Allen Park
Police impersonator follows women; questions them
Two young women who left the Lincoln Park Meijer store at 11:45 p.m. Oct. 5, each in her own car, who were headed to the 14700 block of Moran in Allen Park to meet up with a third friend, said an unknown man in a sport utility vehicle started following them.
They described the man as white, 25 to 30 years old, with facial hair, driving an older model bluish-gray SUV with rear end damage secured with a red bungee cord.
When the two women accidentally drove past their intended destination and subsequently pulled off on a side street to reassess their plans, the man reportedly pulled up alongside the first of the two cars and asked the driver why the other car was following her. The man claimed to be an undercover police officer, but did not produce a police badge when asked to do so.
The woman questioned his veracity, and the first driver said her mother worked in law enforcement in another city, and thought he was lying. When she picked up her phone to call in a complaint, the man quickly left the scene.
The women said the man was not physically aggressive, but they wished to report his attempt to impersonate a police officer. The women said they wished to press charges if any surveillance video from a house near the encounter is discovered which could lead to an arrest.
Late night gas station burglary nets cash, cigarettes
An alarm at Valero, 19333 Van Born Road, at 2:17 a.m. Oct. 7 brought police officers to the building, where they found a shattered glass window and an empty cash register. The officers cleared the building, found no one inside, and discovered that the back office appeared to have been ransacked. It also seemed likely that cigarette packages were taken from a newly opened carton.
A keyholder for the station appeared, and said the business had been closed since 10 p.m. the previous evening. He said the register was locked when he left, and he did not know how much money was in it at closing. The scene was then turned over to a police detective for further investigation.
Dearborn
Man arrested for reckless driving
While on patrol Oct. 9, police observed a camouflage colored Ford Mustang traveling west on Ford Road east of Greenfield in the left lane accelerate over the 50 mph posted in the area.
The Mustang reached approximately 80 mph while officers watched the vehicle forcibly switch lanes quickly, without signaling, to the right in order to avoid a slower vehicle in the left lane.
Police began to accelerate in order to keep up pace with the Mustang which quickly veered back into the left lane while continuing to accelerate. According to the report, the police vehicle reached approximately 100 mph and the Mustang was still pulling away.
A traffic stop was conducted at the red light of westbound Ford Road at Mercury Drive after officers were able to catch up with the Mustang. When the driver was asked how fast he got his Mustang up to the driver stated, “120 miles per hour.” Police arrested the man for reckless driving and placed him under a $500 bond.
The driver posted bond at 10 p.m. that night.
Police advise man on trespassing at Burlington Coat Factory
An employee of Burlington Coat Factory, 16301 Ford Road, called police to the store on Oct. 10 on a report of customer trouble. The manager said the customer caused a severe disturbance over a product return. She said she already had given a refund to the customer and wanted him advised on trespassing.
The customer told police he wanted to return an item and that the manger yelled at him. According to the report, the customer said that he felt embarrassed and believed that she could not deny customer service. Police advised the man that he was not welcome back at the store and also advised him on trespassing.
The customer left the store without issue.
Dearborn Heights
Break-in attempt reported
Police responded to a house in the 7400 block of Plainfield Oct. 14 on an attempted break-in. The resident said he saw two men attempt to gain access into his house through the kitchen window.
When the two men noticed the man was inside the house, they took off running north. The man said he saw that the two men were able to push the window screen open a few inches.
On his initial call, the man said he accidentally reported there was also a black female part of the home invasion but was mistaken.
Aside from one being white and the other black, there was no further description on the two men, who the resident said he hadn’t seen in the area before. A search of the area for the men by police was unsuccessful.
Credit card bills, phone charger stolen from vehicle
A victim of a vehicle break-in went to the Dearborn Heights Justice Center, 25637 Michigan Ave. to file a report regarding her missing items on Oct. 10. At 7 a.m. that same morning, the woman went outside to her 2019 Ford Edge when she noticed it was rummaged through and items were missing.
The Edge was parked about 7 p.m. Oct. 9 in her driveway next to her house in the 25700 block of McDonald and left it unlocked.
Items missing were a phone charger, credit card bills containing all her credit card numbers, a Bluetooth radio and the vehicle’s manual.
There was no suspect information.
Lincoln Park
Women walks out with clothing from discount store
A woman who said she would come back to pay for an armful of clothing she walked out of a store with the afternoon of Sept. 9, but who failed to return with either the merchandise or payment, prompted store personnel from Dollar General, 1119 Fort St., to report the incident to police officers.
The thief was described as a black woman, 28 to 30 years old, wearing a white T-shirt and blue jeans, who left driving a red Ford sedan north on Fort Street. A store employee estimated that the woman took about $50 worth of clothing and shoes. The employees agreed to supply police detectives with surveillance video of the suspect.
Generator, compressor stolen from tool trailer parked in residential area
A Generac generator valued at $1,400, and a Craftsman air compressor valued at $500 were reported stolen overnight Sept. 26 from a personal tool trailer which was parked in front of a house in the 1500 block of Euclid Avenue.
The woman who reported the theft said the rear door of the trailer was forced off its hinges, and the inside of the trailer was ransacked. She said she would know if any additional tools were taken when her husband returns from an out-of-town trip and inventories the trailer contents. She said there were no surveillance cameras in the area which might have captured footage of the theft.
Melvindale
Discarded purse found after thief takes cash, debit card
A 33-year-old Woodhaven woman who left her purse in her unlocked car in the 2700 block of Bloomfield Avenue the night of Oct. 13 discovered her credit union debit card and $300 cash were missing after a nearby resident found and returned her purse, which had been discarded in a nearby driveway.
There were no nearby surveillance cameras. The woman was advised to check her credit union account and report any suspicious activity.
Retaliatory brick thrown through apartment window
A brick thrown through a ground floor apartment window the night of Oct. 12 in the 17000 block of Raupp Avenue may have been payback directed at a person who supplied information about suspected criminal activity to local police officers.
The vandalism was reported by the mother of the possible target, who was not home at the time. His mother said someone had attempted to contact her son via his cell phone prior to the incident, but the phone was password protected, and she could not retrieve any name, number or message.
Police officers photographed the scene, and asked the woman to supply any relevant information from the cell phone after her son accesses it.
Riverview
Police stay on scene until apartment resident has fire damaged car towed out of lot
Police officers asked the owner of a tan 2007 Honda Odyssey damaged by a possible electrical fire Aug. 7 in the Greentree Apartments on Fort Street to have it removed from the parking lot on Aug. 8, claiming that the car, with its shattered glass, melted bumper and engine compartment fire debris was a hazard to her neighbors. Police officers stayed on the scene until a tow truck arrived and removed the woman’s fire-damaged vehicle.
No yolk – Lincoln egged on
A black 2019 Lincoln MZK was pelted with eggs in the predawn hours of July 25 in the 13000 block of Longsdorf. The man who reported the damage was carefully removing egg residue from the car’s painted surface when police officers arrived. He said his daughter had parked the car across the street from their residence at 11:15 p.m. the night before.
The man said his neighbors have surveillance cameras, and he would ask them later in the day if their cameras captured any footage of the vandals. He said he did not hear any unusual noises prior to the incident, and he was unaware of anyone who would want to damage his vehicle.
Southgate
Identity thief opens fraudulent DTE account in Ecorse
A woman living in the 12000 block of Irene Street reported the morning of Oct. 4 that an identity thief had used her name to open a DTE account for a residence in the city of Ecorse. She said she had discovered the fraud the day before when she had called to pay her DTE bill. She was advised to pursue a fraud report with DTE.
Identity thief denied AT&T account, Walmart credit card
A man living in the 12000 block of Kent Court reported the morning of Oct. 10 that an unknown person had tried to open a Walmart credit card in his name on Sept. 27, and on Sept. 30, an AT&T account. Both attempts were denied due to the suspect’s lack of definitive identification.
Taylor
License plate larceny
A man reported the afternoon of Sept. 25 that the license plate from his 2014 Chevy Silverado was likely stolen from the parking lot of Walmart, 7555 Telegraph, the night before. He said when he exited the store, he saw a Hispanic man and woman in close proximity to his truck, who left quickly when he spotted them. At the time, he checked to see if anything was missing from his truck bed, but did not check his license plate until the next day, when a coworker told him it was missing. The license plate was entered into the Law Enforcement Information Network as stolen.
Malibu missing
A silver 2005 Chevy Malibu was stolen the afternoon of Oct. 7 from the parking lot of Taylor Town Trade Center, 22525 Ecorse Road. The woman said she had met a friend there to shop, but when they realized it was closed on Mondays, they walked over to the nearby Family Dollar, 22635 Ecorse Road. When they returned from shopping, her car was gone.
The woman still has the keys to the vehicle, and she said her shopping buddy is in no way complicit. The vehicle was entered into the Law Enforcement Information Network as stolen.
Trenton
Multiple vehicles at Trenton Engine Plant burglarized
Police officers were dispatched to the Chrysler Trenton Engine plant, 2300 Van Horn Road, about 4 a.m. Oct. 6 following reports of multiple vehicle break-ins. One man said the rear passenger side window of his 2016 GMC Yukon was smashed, and a pair of $1,000 Cartier sunglasses and a pair of $400 Prada sunglasses were stolen.
Of the six other vehicles broken into, only two other individuals wished to file police reports. All of the impacted vehicles were in the southeast area of the parking lot. No Chrysler security personnel made contact with police officers during the onsite investigation, and it was unclear whether any were on duty at the time.
Shop window shattered
A passerby reported at 1 a.m. Oct. 4 that the front window of Violeta’s Tailoring, 1910 West Road, was shattered. Police officers arrived on scene, checked the business, and did not find anyone within. The investigating officers did not find any object which might have been thrown at the window.
A representative for the business who arrived at the scene said the business had no known enemies. The police officers took photos of the damage and provided the respondent with a case file number.
Wyandotte
Drunken man on motorcycle arrested after endangering self, passenger
A 41-year-old Lincoln Park man was arrested for his third drunken driving offense at 2:34 a.m. Oct. 3 near Goddard and 13th Street after another motorist reported that the driver and a female passenger fell off the motorcycle, then got back on and continued to drive.
When police officers on patrol spotted the motorcyclist and passenger, they saw the driver swerving and narrowly avoiding a second fall.
Police officers activated their overhead lights to initiate a traffic stop, which the driver ignored for four blocks before pulling over.
The motorcyclist said his earlier fall was due to a slippery puddle. However, he smelled of intoxicants, and admitted to police officers that he had had three beers. The man’s eyes were bloodshot and glossy, and when he was asked to dismount from the motorcycle, he stumbled.
The man complained of leg pain when asked to perform field sobriety tests, which he failed.
A preliminary breath test was administered, and the man had a blood-alcohol content of 0.19, more than twice the limit for legally drunk in Michigan.
The man was then arrested for operating while impaired, and was handcuffed and placed in the rear of a police vehicle. A record check revealed that the man’s license was suspended, which was added to the man’s charges. He did not have a motorcycle endorsement and the motorcycle was not insured.
The passenger was given a ride home, the motorcycle was impounded and removed, and the man was taken to the police station for booking, where Emergency Medical Technicians checked out his leg and cleared him medically.
The man refused to cooperate with booking procedures, using profanity and refusing to take another breath test.
Police officers then applied for a search warrant for a blood sample, which a judge signed. The man was then taken to Henry Ford Wyandotte Hospital for a blood draw. While he was there, his leg was X-rayed, and his bones were found to be intact. He was cleared medically by hospital personnel.
The man was then returned to the police station, where he refused to give a DNA sample. He was then housed in a jail cell pending sobriety and bail. He was given a copy of his vehicle OWI forfeiture form, which he refused to sign, so a copy was placed with his personal property.
Driver with suspended license forfeits vehicle for possession of cocaine
A 25-year-old Inkster woman who had a defective license plate lamp, and who changed lanes without signaling, was arrested at midnight Oct. 3 for violation of road laws, driving while her license was suspended and for violation of the Controlled Substance Act after cocaine was found in her purse and the vehicle.
The vehicle, a red 2004 Jeep Cherokee, was unregistered, uninsured and had an improper plate. The woman, who quickly exited the vehicle, was extremely nervous and shaking during questioning.
The vehicle license plate was destroyed, and a search of the vehicle revealed cocaine in her purse and on the rear driver’s side floorboard.
Her vehicle was forfeited and towed. She was taken to the Wyandotte Police Department, where she was booked, photographed, fingerprinted and held. The woman had $303 in cash in her purse, which was also seized under forfeiture law.
(Compiled by Zeinab Najm and Sue Suchyta.)