3/18/2010 - West Side Leader
     

WEST AKRON: Burglaries occurred at the following locations: the 1100 block of Stoner Street between Jan. 28 and March 8; the 400 block of Zahn Drive March 3-14; the 1000 block of Orlando Avenue March 7; the 1800 block of West Market Street March 8; the 200 block of Beck Avenue March 8; the 1200 block of Nome Avenue March 8, in which a juvenile male and an 18-year-old male were arrested; the 800 block of Crestview Avenue March 8; the 100 block of Greencrest Terrace March 10; the first block of South Walnut Street March 11; the 400 block of West Market Street March 11; the 500 block of Storer Avenue March 12; the 200 block of Burton Avenue March 12-13; the 700 block of Glendora Avenue March 12-13; and the 1400 block of Hampton Knoll Drive March 13.

A 26-year-old Rocky Brook Drive man was charged Feb. 19 with felony domestic violence, grand theft auto, disrupting public service, theft and unlawful restraint. He reportedly got physical with the victim when the victim would not give him money, then assaulted the victim and took the victim’s cell phone, money and vehicle.

A juvenile male was arrested March 1 around 12:15 p.m. for disorderly conduct and aggravated menacing after he reportedly was kicking chairs and pushing desks at a Copley Road school. He reportedly yelled profanity and punched lockers, disrupting classes, as an officer lead him away, and he threatened to shoot up the school, making the officer his “first victim.”

A 22-year-old Marcy Street male was arrested for trafficking in drugs, possession of drugs, possession of drug paraphernalia and tampering with evidence March 7 around 4:50 p.m. after officers saw him loitering in the 500 block of Crosby Street and toss a cigarette box onto the ground. The box contained crack cocaine. The suspect denied the drugs were his.

A 29-year-old Winton Avenuemale who was wanted by the Akron Police Narcotics Unit for felony drug trafficking and drug abuse turned himself in to authorities at the Summit County Jail March 8. The week before, detectives had executed a search warrant at his residence and recovered 48 pounds of marijuana. [For more on that, see last week’s Neighborhood Watch or visit the archives at www.akron.com.]

After nearly a month-long investigation, detectives from the Akron Police Narcotics Unit arrested a 31-year-old Mercer Avenue man March 10 during a traffic stop in the 1000 block of Grant Street after he reportedly threw drugs out of the car window. He had his 1-year-old son in the car at the time of his arrest and was found to be in possession of 24 grams of crack cocaine, 10 grams of powdered cocaine, 3 grams of marijuana and more than $800 in cash. He was charged with trafficking in crack cocaine, drug abuse, tampering with evidence and child endangering and booked into the Summit County Jail. The child was placed in the custody of Summit County Children Services.

Around 4 p.m. March 10, a 44-year-old male reported he was showing an apartment to a female on Cromwell Drive when two males walked in armed with handguns and ordered the landlord to get against the wall. One suspect allegedly put a gun to the victim’s head while the other male went through the victim’s pockets. The suspects took the victim’s cell phone, checks, money orders, identification and $450 in cash before fleeing. The female fled with the males.

A 20-year-old Cordova Avenue female was charged March 11 with felonious assault. On March 6, she allegedly hit three victims with her vehicle and attempted to hit several others at a White Avenue location.

A 21-year-old Greenwood Avenue male was charged March 12 with aggravated robbery and felonious assault. He reportedly woke up the victim with a gun while the victim was sleeping in a vehicle in the 500 block of Hoye Avenue. The suspect then allegedly hit the victim with the gun and ordered the victim into the garage. He allegedly had the victim strip down and took all of the victim’s possessions, including clothes, watch and $600 in cash, then left the scene in the vehicle that the victim had been sleeping in.

An 18-year-old Zahn Drive male was charged March 12 with felony carrying a concealed weapon and resisting arrest. Officers were called to Bellevue Avenue and Packard Drive for two suspects selling drugs. The Zahn Drive suspect was found to be in possession of a gun. He reportedly resisted arrest and fought with officers as they placed him in cuffs and then as they attempted to get him into the cruiser. Once inside the cruiser, he reportedly kicked the cruiser door.

A 46-year-old Hillwood Avenue man was charged March 15 with felony burglary. On Oct. 11, he allegedly forced his way into a South Portage Path church and stole a watch and wallet from an office.

A 24-year-old Mercer Avenue man who had been wanted by the Akron Police Department and the U.S. Marshals Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force turned himself in to officers early March 15 on Stoner Street. He had been wanted for participating in a criminal gang, having weapons under disability, aggravated menacing, child endangering, criminal damaging and domestic violence menacing for an argument at his girlfriend’s apartment that allegedly resulted in his firing several shots into the television set in the living room where two children were present. He fled before police arrived, and no injuries were reported.

BATH: A driver stopped for a traffic violation on Medina Road March 7 failed a field sobriety test and was charged with DUI. His BAC tested 0.12.

Police investigated the burglary of a West Bath Road residence March 8, when residents reported they woke at 2:45 a.m. when they heard a dog barking, and discovered the glass in the front door had been smashed.

On March 9, police patrolling Bath Road followed an erratic driver, who drove the vehicle to a side street and disappeared from view. Officers received a call of a suspicious vehicle outside a Cardinal Drive residence and found the suspect’s vehicle, which was unoccupied. Officers located the driver outside a nearby residence. She failed a field sobriety test and was charged with DUI and possession of a marijuana pipe. Her BAC tested 0.128.

A West Bath Road man reported March 10 he received an e-mail asking him to be a secret shopper to evaluate customer service at a Montrose discount store. He later received a check with instructions to deposit it into his account and wire money to an unknown subject to evaluate the store’s service. He deposited the check, but refused to wire any money, and waited for several days to find out if the check was legitimate. His bank informed him it was fraudulent. He said he did not lose any money but wanted a report to inform police and other prospective victims of the scam.

A representative of an Akron newspaper reported March 11 a suspect has been breaking into newspaper vending machines, damaging them and stealing money. The suspect, described as a bald black male of medium height and heavy build, drives a maroon Mercury Marquis. He has damaged machines outside two Montrose restaurants and machines in Copley and Fairlawn.

On March 13, a Derrwood Drive woman reported she left her residence at 8 p.m. and returned several hours later to find the garage door open and a service door leading to the residence had been damaged. Nothing was reported missing at the time.

Suspects smashed the passenger-side window of a vehicle parked on Rickel Drive March 13 and stole a purse from the front seat.

COPLEY: A contractor reported March 1 suspects stole a $1,500 tamper and a $180 extension cord from a construction site on Commercial Drive.

A vehicle was towed from a parking space at a Kirkwall Drive residential complex March 1 after a woman reported it had been abandoned for three weeks.

On March 3, a Minor Road woman reported she received a call from an employee of a children’s store, who called to confirm a $642 purchase of shoes the victim did not order. The purchase was made online using the victim’s credit card information and was to be delivered to an address in North Carolina. Fraud investigators at the credit card company told the victim suspects made two other attempts to make online purchases totaling more than $2,000 using her credit card.

The driver of a pickup truck called police to the Interstate 77 and state Route 21 split around 2:45 a.m. March 4 to report a woman was lying in the roadway and a male was standing over her. When the male attempted to pick up the woman, he fell backwards, and the woman ran along the highway and jumped into the passenger seat of the witness’ truck while he was talking with dispatchers on the phone. Police arrived and assisted her out of the vehicle. She became combative and began banging her head into the cage inside a police cruiser. She was removed from the patrol car, handcuffed for her own safety and transported by EMS to Akron City Hospital for evaluation. Police were working to identify the female and the male, who left in a sport utility vehicle before officers arrived.  

Police reviewed surveillance video footage of an incident at a Montrose restaurant March 4, which showed an employee take two deposit bags that were to be delivered to a bank. The employee only deposited one bag and apparently kept another containing $2,000.

A woman reported March 6 she left her purse containing cash, credit cards, gift cards, a debit card and driver’s license in a Medina Road movie theater after watching a midnight movie. She returned the following day to find it had been stolen.

On March 6, a customer at a Montrose West Avenue bank reported another customer told him a driver struck his car in the parking lot. He went outside to find the driver, who surveyed the damage, gave him a business card and drove off. The victim was unable to reach the man and made the report.

FAIRLAWN: Police patrolling West Market Street March 7 stopped a driver for a traffic violation and arrested him for drug abuse and possession of paraphernalia after they noticed an odor of marijuana in the vehicle. The driver surrendered marijuana and a scale.

A driver who was stopped for a traffic violation on Interstate 77 around 4 a.m. March 7 was arrested for DUI. A passenger in the vehicle was charged with possession of marijuana that was found in the vehicle. Each was released with a court summons.

On March 8, a driver was stopped for running stop signs while driving on Merz Boulevard and Shiawassee Avenue. He failed a field sobriety test and was arrested for DUI.

Officers arrested a woman for concealing a $289 handbag and leaving a mall department store without paying for it March 8.

A woman reported she left a $300 Kindle reading device in the restroom of a West Market Street bookstore March 8. When she called the company that issued the device, she was told it had been re-registered to a new owner. A company representative refused to provide information to her about the new owner, but agreed to provide information to police, who are investigating.

Police are investigating a report of felony theft filed by a Stratford Road sales representative who reported March 8 suspects stole defibrillators, worth a total of $525,000, from outside his residence. He said his employer shipped the items from Minnesota and traced their delivery to his residence Feb. 18, when they were stolen.

On March 11, police went to a Riviera Drive residence to investigate reports that three small children were left unattended and they were outside in the yard. Officers went to the door and spoke to a 5-year-old, who said her mother had gone out and her siblings (ages 1 and 2) were there. She said her mother often went out and left them alone. The children’s aunt arrived and said the children had been left with a babysitter, who left them alone. Police contacted Summit County Children Services, and the children were removed from the home and released to their aunt. Their mother was charged with three counts of endangering children.

A woman reported her purse, containing cash, credit cards and several vials of prescription medication, was stolen from a shopping cart at a West Market Street grocery store March 11.

Police are seeking suspects who broke into a newspaper vending machine outside the post office March 11, which caused $1,000 damage to the unit, and stole an undetermined amount of money.

NORTON: A Richland Avenue man reported March 8 his stepbrother has been making harassing phone calls to his family because he is upset about the disposition of their deceased father’s property. The stepbrother reported he went to his father’s residence, looked in the windows and noticed items had been removed. Police advised all parties to find a way to communicate and resolve their issues.

On March 9, police went to a Norton residence to investigate reports that two juveniles were not enrolled in or attending any school. Officers spoke with two males, who reportedly lied about their identities and ages and said their aunt, who lives at the residence, was not there. Police determined the two were juveniles and were wanted on felony warrants. Their aunt, who was there, was wanted in Summit County on a felony warrant and had an outstanding warrant in Norton. The juveniles were taken to a detention center and the female was taken to the Summit County Jail.

A Johnson Road man surrendered to police on a warrant for open burning March 10 and was released on a cash bond.

Police attempted to contact the owner of a wallet found March 10 in the parking lot of a Greenwich Road plaza by a customer who gave it to police.

On March 10, police went to an Eastern Road residence, arrested a woman on a felony warrant for identity fraud and released her to Medina County sheriff’s deputies.

A Norton Avenue woman reported March 11 suspects stole her son’s prescription medication from a bedroom the previous night.

A customer reported her purse, containing cash and a Social Security card, was stolen from a shopping cart March 11 while she shopped at a Greenwich Road grocery store.

Police were seeking a tall male in his 20s after the mother of a 16-year-old female reported the stranger assaulted the teen as she walked in a Wayne Street park around 8:30 p.m. March 11.

RICHFIELD: Suspects stole a radar detector and CDs from a vehicle parked in a Brecksville Road garage Feb. 28.

Employees at a post office called police March 1 when a woman was using an odd-looking old $10 bill for a purchase and they suspected it might be counterfeit. The woman told police she purchased a sheet of un-cut bills several years ago in order to collect them, and she decided to cut and use them. She paid by another means and took the bills to a bank to exchange them.

On March 4, a woman surrendered to police on a warrant for felony theft in connection with a report filed by a McCormick Drive woman in November. The report stated the suspect stole money and jewelry during a two-year period while she was employed by the victim and used her credit card to make unauthorized purchases.

Detectives arrested a woman on a warrant for felony forgery March 4 in connection with an incident Feb. 16, when the suspect picked up her ex-boyfriend’s computer from a shipping company and signed the name of her ex-boyfriend’s daughter to get the item. Police reviewed video surveillance footage showing the suspect retrieving the item and using an identification card bearing the man’s daughter’s name and a photo of the suspect. After she retrieved the computer, she called the victim to say she had it and left it outside a neighbor’s residence.

The Akron police reports were compiled by Stephanie Kist, and 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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