Allen Park
Shoplifter attempts to flee after ditching stolen merchandise
A 39-year-old Dearborn Heights woman was arrested and held in lieu of bond the morning of June 10 after she attempted to shoplift about $50 worth of merchandise from T.J. Maxx, 3320 Fairlane Drive.
Loss prevention personnel said the woman entered the store with what appeared to be an empty purse, which prompted them to watch her with surveillance cameras. The woman reportedly selected five items from the beauty department, then an apron from housewares, which she used to cover her purse after she hid the cosmetics inside it. She continued to select store merchandise, and placed two candles, another apron and a gift bag atop her purse, which was in a shopping cart. The woman then left the store without paying for any of the items, ignoring loss prevention personnel’s orders to stop.
The woman initially approached a vehicle in the parking lot, then fled on foot when store personnel followed her. They observed her behind the nearby stores, then later returning to her vehicle, a black Dodge Caravan, for which store personnel were able to capture a license plate number, which they reported to nearby police officers.
Police officers initiated a traffic stop on Oakwood. The woman said she had left the stolen items in a bag behind the stores near the tree line, and expressed regret for her theft.
She was handcuffed and taken into custody. The stolen merchandise was not recovered. The woman was charged with retail fraud. Her vehicle was impounded and towed.
Detroit man speeding with suspended Alabama driver’s license, expired plate, no insurance
A 37-year-old Detroit man was arrested for speeding the morning of June 8 while driving 79 mph in a 55-mph zone on the northbound Southfield Freeway between Oakwood and Rotunda. He provided police officers with an Alabama identification card, and admitted to having neither a Michigan driver’s license nor car insurance. A records check revealed that his Alabama driver’s license was suspended. His vehicle was impounded and towed. He was cited for speeding, driving while license suspended, no vehicle insurance and an improper license plate.
Dearborn
Driver hits 100 mph on Michigan Avenue, arrested for reckless driving
Police observed a blue 2014 Mustang GT with white stripes traveling an estimated 100 mph west on Michigan Avenue under the Miller Road bridge on May 16.
The driver continued west across Oakman Boulevard as police pulled out immediately behind the Mustang, but was about a quarter mile away because of the Mustang’s speed. As a result, the driver tapped his breaks after recognizing the patrol vehicle behind him, then sped up, and turned north on Hartwell.
Several people encouraged police to turn northbound on Hartwell in case the Mustang was missed, but there was no site of the vehicle. After heading down the eastbound alley north of Michigan Avenue, police saw the Mustang turn north on Oakman.
According to the report, police proceeded down the alley onto Oakman with lights and sirens activated when the Mustang continued for a brief moment to speed up before driver slowed down.
The traffic stop was conducted on Ford Road at Oakman where the driver identified himself. Police placed the driver in the patrol vehicle and asked two passengers to get out while a search of the Mustang took place. The Mustang was impounded.
Police arrested the driver for reckless driving and transported him to the police station where he was placed under a $500 bond. The driver posted the bond later that night and was advised by police to contact the 19th District Court within three to 14 days.
Police respond to raccoon complaint
A resident called police to a house in the 4700 block of Palmer June 7 for a raccoon stuck in the engine of his van.
Once at the scene, police noticed the raccoon appeared to be frightened and hanging onto the van’s transmission. The officer attempted to use his cat grabber to snare and remove the raccoon. According to the report, when the catcher touched the raccoon it ran away.
Police were unable to capture the raccoon and no further complaints were made.
Dearborn Heights
Employee reports shoes stolen from Famous Footwear
Police responded to Famous Footwear, 26486 Ford Road, May 26 after a woman stole two pairs of shoes were stolen.
The employee that the woman arrived at the store just after 4:30 p.m., and began looking at shoes before grabbing two pairs and leaving without paying for either pair. The woman ignored an employee’s demand to stop, and fled south toward Ford Road.
When asked if the store had, The employee told police the store had no security cameras and that she believed that one pair each of Nike and Adidas shoes were stolen.
The employee described the thief as a black woman, age 25 to 30, weighing 140 pounds with black hair, wearing a white tank top, black pants and tan shoes.
Police searched the area with no results and told the employee to call them if the woman returns to the store.
Lincoln Park
This Bud’s for who?
A man stole four cases of Budweiser beer the afternoon of June 6 from CVS/Pharmacy, 3647 Dix Highway, fleeing the scene in an older model black Ford Contour. The man, a white male in his 30s or 40s, was wearing a white T-shirt, black shorts, a black baseball cap with a white logo, which he wore backwards, and was carrying a black bag.
When the man entered the store, he went directly to the liquor department with a shopping cart. He initially put a box of wine in the cart, then returned it to the shelf, and selected two 24-packs of Bud Light and two 24-packs of Budweiser, with a total $80 retail value. He then exited the store with the cartful of beer without paying for it, loaded the beer into his car and fled north on Dix.
Senior defrauded
An 81-year-old man was swindled by con artists into sending cash via UPS to a Brooklyn address after he was convinced by the caller that his nephew had been in a vehicle crash causing property damage. The man received a call on May 7 from an unknown number, and he was instructed to send cash via UPS to an alleged Brooklyn attorney. The victim said he then tried to speak to the attorney for almost a month, to no avail. The man finally contacted his nephew, who said he had not been in New York City nor in an accident, upon which time he filed a police report.
Melvindale
Tire lug nuts missing, bumper loosened
A 27-year-old woman living in Gale Gardens Apartments had the left rear tire fall off her Chevy Malibu June 11 after the lug nuts were removed by an unknown person. The left rear bumper was also loosened, and was hanging off the car.
The woman identified two possible suspects: the tenants living in the apartment below her, whom she said she had reported to the police for “drinking and smoking weed,” and her ex-boyfriend’s new girlfriend, whom she said has been sending her threatening text messages. There was no permanent damage to her car.
Drunken man arguing with mother claims he was ‘hit by a train’
A drunken 21-year-old man living in the 18900 block of Harman, who was arguing with his mother, was arrested for disorderly intoxication the morning of June 8 after repeatedly screaming and swearing at the responding police officers. The man had a small amount of blood on his lower lip, which he said was “due to being hit by a train.”
A preliminary breath test was administered, and the man had a blood-alcohol content of 0.20, two-and-a-half times the 0.08 limit for legally drunk in Michigan.
The man was cited for disorderly intoxication, and transported to Beaumont Hospital, Dearborn.
Riverview
Robber unsuccessful in attempted bank heist
A woman who attempted to rob Chase Bank, 17800 Fort St., at 9:50 a.m. June 3 fled without receiving any money and remains at large. The woman was described as white, 5 feet 2 inches tall, with a medium build, and wearing sunglasses, a white rain coat and white pants.
The woman handed a note to a teller, demanding cash. Because there was no implication of a weapon during the attempted robbery, the teller did not comply with the woman’s demand.
Michigan State Police conducted a K-9 search of the area, the results of which were reported as inconclusive. Anyone with any information about the attempted robbery is asked to contact the Riverview Police Detective Bureau at 734-281-4214 or 734-281-4216.
Southgate
Unsolicited debit card received in mail
A woman who received an unsolicited debit card in the mail June 10 said when she called the debit card originator, they questioned her identity, and instructed her to send a copy of her driver’s license and her Social Security card to them. The woman refused, and tossed the information away, then later decided to document the situation with police officers. She said at this time there was no evidence of suspicious activity with respect to her banking information or her identification numbers.
Cash stolen from wallet left in unlocked car
A man living in the 15000 block of Churchill found his wallet on his front lawn, with $300 missing, the afternoon of June 4 after he left the wallet earlier in his unlocked car. He said nothing else was taken from the wallet or car. He said he came home from work at 6 a.m. that morning, parked his car and went to sleep. He was given a report number and advised.
Taylor
Unlocked bicycle stolen from outside pharmacy
A woman’s unsecured yellow Huffy Beach Cruiser bicycle, valued at $200, was stolen the afternoon of May 18 from outside Walgreens Pharmacy, 9100 Telegraph Road. The woman said she was inside the store shopping from about 3 p.m. to 3:15 p.m. There were no witnesses to the theft, although one person said they saw a tall white male in yellow pants standing next to the bicycle. The woman said the bicycle is yellow, with a brown basket and cupholder on the handlebars.
Designer sunglasses, cigarettes stolen from unlocked car
Two pairs of Costa sunglasses, valued at $160 and $270, two packs of cigarettes and an unknown amount of change was stolen May 26 from an unlocked red Toyota Corolla parked in the 6300 block of Hampden Street. There were no suspects or witnesses, and the resident said their security camera was not operating during the larceny.
Trenton
Scam artist posing as neighbor on social media defrauds woman
A scam artist posing as a woman’s neighbor on social media scammed her out of $2,300 in Amazon gift cards before the fraud was revealed. The victim said she received a Facebook message from a neighbor stating that the “Bill Gates Empowerment Program” had successfully earned her a significant amount of money. She was told to purchase $1,800 in Amazon gift cards, and was instructed how to provide the card number and access code. She was later advised that an additional $500 in fee money was needed. When the woman saw her neighbor in person, she learned that she had been defrauded, and filed a police report.
Dozens of fraudulent transactions linked to victim’s debit card
A man reported May 29 that PNC Bank discovered more than 172 fraudulent transactions on his Virtual Wallet PNC debit card, which is linked to his checking account, totaling $1,315.89, which occurred from May 20 to 28 in the metropolitan Detroit area. The victim said his debit card was in his possession the entire time, and he does not know who might have accessed his account.
Wyandotte
Packages purloined
Five Amazon packages were stolen June 3 from the residence of a man living on North Drive west of Biddle. The man said tracking indicates that the five deliveries, all video games, were delivered in the early afternoon. He was advised by Amazon to file a police report. There was no surveillance video of the theft.
Catalytic converters cut from cars
Two incidents of catalytic converters cut from cars were reported June 4 on the southwest side of the city.
One theft occurred in the early morning hours in the 2400 block of 21st Street, where the muffler component was precisely cut from a 2003 Honda Odyssey. The victim thinks a neighbor’s security video may have captured footage of the theft.
The other catalytic converter was cut overnight from a Pontiac Sunfire in the 1500 block of Maple. The victim said the vehicle’s alarm was not set off by the theft.
Catalytic converters are attractive to thieves because they contain precious metals like platinum, palladium or rhodium, which are sought after by metal dealers.
(Compiled by Zeinab Najm and Sue Suchyta.)