Arlington saw a range of criminal activities during January, from a sisterly spat about a father’s favoritism to identity theft, stolen firearms, marijuana possession, two choking incidents and a death threat.
The Shelby County Sheriff’s Department (SCSO) reported the following incidents in Arlington for January 2015.
Editor’s note: All suspects are presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, and values are estimated for stolen/damaged items. These are brief summaries of detailed SCSO reports.
Jan. 2
Scarlet Ridge Drive (intimidation)
A father on the 5400 block of Scarlet Ridge Drive reported on Jan. 2 that suspected gang members at Arlington High School are threatening his son over social media. A friend spotted the death threats on kik.com, a social media site that allows group texts.
The responding officer viewed a text from one suspect, saying, “I’m going to kill this hoe” and including a picture of the victim. Another suspect commented, “I’m going to take his life.”
The responding officer advised the father to speak with the school resource officer.
Jan. 3
Longleaf Oaks Trail (simple assault/domestic violence)
A neighbor on the 12100 block of Longleaf Oaks Trail reported a street fight in progress between 11:30 p.m. Jan. 2 and about five minutes after midnight Jan. 3. Two sisters were fighting about the father’s decision to pay one sister’s bills, and witnesses had to separate them.
The one receiving help with her bills said her sister hit her on the top of her hand, and the responding officers observed several marks there. No medical attention was needed. The complaining sister was arrested and taken to Jail East for booking/processing.
Cashmere Woods (misdemeanor drugs/narcotics violation)
An officer found two 14-year-old girls alone in a home on the 11100 block of Cashmere Woods during a welfare check. The officer spotted a 20-ounce Sprite bottle in plain view that had been fashioned into a makeshift pipe, and the bottle had burned residue that smelled like burned marijuana.
When asked about other drugs in the house, one of the youths produced a 6.7 gram bag of a leafy substance that texted positive as marijuana. Both teens received juvenile summons. The one with the bag was released to her father’s custody, and the office drove the other to a residence on the 12000 block of Rosebrook Lane and released her to her guardian’s custody.
Milton Wilson (identity theft)
A man from the 5400 block of Milton Wilson reported on Jan. 3 that someone had stolen his identity and his son’s. He said he has received multiple correspondences about unauthorized credit card charges and attempts to open other accounts, using his and his son’s Social Security Numbers.
The victim said Best Buy emailed him on Dec. 22 regarding a $1,694 purchase in Chesterfield, Mo. He told them the charge was fraudulent, and the purchase was declined and the account closed. Experian advised him that someone tried to open a Nordstrom’s account in the St. Louis Galleria Mall on Dec. 20 and a Victoria’s Secret account on Dec. 21, but the suspect gave an incorrect Social Security Number in each case, so the accounts were denied. The victim called both stores, and each said the number given was that of his son. The victim also received a letter from Comenity Bank regarding the Nordstrom and Victoria’s Secret accounts.
Best Buy at Ridgeway Center in Memphis next contacted the victim about a Dec. 28 attempt to make a $501 purchase using the man’s new account, and the charge was declined. The victim said he will contact all his credit accounts and advise them of the situation.
Longhorn Drive (felony vandalism)
A resident on the 12200 block of Longhorn Drive said someone damaged his truck and basketball equipment at his home between 11 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. on Jan. 3.
He found his truck mirror mounting ($500) bent backward with the mirror lying on the ground, and his basketball goal ($150) had been moved out of the driveway into the grass. He said someone had driven into his driveway, knocking off the mirror and striking the goal so hard it dented the metal, bent the back metal bars and knocked it into the home’s gutter ($150) and then into a fence. There also was paint transfer on the victim’s bumper ($200).
The victim did not see the damage occur and named his ex-wife as the only suspect. He said that neither he nor his current wife have had any contact with his ex recently. The responding officer checked the ex-wife’s vehicle but did not observe any corresponding damage,
Jan. 5
Chester Street (felony vandalism)
A woman on the 6000 block of Chester Street said someone vandalized her BMW 650 series in her driveway between 5:30 p.m. Jan. 4 and 5:30 a.m. Jan. 5.
That morning she noticed damage to the driver’s side window and door. When she tried to drive the car, she noticed the key hole was damaged, the steering wheel would not go up or down, and the window and door lock buttons would not function on the driver’s side door.
She said nothing was missing from the car, and she estimated damage at $4,000.
Jan. 8
Airline Road (theft from building)
A male youth reported on Jan. 8 that someone stole his cell phone from Arlington High School’s small gym the previous day. During wellness class, someone took it from the pocket of his pants left on the floor beside the gym wall. No one turned it in at the school’s main office, and there is no surveillance camera in the small gym.
At home that night, he called the phone. Someone answered but hung up and had the phone turned off when he tried to call back. The victim said he told his mother about the theft, and she wanted a report taken.
Jan. 10
Airline Road (misdemeanor vandalism/domestic violence)
A woman who lives on the 3200 block of Airline Road said her husband arrived unannounced around 10:30 p.m. Jan. 9 to leave a present for their daughter. She didn’t let him see their daughter, and she said he left, yelling and cursing. The couple have a history of physical domestic violence.
Around 12:15 a.m. Jan. 10 she heard multiple four wheelers in the field south of her home. Then around 12:35 a.m., she heard glass breaking and walked into her den, where she saw that one window was broken and partially opened with the exterior screen slashed.
Jan. 11
Aubrey Ranch Drive (residential burglary)
A woman said someone burglarized her home on the 6000 block of Aubrey Ranch Drive on Jan. 11. She, her mother and her son each left the garage door open and the door from the garage into the house unlocked when they were out of the house.
The woman said she was gone from around 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. Her mother, who lives with her, was at the home except for about an hour at noon. The son was out from around 6:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. Neither woman went into the game room upon her return, so they didn’t immediately know anything was missing.
The son reported the following items were taken from the game room: A Sony PlayStation, Sony video games, and a headset (manufacturer unknown). A sheriff’s dispatcher entered the PlayStation’s serial number into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database, but the son didn’t have serial numbers for the other stolen items.
He also named a suspect because of the person’s familiarity with the residence and the fact that he has stolen from the victim previously.
Jan. 17
Green Lee Street (aggravated assault)
A man reported on Jan. 17 that someone hit him on the left side of his face with a beer bottle at Rizzi’s Pizza Café (6230 Green Lee Street) in an unprovoked attack early that morning.
The victim said he was at Rizzie’s with friends, stepped back to speak to someone else at the bar, and was hit with the bottle sometime after 12:15 a.m. Jan. 17. He couldn’t recall what happened afterward and said he didn’t know the suspect.
A witness said he fell to the ground, unconscious, and the back of his head hit the stage. The hit was hard enough to break the bottle.
The witness said she saw the suspect on top of the victim, hitting him in the face. Someone broke up the fight, and the suspect ran out. A bar employee provided the suspect’s name. Both the witness and the victim said they didn’t know why the suspect attacked.
The responding officer saw that the victim’s left eye had a blood pocket under it, and he had a cheekbone bruise and a small laceration on the back of his head.
Jan. 18
Collierville-Arlington Road (forcible fondling)
A victim reported an incident of forcible fondling on Collierville-Arlington Road, north of Wolf River. The incident happened between 11 p.m. Jan. 17 and 1 a.m. Jan. 18. No additional information on the case is publicly available.
Longleaf Oak Trail (simple assault/domestic violence)
A woman on the 12100 block of Longleaf Oak Trail reported on Jan. 18 that her husband tried to choke her earlier that morning. She said they had been drinking, and they began fighting on the way home from the Ice Bar and Grill between 2:30 a.m. and about 4 a.m. Jan. 18.
He became enraged, stopped the vehicle at a Walgreen’s, grabbed her throat and choked her, she said. Then they continued on the way to their babysitter’s home. She said he again stopped the car a few houses from the babysitter’s home and pushed and kicked her out of the car. They left the children at the babysitter’s home and returned home. The husband was gone by the time deputies arrived.
She reported no injuries and declined any medical treatment. The responding officer noted that the victim’s account of the incident changed during the investigation.
Airline Road (aggravated assault)
Several youths reported that someone shot at them as they walked along the west side of Airline Road around 10:30 p.m. Jan. 18. One victim, 16, said they were near the railroad crossing when a dark pickup truck left the Sonic parking lot (6101 Airline Road) and headed south on Airline Road toward the youths. As the truck crossed the tracks, a passenger rolled down the side window and pointed a weapon at the youths. The suspect then fired multiple rounds of paint balls or pellets at the youths. The suspects then sped off, southbound on Airline Road.
The responding officer noticed a fresh red welt on the 16-year-old’s arm. Another paint ball or pellet glanced off the top of the head for another victim, 15. A third youth, 17, was not struck, but his account of the incident matched what his friends said. A responding officer took photos of injuries and the scene.
They described the suspects as white males, about 16-20 years old, but no additional information was available about them or their truck.
The youths said they were having a sleepover for the holiday weekend and were walking to Sonic when they encountered the suspects. Both victims declined medical treatment, and all three were picked up by guardians/parents.
No other witnesses came forward, and the suspects and the vehicle remain unidentified. The investigating officers could not find any physical evidence that the suspects left at the scene.
Jan. 20
Marquis Court (felony vandalism)
A man reported on Jan. 20 that someone vandalized his Acura TSX while it was parked in the lot at Arlington Manor Apartments (11211 Marquis Court). Between 2 p.m. Jan. 15 and 6:30 a.m. Jan. 19, someone scratched the back bumper, damaged the passenger side mirror, put small dents in the passenger side door, cracked the passenger side front bumper, took the front grill and cracked the front bumper ($2,500).
Jan. 22
Airline Road (misdemeanor weapon law violations)
A witness reported that a male white student had a knife clipped to his pocket in the hallway of Arlington High School (5475 Airline Road) on Jan. 21. The witness confronted the student, who said the knife was in his pocket from the previous day.
The assistant principal interviewed him, and he was suspended for six months and given a juvenile summons for carrying a weapon on school property. The school turned the knife over to his mother, who took him home from school.
Jan. 23
Airline Road (simple assault/domestic violence)
A female victim on the 4700 block of Airline Road reported that her brother physically assaulted her between 3:30 a.m. and 4:10 a.m. Jan. 23. The victim said the fight started when she texted him that his daughter had tried to get in bed with her over the past couple of weeks.
The victim said he came out of his bedroom, punched her in the head and said he was going to kill her. Their mother separated the two, but he came at his sister a second time and kicked her in the head. He came at her a third time and put her in a chokehold. He left before sheriff’s officers arrived.
The responding officers didn’t see any signs of injury. The victim refused medical care.
Jan. 24
Carters Bluff Drive (theft from building)
A man who lives on the 5900 block of Carters Bluff Drive discovered several of his firearms missing around 8:40 a.m. Jan. 24. He said the theft must have occurred between Aug. 20 and the current date.
He said that his stepdaughter and her husband have been living with him since Aug. 1. The stepdaughter’s husband admitted to her that he stole some items, the victim said.
The victim and the suspect met at Cash America Pawn on Covington Pike, where the suspect said pawned the following stolen items: A Remington Arms Co. Inc. shotgun, a Poulan chainsaw and a Gretch clipper 1966 guitar. The suspect also said he pawned the victim’s Knight Manufacturing muzzle loader at Accent Pawn shop on Summer Avenue.
Once home again, the victim noticed other items had also been stolen, and he contacted the sheriff’s office.
Items placed in the NCIC database included a New England Firearms rifle, a Remington Arms Co. Inc. Shotgun, a Knight Manufacturing muzzle loader, an H&R (Harrington & Richardson) pistol, a Jennings Firearms Co. pistol, a Bryco Arms pistol and a Firearms Co. pistol. Other items were not placed in the NCIC database because serial numbers were not available.
Jan. 25
Airline Road (simple assault/domestic violence)
A victim reported her boyfriend assaulted her in the parking lot of 5769 Airline Road between midnight and 12:28 a.m. Jan. 25.
She said they were arguing in a car, and he grabbed her by the neck, dragged her across the driver’s seat, threw her out and drove off. In the process, he threw and broke her Apple iPhone. The victim said she didn’t need medical attention, and the responding officer didn’t observe any marks or abrasions on her.
Jan. 27
Hacks Cross (misdemeanor drugs/narcotics violation)
An officer stopped a green pickup doing 23 mph in a 15 mph zone around 9:25 a.m. Jan. 27. The officer noticed a strong smell of a controlled substance while talking with the driver, who admitted there was contraband in a container on the front passenger seat.
The substance, about 0.7 gram, tested positive for marijuana. The officer took the driver to jail on drug charges.
Jan. 28
Osborne Grove (false pretenses/swindle/ confidence game)
A woman who lives on the 12100 block of Osborne Drive said a man kept calling her on Jan. 28, saying she won the lottery. He called from a local number and told her she had to pay a 5 percent tax on her winnings.
She did not pay the suspect, and she provided his phone number to the police.
Jan. 29
Airline Road (simple assault)
A wellness teacher at Arlington High School (5475 Airline Road) reported that a youth threw a soft volleyball onto the back of another youth’s head during class.
The suspect said he did it because he wanted to be in in-school suspension (ISS) or out-of-school suspension (OSS). He got his wish with three days of ISS.
Jan. 31
Bending Creek Cove (simple assault/domestic violence)
A woman knocked on doors on the 12300 block of Strong Heart Trail between 4 a.m. and 4:48 a.m. Jan. 31, asking someone to call the police for her because of a domestic violence incident.
She told the responding officer that she and her husband were at her boss’s home on the 4900 block of Bending Creek Cove when the couple argued and her husband punched her in the back of the head, knocking her glasses off. Then he left in an unknown direction before officers arrived.
The report noted that there was insufficient evidence that a physical altercation occurred.
The victim refused medical care.
