Allen Park
Drunken man found passed out near impound lot
A 43-year-old Detroit man was arrested at 1:30 a.m. Nov. 22 for operating while impaired, drug possession and having an open container of alcohol in his vehicle, after he fell asleep in his parked car near the police department’s impound lot at Southfield Road and I-94.
When a police officer approached the man, he was found slumped over the steering wheel with an open bottle of Hennessy cognac between his legs. After removing the keys from the ignition, he awakened the man, who said he pulled over because he was tired.
The man, who admitted to drinking, had blood shot eyes, a glassy stare and slurred speech, and failed multiple field sobriety tests.
A preliminary breath test was administered, and the man had a blood-alcohol content of 0.21, more than two-and-a-half times the 0.08 limit for legally drunk in Michigan.
During an inventory search of his vehicle, six mason jars and four plastic containers of marijuana, a total of 5.3 ounces, were discovered. His vehicle was impounded and towed, and he was taken to the police station, where he was booked and held.
Couple team up to steal Carhartt clothing
A 51-year-old Warren man and a 59-year-old Detroit woman were cited for retail fraud Nov. 22 when they attempted to steal more than a $1,000 worth of Carhartt clothing from Meijer, 3565 Fairlane Drive.
Loss prevention personnel said the man had filled a large duffle bag with merchandise, which he placed in a shopping cart, along with two pairs of boots. His female accomplice was detained for removing security tags and concealing stolen merchandise.
While she was detained, the woman had a seizure, and was transported to Beaumont Hospital, Dearborn.
The pair’s vehicle, a Dodge Grand Caravan, contained what may have been stolen merchandise from other nearby stores. It was impounded and towed.
Due to COVID concerns, the man was cited for retail fraud and released at the scene.
Dearborn
Metal billboard stolen
Police responded to 13333 Michigan Ave. to speak with the property owner who said his metal billboard was stolen.
The owner said the last time he saw the sign over his property was Oct. 22 and when he was passing the billboard Oct. 29, he noticed the sign was gone. The property owner said the approximate value of the billboard was between $75,000 to $100,000.
According to the report, the owner has had complications with a company over ownership of the billboard. He said he has contacted the company regarding the billboard and they advised him to read over his contact with an attorney.
The owner said he was unable to contact the company further due to responses from them.
There was no suspect information or evidence.
Employees report three F-150s missing
The employees at Ford Autoport, 3600 Miller Road, reported three unlocked blue 2021 limited Ford F-150s with the keys in the cup holder stolen Nov. 21.
Police were dispatched to the scene where one of the employees said he was leaving his mother’s house, heading west on Rotunda when he observed the trucks heading toward eastbound I-94 at a high rate of speed. Two of the trucks had their lights off, and the third’s lights were on.
The employee was not able to observe who was driving the trucks and called his supervisor to inform him about the incident. That supervisor contacted another supervisor to check the lot for anything suspicious. Once at the scene, the supervisor noticed a limited F-150 running in the middle of the lot when it was supposed to be off; damage through the fence on the south side of the lot; and truck tracks from the fence onto I-94.
Police completed a processing of the scene where they took photos and noticed the damaged fence, snapped cables and tire tracks in the grass going west toward Schaefer. The F-150 the suspects attempted to steal had multiple latent print details on the plastic cover to the touch screen minor, which was taken and collected as evidence.
That same day, police working at the front desk of the Dearborn police station received a phone call from an Autoport manager who provided three vehicle identification numbers and informed officers they were able to ping the vehicles in Detroit.
One of the stolen trucks was recovered by Detroit police in the area of Fullerton and Woodrow Wilson Nov. 22. The manager was contacted and provided with recovery information.
Dearborn Heights
Tires taken off stolen vehicle
The victim of vehicle theft called police Nov. 16 to report his black 2019 Lincoln MKZ missing. He said the vehicle, which he was borrowing from his friend for the past six to seven months, was parked in his driveway the day before.
About 11:20 a.m. Oct. 16 is when the victim discovered the vehicle was stolen. When the victim contacted dispatch to report the stolen Lincoln, he found out it was received by Detroit police after it was abandoned.
The Lincoln had a left rear window broken out along with all four tires and wheels missing.
According to the report, the victim made contact with a neighbor who lives across the street who said the Lincoln was not in the driveway as of 7:45 a.m. that morning.
The victim said he has security cameras but they do not face his vehicle. He informed police that another neighbor across from him that comes periodically to the residence has a camera system.
There was no suspect information.
Lincoln Park
Trailer stolen from residential construction site
A black 2019 Big Tex two axle dump trailer was reported stolen the morning of Nov. 2 from a residential construction site in the 500 block of Emmons Boulevard.
The victim, a contractor, said the trailer, valued at $7,400, was not insured. He said he had last seen it at 4 p.m. Oct. 30 when he left the job site. There were no nearby surveillance cameras.
Identity thief files for unemployment, tries to open credit union accounts
A 65-year-old Lincoln Park man reported Nov. 3 that an identity thief had filed for unemployment benefits in his name, and had attempted to open accounts at Alliance Credit Union, where he has no affiliation, in his name.
The victim said he has no idea how his information might have been compromised. He said he has already reported the unemployment fraud to the state, and said the credit union directed him to file a police report.
Melvindale
Shoplifter steals junk food from gas station
A man making poor food and life choices stole junk food Nov. 24 from Metro Food Mart, 2661 Oakwood Blvd.
The clerk on duty said the man took chips, a can of ravioli and other junk food, worth $10 to $15, and left on food, headed west on Oakwood Boulevard.
The thief was described as a white male about 20 years old, 5 feet 6 inches tall and 140 pounds, with short hair, gray sweat pants and a black jacket.
The clerk indicated that if his manager retrieves surveillance camera footage of the man, he will forward it to the detective bureau.
Nighttime car content thief scared off by neighbor
A resident scared off a person rummaging through a neighbor’s car at 2 a.m. Nov. 15 in the 2500 block of David Street.
Later that morning, at 7 a.m., the vehicle owner discovered some coins and dollars bills missing from the vehicle, and found a power supply and jump starter not belonging to her inside the vehicle, which she believed belonged to a neighbor.
The police officers recommended she keep her car locked at all times, and returned the found property to her neighbor.
Riverview
Model airplane found near Young Patriots Park
A light blue, white and black remote-controlled World War I style model airplane was found in the woods the afternoon of Nov. 18 near Young Patriots Park. An image of the model plane, which is being stored in the police department property room, is shown at facebook.com/riverview.mi.police.
Vehicle paint vandalized
A white 2018 Jeep Wrangler was vandalized between 9 p.m. Nov. 16 and 1 p.m. Nov. 18, with paint remover spread on the hood, driver and passenger sides, while it was parked in a residential driveway the 17000 block of Brinson Street. There were no suspects.
Southgate
Catalytic converter stolen from vehicle at movie theater
A catalytic converter was stolen Nov. 16 from a vehicle parked at MJR Digital Cinema, 15651 Trenton Road, prior to the shutdown.
The victim said she noticed a loud noise upon starting her vehicle after seeing a movie, but did not know the cause of the problem until she took the car to a mechanic two days later. There were no suspects, and no practical way to contact MJR personnel during the shutdown.
Pickup stolen from rental company
A 1999 Chevrolet 3500 pickup, valued at $5,000, and sheet metal, valued at $1,200, were reported stolen the morning of Nov. 20 from Complete Hitch and Rental, 13667 Dix Toledo Road.
The business owner said no other vehicles were tampered with and nothing else was missing. The vehicle was entered into the Law Enforcement Information Network as stolen.
Taylor
Scrapyard victim of break-in
The owner of a scrapyard, located at 20355 Eureka Road, reported the morning of Nov. 7 that when he arrived at the business, he noticed that things had been moved around, organized and boxed up, as if in preparation for a thief to return with a vehicle to take the items.
He said the site was undisturbed two days earlier, at 5 p.m., when he left for the day. He said he and one other person have the only key access to the property, and said they have been the victims of break-ins in the past, despite the property being fenced, with a locked gate.
Trenton
Sign promoting inclusion vandalized
A sign promoting diversity, equity and inclusion was reported vandalized Nov. 8 by a resident in the 3300 block of Elizabeth Drive.
The resident said the sign, which was staked firmly into the lawn, was tampered with and mangled.
The sign read, “In this house, we believe black lives matter; women’s rights are human rights; no human is illegal; science is real; love is love; and kindness is everything.”
The resident said he feared that the vandalism might have been instigated by a hate group.
Wyandotte
Drunken man’s text message fears unsubstantiated
A 30-year-old man who told police officers by phone the night of Nov. 16 that his former girlfriend was on her way to his apartment, in the 400 block of St. John Street, “with knives and mace” answered the door to responding police officers with a bottle of Fireball Whiskey in his hands.
The drunken man showed the officers a series of texts on his phone, which contained no threats. He then admitted that he did not know who was sending the texts, and was advised to ignore them. He then became upset and said the police officers didn’t want to do their job. He was given a complaint form, which he threw to the ground as the officers left the scene.
Liquor thief abandons basket when chased by manager
A man who attempted to steal $141 worth of liquor at 12:56 a.m. Nov. 17 from CVS Pharmacy, 2025 Fort St., abandoned the ill-begotten goods when the store manager gave chase.
The manager said the man, a white male with a neck tattoo, was 6 feet tall, with facial hair and a medical face mask, was wearing a blue hat, a black hoodie with a teddy bear on it and blue jeans.
He said the man took a hand basket, went straight to the liquor aisle, filled it with bottles, and apologized as he ran out the door with it.
The manager then ran after him, hoping to get a vehicle description and a license plate number. He said the thief ran east through the parking lot, then south onto 23rd Street. The thief tried to hide behind a car, but when the manager yelled that he could see him, the man abandoned the basket and ran to a waiting black Honda CRV, where he jumped into the back seat before it sped away north on 23rd Street.
The manager said he was unable to read the license plate, as it was obscured by a tinted cover.
The recovered liquor included a $50 bottle of Jack Daniels, a $39 bottle of Jose Cuervo, a $26 bottle of Sauza Hornitos tequila, and two $13 Bud Light bottled six packs.
(Compiled by Zeinab Najm and Sue Suchyta.)