Allen Park
Juvenile driver runs red light, found with THC
Juvenile boys from Huron Township and New Boston were in the unenviable position of calling their parents from the Allen Park police station shortly after midnight June 18, when a traffic stop resulted in police officers finding them in violation of the Controlled Substance Act.
The driver of a 2008 silver Dodge Avenger ran a red light on northbound Allen Road at Southfield Road, triggering a traffic stop. When asked by police officers if he had anything illegal in the vehicle, he surrendered a THC wax vape pen. THC is the psychoactive compound in marijuana which provides its high.
The driver was then placed in the back of the patrol car, and the passenger was seated on the nearby curb while police searched the vehicle, and found THC edibles and a pill bottle containing marijuana in a backpack located in the front passenger seat.
Both juveniles were taken to the police station for booking. The driver also was cited for a violation of the graduated driver’s license, and the vehicle was impounded and towed.
Teens pay high price for printer ink
Two 17-year-old Detroit teens paid a high price for shoplifting printer ink cartridges the evening of June 17 when they tried to leave Target, 3100 Fairlane Drive, with five Hewlett Packard printer ink cartridges, valued at $106, by concealing them in their pants.
Loss prevention personnel said the two boys entered the store and went directly to the ink cartridge aisle, where they opened the boxes and concealed the cartridges in their pants, then attempted to exit the store without paying for the items.
The two were taken into police custody, booked, fingerprinted and cited for retail fraud. They were released after each posted the $200 bond.
Dearborn
Police arrest home invasion suspect
City Councilman Robert Abraham woke up to a stranger in his bedroom at his house on Crescent Drive in the early morning of June 4, WXYZ Channel 7 reported.
The stranger allegedly entered the house through an open garage door, waking up Abraham abruptly, according to Channel 7.
Abraham said he saw the stranger standing over him, yelled at him to get out and lunged at him. When Abraham called 911 the stranger ran off.
Samuel Beasley, 29, was arrested by Dearborn police in another city a day later with jewelry in his possession. Beasley is currently facing a one count of first degree home invasion.
Neighbors and Abraham provided police with a description that helped lead to the arrest of Beasley. Dearborn Heights police also assisted in the case.
Abraham said his family wasn’t at the house when the home invasion took place.
Man cited for reckless driving
While on patrol in the area of Cherry Hill and Meridan June 6, police heard a loud vehicle engine revving as it turned west onto Cherry Hill from North Vernon.
It was determined that the noise was coming from a 2018 purple Dodge Challenger. As the vehicle turned north onto North Denwood from Cherry Hill, police followed at a distance to further monitor the driver’s behavior.
According to the report, after the Challenger stopped for the stop sign at North Denwood and Sheridan, it accelerated rapidly. Police visually estimated that the Challenger’s speed exceeded the 25 mph speed limit with an estimated speed between 50 to 60 mph along the east side of Levagood Park and the entrance to Dunworth Pool.
A traffic stop was conducted at North Deenwood and Wilson. The driver apologized for his driving and said the Challenger belonged to his friend. He also told police that he had only two classes that day and was taking the vehicle to get gas.
A passenger and the driver were released to family members and the Challenger was towed. The driver was cited for reckless driving.
Dearborn Heights
Window broken by piece of cement
A woman informed police that her family room window was broken May 27 after a piece of cement was thrown at it.
The resident said she fell asleep on the couch about 2 a.m. watching TV with her daughter at her house in the 4600 block of Ziegler.
About an hour later the woman woke up to a loud noise and saw the piece of cement near the couch. The woman did not notice anyone around her house and the daughter had a small scratch on her face from the broken glass.
According to the report, the woman said she was on a one-night vacation with her husband and just returned before to cement being thrown. When asked who could have thrown the cement, the woman told police she was unsure because she had a good relationship with neighbors.
She also said she had an argument with her cousin a day prior, but didn’t think the cousin would drive from Romulus to throw the piece of cement. Police were informed that the wman’s son called the cousin, who reportedly was in bed sleeping.
Police observed the piece of cement on the couch arm and the family room window broken, but no other damage was reported.
A search of the area by police for suspects was unsuccessful.
Items reported missing from vehicle
Police were called to a house in the 5300 block of Westpoint June 4 after a man noticed items stolen and his two vehicles ransacked.
The man said that between 2 and 7 a.m. someone entered the unlocked vehicles and stole a pair of headphones and a Tim Hortons gift card
On June 5, police followed up with he victim to see if he had further details on the robbery or suspect, but the case was closed because of no information.
Lincoln Park
Underwear, electronics on shoplifting list
An unknown man escaped with headphones and underwear valued at $139 the evening of June 12 from Meijer, 3710 Dix Highway.
Loss prevention personnel said the man was white, 6 feet 3 inches tall, about 190 pounds, and was wearing blue jeans and a black hoodie.
He took three pair of JVC headphones, concealing them under his clothing, then went to the menswear department, where he selected a 12-pack of socks and two packages of T-shirts, hiding them under his hoodie.
The man then exited the store through the garden center, and entered a silver Mazda 3 SUV with an Ohio license plate, driven by a white adult male, about 5 feet 11 inches tall weighing about 160 pounds. Loss prevention personnel provided police officers with surveillance footage and photos of the suspects.
Identity thief runs up Comcast, DTE bills
A 55-year-old Allen Park man reported June 17 that an unknown person with two separate Detroit addresses activated Comcast and DTE accounts in his name, running up a $885 Comcast bill. The Comcast account was for an address on Kenmore, and the DTE account for an address on Tappan. Both DTE and Comcast personnel told the victim to file a police report to initiate an investigation and to clear his identity with respect to the accounts.
Melvindale
Catalytic converters cut from four dealership vehicles
Bell Auto Sales, 17564 Dix, reported the afternoon of June 1 that between May 29 and June 1, four catalytic converters, valued at $1,200, were cut from dealership vehicles. Surveillance video was not operational during the time period of the larcenies. The effected vehicles involved a 2002 Buick LeSabre, two 2005 Kia Sedona station wagons and a 2002 Chevy Impala.
SUV driver with suspended license strikes bicyclist
A 75-year-old Melvindale man with a suspended driver’s license — which he claimed was due to unpaid parking tickets — struck and injured a 30-year-old Allen Park woman on a bicycle the afternoon of May 31 at Gale Boulevard and Outer Drive.
Witnesses said the man did not stop at the stop sign, and was looking at vehicle traffic and was not paying attention to the two bicyclists approaching him.
The woman was rushed to Beaumont Hospital, Dearborn, where she provided police officers with a statement after she was stabilized.
The driver was subject to a preliminary breath test, which was negative for alcohol. A search warrant was later successfully served for a blood draw.
The woman and her companion had just purchased their bicycles, and said they were on their way to an AA meeting. Her bicycle was taken by police officers for evidence and safekeeping.
The man driving with a suspended license said his wife had entered rehab the day before, and he wanted to check on her welfare. His vehicle was impounded and towed.
Riverview
Garage, fence damaged by alley speeder
A vehicle speeding down an alley parallel to the 17000 block of Valade the evening of June 12 may have lost control, causing damage to a garage and fence bordering the alley. The residents said they were shopping from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and discovered an estimated $4,000 in damages to the wooden privacy fence, garage support beams and aluminum garage door and track when they returned.
Investigating officers saw tire tracks in the gravel alley consistent with a high-speed vehicle losing control. There was no other evidence left at the scene, and no suspects.
Golf club thief triggers foot chase
A Southgate man was arrested June 10 following a police foot chase, after a Greentrees Apartment resident reported seeing the man trying to find an unlocked door, then later walking through the complex with two golf bags.
When the witness pointed out the suspect to police officers, the man — a white male wearing a black hoodie and shorts — dropped the golf bags and fled on foot. An officer chased him to the basement of a nearby apartment building, where the man surrendered and was taken into custody and charged with larceny. The golf bags were logged into evidence and stored in the Police Department property room.
Southgate
Man checking credit score finds unauthorized Verizon account
A man reported on June 17 that a fraudulent Verizon account was opened in his name, which he said he discovered while checking his credit report. The account had a $600 outstanding balance. He said he was not a Verizon customer, and he had not authorized the establishment of an account for anyone else. He was issued a police report number needed to initiate an investigation with Verizon.
Catalytic converter stolen from Chevy
A catalytic converter was reported stolen the morning of June 3 from a 2002 silver Chevy Malibu parked on the street in front of a house in the 12000 block of Cunningham Street. The owner said he parked the car at 9 p.m. June 2, and when he started it about 7 a.m. the next morning, the exhaust noise revealed the theft. There were no suspects.
Taylor
Fraudulent online account posed as popular ticket broker
A woman who tried to reach Ticketmaster to transfer tickets from her broken cell phone to a friend’s cell phone reported to police officers the afternoon of June 14 that she was defrauded by a con artist instead.
The victim said she tried to reach Ticketmaster by doing an online search for the phone number, and instead connected with a fraudulent outfit which directed her to buy gift cards, and then had her read the numbers to them in order to facilitate the ticket transfer. She purchased gift cards for $360 and $200, respectively. After the agent received the codes, they hung up on her.
When she finally reached the real Ticketmaster, they told her the tickets were secure, and were available for pick up. The woman’s bank will dispute the two gift card transactions.
Grant facilitator demands fee via gift cards
A woman who believed a Facebook contact who promised her a $200,000 government grant was told to buy gift cards valued at $2,000, then was directed to give the code numbers to the grant facilitator. When the facilitator asked for more funding, she became suspicious, and reported the transactions on June 18 to local police officers. She said she has not yet received her promised $200,000 government grant.
Trenton
Navigation system nabbed from Navigator
A woman reported the afternoon of June 17 that her 2007 Lincoln Navigator in-car dashboard touch screen navigation system, valued at $200, was stolen overnight from her vehicle while it was parked near her apartment building on Van Horn Road. There was no damage to her vehicle, and she thinks she might have unintentionally left it unlocked. There were no suspects.
DTE account fraudulently opened in woman’s name
A woman reported June 12 that a Detroit resident living on Rosemont Avenue opened a DTE account in her name, which she discovered when she opened an online DTE account for her new address in Trenton. The woman, who said she has never lived in Detroit, learned that the identity thief used her driver’s license number on Feb. 8 to open the account. The victim also learned that there is a $1,772 amount due, of which $1,064 is past due. She was given a police report number to initiate an investigation with DTE.
Wyandotte
Man steals Lions Club donation box to buy early morning vodka
A 24-year-old Wyandotte man was arrested the morning of June 12 after he stole a Lion’s Club donation box from Big Boy Restaurant, 3366 Biddle, then used the money to buy a bottle of Smirnoff vodka. A police officer found the man in an alley south of Eureka near 5th Street who matched the description, and held him on an open intoxicant charge to allow for identification for the canister theft.
After he was positively identified by a restaurant employee, he was charged with larceny, then taken to the police station for booking and processing. An air soft gun found in his backpack was confiscated for safekeeping due to his apparent mental illness.
Vehicle theft thwarted
A 52-year-old Wyandotte man was arrested the morning of June 9 for attempted motor vehicle theft after he found a fob on the ground, next to the car, without a key, and was trying to jam a pen into the ignition slot in an unsuccessful attempt to start the vehicle.
The would-be car thief was caught by the vehicle owner’s husband, and detained until police arrived. The entire event was captured on a doorbell cam video. The man also took a phone charger cord and an air freshener from the vehicle.
When one of the police officers asked another officer if the vehicle could be put into drive with just the remote fob, the suspect incriminated himself further by interjecting, “No. I already tried.”
(Compiled by Zeinab Najm and Sue Suchyta.)