Allen Park
Driver passed out at gas pump found with gun, drugs
A 29-year-old Wyandotte man was arrested Nov. 14 for possession of controlled substances and illegal possession of a firearm after he fell asleep in his car while intoxicated at a gas station near Ecorse and Pelham roads.
When police officers approached the man, he was passed out behind the wheel of his car, which was in park, with the motor running, with an open fifth of Hennessy cognac in the center cupholder. A pistol was visible between the driver’s seat and console.
When the man was awoken, he was noticeably confused, and kept asking what was going on, as he complied with the police officer’s request to step out of the vehicle.
When asked if he has a concealed pistol license, he laughed and said he did not.
The man, who was swaying back and forth, and sweating profusely, said he had recently consumed cognac and two Xanax bars. He identified a white powder on the driver’s seat as cocaine, which he said he had used several days earlier.
He failed multiple field sobriety tests. A preliminary breath test was administered, and the man had a blood-alcohol content of 0.23, nearly three times the 0.08 limit for legally drunk in Michigan.
A large mason jar with marijuana, a small bag of a white substance, a white crystalized power, a black ski mask, and two computers, which he said were stolen, were also found in the car, which was impounded and towed. The car was discovered to be a rental vehicle.
The man had an operating while impaired warrant in Lincoln Park, and two traffic warrants in Inkster. His license had been suspended 12 times, he had a history of three OWI arrests and four suspended license arrests. He was taken to the police station for booking, and was held.
Missing license plate leads to arrest for weapons offense, driving while license suspended
A 28-year-old Lincoln Park man was arrested Nov. 10 for driving an unregistered, uninsured Dodge Avenger, with a suspended license, and carrying a firearm without a concealed pistol license. The pistol had 10 rounds in the magazine and a round in the chamber.
The vehicle was impounded and towed, and the man was taken to the police station, where he was booked and held.
Dearborn
Man steals eggnog from Target
Police responded to Target, 15901 Ford Road, Nov. 7 on a report that a man who stole eggnog from the store was sitting inside a nearby FedEx.
The suspect remained silent and was recording officers with a cellphone. According to the report, police observed the suspect with the carton of eggnog and was asked where he acquired the carton or if he had a receipt, but he did not respond.
Police identified the suspect and detained him for larceny. As other responding officers stood with the man, one officer made contact with the Target security manager. The manager showed security video footage to police, showing the man walking into the store without the eggnog and walking out passing all points of sale without paying.
The security manager advised that Target is not willing to cooperate with prosecution but would like the man advised of trespassing from the store. Police advised the man and said he would be arrested if he returns. The man said he understood what was being told to him and was released on the scene.
Contractor accused of retail fraud
The manager at Snipes Store, 15231 Michigan Ave., called police to the store Oct. 30 because she suspected one of the people renovating the store was shoplifting.
She said the store was being renovated by a drywall contractor, and one of the three workers was taking dark colored plastic bags to the trash bin rather than clear bags. The manager stopped the worker, and noticed that a pair of Retro 1 shoes in a size 10.5 valued at $160 was missing from the inventory inside the store. According to the report, the manager and other employees retrieved the shoes from inside a trash bag in the bin.
The manager observed the worker in a parked vehicle near the bin before she located the shoes and said she believes that the shoes were placed in a trash bag then in the bin to be retrieved at a later time by the same person.
The manager told police that she didn’t see the worker with the shoes.
The manager contacted corporate Oct. 31 and was advised to make a police report.
Dearborn Heights
Woman reports attempted identity theft
A woman living at a house in the 5700 block of Rouge Circle contacted police Nov. 16 to file an attempted identity theft report after checking her credit reports.
On Oct. 24, the woman discovered two inquires regarding her credit being pulled by a company and was unsure what it was about. She contacted a company associated with her banking institutions to advise them of the inquires when she was told to contact the company that provides her credit reports.
After making the call, the resident was advised to call the company her credit was being pulled by. The company said that nothing was in their system with her name when she made contact Oct. 26. While on the phone, the woman received a phone call from a real estate agent with a house rental website located in Charlotte, N.C. According to the report, the agent said she believes a woman was attempting to rent a house in the resident’s name and that the woman had all her personal information.
The resident asked the agent about how she did not believe the woman and she replied by saying that in the online application there’s a question, “Why are you looking for a home” and the woman’s repose was, “I just want a place of my own.”
A police report was needed before the agent would provide the woman’s information. The woman wasn’t able to rent a house in the resident’s name.
Also, a police report was needed to have the fraudulent activity removed from the credit report company. The resident placed a freeze on her credit reports.
Police were told that the resident is working with her credit company in order to have the check removed and was advised to contact Charlotte, N.C., if she wanted to prosecute.
Suspects flee scene after robbery
Police were dispatched to Famous Footwear, 26486 Ford Road, Nov. 12 for a retail fraud that had just taken place. Dispatch advised that the two female suspects left the location in a black Chevy Impala or Malibu on Ford Road in an unknown direction.
The store manager said the two suspects arrived at the store together. Once suspect approached her and kept her attention while the other suspect went to another area of the store. According to the report, the manager said she knew the suspect was stealing items and concealing them under her coat but was unaware what items were taken until the suspects left. Both left the store without paying for the three pairs of Timberland boots valued at $209.97.
The manager said the suspects might have stolen items in Canton recently as well and that she would recognize the suspects if she saw them again.
She was provided with a case number and advised to contact police if any further information, such as security video, became available or if the suspects returned.
Lincoln Park
Identity thief charges purchases to Visa card
An identity thief charged multiple items to a Visa credit card belonging to a 33-year-old Lincoln Park woman, the victim reported Nov. 6, with charges to Footlocker, Amazon and Newegg, an electronics company.
The victim said she canceled the card, which had remained in her possession. There were no suspects.
Customer bicycle stolen from inside pharmacy
A customer’s purple and pink bicycle was stolen from inside CVS Pharmacy, 2400 Fort St., Nov. 6 while she was shopping.
The victim, a 34-year-old woman, said the bicycle was stolen by a man who rode it north on Fort Street.
Police canvased the area, but were unable to find the man — described as black, and wearing a dark coat, yellow backpack and a dark face mask — or the bicycle. The woman was given a courtesy ride home.
Melvindale
Man’s delusions prompt a police report
A man living in the 17500 block of Dora Avenue reported Nov. 5 that a neighbor had struck his residence with a wooden board, which he said did not cause any damage to the house.
The man said he had a poor relationship with the neighbor, whom he said had threatened to have him sent to jail on false charges.
The man then repeatedly asked the police officer if he could be sent to a mental facility against his will, which the police officer assured him would not happen as long as he was not a danger to himself or others.
The police officer talked to both neighbors, who said they generally try to avoid any interactions with the man.
After speaking with all three parties, the police officer spoke again to the complainant, who said a family member was coming to pick him up to take him to a nearby motel.
Strangers trying to break into backyard are scared off by neighbor
Two men trying to cut a chain to gain entrance into a back yard in the 18800 block of Prospect Avenue the night of Nov. 6 were scared off by a watchful neighbor, a resident reported.
The men were described as Hispanic-looking. The resident asked if police officers could increase patrols in the neighborhood.
Riverview
Natural gas leak reported after car hits outdoor meter on house
A resident said on Nov. 7, an unknown party guest struck their natural gas meter, which is mounted on the front exterior of their house, with their vehicle, and fled without admitting to causing the damage.
Riverview firefighters shut off the gas to circumvent danger, after which DTE personnel arrived to repair the meter and its connection. The dollar value of the damage was unknown.
Laptop package signed for and stolen
An apartment complex resident reported Nov. 9 that UPS delivered a laptop computer on Oct. 31, when she was out-of-town, and it was signed for by an unknown person and never given to her. The victim said it is likely that one of her neighbors signed for the package. The victim said the missing laptop was a work computer.
Southgate
Con artist tries to trick resident into bank account transfer
A telephone con artist tried to trick a man into transferring money to him on Oct. 31 based on the fraudulent premise that he had transferred too much money into the man’s account.
The con artist initially told the man he owed his company money. Then, the caller admitted to making a mistake, and asked for the man’s bank account number so he could transfer a courtesy payment because of the error. However, the con artist then claimed he processed too large of a refund, and asked his intended mark to transfer money back to him.
At the time of the report, the intended victim was not missing any funds from his account. However, he was advised to call his bank during business hours and have the account frozen.
SUV window shattered and purse stolen outside fitness center
A woman working out Nov. 14 at Planet Fitness, 13591 Eureka Road, discovered the front passenger side window of her Chevy Blazer shattered and her purse stolen.
She said $600 was charged to her credit cards at the Taylor Meijer shortly after the theft occurred. She said her driver’s license was also stolen. There were no suspects.
Taylor
Woman conned out of $500 by fake Apple iPhone support service
A woman who was having problems with her Apple iPhone was scammed out of $500 when she called a fraudulent Apple Care Center Nov. 13 for assistance.
The victim said the person who returned her call instructed her to purchase $500 in Google Play gift cards, and to read the codes to him. He then claimed the gift cards were invalid, and tried to get her to send funds through Cash App and a bitcoin app.
The woman then became suspicious, hung up, and called another phone number for Apple iPhone support. They told her she was the victim of fraud.
Goggle Play card customer support said the balance on the gift cards was zero, and they were unable to refund her money.
Fist fight breaks out over toilet tissue
Two men exchanged blows the evening of Nov. 14 over the last pack of toilet paper at Walmart, 7555 Telegraph Road.
A man said that as he reached for the last package on the shelf, another person, a white man in his mid-thirties, with brown hair, tried to grab it as well, and punched him in the head. The victim said he then punched him back, in self-defense.
As the aggressor struggled to retake the package, the victim pleaded that he had a child at home, and needed the toilet paper. This seemed to stop the aggressor, who apologized and quickly left the store.
Wyandotte
Drunken roommate arrested after threatening housemates with knife
A drunken 51-year-old Wyandotte man was arrested the night of Nov. 11 for felonious assault after he threw a chair across a room and threatened one of his roommates with a knife.
The suspect denied the charges, and said he “got a little rowdy” and screamed some “stupid sh*t.” However, the other two men, who were sober, provided matching descriptions of the man’s threat to “kill everyone in the house” by cutting their throats.
The man was then handcuffed and taken to the police station, where he was booked and held. During booking, a preliminary breath test was administered, and the man had a blood-alcohol content of 0.22, two-and-three-fourths times the 0.08 limit for legally drunk in Michigan.
Alcohol and hygiene product thief made a clean getaway
A man who shoplifted $240 in merchandise from CVS Pharmacy, 2025 Fort St., on Nov. 15, escaped on foot, traveling south on 23rd Street, with the ill-gotten goods in a stolen store shopping cart.
The store manager said the man, a skinny black male, was 5 feet 5 inches tall, 50 to 60 years old, and dressed in all black, including a beanie cap, jacket, pants and a face mask.
Among the stolen items were two bottles of Tito’s vodka, Dove self-hygiene products, and a pair of green gloves.
Police officers searched the area, but were unable to find the man.
(Compiled by Zeinab Najm and Sue Suchyta.)