ALLEN PARK
Man steals snowblower from Home Depot
Police were dispatched to Meijer, 3565 Fairlane Drive, Nov. 22 for a retail fraud in progress.
During the investigation, the suspect’s vehicle was located and possible stolen merchandise from other stores was found inside. A Ryobi 40V snowblower valued at $449 was in the vehicle. Contact was made with Home Depot, 3163 Fairlane Drive, where a snowblower of the same brand was stolen earlier that day.
Once at the store, police spoke with a manager who said he was advised by employees that a man had selected a snowblower from the display floor and attempted to return it. When the man was turned away from the return, he took the snowblower and exited the store with it.
A description of the man or his vehicle was not available from the manager. Also, the employee said he observed the retail theft left prior to police arriving at the store.
The manager showed police the model of the snowblower that was taken, which matched the make and model of the snowblower in the suspect’s vehicle.
At the time of the report, Home Depot did not have a loss prevention officer working and a report was not started for the snowblower theft.
Donation bin removed from liquor store
The owner of Allen Park Market, 16205 Champaign Road, requested that the donation bin outside the business be removed from the property Nov. 27.
According to the report, the request was made seven days prior, at which point the company was contacted and advised it would be taken care of immediately. However, the Childhood Disease and Research Foundation’s bin was still on the property.
Upon arrival at the scene, a towing company was paid to remove the bin which was impounded at the Allen Park Police Department impound lot.
DEARBORN
Dodge Charger, pistol stolen
A red 2019 Dodge Charger was reported stolen the morning of Nov. 26, along with a 9-millimeter Millennium pistol, which was under the driver’s seat, from the 14200 block of Wellesley Street.
The victim, who last saw the vehicle at 9:30 p.m. the night before, said it was locked and stolen without the keys. There were no suspects, and no surveillance cameras in the area.
Sweepstakes scam artist thwarted
Police officers took a report from a PNC Bank customer Dec. 3 who was informed via phone that he had won $2.7 million, but had to send a $5,000 check to them to claim the windfall.
The responding police officers encouraged the man to block the phone number and to never send money to unknown entities.
DEARBORN HEIGHTS
Multiple items reported missing from garage
A thief was caught on security video stealing a DeWalt leafblower, chainsaw, charging station, trimmer and a 55-inch Samsung flat screen TV from a garage.
The items were inside an unlocked detached garage at a house in the 6000 block of Burger at the time of the theft. Each item was taken from the garage to the front curb then placed inside of a white or silver minivan.
Police informed the victim to send any information, including serial numbers for all the missing items to the detective bureau as part of the investigation.
No other information was provided.
Trees taken from outside English Gardens
Three decorative Christmas trees were taken from outside English Gardens, 22650 Ford Road, between Dec. 3 and 4. According to the report, the trees are valued at $450.
Police spoke with the store manager who said the trees were displayed on the Ford Road side of the building. They were secured with zip ties nailed into wood. A pocket knife recovered at the scene was taken into evidence by police,
No security cameras were located at that area of the store.
LINCOLN PARK
Cell phone stolen from shopping cart
A black Stylo 6 cell phone, valued at $280, was stolen out of a 38-year-old man’s shopping cart about midnight Dec. 8 while he was at Meijer, 3710 Dix Highway.
The victim said he noticed his phone was missing when he got to his car, and checked its location using a Google app, which indicated that the phone was still inside Meijer. However, the store had since closed, and the employees refused to let him back inside.
He was given a report number and encouraged to follow up with the detective bureau.
Store manager swindled by fake power shutoff threat
The manager of a pharmacy was tricked into sending $1,500, through a bitcoin machine, on Dec. 9 by a DTE scam artist, who said immediate payment was needed to prevent the store’s power from being disconnected.
Once the victim sent the money, he received a second phone call, instructing him to resend the same amount, at which point he became suspicious. He called an actual number for DTE, and was advised to file a police report.
MELVINDALE
Stranger banging on door at 1 a.m. frightens residents
A stranger knocking insistently on the door of a house at 1 a.m. Dec. 12, in the 17200 block of Harman Street prompted a call to police dispatch when the man refused to say what he wanted or why he was there.
The male resident said the unknown person had knocked on the door 15 minutes earlier, but he ignored him the first time, thinking the man simply had the wrong house. However, when the man returned, knocking again, then trying to open the back door, he called for police officers.
The resident’s wife said the stranger approached the house earlier that day, as well.
They said the man drove off in a black Chrysler 300, driving southwest on Harman Street, then northwest on Martel Avenue.
Police officers checked the surrounding area, but were unable to locate the man.
Smoker stolen
A food smoker was reported stolen Dec. 10 from a yard in the 19000 block of Henry Avenue.
The victim said the theft likely occurred after 2 p.m. Dec. 6, and said he noticed on Dec. 7 that the gate to his yard was left open. The unit was a Dyna-Glo 43-inch widebody, liquified petroleum gas smoker, with a $400 value.
He said his surveillance camera does not cover the area of his yard where the smoker was located.
RIVERVIEW
Paint remover poured on Jeep
The victim of vehicle damage informed police Nov. 18 that paint remover had been poured on her 2018 Jeep Wrangler.
According to the report, the Jeep was parked in the driveway at a house in the 17500 block of Brinson when the victim noticed the paint remover. She said the damage was done between Nov. 16 and 18.
As a result of the paint remover being poured, damage was done to the driver’s side, passenger’s side and hood of the Jeep. There was no suspect information or any further details provided by the victim.
Ford F-150 sideswiped, damaged
A man reported that his 2020 Ford F-150 was sideswiped after an individual struck it Nov. 23 while it was parked outside his house in the 20000 block of Foxboro.
White paint was discovered on the F-150. No security video or suspect information was included in the report.
SOUTHGATE
Thief beats recipient to package delivery
A man who was watching for a delivery truck Dec. 6 said his package was stolen from outside his apartment building before he could retrieve it.
The victim, who lives in Village on the Park Apartments, said he saw the delivery truck in the complex, and went downstairs to fetch his package. He found a delivery notification instead, and when he texted the number on the notice, he was told that the package had been left outside his building.
The man said the stolen package contained clothing and shoes, valued at $160, from Reebok. He was given a police report number to initiate a loss claim.
Stolen iPhone activated
A package containing a gold Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max was stolen Dec. 3 from the 13000 block of Birrell Street.
The phone was activated, and Apple told the woman to file a police report, after which a company representative said the stolen phone would be removed from her account and a replacement phone sent.
TRENTON
Woman reports identity theft
A woman filed an identity theft report with police Nov. 23. She said that she was notified while reviewing her son’s Social Security supplemental income benefits, someone received unemployment benefits in April and May using her information. The fraud claim was filed with he Department of Labor and Economic Opportunities.
The woman told police the incident would be documented.
Decorative plants and pots damaged
Police spoke with a woman living at an apartment on West Jefferson Nov. 26 who claimed her neighbor and tenant damaged her decorative plants and pots. The victim in the incident is the general manager who also lives in one of the apartments. She keeps decorative plants and pots outside her apartment near the elevator on the third floor.
According to the report, the general manger served the tenant with eviction paperwork Nov. 25 and he became upset with her and yelled at her. The next morning, she walked out of her apartment and saw the pots and plants were knocked over and damaged overnight. She was certain that the tenant caused the damage, but did not witness the act of hear anything.
Both the pots and plants had an estimated value of $100. Police photographed the general manager’s property using a body camera and also attempted to make contact with the tenant in his apartment with negative results.
WYANDOTTE
Five vehicles vandalized on 12th Street
Five vehicles, all associated with the same household, were vandalized between 2 and 10 a.m. Dec. 13 in the 2000 block of 12th Street.
Each of the vehicles, which included a Chevy Impala, Saturn Vue, Chevy Cavalier, Pontiac G6 and a Chevy Equinox, were defaced, with “666,” known as “the number of the Beast,” or associated with the devil, which was written with marker or paint pen on the vehicle windows, hoods, trunks and windshields.
The rear window of the Pontiac was shattered, with glass shards littering the trunk and back seat.
Multiple frozen tomatoes, which had the firmness of baseballs, were found on the ground near the vehicles, and in the back seat of the Pontiac, and may have been used to smash the window.
Pedestrian threatens truck driver with knife
A truck driver who pulled up to the light at Pennsylvania and Quarry roads upset a pedestrian, a 20-year-old Wyandotte man, who became angry and accused the truck driver narrowly missing him.
The young man started gesturing angrily, and yelling at the truck driver to pull over. When the truck driver did, the pedestrian pulled up his shirt, revealing a knife in a sheaf, which he subsequently pulled out and waved around in an aggressive manner.
An eyewitness corroborated that the pedestrian was the aggressor in the interaction with the truck driver.
The young man with the knife was taken into custody. During booking, it was discovered that he was wearing a bullet-proof vest.
He was booked and held, and was charged with felonious assault, a 4-year felony, and with wearing body armor during the commission of a violent crime, also a 4-year felony.
(Compiled by Zeinab Najm and Sue Suchyta.)