Allen Park
Road rage results in reckless driving citation
A 45-year-old Southgate woman was cited for reckless driving following a road rage incident Jan. 6 which ended near Reeck and Wick roads.
A 48-year-old Allen Park man and his female passenger, who were in a black 2011 Dodge Caliber, said they were originally driving south on Allen Road near Wick when the Southgate woman, who was driving a blue 2015 Buick Verano, cut him off in traffic, then moved ahead of them, at a high rate of speed, down Allen Road, changing lanes erratically without signaling and weaving between lanes.
He said when traffic became heavy, he ended up behind the woman, who tried to “brake check” him, then yelled profanities at him after he threw a pop bottle at her vehicle, which struck the front driver’s side quarter panel.
He said the woman then pulled alongside him, swerving at his vehicle as if she intended to strike it. Other vehicles began to pull off the road to get out of their way, and the two vehicles eventually pulled over near Reeck Road and Moore Avenue, where they were parked and arguing when police officers arrived.
Several third-party witness calls to Downriver Dispatch concurred with the information provided by the Allen Park man and his passenger, who was cited for throwing an object at a moving vehicle, while the woman, the aggressor, was cited for reckless driving.
Erie man arrested for attempted liquor theft
A 27-year-old Erie man was arrested for retail fraud the evening of Jan. 6 at Meijer, 3565 Fairlane Drive, when he attempted to leave the store with a $25 Crown Royal whiskey gift set and an $8 pint of Captain Morgan rum, which he had attempted to conceal in his front pants pockets.
The man, who was known by loss prevention personnel for prior thefts, was observed making selections in the liquor department, after which he attempted to leave the store without rendering payment. He was taken to the police station, where he was booked and held.
Dearborn
Electric meter missing from building
Police were dispatched to All Natural Healing, 7247 Schaefer Road, where the victim said her electric meter was stolen between 7:30 p.m. Jan. 7 and 8:15 a.m. Jan. 8.
The victim said she is subleasing from her co-tenant who she also believes may be the person who stole the electric meter due to previous issues. According to the report, the victim said she pays rent to the building owner and that she contacted DTE Energy which confirmed it did not remove the meter.
There are cameras neither on the building nor in the immediate area for police to obtain security video. The victim was issued an incident number.
Parked mini-bike stolen from parking lot
Police responded to Monroe and Park streets Jan. 8 after a Honda mini-bike was reported missing after it was parked at 1 p.m. that day.
The complainant said he rode the mini-bike to his brother’s house and parked it in a parking lot on the northwest corner of Monroe and Park. When he checked on the mini-bike at 2 p.m., he noticed it was missing. The complainant could not provide any suspect information or model and serial number because he had purchased the bike several days before from a friend.
The mini-bike was not locked with a chain and did not require a key for operation.
Police spoke with employees of DaVita-Dearborn At Home, 22030 Park, who said they had seen the mini-bike in the parking lot, but did not hire anyone to move or impound it.
A search of the area was conducted by officers with negative results.
Dearborn Heights
Victim reports fraudulent Internet account
The victim of fraud discovered an Internet service account was opened in his name and filed a report with police Jan. 3. According to the report, the victim said that about noon Dec. 19, he attempted to apply for Internet services with Wide Open West. When the company responded they said he could not open account because he had a past due bill of approximately $340. The victim said he never opened an account with WOW!. He informed police that his Social Security number was needed to open an account.
WOW! advised the victim to file a police report so an investigation can be initiated. On Jan. 4, police contacted the victim who said he had no further information at that time.
Work bag possibly stolen off vehicle
Police were called to a house in the 26800 block of Sheahan Drive Jan. 10 when a work bag went missing.
The resident said that he arrived home Jan. 9, parked his vehicle on his driveway and then put his green bag with beige stripes on top of the vehicle. The victim next carried groceries inside the house but forgot about the workbag. A short time later the victim went outside looking for his bag but was unable to locate it. The next day, the resident discovered that someone placed his driver’s license, that was in the bag, in his mailbox.
Inside the bag were $2,000 to $3,000 in cash in miscellaneous bills, real estate documents with personal information of the resident’s clients, credit cards which the resident was already working to stop or close.
There was no suspect information or security cameras in the area.
Lincoln Park
Masked man steals charity donation box from business
A man wearing a red ski mask stole a countertop donation box containing about $30 the night of Jan. 2 from Calder Dairy, 1020 Southfield Road. A store employee said the thief was a white male in his early 30s, 5 feet 8 inches tall, wearing a beige jacket and dark-colored jeans. He was last seen fleeing on foot north on Ferris Avenue.
Police searched the area, but were unable to locate a suspect fitting the description. The employee said only the owner had access to the surveillance video footage, which he said he would forward to the police detective bureau.
Attempted knifepoint robbery thwarted by bulletproof glass
A would-be thief had second thoughts the night of Jan. 4 when he attempted to rob the Mobil Mart, 4140 Fort St., at knifepoint, but was unable to threaten the clerk into compliance due to the bullet proof partition protecting the gas station employee.
The thwarted thief reportedly entered the store with a Dexter Russell fillet knife with a 4-inch blade in his right hand, then reached his knife hand through the opening in the bullet-proof partition, pointing the knife toward the clerk, demanding money.
However, the clerk stepped out of range and told the suspect to leave, while picking up the phone. The suspect reportedly muttered, “never mind, forget it,” and walked out of the business. He reportedly left the area on foot, tossing the knife across the street, south of the business.
Police officers later retrieved the knife. The clerk could not recall whether the man was wearing gloves. He said the man was white, about 50 years old, 5 feet 10 inches tall, with facial stubble, and wearing a gray winter hat, a gray jacket, blue jeans and white shoes.
The clerk delayed reporting the incident for about a half hour because he said customers kept coming into the business.
He said only the manager had access to the surveillance footage. A K-9 track was unsuccessful because of the time delay.
Melvindale
Lighthouse damaged
A land-locked, decorative lighthouse in the 18800 block of Reed Avenue was damaged the evening of Jan. 15 by three vandals who fled on foot.
The homeowner, a 51-year-old man, said he was at home when he heard a loud crash, after which he discovered the top half of the decorative piece knocked off the structure in the yard.
The man said he had made the lighthouse as a gift to his wife, and had spent more than $1,000 on its construction.
While the man said he saw people running away from his yard, his 20-year-old daughter provided a better description of the three suspects, who included a short, dark-complected person, possibly Arabic; a tall, blond person wearing a bright neon yellow jacket; and a third person, for whom she was unable to provide a description. There were no witnesses to the actual destruction of the yard decoration.
Propane tanks stolen
Nine propane tanks were discovered stolen the morning of Jan. 15 from a storage cage outside Melvindale Fresh Market, 2363 Oakwood Blvd. The padlock, which appeared to have been cut with bolt cutters, was found nearby on the ground. The stolen tanks were valued at $50 each, which represented a $450 loss for the proprietor.
Riverview
Jewelry, MacBook stolen from unlocked vehicles
Jewelry, a silver Apple MacBook and eyewear were stolen Jan. 6 from unlocked vehicles in the 14000 block of Shenandoah Drive.
In one incident, diamond stud earrings, valued at $150, a garnet stone ring, also valued at $150, and $20 in cash were reported stolen. A second unlocked car at the residence was rifled, with nothing taken. There was no damage to the cars, nor signs of forced entry.
Also in the same block, a silver Apple MacBook, valued at $2,400, prescription glasses and sunglasses worth $800, a pair of $200 Oakley sunglasses and $20 cash were reported stolen. The victim said the laptop was in a backpack, in the front passenger seat of her vehicle, and her glasses and cash were in the front center console and glove box. The vehicle was last seen undisturbed at 1 a.m. when a family member of the victim arrived home and passed by the vehicle. There were no suspects.
Southgate
Dodge Charger stolen
A black 2017 Dodge Charger with tinted rear windows was reported stolen without its keys from the 15000 block of Garrison Lane the morning of Jan. 4, with glass from one of the rear windows found on the ground. The victim said he last saw the car at 4 p.m. the day before, parked in the lot directly in front of his apartment. He said he was up-to-date on his car payments, was in possession of both sets of keys and no one else had permission to drive the vehicle. The car was entered into the Law Enforcement Information Network as stolen.
Forgoing valet parking gets car keyed
A man who decided to skip valet parking at Subi’s Place, 12916 Northline, on New Year’s Eve, parking on a side street instead, may have regretted his decision when he discovered his car was keyed on both the driver’s side and passenger side, from the front to the rear. There were no suspects.
Taylor
Wahlburgers window, doorknob damaged
A previously damaged window at Wahlburgers, 21200 Penn Ave., was shattered more extensively the morning of Jan. 12, with a doorknob removed and missing as well. A restaurant manager arrived, and confirmed that that previously shattered window was now more extensively damaged. The police officers determined that no entry was made into the building. There was nothing of evidentiary value at the scene, and there were no surveillance cameras which might have captured footage of the vandals.
Image of possible power tool thief captured on surveillance video
Dewalt miter and reciprocating saws, a Porter cable circular saw and a Tapco aluminum brake were reported stolen the afternoon of Jan. 11 from an attached garage in the 5800 block of Madison Avenue. There was no damage to the garage door or the entry door, which may have been inadvertently left unlocked.
Two neighbors captured video of a white male in his 50s near the burglarized garage the day before. The man appeared to be driving an older model white Ford F-150 pickup with a snow plow.
Trenton
Secret shopper scam
A warning from a local Walmart alerted a Trenton resident the morning of Jan. 8 that a secret shopper letter from a company called “Forrester” was not a legitimate business opportunity, but an attempt to defraud people. The scam attempts to get recipients to purchase gift cards with funds from a check sent by the scammers, which would later bounce, but not until the con artist had accessed and stolen the value on the gift cards the mark was directed to buy, then share the code numbers with “Forrester.” The resident’s bank assured them that they were not out any money, and put a hold on the money from the suspect “Forrester” check.
House hit by bullets of unknown origin
A resident living on Van Horn Road remembers hearing a loud pop or boom-like noise Jan. 5, which he discovered on Jan. 8 may have been caused by bullets shot at his residence. He said he discovered damage to two windows on the northwest side of his house, attached to a bedroom, with a small hole in the top of one of the window screens. A spent bullet slug was discovered on a windowsill. There were no suspects.
Wyandotte
Gift $100 bill found to be fake
A $100 bill with which a 60-year-old Wyandotte man tried to pay his electrical bill Jan. 7 was discovered to be counterfeit. The man told police the bill was left anonymously in an envelope at his doorway over the holidays. The responding police officers, who did not feel the man was aware of the counterfeit, told him a report would be filed, and they took the funny money with them as evidence.
Man disturbs the peace, tries to give police a fake name
A 25-year-old Wyandotte man was fortunate to just be cited for disturbing the peace and for providing police officers with a fake name the evening of Jan.13, following disturbances on a transit bus and at Discount Drinks, 2811 Fort St.
Police originally were notified of a disorderly male who refused to exit a bus in front of the store. By the time police officers arrived on scene, the man had entered the store and was subsequently being restrained by two employees until police officers arrived.
Witnesses said the man entered the store and was shouting, and drank an alcohol product which he had not purchased. He then allegedly knocked other items off a counter, ran around the store, and, when employees restrained him, began to scream profanities.
Store personnel said they did not wish to prosecute the man for the alcoholic beverage he consumed without purchase.
While being transported to the police station, the man began slamming his head against the partition. However, he stopped when requested to do so by the officer.
The man then provided his real name and date of birth to police officers, who discovered he had a clean record, with no warrants. He was subsequently booked, photographed, fingerprinted and held for disorderly conduct and fraudulent schemes and disguises.
(Compiled by Zeinab Najm and Sue Suchyta.)