8/2/2012 - West Side Leader
     

WEST AKRON: Burglaries were reported at the following locations: the 100 block of Byers Avenue between Oct. 1 and July 23; the 600 block of West Exchange Street between July 20 and 22; the 100 block of Charlotte Street July 20; the 200 block of Madison Avenue between July 22 and 24; the 2500 block of Addyston Road July 22; the 700 block of Noah Avenue July 22; the 400 block of West Market Street between July 23 and 24; the 500 block of Crosby Street July 23; the 1000 block of Frederick Boulevard July 23; the 1100 block of Hardesty Boulevard July 23; the 100 block of Marvin Avenue July 23; the 1100 block of Thorndale Drive July 23; the 400 block of Treeside Drive July 23; the 400 block of Grace Avenue July 24; the 200 block of Grand Avenue July 24; the 100 block of Grand Avenue July 25; the 1100 block of Hartford Avenue July 25; the 700 block of Frederick Boulevard July 26; and the 700 block of Inverness Road July 26.

On July 22, a 55-year-old Copley Road man was charged with felonious assault for an incident that took place at his residence. According to police reports, the man admitted to cutting the victim with a knife.

A 47-year-old Madison Avenue woman was charged with felonious assault July 24 for an incident that took place in the 900 block of Work Drive. The woman allegedly argued with the victim, pushed the victim into a telephone pole and then to the ground. While on the ground, she allegedly kicked the victim in the head six to seven times prior to fleeing the scene.

Officers charged an 18-year-old Belvidere Way man with assault on an officer, resisting arrest and failing to disclose personal information July 26 at the intersection of West Market Street and Belvidere Way. According to the police report, the man refused to give information and then punched an officer and fought with officers in the street.

On July 27, a 21-year old Goodyear Heights man was charged with burglary and receiving stolen property. The man was observed breaking into a residence in the 800 block of Hardesty Boulevard by neighbors and apprehended in the backyard. He was found to be in possession of property from the residence. After further investigation, officers also found a TV and an Xbox from an earlier burglary hidden in nearby backyards.

A 23-year-old Nome Avenue man was charged with failing to comply, open container and obstructing official business July 28. Officers attempted to pull the man over for a traffic stop and were led on a vehicle pursuit. According to officers, the man ran stop signs and flashing red lights. He then fled from his vehicle and attempted to hide in another vehicle on Nome Avenue. He was apprehended at Copley Road and Greenwood Avenue, and an open container was found in his vehicle.

Officers charged a 31-year-old Diagonal Road man with carrying a concealed weapon, having weapons under disability, improper handling of a gun in a motor vehicle and driving under the influence July 28. The man was observed driving at a high rate of speed and was stopped in the 1000 block of Hardesty Boulevard. He was found to be intoxicated, and a loaded gun was found inside the vehicle.

On July 29, a 27-year-old Akron man was charged with burglary. According to officers, he was found hiding in the victim’s basement on the 100 block of Casterton Avenue.

BATH: Police officers went to a North Cleveland-Massillon Road gas station July 21, when an employee reportedly was drinking on the job. He admitted drinking several beers while working, and he was charged with underage drinking and possession of a small amount of prescription medication. He was released with a court summons.

On July 22, police responded to a domestic disturbance at a Meadowdale Drive residence, where a father and his adult son were involved in a physical confrontation. Police determined the son was the primary aggressor and arrested him for domestic violence. Both parties declined medical attention.

A North Ridge Drive woman reported July 22 that someone toilet-papered her yard and house, poured condiments on the driveway and porch, damaged the lawn and pulled out flowers the previous night.

Police continued to investigate a report filed last spring by a Medina Line Road man who said a safe containing $10,000 was stolen from his home. Officers recently notified two people that their voices would be evaluated by a voice recognition program. On July 23, a woman surrendered to police and was charged with felony theft.

The afternoon of July 24, police observed a man sitting in a flowerbed near North Point Drive. He fled from officers, who apprehended him in the parking lot of an Embassy Parkway business, arrested him on a warrant and released him to the Barberton Police Department.

Officers investigated possible drug activity at a Yellow Creek Drive residence July 26 and interviewed three males, who admitted they had smoked marijuana that day. A consent search of the residence revealed no contraband, and the three were released. Two of the males were advised they were not welcome on the property and they would be arrested for trespassing if they returned.

On July 26, police investigated the possible burglary of a Montrose business, where officers found pry marks on a door and the manager reported money was missing from a cash register.

A Harmony Hills Drive man reported July 26 someone removed a screen from a window, broke into a garage and stole a leaf blower.

On July 28, police responded to calls from six motorists on Interstate 77, where a driver was traveling north in the southbound lanes. Officers from the Richfield Police Department assisted Bath officers, who found the suspect’s vehicle on the berm of the road, facing north. The driver showed signs of intoxication. She failed a field sobriety test and she was charged with DUI and released with a court summons.

COPLEY: On July 19, officers patrolling Brookmont Road stopped a Cleveland driver for a traffic violation and arrested him on a warrant. He was additionally charged with possession of marijuana, hashish and drug paraphernalia, which were found in his vehicle during a tow inventory, and released to the Bath Police Department on the warrant.

Detectives investigated the recovery of stolen construction equipment from a location on Acre Road July 19, when a Bobcat piece of equipment and trailer were recovered from a wooded area. The vehicles had no license plates, and VIN numbers were not visible. They were removed from the area, and detectives are attempting to locate their owners.

Police responded to a vehicle accident outside a Rothrock Road motel July 20, with a vehicle in a ditch. Officers arrived to find a passenger standing beside the vehicle. The driver was unable to exit without assistance. He failed a field sobriety test and was charged with DUI and released with a court summons.

On July 20, someone entered an unlocked vehicle outside a Burnwicke Drive residence, obtained a garage door opener and used it to enter the garage and steal money, cigarettes and a bottle of narcotic pain medication prescribed to the victim’s daughter, who is a cancer patient.

A Kendall Road woman reported July 23 an unknown person used her bank debit card numbers to make a purchase at a pub in London.

An employee of a Ridgewood Road medical facility reported July 23 that an unknown person entered her office between 1 and 5:45 p.m. and stole $25 and a credit card from her purse. The card was used to make a purchase of $53 at an Akron gas station.

Officers investigated a July 23 report filed by a Meadow Run Drive woman who said her debit card was used to make an unauthorized purchase for $146.96 in North Carolina.

Employees of a Flight Memorial Drive restaurant called police around 4 a.m. July 24 to report a man had been in the business since midnight, he had become a nuisance and they wanted him to leave. He told police he was waiting for a bookstore to open because he was meeting a friend there. Officers arrested the Canton man on a warrant and released him to the Akron Police Department.

Officers patrolling Heritage Woods Drive July 26 observed a vehicle parked in a cul-de-sac and saw two males standing beside the vehicle, one male emerging from the brush and one male inside the vehicle, which smelled of burned marijuana. The driver was charged with possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia, which were found in the vehicle, and having an open container of liquor in a vehicle. The other three males, all juveniles, were charged with curfew violations and released to their parents.

FAIRLAWN: On July 19, security officers at a mall notified police of a man suspected of involvement in theft from two stores running across the parking lot. Police pursued the suspect, who fled to a nearby gas station. Officers located him behind the station, and ordered him to stop several times. He was apprehended on West Market Street, where he was still carrying a bag containing seven shirts allegedly stolen from one store. The Akron man was charged with theft and released to Summit County sheriff’s deputies on a warrant for probation violation. He was banned from the department store.

A woman reported July 19 she left her wallet on the counter of a mall store and returned to find it had been stolen by someone who used her credit card to purchase sunglasses, worth $381, at one store and a $212 iPod at another store. Police obtained receipts for the purchases and video surveillance from the stores.

Police responded to an armed robbery of a South Cleveland-Massillon Road gas station just after midnight July 24, when an employee reported he observed a gunman outside the station and quickly attempted to lock the door but was unsuccessful. Two armed men entered the station and ordered the victim to lock the doors, empty the cash registers and deflect security cameras to point away from them. One man attempted to open an ATM machine, and the other went into an office and used a crowbar to open a safe and take petty cash from inside. The men fled with money from the cash registers and safe, leaving the crowbar behind. They were described as two black males, one wearing a white T-shirt over his head and face and the other wearing a black T-shirt over his head and face.

Mall security agents reported two women were shoplifting from an electronics store July 24. Police escorted both suspects outside the store and identified them as two Pennsylvania women who were wanted for their alleged involvement in thefts from other stores. They admitted stealing two $130 digital golf analyzers from the electronics store, and police retrieved the items from the bags they were carrying. Officers found items stolen from two other stores and returned them. The suspects were identified on video surveillance footage from incidents between July 13 and 24, in an electronics store, where they reportedly stole merchandise totaling more than $4,000. They were charged with felony theft and incarcerated in the Summit County Jail.  

An Akron woman was charged with theft and banned from a Montrose discount store July 26 after she allegedly loaded a shopping cart with merchandise, totaling more than $900, and pushed it out of the store without paying. She admitted taking the items, which were returned to the store, and was released with a court summons.

Police are working to identify a woman who scanned merchandise totaling more than $100 at a self-checkout register of a West Market Street grocery store July 28 and left without paying. She loaded the merchandise into a vehicle, which was pictured on video surveillance footage, and was last seen driving south on South Cleveland-Massillon Road.

NORTON: Two four-wheeled off-road vehicles, totaling $500, were stolen from the side of a garage on Rockcut Road the night of July 21.

Police patrolling Durham Road July 22 observed a vehicle with a broken window and located the owner, who said her purse had been stolen from the car. Officers found the purse under another vehicle, and the victim determined her cell phone, money and credit cards had been stolen.

On July 22, police investigated a suspicious dirt bike at an Eastern Road gas station and arrested a Norton man and an Akron man and released them to Wayne and Medina counties’ sheriff’s deputies on warrants.

Police investigated a burglary at a Rockcut Road residence July 22, when residents reported suspects ransacked two vehicles outside the residence. Nothing was reported missing, but it is suspected the perpetrators obtained a garage door opener to enter the garage, where they stole a dirt bike, worth $6,849, a $4,000 four-wheeler and a $1,000 mini-bike.

A Wadsworth Road man reported July 23 he found five marijuana plants, surrounded by a fence, growing in his yard. Police confiscated the plants and are investigating.

A man called police to a Greenwich Road restaurant July 24, when he reported a driver followed him from Barberton following a road rage incident, confronted him and punched him in the eye. Police noticed the victim had a visible injury, but they were unable to locate the suspect, who had left. Officers then went to the suspect’s home in Norton, and he admitted he followed the victim, confronted him and grabbed his clothing. He was arrested for assault and released with a court summons.

Suspects entered two vehicles outside a Wilbur Avenue residence July 25 between 2 and 8 a.m. and stole a GPS unit and iPod Touch.

A Gardner Boulevard man reported July 26 that three prescription medications were stolen from his unlocked vehicle the previous night.

Police were called to a South Cleveland-Massillon Road gas station July 26, when a female was passed out behind the steering wheel of a vehicle and her boyfriend was attempting to wake her. Their 2-year-old child was in the vehicle. Officers arrested the male on a warrant and released him to Medina County sheriff’s deputies. The female regained conciousness and told officers she used heroin before driving to the gas station and again when her boyfriend and child went into the gas station. She was arrested for DUI and endangering children and transported to a hospital. The child was released to her grandmother.

Also July 27, a Norton Avenue woman reported $200 missing from her residence. She said a Kenmore female entered the residence without her permission, but she is uncertain whether the girl took the money.

A Medina man stopped for speeding on Clark Mill Road July 27 failed a field sobriety test and was charged with DUI. His BAC tested .101.

PENINSULA: On June 3, a Peninsula Police officer was conducting stationary radar on Akron-Peninsula Road when a car was clocked traveling northbound at 46 mph in a 25-mph zone. The officer conducted a traffic stop and the driver was arrested for OVI.

Two Peninsula police officers responded to a request for mutual aid from the Richfield Police Department June 5. A juvenile told the officers he was locked out of his home and he kicked the side garage door in to gain entry. The juvenile’s mother said her son had been unruly and she felt unsafe, so she locked him out. The juvenile admitted to being mad about not being permitted to go to a bar with his friends. The officers advised the youth to listen to his mother and also listed the legal ramifications of being in a bar while underage and the domestic violence laws relating to damaging property.

An officer received a call from a firefighter June 6 regarding three suspects in a car acting suspiciously. The officer headed southbound on Akron-Peninsula Road to meet up with the vehicle when the firefighter informed the officer that one of the vehicle’s occupants aimed a gun out the vehicle’s window and shot at a street sign. The officer asked the firefighter to follow the vehicle. The officer activated his emergency lights and siren to catch up to the vehicle and make a traffic stop. The officer, who maintained contact with the firefighter throughout, caught up to both vehicles on Northampton Road at Chart Road. The driver was charged with carrying a concealed weapon and improperly handling a firearm in a motor vehicle. The rear passenger was charged with improperly handling a firearm in a motor vehicle. Both suspects were released on a bond.

On June 8, a pair of officers responded to an address on Main Street with Valley Fire personnel for a deceased person. The victim was pronounced dead at 1:20 p.m. One of the Peninsula officers stood by through the arrival and departure of an investigator from the Summit County Medical Examiner’s Office. No further police action was taken.

An officer was met at the police station by a Major Road resident June 12 in reference to a “theft of services” complaint. The man said he had paid a local construction company $54,000 of a possible $60,000 for general construction work on his property, but the company completed only half of the work and never returned. The officer advised the man his complaint was civil in nature and he should contact an attorney and go through the Stow Prosecutor’s Office.

On June 15, an officer responded to a Valley Fire District rescue call for an injured hiker in Cuyahoga Valley National Park. The individual was located at the bottom of the Scenic Overlook trail between the Octagon area and the Ledges area. Valley Fire personnel rescued the hiker and took him to a local hospital for evaluation and treatment.

RICHFIELD: Officers responded to a report of a fight at a Brecksville Road motel July 6, when two men were involved in a physical fight, a friend of one party intervened, and all three males fell to the ground. The parties had separated when police arrived. One man said he thought he saw the other male masturbating in a vehicle, in plain sight, earlier that day, and he confronted the man and said he was going to report it. The other man denied the allegation and grabbed his phone and the fight began. The other parties told conflicting stories, and no charges were filed. The parties were advised to avoid contact with each other, and police advised the man who reported seeing the inappropriate activities that he should call police and let them handle the situation, rather than confronting the suspect.

Police are seeking the person who stole a license plate from a vehicle outside a Brecksville Road trucking company July 10.

On July 11, police were investigating the theft of a motor vehicle from the parking lot of a Brecksville Road trucking company. The vehicle was taken between 4 and 11 p.m.

A Streetsboro Road man reported attempted fraud July 16, when he said he advertised furniture for sale on eBay, and a woman responded and said she was hearing impaired and had to conduct the transaction via computer, with a third party. She sent him a check for $2,875 from a trust, and his bank told him to destroy the check.

Police were called to a disturbance at a Black Road residence July 17, when a Cleveland man, who had been experiencing hallucinations, called numerous police agencies to report that there were people in the yard of his parents’ residence. He also saw people who were not there in his parents’ home, and he reported he was being held at gunpoint by his cousin, which also was not true. Police determined the subject has a permit to carry a gun, and they confiscated a loaded firearm for safe-keeping and handcuffed the subject until they could assess the situation. Bath officers also had responded to the subject’s calls for help, and after Richfield and Bath officers negotiated with the subject, he agreed to be transported to a hospital for a mental health evaluation. Once he reached the hospital, physicians called for police assistance in dealing with him.

A Sunset Drive man reported attempted fraud July 18, when an unknown caller claimed his grandson had been arrested in Guatemala and in order to have him released, the grandfather would have to wire $1,485 to an unknown person. The man called other family members and determined his grandson was in Detroit. 

A Regency Woods Drive resident reported July 18 an unknown driver struck the mailbox outside the residence at 5:45 a.m. and knocked it across the street.

Police investigated reports of trespassing at a farm on Medina Line Road July 20, when a property owner said people who complained to the Humane Society of Greater Akron were on his land without his permission. He said he erected “no trespassing” signs, but he also requested additional patrol to keep trespassers out, due to danger concerns for people being on the property during construction, following a fire in June. The complainants say horses on the property are malnourished and are not being cared for properly. The Humane Society has visited the property on several occasions, and the property owner told police he is working to comply with the organization’s suggestions.

The Akron police reports were compiled by Ariel Hakim, and the Peninsula reports were compiled by Sean Patrick. The remainder were compiled by Maggie DeMellier.

Editor’s note: The police reports provided here are a sampling of those filed with each community’s police departments. For questions related to the reports we’ve included or others we have not, call the West Side Leader at 330-665-9595. To provide information on an alleged criminal act noted in this week’s report, call the local police department.

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