Allen Park
Man attempts to pay for court citation with counterfeit cash
A man who attempted to pay for a traffic citation the morning of Jan. 21 with two counterfeit $50 bills and three legitimate $20 bills was retained and questioned by police.
The man, who ultimately paid his citation with a debit card, and who willingly retrieved another likely counterfeit bill from his resident, said his sister had received the bills several months earlier when she sold her Apple watch in a private transaction to a stranger. He said he had used one of the $50 bills the weekend before to pay for pizza.
The man provided police officers with a sworn statement, which was entered into evidence. The bills had been handled by several court employees, and could no longer be used to retrieve fingerprints, and other bill had been handled by several people in the man’s household, so prints could not be lifted from it, either.
Dearborn
Unknown man seen getting into vehicle
Police responded to a house in the 6300 block of Calhoun Jan. 2 after an unknown man was seen getting into a black Dodge Ram pickup truck near the caller’s vehicle.
The caller told officers that on two operate occasions that day an unknown man was standing by his Jeep parked in his driveway. According to the report, the man was described as possibly being of Yemen decent due to his dark skin and Arabic language spoken.
Initially, the caller’s mother noticed the man on the driver’s side of the Jeep several hours before the call was made. Then, the caller’s brother noticed the man standing on the passenger side of the Jeep and asked what he wanted. The man said he was waiting for a ride then ran over to a waiting black Dodge Ram, got in and the vehicle drove away north on Calhoun.
A police officer advised the caller that he was working until 7 a.m. that day and would be on the lookout for the vehicle or unknown man. A check of the area yielded negative results.
Dearborn Heights
Resident reports identity theft
A resident filed an identity theft report Jan. 17 after a Verizon Wireless account was opened in his name.
The resident explained that he received a letter in the mail from the phone company thanking him for his Jan. 11 enrollment in paper-free billing. The letter also said Verizon did not have a valid email address for the account, but the resident informed police he hadn’t opened an account or gave anyone permission to open an account.
According to the report, the resident was notified by his wife that his credit report showed a Verizon Wireless account being opened. The resident said his personal wireless account was with Sprint, but his work cell phone from General Motors had Verizon as the service carrier and that information is in the company’s name.
When the resident contacted the Verizon fraud department, he was told four lines and four iPhones were purchased and activated in his name at a store in Taylor. He was advised to file a police report to provide a case number to Verizon.
Camera, laptops stolen during home invasion
Police were dispatched to an apartment in the 5900 block of Evergreen after the victim of a home invasion had multiple electronics and jewelry stolen Jan. 24.
Once at the scene, officers observed that the front door appeared to have been pried open due to the dent on the door hinge. The victim said she left her apartment at 11 a.m. and her husband left about noon Jan. 24, and when she returned about 10:54 p.m. the items were missing.
A black Canon camera, a silver MacBook Pro, dark gray Toshiba laptop and red jewelry box with a matching gold necklace and gold earrings inside were stolen from the bedroom.
The camera was valued at $1,300 and the jewelry at $6,000 but that she was unable to estimate a cost of laptops.
There were no security cameras in the area to provide suspect information.
Lincoln Park
Cash, identity documents stolen overnight from unlocked vehicle
A wallet containing cash, credit cards, a driver’s license, a health insurance card and a Social Security card were reported stolen from an unlocked vehicle the morning of Jan. 26 by the victim, a 33-year-old woman living in the 800 block of Merrill Avenue.
She said the residence had a Ring surveillance camera doorbell, but it did not capture any footage of the vehicle larcenist. While police officers were on the scene, a neighbor approached them to report another vehicle break-in.
Woman conned into buying gift cards to avoid out-of-state arrest warrant
A telephone con artist convinced a 40-year-old woman on Jan. 22 that she was from the Social Security Administration, and that there was a Texas warrant for her arrest for money laundering. The caller convinced the victim to buy a Best Buy gift card, then to provide the gift card numbers to her over the phone, in order to be cleared of the charges.
The victim followed the instructions, and provided the caller with the gift card number. The con artist then said she would call back the next day with additional instructions. The victim then became suspicious, and reported the possible fraud to police officers. She was advised to follow up with her financial institution for possible reimbursement of the money she spent on the gift card.
Melvindale
Woman tries to return stolen merchandise for refund
An optimistic thief tried to return merchandise to a store for a refund without a receipt the night of Jan. 12. The woman had stolen the merchandise moments earlier from the business, employees said.
Police officers responded to Dollar General, 3580 Oakwood Blvd., following a cashier’s complaint that a customer approached her for a refund for items which she had shoplifted from the store, and for which she did not have a receipt. The manager and cashier said the woman had a history of shoplifting at the business.
Police officers viewed surveillance footage, and witnessed both the shoplifting and the refund attempt. The woman was recognized by police officers as a resident of nearby Coogan Terrace. The suspect did not respond to door knocks during a subsequent visit to her apartment by police officers. The Dollar General Manager was updated, and said he wished to press charges.
Riverview
Apartment rent payments stolen from deposit box
The Kings Forest Apartment complex management personnel reported the afternoon of Jan. 14 that rent payments were stolen from the mail slot at the management office between Jan. 3 and 6, at a time when it was filled with envelopes. When the employee noticed that six tenants had not submitted their rent payments, she notified them, only to be told that all had submitted the rent payment prior to its due date.
She said four of the tenants, who paid by check, were able to cancel them with their respective banks. The other two victims had paid their rent with four Western Union money orders, two each. Of the money orders stolen, two had been fraudulently redeemed, and two had not. The complex owner said the tenants would not be evicted for non-payment while the situation was being resolved between Western Union and the investigating police officers.
Southgate
Phone scammer convinces woman to provide credit card number to reverse an alleged fraud
A woman reported the afternoon of Jan. 22 that a person with caller identification from “Amazon” called her and said he needed her credit card information to reverse a fraudulent $1,400 charge. When the woman complied, she instantly received a notification for a $50 charge to her credit card for the purchase of a video game.
She then hung up and contacted her credit card provider to inform them of the scam and to put a freeze on her account. The woman was advised to contact police officers if any additional fraudulent charges occurred.
Drive-through awning damaged
A drive-through awning was damaged at White Castle, 16795 Fort St., Jan. 21 by a truck which was too tall to clear the awning over the service area. The manager, who reported the damage the afternoon of Jan. 23, said he needed to file a police report for insurance purposes, and was not at the business when the damage occurred. He said employees on duty at the time did not have any information about the truck or its occupants. The responding police officers visually verified the damage and issued a police report.
Taylor
Man abandons bicycle, steals Lincoln Town Car from restaurant parking lot
Video surveillance footage of the parking lot at Bierkeller Tavern and Eatery, 20085 Goddard Road, in the early morning hours of Jan. 27 revealed an older man trying car door handles on multiple vehicles before discovering an unlocked silver 1997 Lincoln Town Car at 2:09 a.m., which he then stole, driving east on Goddard Road, leaving his bicycle in the parking lot.
The man reportedly was wearing a dark coat. Restaurant personnel indicated that they might be able to identify the thief based on the surveillance video. The vehicle was entered into the Law Enforcement Information Network as stolen.
iPhone package delivery stolen
A package with two Sprint Apple iPhone 11 cell phones, delivered by FedEx the afternoon of Jan. 27, was stolen from under the doormat near a man’s front door before he could retrieve them following email notification of the delivery. The victim said the merchandise had a $1,000 value.
Trenton
Adult tricycle stolen from outside apartment building
An adult tricycle was reported stolen Jan. 16 from outside of an apartment building on Truax. The victim said he had last seen the tricycle Jan. 3 or 4, and did not remember whether he had secured the tricycle with its lock, which was missing along with the tricycle. The white Schwinn tricycle, valued at $300, has a black basket on it, with a hammer and Frisbee in the basket. He said there was a dent in the left fender. The victim said he did not know the tricycle’s serial number.
Late Christmas gift deliveries stolen from woman’s former address
A woman reported two back-ordered Christmas gift packages stolen Jan. 15 from her former address on Lisa Court. The U.S. Post Office confirmed that the packages were delivered Jan. 4, three days after she moved. The postal carrier on the route said he remembers delivering the packages.
One package contained a $140 set of Black Pod brand ear buds, while the second contained two personalized basketballs, valued at $120, with the message “from mother to son.”
Wyandotte
This Bud’s for you
A 47-year-old Detroit man stole a cold, 99-cent, 24-ounce can of Bud Ice from the beer cooler the afternoon of Jan. 13, from the Rite Aid store near the Wyandotte police station, in a deliberate attempt to get himself arrested, police said.
He said when he went to the police station earlier that day to turn himself in for outstanding warrants, he was advised on the situation and released from the scene. The man then decided he wanted to resolve the warrants that day, so he went to the nearby store, told the clerk that he was stealing a beer and asked him to call police.
The man waited, sipping his beer, until police officers arrived. He was then taken to the police station, where he was cited for retail fraud, then booked, photographed, fingerprinted and housed.
(Compiled by Zeinab Najm and Sue Suchyta.)