Allen Park
Couple flees after failing to steal air conditioners, lawnmowers
A man and a woman fled Lowe’s Home Improvement, 23111 Outer Drive, the afternoon of June 11 after they failed to steal three air conditions and two lawnmowers, valued at more than $2,000.
Loss prevention personnel said they recognized the man from previous retail frauds, so they monitored his actions throughout the store.
When the two tried to leave the store with the items on a push cart without paying, they were confronted by loss prevention personnel. The man threatened to hurt himself if anyone touched him. The couple then fled without their targeted merchandise. They drove away on the northbound Southfield service drive in a U-Haul truck.
The man was described as black, and was wearing a black T-shirt with white lettering on it, while the woman, who wore a face covering, was described as black, with blonde hair, and wearing a black tank top, red pants and white tennis shoes.
Woman scammed by fake U.S. marshall scheme
An Allen Park woman filed a fraud report June 12 after she was victimized by a con, which began when a caller, who claimed to be a U.S. marshall from Texas, said they had a warrant for her arrest.
When the victim claimed she was innocent, the scam artist said her Social Security number had been compromised. They told her to withdraw all her cash from her bank accounts, purchase gift cards, and transfer the money to them by providing the gift card numbers. They said they would then deliver a new Social Security card to her, and would return her money to her at that time.
The victim withdrew $4,800 from her bank, and purchased gift cards at Target, and provided the gift card numbers to the con artists.
The victim was given a case number to provide to her bank and to Target, to initiate investigations.
Dearborn
Man arrested for reckless driving, driving with an expired license
While parked facing east on the shoulder of eastbound Warren Avenue near Bingham, police observed a silver Ford Fusion traveling west on Warren approaching Oakman June 21. The vehicle caught the attention of police, because through visual and audio cues officers were able to tell it was traveling much faster than the 40 mph speed limit.
According to the report, the Fusion passed the police vehicle at a very high rate of speed and approached a red light for westbound Warren and Schaefer Road. Police continued to monitor the Fusion in their rearview mirror and observed the driver disregard the red light.
The Fusion’s brake lights didn’t activate as the vehicle approached the intersection and it appeared that it did not decelerate either.
As police attempted to catch up to the Fusion, the patrol vehicle reached speeds of approximately 70 mph and the driver was still increasing the distance between his vehicle and police vehicle. The Fusion continued over the speed limit as it passed several vehicles before turning north on Greenfield.
A traffic stop was initiated when the Fusion crossed over Tireman. Police made contact with the driver who did not have his license — which was expired — with him.
The driver was asked to exit the Fusion and was advised he was placed under arrested for reckless driving and driving without a license. Police had the vehicle impounded and transported the driver to the Dearborn police station.
A $400 bond for reckless driving and $100 bond for driving with an expired license were assigned to the driver.
Employee reports retail fraud at store
Police were dispatched to Rainbow Shops, 16201 Ford Road, June 16 for retail fraud in progress. Before officers arrived, the employee said the suspect left with an unknown amount of merchandise and was last seen on foot eastbound from the store.
A search of the area for the suspect yielded no results.
The employee said that the suspect entered the store and began acting suspiciously. She watched the suspect as she appeared to select clothing from the racks and conceal the items inside her pants. When the employee attempted to stop the suspect, she left without paying for the items.
The suspect was last seen in the parking lot, but the employee was unsure if she got into a vehicle. According to the report, the employee was unable to specify how many items were taken.
The suspect was described as a black woman wearing a pink floral top, black leggings with sequences down the sides with the word “Pink” also on the side. Her hair was in long braids and burgundy in color.
A detailed description of the suspect was provided to other police officers in the area, but they were unable to locate her.
Dearborn Heights
Woman defrauded of almost $3,000
Police received a phone call from a woman June 4 who reported she was defrauded out of thousands of dollars by an unknown man.
The woman said the man called her at 4 p.m. June 3 and told her she needed to update her virus software and that the company owed her money. She did not know the name of the virus company, according to the report. The woman then got onto her computer and the unknown man allegedly showed her that he moved $3,000 from her savings to her checking account.
Next, the woman was told to go to Target, purchase $2,000 worth of Target gift cards and to read the numbers over the phone, which she did. Another $703 was also taken out of her Bank of America account.
The woman provided police with multiple phone numbers the man called her from.
Three packages stolen from porch
A resident called police to report that three packages delivered by Amazon June 3 were missing.
The packages containing a wooden box, premium labels and a 20-piece coaster set were delivered to a house in the 7600 block of Rosemary about 2 p.m. that day. When the resident got home, her neighbor told her that an unknown white woman around 30 years old on a bike, went up to the porch and took the packages.
When the neighbor questioned the unknown woman, the woman said she was the resident’s niece and that the resident knew her daughter and was picking the packages for them.
There are no video cameras in the area. The resident was advised to contact Amazon about the theft and inform them that she filed a police report.
Lincoln Park
Woman discovers identity theft when stimulus check doesn’t arrive
A woman who hadn’t received a stimulus check filed a police report June 19, after she learned that her Social Security number was used by someone else to file 2018 income taxes.
The victim said she does not file tax returns because she is on disability. When she spoke to the IRS, to track down her missing stimulus check, she discovered the fraud, and was told that the stimulus check was sent to an address other than her own.
The victim was instructed to file a police report, then pursue an investigation with the Social Security Administration.
Man discovers identity theft when collection agency demands payment
After a collect agency demanded a past due balance of $336 from him, a man learned that an identity thief had used his personal information to open an AT&T U-verse account, and he filed a police report June 22 to initiate an investigation.
The victim was advised to put a flag on his credit reports, in case additional identity theft actions were attempted.
Melvindale
Stray dog removed from trailer park following complaint
A stray dog who had hung around a mobile home park in the 18600 block of Dix Avenue for nearly a week was removed June 3 by a police officer after a resident called in a complaint.
The dog was taken to Affiliated Veterinary Emergency Services P.C. in Allen Park, and after he was medically cleared, was taken to the Brownstown Animal Shelter.
Riverview
New apartment resident reports repeated larcenies
A woman who moved into the King Forrest Apartment complex in the beginning of June said on June 16 that items have been stolen on three separate occasions from her apartment.
She said frozen meat, purchased for $20, disappeared first, followed by four coffee mugs, worth $30, and finally, a 10-inch screen Kindle Fire, valued at $150, was stolen.
She said she has asked the apartment complex manager to change the locks on the apartment.
Pharmacy employee reports serial cigarette thief
A cigarette thief who took cartons on several occasions was reported June 5 by a shift leader at Walgreens Pharmacy, 17071 Fort Street.
The store employee said the man, who is white, in his late 50s, 6 feet tall, with a medium build and dark hair, would wait for employees to leave the register. He would then duck down behind the counter and grab cartons of Maverick and Marlboro cigarettes before leaving the store.
The employee said the thief’s actions were captured on security camera footage at 8:15 p.m. May 5 and 6:06 p.m. June 3, during which he stole an estimated $500 worth of cigarettes.
The man was seen in the store at 7 p.m. June 5, but was not observed stealing anything. The employee said he wanted to document the man’s actions.
He was advised on steps which could be taken to ban the man from the store if management declines to press charges.
Southgate
Harley-Davidson stolen from apartment parking lot
A 2010 Harley-Davidson Ultra Classic Black motorcycle was reported stolen June 17 from the parking lot of an apartment complex in the 13000 block of Strathcona Street.
The victim said he last saw the motorcycle at 4:30 p.m. the day before, when he parked it along the exterior road of the parking lot north of his apartment building. He said he still has both sets of keys, and no one else has permission to drive it.
Police officers checked where the motorcycle had been parked, and did not find anything of evidentiary value. The motorcycle was entered into the Law Enforcement Information Network as stolen.
Bicycle riding thief steals cigarettes from gas station
A bicycle-riding man stole six cartons of Newport cigarettes, valued at $80 per carton, on June 19, from Shell, 16100 Northline Road.
The man, whose image was captured on surveillance footage, is a white man in his 50s, with brown hair, wearing a blue shirt and a black jacket. He is seen waiting until the clerk turns away from him, then he conceals the cigarette cartons inside his jacket. He rode off on a black bicycle with a basket on the front.
Taylor
Woman receives iPad alert of home invasion
A woman said an alert from her iPad the night of June 17, while she was at work, led to the discovery that her apartment, in the 13200 block of Princeton, had been burglarized.
Entrance was likely gained through the apartment’s glass door wall adjacent to the living room. The resident said all of the doors and windows were locked when she left for work.
The items taken include a rose gold Apple watch, one-eighth ounce of marijuana and $860 in cash.
Trenton
Man blocks unauthorized online credit card purchase
A man filed a police report following the fraudulent use of his bank credit card June 10, for the attempted purchase of a $1,535 Canon DSLR camera on Amazon.
He said that neither he nor his wife initiated the purchase. He froze both his Amazon and credit card accounts, and was provided with a report number to initiate an investigation.
Elderly woman prevented from being duped by con artist
Police officers convinced a 72-year-old woman living at Trenton Towers Apartments that a man asking her for $15,000 so he could travel from Afghanistan to America was scamming her.
On June 12, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services asked the police officers to speak to the woman. The woman had already applied for a loan to help the con man, but was turned down. She said she had not yet sent any money to him.
She was advised to break off all contact with the person, and to contact the police officers if she needed any assistance in the future.
Wyandotte
Homeless woman at playground resists help, refuses to leave
A woman, who may be a missing person from Detroit, and who had taken up residence in VFW Park, at 11th and Cherry streets, for four days, refused to identify herself or accept food or beverages the night of June 16 from the police officers who tried to establish a rapport with her.
The woman would not answer any questions about her health, or whether she was fearful of something or someone. She simply said she “didn’t talk to the police” and “my peoples are on the way.”
They eventually left the woman alone, and did not enforce the curfew.
Drunken woman arrested after profanity-laden tirade
A drunken 22-year-old Lincoln Park woman was removed from the driveway of a residence in the 1400 block of 21st Street the night of June 21 after police officers were unable to stop her from yelling and swearing at others nearby.
The woman, who was initially uncooperative, finally calmed down enough to speak to the police officers, who noted that she smelled strongly of intoxicants.
She initially claimed to be missing her debit card, which was found to be in her wallet on her person. She then claimed one the people nearby owed her $40, and accused them of withholding her apartment keys.
Despite the police officers’ efforts to negotiate and de-escalate the situation, the woman had one final outburst, and deliberately smashed her roommate’s cell phone onto the pavement, shattering the screen.
She was then cited for disturbing the peace and removed from the scene. She was taken to the Wyandotte police station to await a relative who was able to pick her up.
(Compiled by Zeinab Najm and Sue Suchyta.)