Allen Park
Missing wallet with GPS chip on site but concealed
A wallet accidentally left behind at Chili’s Restaurant, 3230 Fairlane Drive the evening of Dec. 30 for about five minutes before the owner realized it was missing had a GPS chip, which indicated that it was in the restaurant but hidden.
The rightful owner of the wallet tried for two hours to find it on site, using the GPS tile locator smart fun application to no avail, before summoning police officers to the location.
The two responding officers tried to find the wallet as well, even activating its locator tones, but were unsuccessful. They finally told the owner of the missing wallet that without a search warrant, they could proceed no further. The police officers noted in the report that they suspected that the wallet was “dumped” inside the building, or in the possession of an employee.
The wallet with the GPS tile was a black Vera Bradley wallet, valued at $160, with an unknown amount of gift cards, $67 in cash, and the GPS tile, valued at $40.
Teen attacked, robbed of iPhone 7
A teen boy walking to a friend’s house about 1 a.m. Jan. 1 was attacked and robbed by two men, who took his iPhone 7, his brown leather wallet with $6, and his Allen Park school identification card.
He said his attacker was a 6-foot white man with a stocky build, “scruffy” blonde facial hair and dressed in black. He was not able to describe the other man. He said his attacker never spoke to him, nor threatened him with a weapon.
After his attackers took his phone and wallet and fled, he ran home, and he and his father went to the Allen Park police station to file a report and have the teen’s injuries photographed and documented.
Dearborn
Man cited for driving with suspended license
While on patrol Nov. 22, police observed a 2008 black Chevy Impala traveling east on Michigan Avenue near Middlesex and conducted a license plate check. The check revealed that the plate was cancelled via the Michigan Secretary of State due to fraudulent insurance application.
A traffic stop was conducted for the canceled license plate where the driver was identified with his Michigan identification card. A check of the driver’s record revealed a suspended driver’s license.
The man’s vehicle was impounded and he was cited for no proof of insurance and driving with a suspended license.
Dearborn Heights
eBay package stolen from porch
Police responded to a house in the 6600 block of Drexel Dec. 18 on a report of a stolen package. The victim said his missing package contained a battery charger and electric impact wrench worth $138.
According to eBay, the package was delivered to the porch about 6 p.m. When the victim went to retrieve the items at 7 p.m. they were missing.
There is no suspect information.
Lincoln Park
Wallet stolen from unlocked car
A 27-year-old Detroit woman visiting her boyfriend in the 1000 block of Montie Road for 45 minutes the night of Dec. 3 returned to her unlocked car to find her wallet missing. The wallet contained two debit cards, a Bridge card and a meter, for testing blood glucose, valued at $200. There was no damage to her vehicle.
Post office window shattered with landscaping rock
A front window of the post office at 1515 Fort St. was shattered by a landscaping rock, employees reported the morning of Nov. 27 when they arrived at work. The 4-foot-by-2-foot double paned window had a $1,000 estimated value. There were no surveillance cameras monitoring the building, and there were no suspects.
Melvindale
Man swindled in fake iPhone sale
A 29-year-old Dearborn man attempting to buy an iPhone, which he saw listed on Craigslist, was swindled the afternoon of Dec. 24 when the seller took his money and left him with a fake phone.
The victim said he arranged to meet the seller at McDonald’s, 4001 Oakwood, to buy an iPhone X. When he met the seller, he asked to charge the phone to test it, which made the seller nervous. The seller asked for half the agreed upon price before he let the buyer inspect the phone. When the buyer handed him half the agreed upon price in cash, the seller handed over the phone, left the restaurant and drove off in a dark gray Grand Am. When the buyer tried to charge the phone, he discovered that it was a fake.
The victim said the seller was a black man in his 20s, who entered a car with two other black men, which then drove toward I-94. He did not get a license plate number, and there were no surveillance cameras inside the McDonald’s. He was advised to make future Craigslist transactions at a police station.
Man’s garage burglarized while he recovered from illness
A 60-year-old man living in the 2500 block of Emogene reported the morning of Dec. 28 that his locked garage was burglarized in the past two weeks while he was sick. He said when he went outside to put some trash into his waste collection bin, he saw that his recycling bin was missing. He then noticed that his garage door was damaged. When he opened the garage door, he discovered that his new $249 Craftsman lawnmower, a $100 Craftman weed whip, and numerous tools, valued at about $2,000, were missing. A backyard gate which leads to the alley was uncharacteristically open. There were no surveillance cameras in the area.
Riverview
Police officer fights fire in senior’s condo
An elderly woman living in a condominium in the 18000 block of Hilltop called for help Dec. 24 when her microwave caught fire and started burning a nearby wall. A police officer used a fire extinguisher to try to contain the blaze, so it wouldn’t travel through the ceiling to the other attached condos, while other officers evacuated adjacent residents. The officer using the fire extinguisher was forced to exit as the smoke thickened. The officer re-entered the condo a second time with the fire extinguisher when the flames recurred, leaving only with the smoke became too think. Firefighters then arrived and took over the situation.
Con artists swindle senior
Con artists tried to swindle a senior out of $9,800 Dec. 13 and 14 by calling her and claiming her grandson was in jail in Chicago because of a car accident, and needed money for damages and to reimburse his victim. The woman was instructed to purchase three gift cards totaling $5,000, and was instructed to read the card numbers over the phone.
The con artists then demanded another $4,800, which finally made that woman suspicious. She called her daughter, who said the grandson was fine and not in an accident.
Since the woman used a Mastercard to purchase the gift cards, she was able to report the fraud and have the transactions canceled.
Southgate
Inflatable snowman stolen
A 4-foot-tall white snowman decoration, with light-up mesh, was reported stolen the morning of Dec. 18 by a 57-year-old man living in the 13000 block of Mercier. The resident said the snowman had green tie-down straps and white Christmas lights throughout. There were no suspects.
‘IRS’ con artists victimize man
Con artists swindled a 53-year-old man living in the 18000 block of Walnut on Dec. 18 by telling him his Social Security number was linked to a rental car involved in criminal activity in Texas, and his SSN and assets would be frozen if he did not cooperate. He was told to convert $5,700 cash to bitcoin currency, and was given transfer instructions. He said he eventually realized he was being scammed, and file a police report to document the fraud. He provided police officers with documenting emails.
Taylor
Furnace stolen from house being rehabbed
A homeowner reported the morning of Dec. 12 that the house he is rehabbing in the 7800 block of Dudley was burglarized overnight, and a furnace, valued at $2,500, and water heater, valued at $500, were stolen from a utility closet. A trail of water led away from the house, ending at a location in the 7600 block of Dudley.
Entry was made through an unlocked window in the rear of the house. The water and gas supply lines were disconnected with tools, not cut and damaged. There was also blood on the door frame of the utility closet, but it was not known if it was related to the theft.
License plate larceny
A man reported the afternoon of Dec. 15 that a license plate was stolen from his 2009 black Chevrolet HHR, between 1:15 and 2 p.m., while it was parked outside his residence in the 9300 block of Pickwick Circle East. There were no suspects. The plate was entered into the Law Enforcement Information Network as stolen.
Trenton
Raft missing from boat after shrink wrapping
A raft valued at $2,500 was reported missing Dec. 10 from C-Porte Marina, 11 Cherry St. The reporting party said the person shrink-wrapping the boat for the winter used the raft for a step up while doing the winterizing, but was unsure whether the raft was stolen or drifted away.
The worker said he did not untie the raft, and said he last saw the raft Nov. 15, and noticed it was missing Nov. 16.
Ford Focus vandalized
A resident of Lakewood Drive reported Nov. 26 that his wife’s vehicle, which was parked in their driveway overnight, had a broken window on the front passenger side that morning. He said nothing was removed from the vehicle, and he was unaware of anyone who would want to damage the vehicle.
Wyandotte
Rescue run for reptile hallucinations
A 33-year-old man living in the 1200 block of Biddle, who was allegedly abusing his prescription Adderall, was transported to a local hospital the evening of Dec. 27 when his mother reported he had been awake for 48 hours and was hallucinating, and reported seeing reptiles. The man agreed to be admitted to a local hospital for evaluation, and was transported by local EMTs.
Narcan used for suspected drug overdose
A 23-year-old Wyandotte man reported a suspected overdose in the early morning hours of Dec. 26, when his 21-year-old girlfriend was unresponsive when he returned to their apartment in the 100 block of Oak Street. He said the young woman was lying in bed, with vomit on her pillow. He told rescue personnel that he did not know if she had taken any narcotics when he went to a nearby store.
Officers observed that she was breathing. Narcan was administered, and she was transported to a local hospital.
(Compiled by Zeinab Najm and Sue Suchyta.)