Allen Park
Man tries to purchase iPhones fraudulently through out-of-state account
A man with an Ohio identification card attempted to purchase two Apple iPhone XS Max units, valued at $1,250 each, the afternoon of June 27 from Verizon Wireless, 3128 Fairlane Drive, attempting to add them to a pre-existing account.
A store employee looked at the man’s identification, which did not appear to be a legitimate government issued ID. After conferring with a supervisor, the man was asked for an account security password. The man then grabbed his ID and left the store without making any purchases. The real account holder was then reached by phone, and he said he was in Ohio, and no one was authorized to use his account.
The person attempting the fraud was described as a black male, 5 feet 10 inches tall, weighing about 200 pounds, and wearing a hat, plaid shirt and tan pants.
The store employees said the transaction was video recorded, but they did not have immediate access to the footage.
Dearborn
Break-in attempt reported at business
The owner of Massage Green SPA, 23624 Michigan Ave., called police to the business after he believed someone attempted to gain entry between 9:30 p.m. July 3 and 9:30 a.m. July 7.
The owner said the paint around the front door lock had pry marks and chipped paint from tools in an attempt to gain entry. Officers observed chipped paint on the door near the lock, but no signs of forced entry.
According to the report, police saw only what was believed to be normal wear and tear on the door. The employee informed police that he doesn’t have an alarm or good camera angle of the front door from his video security system.
Due to recent break-ins at nearby businesses, the owner said he wanted to file the report.
Woman cited for trespassing
Police responded to the 18500 block of Oakwood Boulevard July 6 on a report of a woman lying in the middle of the road blocking traffic.
Once at the scene, police observed the woman leaning on a vehicle that was stopped on eastbound Oakwood. Contact was made with the woman and then with the man who called regarding the woman, who knocked on his door.
The man said he has “no hand bills” and “no soliciting” signs posted on his front door and porch. According to the report, the man said the woman knocked on his front door, he answered and then the woman asked for money and demanded a ride. Police were told that the woman continued to ask for money and ride while refusing to leave the property when asked. The woman left the porch, went onto Oakwood Boulevard and laid down in the middle in the road, blocking traffic.
She was cited for trespassing.
Dearborn Heights
Tires slashed
A resident reported that all four tires on his vehicle were slashed June 23.
The police report said the resident was inside his house in the 8000 block of Arnold Street at the time of the tire slashing. About 3:50 a.m., the resident heard a popping noise, went outside to investigate and saw the four flat tires. Police also noticed small lacerations to the tires.
The resident did not provide any possible suspects
10 gift cards totaling $300 stolen from vehicle
The victim of a vehicle break-in reported $300 in 10 gift cards were stolen overnight from June 25 to 26.
According to the report, the woman parked and locked her vehicle about 7:30 p.m. June 25 at her house in the 20000 block of River Oaks Drive.
When she left her house the next morning, she saw that her vehicle’s glove box was open and the gift cards were missing.
There is no suspect information.
Lincoln Park
Man leaves oil change shop without paying for parts, services
A 57-year-old man left the Valvoline Mobil 1 Oil Change Center, 15001 Southfield Road, the afternoon of June 29 without paying his $273.73 bill for parts and labor.
He drove away in a 2003 blue Mercury Grand Marquis, for which the vehicle identification number was entered on the work order, as well as his verified identification information. The shop had flushed the vehicle’s transmission, and replaced the air filter, PCV valve, wiper blades, fuel filter and drive belt.
A description of the man, as well as video footage, was given to police, and the image matched the photo on record for the car’s registered owner.
An employee said the man mentioned that he was living in River Rouge, and was no longer in Detroit, so the responding police officers did not have an address to which a citation could be sent. However, the other information was turned over to the police detective bureau.
Tools stolen overnight from workman’s truck
A worker reported the morning of July 2 that the tools in the locked truck bed of his 2016 white Dodge Ram pickup were stolen overnight from the parking lot of Taco Bell, 2306 Dix Ave.
Missing were an orange Generac 3500 generator and miscellaneous hand and power tools, with a $3,000 approximate value. The man said the items were stored in the truck at 7 p.m. the previous evening, and secured with a chain and lock, which were cut. There was no video surveillance video.
No Lion
Two 4-foot-tall decorative white lion lawn statues, valued at $300 each, were reported missing the morning of June 29 from the front yard of a residence in the 1800 block of Champaign. The resident said they were stolen between 9 p.m. June 28 and 7:30 p.m. June 29. The items were not insured. There was no surveillance video nor suspects.
Melvindale
Man purchasing used PlayStation defrauded; iPhone stolen
A man attempting to purchase a used PlayStation the afternoon of July 7 from a man in the Gale Gardens Apartments said the seller told him that he wanted to plug it in to see if any games were left in it, but he walked away and never returned, taking the victim’s Apple iPhone 7 with him, which had been placed on the car hood during the transaction.
The man then asked an apartment resident to call police officers for him. He described the seller as a young, black male with a thin build and a flattened nose, wearing a “Full Circle” hat with a brim.
The victim said he had not yet paid for the PlayStation. He said he did have the games the seller handed to him, which likely have the man’s fingerprints on them.
The victim said a Visa credit card, a Mastercard and a debit card were in the iPhone case, and stolen along with it. He was advised to cancel his cards, and given identity theft information.
Shirt order completion alerts woman to credit card fraud
A 50-year-old woman living in the 3300 block of Northpointe Boulevard reported to police officers the morning of July 6 that a customized shirt company called her and told her that her order was ready, which caused her to check her credit card, to which two fraudulent charges had been made: $338.28 on July 4, and $380.73 on July 5, which she did not authorize.
The woman said she canceled her credit and debit card with her credit union, and she is willing to press charges if a perpetrator is caught.
Riverview
Bicycles stolen from apartment complex storage unit
A resident in an apartment complex in the 20000 block of Fort Street reported the theft of two bicycles the morning of June 11 from his apartment building’s storage unit. One bicycle, valued at $467, was a men’s black specialized Crossroads bicycle, while the other, valued at $200, was a green and gray women’s Schwinn Ranger bicycle. The victim said he had last seen the bicycles the afternoon of June 6 in the storage unit. There were no suspects. The Crossroads bicycle was entered into the Law Enforcement Information Network as stolen.
Boy’s BMX bike stolen
A boy’s Kink Launch BMX sport bicycle, valued at $1,250, was stolen the evening of June 6 from behind a gate, near the side of a friend’s house, next to the driveway, in the 18000 block of Koester. The bicycle was stolen between 6:30 and 6:55 p.m.
The bicycle is neon green, with K420 stamped on the frame. The bicycle was entered into the Law Enforcement Information Network as stolen, and a notice with photos were placed on social media. There were no suspects.
Southgate
Identity thief opens DTE, cell phone, credit card in man’s name
A man reported the afternoon of July 1 that his identity information was used fraudulently to open DTE, T-Mobile and credit card accounts. He said he recently learned that the DTE account had a $3,051 balance, the T-Mobile account a $480 balance, and the credit card a $952 balance, for a total of $4,483 in unauthorized charges. He said none of the accounts were authorized. There were no suspects.
Fireworks damage house awning
A resident in the 11000 block of Fordline Street reported the morning of July 5 that an awning, valued at $2,500, was damaged overnight, possibly by fireworks, and had several small pencil tip sized holes in the fabric. There were no suspects.
Trenton
iPhone thrown in public pool, then stolen
A man swimming at the Kennedy Aquatic Center June 23 said a young boy deliberately threw his Apple iPhone 8, valued at $800, into the swimming pool, then dropped his iLive portable speaker, valued at $100, on the pool deck, breaking it.
Another child retrieved the phone from the pool, but when the man set the water damaged phone down on a dry surface, it was stolen shortly afterward by an unknown third party.
Fog lights stolen from pickup
Two fog lights, with harness and wires, valued at $600, were reported missing the afternoon of June 24 from a 2013 green GMC Sierra pickup parked in a covered parking space at an apartment complex. The theft occurred between June 20 and 23, when the vehicle was left in the complex. Nothing else was missing from the pickup. The vehicle owner asked for a report number in case he decides to file a claim with his insurance company.
Wyandotte
Passenger in traffic stop arrested for concealed weapon
A 23-year-old Allen Park man was cited July 28 for driving an unregistered, uninsured vehicle, without a driver’s license, and his passenger, an 18-year-old River Rouge woman, was arrested for a concealed weapon violation, after police officers noticed them acting suspiciously on northbound Fort Street.
The police officers noticed the two in a 1996 gold Chevrolet Caprice shortly after midnight June 28, and noticed a quick movement between the driver and passenger, then saw the driver changing lanes and slowing down in an attempt to get behind the police vehicle.
The police officers pulled over to the shoulder to allow the car to pass them, then began to follow and monitor it. The driver of the Caprice made several quick, abrupt turns without signaling lane changes, then went down an alley, and into a neighborhood, where he pulled into a residential driveway and turned off the vehicle and its lights, at which time the officers conducted a traffic stop.
The driver said he had just purchased the vehicle several hours earlier through an online listing. He provided a vehicle registration, which was taped together, with no vehicle identification number visible. He said he had no car insurance, and said he had never acquired a driver’s license.
The license plate on the vehicle was for a 1990 Oldsmobile 98, registered to a man in Lapeer. The Chevrolet Caprice had not been insured since July 2015, and was registered to a Grand Rapids man. The vehicle was impounded and towed.
The woman, who had a semi-automatic handgun in her waistband, was arrested for carrying a concealed weapon without a permit. She said she bought the gun off the Internet “for her own protection.” The firearm, which was not registered, was a Mini Firestorm .45-caliber semi-automatic handgun. It had a round in the chamber, and three live rounds in the magazine.
The man was cited for operating without a license, and having no vehicle insurance and an improper plate, while the woman was taken into custody on the weapons charge.
She was fingerprinted, a DNA sample was taken, and she was detained in a cell, while the firearm was confiscated and held.
Bicyclist with crack cocaine tries to out-pedal police
A 59-year-old Wyandotte man on a bicycle was no match for a police vehicle when police officers saw him leaving an area of Ecorse near the Wyandotte border where drugs are known to be sold. When he became aware that the police officers were watching him, he threw an object out of his pocket, which was later found to be a plastic bag with crack cocaine.
He was taken into custody, and charged with possession of crack cocaine, and for resisting and obstructing arrest. He was booked, fingerprinted, photographed and held. The bicycle was put in the property room for safekeeping. He was later released on bond, and his bicycle returned to him.
(Compiled by Zeinab Najm and Sue Suchyta.)