Cocaine, ID theft, mailbox vandalism and domestic violence figured prominently in the Arlington crime report for March from the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO).
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.
March 1
Gerber Road / Memphis Arlington Road (simple assault)
A check of a vehicle illegally parked at the Arlington Sports Complex after it closed for the night turned into a couple of more serious arrests on March 1.
An officer smelled the strong odor of marijuana as he approached the vehicle and asked the two inside for identification.
The driver, 15, showed his ID. The passenger said she was 14 and had no ID.
The officer told her to get out of the vehicle, and he saw her drop a clear baggie containing a white powder. She said she thought it was a lollipop and did not know where it came from. He took her into custody.
The substance was later identified as 0.3 grams of cocaine.
The driver ignored the officer’s direction to get out of the car and asked why he was being detained. The officer repeated the command, and the driver refused, jerked away and resisted arrest when the officer tried to take him into custody.
The suspect got a bloody nose during the scuffle and received medical care on the scene.
When patting down the driver, the officer found a $1 bill coated with a white powdery residue.
During a search of the car, officers found a split cigarillo containing loose leafy green material and a sunglasses case containing marijuana seeds and stems.
The green substance was later identified as 3.1 grams of marijuana.
The driver confessed to snorting cocaine earlier that day and said the passenger must have grabbed his baggie of cocaine when getting out of the vehicle. The female, however, said the baggie must have fallen on her. Because of conflicting stories, both were charged with possession of cocaine.
The officer could not reach the passenger’s legal guardian.
Both suspects were taken to Shelby County Juvenile Court. While en route, the male said he was going to jump off a bridge after he got out of jail because his life was over.
March 31
Mary Alice Lane (aggravated assault)
A tense relationship talk turned into assault on the 12200 block of Mary Alice Lane on March 2. The victim told officers that the suspect drove up to his house at 7:50 p.m., wanting to talk about their relationship. The talk got heated, and he told her to leave.
She swore, took a baseball bat from her car trunk and swang the bat at him, he said. He added that she bashed a window at his house, and one of her car windows was broken when he tried grabbing the bat. He took it away and threw it into the yard.
Then she tried to get a kitchen knife from her car, the two struggled, and the victim got minor abrasions on his hands and wrists.
She dropped the knife and fled the scene, later calling police to report that he had assaulted her. An officer met her at the Fred’s store on U.S. 70 in Arlington, and two other officers took a statement from the male victim at his home.
Officers arrested the woman and took her to Shelby County Jail East.
Airline Road (theft from motor vehicle)
A mother reported that someone stole her daughter’s car license plate while her Nissan ASL was parked at Arlington High School (5475 Airline Road).
The responding officer entered the license plate into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database.
March 4
Evening Mist Drive (identity theft)
A resident on the 5400 block of Evening Mist Drive reported on March 4 that he received a utility bill for someone else’s address.
The victim said he moved to Evening Miss Drive in January and got a $647.67 bill from Memphis Light Gas and Water (MLGW) on Feb. 27 for service on the 3000 block of Manhattan Avenue.
An MLGW spokesman told him that the account was opened on Jan. 5 and used his name, driver’s license number, Social Security number and current address for billing purposes.
The victim said he had no idea how someone got his identifying information and does not know who lives at that address.
Airline Road (simple assault)
A father reported being assaulted March 4 when he confronted a man for rolling a joint in the father’s Toyota Forerunner.
The father said he was at Sonic (6101 Airline Road) around 7:45 p.m. and saw a male with marijuana in the SUV with his stepson. The father told the male to get out and away from his stepson, and the two argued.
The father said the male suspect punched him in the forehead and left, headed toward Pizza Hut on the same road. Responding officers checked the area and were unable to locate the suspect. The victim had no visible injuries at the time of the report.
March 7
Longleaf Oak Trail (misdemeanor vandalism)
Someone damaged the mailbox of a resident on the 12200 block of Longleaf Oak Trail between noon and 4 p.m. March 7. The responding officer saw that the mailbox was dented and leaning over ($200). The victim had no suspect information.
March 10
Dempsey Drive (other theft/non-specific)
A white man in a green sweater and tan hat took a package from the porch of a home where he does not live, on the 11600 block of Dempsey Drive.
An anonymous caller reported the suspicious activity and said he took the package behind a home on the 11500 block of the same street. She provided officers with the tag number of his four-wheel drive vehicle.
The man said he got the package because he ordered something sent to the other address. He could not provide a tracking number or the email address used for the order. He said he opened the package, resealed it and put it back on the porch.
The package had the name and address of the resident at the first address, who said he had ordered a gun cleaning kit.
March 12
Jon Oak Drive (misdemeanor vandalism)
A woman reported on March 12 that someone broke into her car while it was parked overnight in her driveway.
She got home around 6 p.m. March 11 and returned to her car around 7:30 a.m. March 12, when she noticed a small break in the lower left corner of the driver’s side window. When she opened the door, part of the window glass ($200) fell out.
The victim said she doesn’t have any known enemies and isn’t in a disagreement with anyone.
March 13
Airline Road (counterfeiting/forgery)
An official at the First Citizens National Bank (5845 Airline Road) reported on March 13 that a male customer handed one of her clerks a suspicious-looking check and was told to return once the check was verified.
The check was for $2,033.18 on an account for the Bartlett First Assembly of God, and the signature and printed text did not look authentic.
A spokesman for the church said no checks had been issued to the suspect.
The officer advised the clerk to have the suspect return to the bank for more information on the check. When he returned, the officer detained him, patted him down and found drug paraphernalia (straw, syringe/needle and metal spoon) in his possession. The officer took the suspect into custody.
The bank official said there had been at least two previous check frauds at other branches, using that same account but a different suspect’s name. It is unknown if this incident is related.
The officer took the suspect to Shelby County Jail and charged him with criminal simulation and possession of drug paraphernalia.
March 15
Noni Valley (misdemeanor vandalism)
A resident on the 12500 block of Noni Valley reported on March 15 that he noticed his mailbox was damaged and facing the wrong way earlier that morning. The bracket securing the mailbox to the pole was broken.
The damage happened between 6 p.m. March 15 and 9 a.m. March 15. The victim had no suspect information.
March 16
Rodgers Mill Drive (identity theft)
A resident on the 12100 block of Rodgers Mill Drive reported on March 16 that he was the victim of identity theft. He received an IRS notification on Feb. 21, saying a suspicious federal income tax return had been filed using his Social Security Number.
He advised them it was not his tax return. He filed a report with the IRS and the Federal Trade Commission.
March 17
U.S. 70 (misdemeanor vandalism)
A customer at Kroger (11635 Airline Road) reported that she returned from shopping to find that someone had broken the passenger side window ($175) of her truck’s camper shell.
The truck was parked in front of the store, facing west and closest to the travel lane. She said it was the only place she drove that day.
March 18
Shetland Drive (identity theft)
Wells Fargo Bank and Discover Card notified a resident on the 5200 block of Shetland Drive that someone had used his personal information to open several fraudulent accounts (A Discover card and Wells Fargo checking and savings accounts).
The victim said he didn’t know how someone got his personal information. The victim closed the accounts and said no charges had posted to them.
March 19
Strong Heart Trail (simple assault/domestic violence)
A woman on the 12300 block of Strong Heart Trail reported around 2 p.m. March 19 that an argument with her husband had escalated into a physical confrontation.
She said he grabbed her arm, pushed her to the floor and kicked the master bedroom door off its hinges. She complained of a sore forearm and pointed out a small abrasion on one hand.
He was not gone by the time officers responded to the scene. Her mother arrived and picked up the victim and her two small children, who witnessed the incident. One child said her daddy damaged the door.
The suspect returned before officers left, and they arrested him and took him to headquarters.
March 20
Armistead Street (residential burglary)
A resident on the 5900 block of Armistead Street reported a burglary on March 20.
He said his female companion returned home around 3:30 p.m. that day and called him because the following items had been stolen: Sony stereo system, several guns, gaming systems, a laptop a 32-inch TV.
The responding officers noticed that the home was not ransacked. The man said the home’s front door was not locked. No serial numbers were available for the stolen items.
March 21
Noni Valley (misdemeanor vandalism)
A resident on the 12500 block of Noni Valley reported on March 21 that someone had vandalized his mailbox ($50) sometime since he checked it at 6 p.m. the previous day. It was the second such incident within the past week.
The responding officer noted that someone had broken the welds holding the mailbox in place.
March 25
U.S. 70 (other theft/non-specific)
A vice president of Huron Smith Oil reported on March 25 that suspects had stolen about $100,000 in “ghost sales” of gasoline from the Arlington Market and Deli (11017 U.S. 70) between March 1, 2014, and March 25, 2015.
The company began noticing a large gap between gallons purchased and gallons sold, and the company had American Petroleum, the service provider, conduct a pump system audit.
The audit uncovered the fact that someone had been putting the pumps in standalone mode, allowing the thefts. American Petroleum corrected the problem and removed the mechanism that permitted standalone mode.
March 26
Polk Street (residential burglary)
A resident on the 6100 block of Polk Street found his front door open when he returned from work on March 26. The deadbolt was not engaged, and someone damaged the doorjamb when forcing the door open.
Stolen items included a 50-inch black Hisense TV ($1,000) and a black Apple iPad ($450).
March 27
Rosebrook Lane (stalking and intimidation/domestic violence
A woman reported on March 27 that her ex-boyfriend had threatened to shoot her and kill her sons over the past 10 days.
She said she gave him money previously so he would leave her alone, but she started receiving text messages and phone calls on March 16, asking whose car had been at her house the previous night.
Gulf Stream Road (simple assault): A spokesman at Maines Paper & Food Service (11420 Gulf Stream Road) said an employee who’d been fired came to the store around 11 a.m. March 27, picked up his final paycheck and attacked another man who was using his phone.
Witnesses backed up the story, and the responding officer observed that the victim had an abrasion on his nose. The suspect fled before the responding officer arrived.
Jene Ridge Circle (threatening phone call)
A woman reported that her ex-boyfriend texted threatening messages to her in the early morning hours of March 27.
Threats included keying her car (scratching the paint), putting sugar in the vehicle’s gas tank, slitting her throat, beheading her and playing kickball with her head.
March 29
South Ragland Cove (identity theft)
A resident on the 6100 block of South Ragland Cove reported on March 29 that Kohls department store contacted her about a past-due bill.
She did not have a card with them, and the representative said someone had opened the account with her name, date of birth, Social Security number and her old address on the 5900 block of Ash Hill Lane, Bartlett.
The victim said she hadn’t lived at the old address for more than 12 years.
Further investigation revealed that someone had opened three accounts in her name on Dec. 22, 2014: The Kohls card issued by Capital One ($639), a J.C. Penney card issued by Synchrony Bank ($750) and a Sears card issued by Citibank ($1,100).
Total fraudulent charges were $2,489.
March 30
Chase Creek Cove (identity theft)
A Chase Creek Cove resident came to the sheriff’s substation on March 30 to report that someone had used his bank account in Orlando, Fla.
He received a call on March 25 that someone had tried to open an account in his name at a Bank of America location in Orlando.
Two days later, he noticed that one of his accounts was short $3,000 and called the bank immediately.
He also noticed that someone used his account information on other occasions: Brite House Cable, ($86.26 on March 26) and Walmart ($1,600.68 and $1,408.12).
He said the only time he was in Orlando was last year when he bought a timeshare from Exploria Resorts, and they were the only people who had received his account information and Social Security number.
He has since closed the bank account.
