Allen Park
Employee arrested for embezzlement after creating gift cards for self
An employee at Target, 3100 Fairlane Drive, was fired the evening of April 11 after another employee and surveillance video revealed that the employee was using customer transactions to create $5 gift cards for his own personal use. The employee confessed when confronted by loss prevention, and was fired. He was taken into custody and booked on charges of embezzlement.
Man tries to conceal 6 bottles of booze inside coat
A man tried to exit Meijer, 3565 Fairlane Drive, the evening of April 15 with six bottles of liquor and two packs of Werthers candy concealed inside his coat. The items, valued at $105, included bottles of Fireball Whiskey, Absolut Mandrin Vodka, Absolut Citron Vodka, Smirnoff Peppermint Twist Vodka and Smirnoff Ruby Red Grapefruit Vodka. He was detained by loss prevention personnel until police arrived. He was arrested, booked, and held at the Dearborn Police Station.
Dearborn
Man arrested for possession of marijuana
While on patrol in the area of Michigan Avenue and Wyoming May 5, police observed a vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed.
According to the police report, the driver of a 2004 Chevy Impala was driving 50 mph in a 35 mph zone before officers conducted a traffic stop. When officers spoke with the driver they smelled an order of fresh marijuana coming from the vehicle. The driver was asked if he recently smoked marijuana and if there was more marijuana in the vehicle to which he responded yes to both questions.
A background check of the driver revealed a suspended license and a failure to appear warrant out of 37th District Court in Warren with a $400 bond.
After a search of the vehicle was conducted, police found a plastic bottle containing suspected marijuana. The driver was arrested for driving with a suspended license and possession of marijuana, each with a bond set at $200.
Stolen license plate found on vehicle at Walmart
Police pulled a man over in the parking lot of Walmart, 5851 Mercury Drive, after a license plate check revealed the plate was reported stolen.
A traffic stop was conducted on the east side of the parking lot during which the driver said he had no proof of insurance or registration. The driver explained that he recently purchased the vehicle from a person in Detroit and that a female gave him the plate to use. He also provided a proof of title transfer to officers and said the vehicle was in his name at Secretary of State in April. He continued by saying he did not purchase a license plate for the vehicle.
According to the police report, the license plate was reported stolen in January out of Detroit and belonged to someone living in Madison Heights.
The driver was given a citation for no proof of insurance, no registration each and a $200 bond for receiving and concealing stolen property.
Police confiscated the stolen license plate.
Dearborn Heights
All four tires, rims stolen off vehicle
Police responded to a house in the 8400 block of Lochdale April 23 after a man said all four tires and rims were taken off his Jeep Grand Cherokee.
The man said he parked the vehicle in the driveway of the house about 10 p.m. April 22, and noticed the missing rims and tires the next morning. He told officers the vehicle was still in the driveway, with no rims or tires and propped up by landscaping blocks.
After a search of the neighborhood, police noticed a nearby house had security cameras pointing at the driveway. Officers made contract with the residents living in the house with cameras who said nothing was recorded because the camera system was in night mode.
Lincoln Park
Comcast accounts target of hacking fraud
A resident in the 700 block of Park reported May 4 that his Comcast account was hacked and his bill payment stolen. The same perpetrator also accessed the closed-circuit surveillance system, and has the ability to turn it on and off at will. The resident showed police officers a video of two men on the sidewalk the night of May 3 with a scanning device capable of data collection. The victims said Comcast acknowledged the existence of the problem.
Church vandalized
A deacon at Friendship Baptist Church, 2071 Porter, reported May 6 that a gallon of white primer paint was splashed across the front of the building for about 15 feet, and had dried across six glass doors. An empty paint can was found on the sidewalk, and was taken to be analyzed for fingerprints.
A neighbor noticed a gray foreign-style hatchback vehicle parked on the side of the church at about 4:30 a.m., with a driver, and a passenger described as a white male, who was seen exiting and later returning to the vehicle.
Melvindale
Check fraud at market
Gleno’s Market, 2955 Oakwood Blvd., reported March 23 that on March 13 the store cashed a $747 check issued by the Principal Trust Co., which was later determined to be an invalid check. The person cashing the check was required to show personal identification and their Social Security card, and their photo was taken. The check passer’s information was turned over to the detective bureau.
Vehicle left on cinder blocks
A resident in the 18500 block of Harman reported the morning of May 6 that her vehicle was left on cinderblocks after all four wheels and rims were stolen. Her vehicle had been parked on the street. The interior of the vehicle was ransacked, but nothing appeared to have been taken.
Vehicle window smashed
A resident in the 19000 block of Wall Street reported the morning of May 8 that the rear window of her vehicle, which was parked overnight on the street, had been shattered. The vehicle was last seen undamaged at 9:15 p.m. the night before. There were no suspects.
Vehicle vandalized
A vehicle was reported damaged on May 5 after it was parked behind Coogan Terrace on Oakwood Boulevard between April 30 and May 1. The vehicle’s rear passenger side was scratched.
Riverview
Snowmobiles stolen
Two snowmobiles and the trailer they were stored on behind an outbuilding at Material Processing Inc., 17423 W. Jefferson, were reported stolen on April 9, and were last seen two weeks earlier before a man left for a vacation. The trailer was in an area surrounded by locked fencing. The man said contractors had access to the property during the time period. He said he would check surveillance cameras and turn over any relevant recordings to police detectives.
Southgate
Brick thrown through apartment window
A cement brick was thrown through the bedroom window of a ground floor apartment on the southwest side of an apartment building in the 16000 block of Barberry the night of April 30, awakening both residents. They residents said the brick flew over their bed and landed on the bedroom floor. The man ran outside, but did not see anyone in the vicinity. The couple said they had no conflicts with neighbors or coworkers. The brick did not match the facade of any nearby buildings. The shattered window was valued at $200.
Dirt bike, four wheeler, quad racer stolen from garage
A black and yellow Suzuki RM250 dirt bike with a red seat, a black Polaris four-wheeler with a red seat, and a yellow Suzuki quad racer with a blue seat were reported stolen the morning of May 1 from a garage in the 14000 block of Brest. The side door of the garage had pry marks on the locks, was kicked in, and a refrigerator that was kept in front of the door was pushed aside.
The resident said the garage was broken into between 1:30 and 10 a.m., when the theft was discovered. An 8-foot section of chain link fence in their yard was cut. Fresh four-wheeler tracks through the grass leading into an adjourning yard were visible. The resident said a Ford F-150 truck had been rummaged through, but nothing taken. They said they had a good relationship with their neighbors and did not suspect anyone nearby of the theft.
Taylor
Dodge Ram rim, hubcap missing
A man living in the 22000 block of Fairfax reported the afternoon of May 8 that a hubcap from the driver’s side front tire and a rim from the rear driver’s side tire were missing from his Dodge Ram truck parked in his driveway. The items are valued at $50. There were no witnesses nor suspects.
Ex pounds on door for three hours, tries to kick it in
A resident in the 15000 block of Park Village Boulevard called police the morning of May 9 after a former roommate and significant other pounded on the door for more than three hours, then tried to kick it in. The window screen was damaged, and the door was dented and could not be opened due to a damaged deadbolt. The ex was taken into the custody and charged with disorderly conduct and damage to property. The suspect also had active misdemeanor warrants with several surrounding agencies.
Trenton
Fast Filter fraud
A man filed a walk-in report the evening of May 1 of an unauthorized debit card purchase for $68 on April 29 to a company called Fast Filters. He said he was unable to reach the company in question. He said he closed the debit account and had a new account issued. He suspects that his information may have been stolen from one of the online purchases he made.
Window broken overnight on Chevrolet Trax
A resident of Baldwin Court reported on May 3 that the rear passenger side window of his Chevrolet Trax was broken overnight while parked in front of the his residence. There were no objects nearby that could have been used to damage the vehicle. Nothing was missing from the vehicle. There are no suspects.
Wyandotte
Toddler accidentally locked inside vehicle; cat locked side vacant house
Police officers unlocked a vehicle in the 800 block of Biddle the afternoon of May 5 when a 2-year-old was accidentally locked inside the car.
A cat was rescued from a vacant house for sale in the 900 block of Eureka the morning of May 5 when the pet owner saw the cat sitting in a window. The pet owner said her cat had been missing for four days. Police officers opened an unlocked window and rescued the cat, which appeared to be in distress after being without food or water for four days. The residence was then re-secured.
Man who stole father’s car found with heroin
While patrolling on Fort Street near Ford Avenue at 12:05 a.m. May 7, officers saw a white Chevrolet Impala with a defective license plate lamp. When they ran the plate, the car was registered in the Law Enforcement Information Network as stolen. The officers called for backup and initiated a felony traffic stop.
The driver, a 30-year-old Livonia man, said the car belonged to his father. A 20-year-old Brownstown Township man also was in the car. Both were ordered out of the car, handcuffed, and placed in the rear of patrol cars.
A search of the vehicle uncovered heroin and drug paraphernalia in the vicinity of the right front passenger seat. Both men admitted to using crack and heroin earlier in the day.
The driver was arresting for receiving and concealing a stolen motor vehicle, while the passenger was arrested for possession of heroin and drug paraphernalia. The men were booked and held.
(Compiled by Zeinab Najm and Sue Suchyta.)