30-milligram Oxycodone pills in the roof liner inside the man’s vehicle. He was booked and processed, and released on bond, while his vehicle was towed and impounded, and is subject to forfeiture.
DEARBORN
Man cited for tinted windows, arrested for warrant
While on patrol near Michigan and Wyoming avenues Sept. 2, police noticed a Dodge Charger traveling with illegal window tints.
When a traffic stop was conducted at the intersection the driver told officers he did not have identification on him and verbally identified himself. A background revealed the man had two felony warrants which dispatch confirmed and a suspended license. The carrying a concealed weapon warrant was out of the 36th District Court with no bond and a second carrying a concealed weapon warrant was revealed from Arizona.
Detroit police agreed to pick the man up from the Dearborn police station the following day. The man was cited for driving with a suspended license and window tints.
Woman uses counterfeit $50s as payment at Family Dollar
An employee of Family Dollar, 7937 Schaefer Road, called police to the store Sept. 7 after a woman used counterfeit $50 bills for payment .
The woman entered the store and selected a bottle of water before approaching the cash register. She then asked to purchase a $450 Visa gift card bringing her total to $456.70. The woman pulled 10, $50 bills from her purse which were marked with a counterfeit detector pen by the employee indicating the money was legitimate.
The woman said she wanted to use her debit card and placed the $50 bills in her purse, but couldn’t find her card. She then retrieved the $50 bills from her purse with the top one marked by the counterfeit detector pen. The employee gave the woman $43.30 in change. She checked the remaining nine $50 bills after the suspect left with the detector pen revealing they were counterfeit.
Another employee at the store was able to write down the license plate of a 2017 Ford Escape in which the woman left the parking lot. Police were able to determine the vehicle was registered as a rental car.
Security footage was reviewed by police confirming the incident and the counterfeit bills were taken as evidence.
DEARBORN HEIGHTS
Resident finds bike missing from driveway
Police were called to a house in the 24300 block of Currier Sept. 18 after a resident reported his Mongoose mountain bike missing.
When the man discovered his bike missing he reviewed his surveillance video where he observed five people at 4 p.m. riding their bikes. All five people are seen stopping near the house and then one returned when he left his bike on the sidewalk in front of the house and took the man’s bike. One of the people can be heard saying, “another bike” as the group passed the house on audio from the surveillance system.
The abandoned bike was collected as evidence by officers.
LINCOLN PARK
Couple robbed, carjacked outside apartment
A middle-aged couple living in the apartment above Yum Yum Express were robbed at gunpoint and their 2005 tan Toyota Sienna carjacked at 4:49 p.m. Sept. 22 after they pulled into the parking lot. The attacker, described as a black male, 6 feet tall, 180 pounds and wearing all black clothes, with a black semi-automatic pistol, took their keys, phones, cash and the tools stored in their vehicle. The man abandoned a Jeep, which was later discovered to be stolen. They victims were unsure whether the security camera at the rear of the vehicle was working.
Dunkin’ Donuts cash register contents stolen at closing
An employee at Dunkin’ Donuts, 4005 Dix, said a teen customer stole an unknown amount of money from a cash drawer shortly before closing at 10 p.m. Sept. 20 when an employee was counting the cash in his drawer. The robber, described as a white male, 18, with a black shirt, light-colored shorts and long hair, entered the store, looked at the menu and asked for a job application. When the employee went to the other side of the store to get an application, the man entered the employee area, took the cash register contents and fled south on Dix.
MELVINDALE
Woman reports fraud when unemployment filed in her name
A woman filed a fraud report at 1:32 p.m. Sept. 27 when her employer’s human resources department reported the day before that someone had filed for unemployment benefits in her name. A police report was filed, and the Michigan Secretary of State office and Social Security Administration have flagged her account.
Teens harassed by classmate at Play Atlantis
Police were called to Play Atlantis, 19400 Allen Road, at 3:44 p.m. Sept. 26 when two teens reported that a classmate, a Lincoln Park resident attending Melvindale High School, grabbed their backpacks, threw them around, and hid one, which a victim said he eventually found. Then, when the two boys exited the arcade, their bicycles had been piled on top of one another, with the front tire of one bike bent, and the other having bent handlebars. A police report was filed.
RIVERVIEW
Man selling marijuana robbed at gunpoint by friend
A 20-year-old Taylor man told police he was robbed at gunpoint by a friend at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 24 in the parking lot of Brookview Apartments. The man took 7 grams of marijuana from him, then pulled out a silver 9-millimeter handgun, held it to the man’s cheek and demanded his iPhone 7. A passenger in the car, an 18-year-old woman, corroborated the man’s account.
Senior’s cash stolen from senior living facility
A woman living in a senior assisted living center in the 20000 block of Fort Street reported at 2:45 p.m. on Sept. 26 that $100 was stolen from her purse when she went to pay for a hair appointment. She said her cousin brings money to her when she needs it for a specific purpose. She said many staff members have access to her room, so she has no idea who took her money.
Home invasion averted
A woman in the 18000 block of Hinton reported at 9:41 a.m. Sept. 22 that a man entered her backyard when she did not answer a knock at her front door. When she confronted the man and threatened to call the police, he ran away, leaving two black plastic garbage bags behind her garage. She described the man as white, in his late teens or early 20s, with brown eyes and blond hair, wearing a green sweatshirt with a gray T-shirt underneath and dark pants.
She said prior to and after the confrontation a white sport utility vehicle drove past her house several times, with two men on foot and one in the vehicle. She said the other two men were white, in their late teens to early 20s, with dark hair, and wearing blue jeans.
SOUTHGATE
Work laptop stolen from locked car when parent picks up child at school
A man reported a work laptop, valued at $750, stolen from his locked car about 3 p.m. Sept. 21 when went to pick up his child from Grogan Elementary, 13300 Burns. He said the car may have been opened through a window he had left cracked open. The laptop was on the front seat of the car. There are no suspects.
Wallet, ID stolen when woman leaves vehicle unlocked briefly in her driveway
A 45-year-old woman living in the 13000 block of Wesley reported her wallet and identification stolen from her vehicle at 12:22 p.m. Sept. 9 when she left her vehicle unlocked and briefly entered her house. She said her wallet, containing $25, was taken along with her driver’s license, Social Security card, birth certificate, a coin purse and a cell phone charger. There are no suspects.
TRENTON
Money found, returned
A woman turned in to police $1,010 in $50 and $20 bills she found lying in the grass, wrapped in a rubber band at 1:51 p.m. Sept. 25, in the 1000 block of Harbor Boulevard near an apartment building’s mailboxes. Shortly afterward, a man who said he lost the money entered the station, and was able to state the exact amount in the bankroll, saying it fell out of his pocket when he went to get his mail.
Arguing couple reported to police
A loud argument between a 56-year-old man and a 62-year-old woman at 11:40 p.m. Sept. 16 in the area of Elm and Third streets was reported to police. The woman told the responding officers that they were arguing about topics in general, while the man said he suspects his socializing with two other women that evening when they went out upset her. They were told to go inside and be quiet, to which they complied.
WYANDOTTE
Speeder with expired license caught transporting pot
A 21-year-old Brownstown Township man was taken into custody and his vehicle impounded at 12:41 a.m. Sept. 26 when an officer on patrol on southbound Fort Street near Vinewood discovered him speeding with an expired license, and with a Mason jar with $150 worth of marijuana in his backpack, along with a glass pipe and a grinder.
Drunken woman disturbing the peace files a false police report incriminating herself
A drunken 46-year-old Wyandotte woman was taken into custody at 1:52 a.m. Sept. 25 after she called police, falsely reporting domestic abuse so officers would help her find the man to whom she was ostensibly screaming obscenities at outside a house in the 2300 block of 23rd Street.
Police knocked on the door, but no one responded. The women would not stop shouting, and resisted officers’ attempts to handcuff her when she would not quiet down. She was taken into custody, booked and held. A preliminary breath test was administered, and the woman had a blood alcohol content of 0.208, more than two-and-a-half times the 0.08 limit for legally drunk in Michigan.
(Compiled by Zeinab Najm and Sue Suchyta.)