Allen Park
Tow truck driver towed
The driver of a flatbed wrecker who was stopped the afternoon of Jan. 21 for driving on Pinecrest, a prohibited truck route, was taken into custody when patrol officers discovered his driver’s license was suspended.
The 25-year-old man, who was carrying one vehicle on his flatbed truck and towing another, had a gross vehicle weight of more than 24,000 pounds. He initially said he did not have his driver’s license on him, and provided a name, which later turned out to be his brother’s name. The brother’s driver’s license was suspended, and he had an active warrant out of Farmington.
When the man was handcuffed and searched, he confessed to using his brother’s name. He showed officers a photo of his own driver’s license on his cell phone. His license was also suspended. He was advised that he was still being taken into custody for providing a false name to a police officer and driving while his license was suspended.
The man was transported to the police department, where he was booked, fingerprinted and searched, and held in lieu of bond. Another tow truck towed his truck with the two additional vehicles attached.
Man found asleep in running car receives fifth alcohol-related arrest
A 48-year-old man found asleep and slumped over the wheel of his running car the night of Jan. 25 in the 14700 block of Vinewood, smelling of intoxicants, received his fifth alcohol-related driving citation, and had his vehicle license plate confiscated and a temporary paper plate issued.
The vehicle was running but in park when the responding officer knocked on the car window and tried to awaken the man, who was breathing but not responding. The officer was able to open the car door, and shake the man awake. He appeared confused, and thought he was in another city.
The man smelled strongly of intoxicants, despite claiming to have only had “a couple of beers.” His speech was slurred, his eyes were bloodshot, and he had a glassy stare. He failed multiple field sobriety tests.
A preliminary breath test was administered, and the man had a blood-alcohol content of 0.15, nearly twice the 0.08 limit for legally drunk in Michigan.
His vehicle was towed, and a query on the Law Enforcement Information Database revealed that his driver’s license had been revoked. He was arrested for Operating While Impaired and taken into custody.
Dearborn
Employees ask police for assistance with intoxicated woman
Police responded to Fire Pizza, 8004 Greenfield Road, for help with an allegedly intoxicated woman inside the business about 1:30 a.m. Dec. 16.
The employees informed officers that the woman was inside the building, but left and was walking on Schaefer Road. According to the report, police located the woman who allegedly smelled of intoxicants. She also was unbalanced while standing. The woman said she had been in downtown Detroit when she missed her bus to get home and decided to walk instead.
Police transported the woman to Beaumont Hospital, Dearborn, for treatment due to her intoxication.
Dearborn Heights
Woman steals purse from shopping cart
Police are searching for a woman who took a purse from a shopping cart at Greenland Fruit Market, 25853 Ford Road on Jan. 16.
According to the department’s investigative bulletin, the victim was shopping at the grocery store and left the purse in the cart. The victim returned a few minutes later to discover the purse was missing.
Video surveillance showed an unknown woman, 20 to 30 years old, take the purse and flee the parking lot in a white 1990s Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme.
Anyone with information on the incident can call Dearborn Heights Police Investigator Sgt. Timothy Ciochon at 313-277-7708.
Resident reports license plate missing
Police were called to a house in the 4200 block of Clippert after a license plate was stolen off a vehicle overnight Dec. 30 to 31.
The resident said she drove her Pontiac Grand Am and parked it on Dec. 30. When she went back outside at 10 a.m. the next day, she noticed the license plate missing.
According to the report, the woman said she believed the license plate was attached to the vehicle at the time of its disappearance. There is no suspect information.
Lincoln Park
Identity thief files, receives unemployment compensation
A 54-year-old woman who received an income tax 1099 form from the unemployment office, indicating a $1,800 payout in 2018, filed a police report Jan. 23, and said that while she lost her job in November 2018, and initially applied for unemployment benefits in December 2018, she never followed through, and someone else was fraudulently receiving money in her stead.
The woman said the identity thief was using a last name from her first marriage, which she stopped using in 2012 when she remarried. She said she did not know who might have stolen her identity.
Neighbors try to nab petty thieves
A pair of late-night car burglars fled in the early morning hours of Jan. 24 after a potential victim in the 1600 block of Progress Avenue tried to thwart their efforts.
A 32-year-old man said he heard his dogs barking, so he opened his front door, and saw a man ransacking his white 2014 Chevy Malibu from the front passenger side door. He said the man was light skinned black or Hispanic, about 5 feet 9 inches tall with a thin build, short, dark curly hair and wearing a gray-striped LSW sweatshirt and dark pants.
The man said he confronted the suspect, grabbing his jacket to prevent him from leaving. He said the interaction became physical, and he managed to get the suspect in a head lock, and forced him to empty his pockets. The man surrendered an iPhone and headphones, neither of which were the resident’s, but which he suspected were stolen. The suspect then ran off. The man checked his vehicle, and found nothing missing.
Another neighbor, a 55-year old man, said his gate was left open, which meant someone had entered his yard. The man said he had video of two people trying door handles while walking down the street, a copy of which he was asked to provide to the detective bureau.
Officers searched the area, but were unable to located either suspect.
Melvindale
Suboxone stolen
A 29-year-old man who had left a treatment facility two weeks earlier reported the morning of Jan. 24 that 14 of his Suboxone prescription pills, which are used to treat opioid addiction, were missing from his cousin’s apartment, where he was staying.
The victim said several visitors were at the apartment the night before, but he didn’t want to name any of them, because he had nowhere else to stay and feared retaliation.
Identity thief applies for credit card in man’s name
A 63-year-old man reported to police officials the evening of Jan. 25 that he recently received a letter from Paypal about a new credit card for which an identity thief applied in his name. The person perpetrating the fraud applied for the card Jan. 21, using an email account through gmail. The man said he had not applied for any new credit cards, and does not know how his personal information might have been compromised. He also did not know whether the credit card had been used yet. Paypal personnel advised him to file a police report. He was told by police officials to call Paypal again and make sure the credit card is canceled.
Riverview
Drunken man cited for misuse of 911 system
A drunken man was cited Dec. 14 for misuse of the 911 system after he called the system four times in 45 minutes while intoxicated. He was warned not to abuse the system. After the first three calls, officers were dispatched to his residence on Valade, but the man would not talk to the responding officers.
A nearby city then reported that the man had reached their 911 system. The 911 system abuse was then documented and reported to the Michigan State Police and the Wayne County Sheriff’s Department. He was also issued a local citation for improper use of a telecommunication device.
Excessive barking leads to citation for unlicensed dogs
Police officers responded to a complaint of excessive dog barking at 2 a.m. Jan. 8 in the 14000 block of Pennsylvania Road, and discovered that none of the three dogs were licensed. The owner has been warned about the dogs’ barking, and will be cited by certified mail for the licensing violation.
Southgate
Apple iPad pilfered
A 36-year-old man living in an apartment building in the 11000 block of Allen Road reported the morning of Jan. 16 that a new Apple iPad, valued at $1,300, which was delivered to his building Jan. 4 by FedEx, was stolen from outside his apartment door. FedEx reported that they left the package without receiving a confirmation signature. The man said he did not know who might have stolen his package.
Snowblower stolen
A red Toro snowblower, valued at $636, was reported stolen the morning of Jan. 19 from the garage of a residence in the 12000 block of Wesley. Nothing else was missing from the garage, and there were no signs of forced entry. The theft was reported by the son of an 83-year-old man who was incapacitated at the time. On Jan. 22 the snowblower was reported recovered. No further details were released.
Taylor
Unlucky locker 13
A man reported that his wallet, car keys, hat and jacket stolen from locker 13 the evening of Jan. 25 from Planet Fitness, 11420 Telegraph Road. Missing along with the wallet was $120 cash and several credit and debit cards, which the man deactivated. Nothing suspicious was observed on the surveillance video footage outside of the locker room, which is not electronically monitored. There were no witnesses nor suspects.
Coffee carried off
The manager of Tim Hortons Café and Bake Shop, 8460 Telegraph, reported the morning of Jan. 25 that a man entered the store and demanded a refund for items he said he bought earlier in the day, for which he did not produce a receipt. When refused a refund, the man grabbed two boxes of Tim Hortons Vanilla K-Cups, valued at $13 each, from the counter and left without paying for them.
The manager described the man as black, with short dark hair, 6 feet tall, about 160 pounds, with a thin build, wearing a yellow hoodie and blue jeans. He had a 10-year-old girl with him, with her hair in braids, and wearing a pink jacket. The manager said they drove off in an older model black Ford Fusion, and supplied the license plate number to police. Police canvassed the area for the vehicle to no avail.
Trenton
Stolen wallet dumped in driveway
A man living on Chelsea Street reported that he found a pink wallet, with some of its contents scattered around, on his driveway. The responding police officer checked the name on a banking card and located the apparent owner, who said she left the wallet overnight in her vehicle, which was parked in her driveway. She said she was unsure whether she locked her car overnight. She said $30 to $40 was missing, along with her driver’s license. She was advised to contact her bank and credit card companies as well.
Wyandotte
Gum gone
A woman living in the 900 block of 1st Street reported the morning of Jan. 15 that a package containing $8 worth of gum was stolen from her porch about 12:40 p.m. Jan. 13 by a young white male wearing a dark American Eagle hooded sweat shirt, dark colored American Eagle sweat pants with the number 17 on them, and tennis shoes. She provided police officers with surveillance images.
Daughter steals her mother’s debit card
A woman called her mother the night of Jan. 12 and admitted to stealing her mother’s credit union debit card Jan. 8, and withdrawing $40 from the account. She said a person to whom she had sold an empty Bridge card made threats against her life unless she immediately refunded the amount of the original transaction. The mother filed a fraud report with police officials, and canceled the debit card.
(Compiled by Zeinab Najm and Sue Suchyta.)