The Bartlett Police Department (BPD) handled the following incidents from Aug. 24 through Sept. 6.
These are the most notable cases of the week and do not necessarily represent all BPD activities for the time period.
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 BPD reports.
Aug. 24
Altruria and Eastbrief (automobile burglaries)
A man who left his truck unattended on in his Altruria driveway for about a few minutes returned to find it had been burglarized.
He said he opened his garage door around 6:30 a.m. Aug. 24 to leave for work, unlocked his truck and went back inside for something.
When he returned, he saw the glove compartment was open and his stainless black-handled 9mm Ruger semiautomatic handgun and brown leather holster were missing, along with his brown leather wallet.
A neighbor told him that an unknown white male wearing a gray hoodie and jeans limped by “in a hurry,” headed south on Altruria around the time of the burglary.
A victim on Eastbrier that morning also said her Michael Kors purse as missing from her vehicle. She noticed it when she got into her Jeep Wrangler around 7:35 a.m. to leave for work. She last saw the purse the previous day.
Cascade Hill Cove (theft)
A man reported on Aug. 24 that someone took his 2007 camo Suzuki Lax four-wheeler $5,000) from his driveway.
The theft happened between 2 p.m. Aug. 23 and 7 a.m. Aug. 24.
Aug. 26
U.S. 70 (auto burglary)
A woman reported that she was at the Kroger gas station (7615 U.S. 70) between 2 p.m. and 2:15 p.m. Aug. 26 when someone stole her wallet from her 2001 Hyundai Sonata. She had stepped away briefly to the service kiosk and left the car unlocked.
The wallet is a teal West brand women’s wallet ($10).
Germantown Road (theft from yard)
A man reported on Aug. 26 that someone had stolen a pressure washer from his back yard on the 4500 block of Germantown Road.
The item, a Troy-Bilt pressure washer with a Briggs and Stratton engine ($200), went missing between 11 p.m. Aug. 25 and 6 p.m. Aug. 26.
He said the pressure washer is red and black, has four different pressures with two yellow pressure tips, and can spray water at 2,800 pounds per square inch (PSI).
An officer recovered the pressure washer by researching the Memphis Police Department’s kiosk portal for any pawned items that might match with items taken in recent burglaries.
Someone had pawned it on Aug. 26 at EZ Pawn on Summer Ave. The detective working the case took photos of the item at the pawn shop, and the owner positively identified it.
The suspect who pawned it also has current outstanding warrants out of General Sessions court. For the pressure washer, he earned another arrest warrant for theft of property under $500.
Aug. 27
Mary Nancy Cove (aggravated burglary)
A man reported on Aug. 27 that someone ransacked his home on Mary Nancy Cove and stole TVs and jewelry while he was away.
The incident happened between 6 p.m. Aug. 26 and 7:45 a.m. Aug. 27.
Items stolen included a 46-inch Visio flat-screen TV ($600), two 36-inch flat-screen TVs ($400) and miscellaneous jewelry.
The victim said he would have to get his wife to make an itemized list of missing jewelry. He also said they might be able to provide the TVs’ serial numbers later.
Aug. 28
Royal Valley Drive (suspicious circumstances)
An officer foiled what appeared to be a burglary attempt on Aug. 28 by responding to a call about a suspicious car and two unfamiliar men on foot on the 6500 block of Royal Valley Drive.
Someone reported a blue Ford Taurus with two black males slowly circling the area around 9:30 a.m. Aug. 28. The report also mentioned two black males on foot walking in neighbors’ yards and then entering one back yard.
The responding officer saw a blue four-door Mercury Sable parked at the curb nearby with a view of Royal Valley Cove.
While the officer was talking with the two women in the car, two black men exited the victim’s back yard. The officer radioed their description, and other officers caught the two men at Duck River and Piney River.
A search of the back yard of the Royal Valley Drive home showed a window screen had been removed.
All four suspects were detained, interviewed, and charged.
Aug. 29
W. Monica (multiple charges)
A disoriented driver alarmed residents in Bartlett and Memphis on Aug. 29 with a string of car crashes and his handgun pointed at innocent bystanders.
A resident on the 2300 block of West Monica reported that a black sedan had hit a small tree in her front yard between around 12:35 a.m. She said he fled the scene and headed southbound.
A resident on the 2300 block of Barbaro said a group of friends were at a get-together in his front yard when a white man drove up and seemed disoriented around 12:40 a.m.
One of the men asked if he was okay and started to walk toward him, but the suspect then pointed a firearm at the man. The suspect got out of his car and pointed the weapon at other victims on scene.
The suspect then chased one of the men around a vehicle in the driveway, keeping aim on the man he was chasing. After a confrontation, he got back in his car and headed north on Elmore Road.
A computer check revealed that the suspect was a convicted felon unlawfully in possession of a firearm.
Bartlett dispatch got a call around 1:15 a.m. that the man had hit a fire hydrant on Morning Vista Drive in Memphis.
On scene, officers saw he was disoriented and unresponsive initially but appeared uninjured.
When officers told him to exit the vehicle and asked him where his weapon was, he made a sudden grabbing motion toward underneath his seat. Officers removed him from the car and arrested him.
They found a handgun holster in the car but no weapon.
The car was towed, and the Memphis Police Department handled the fire hydrant crash report.
The suspect was found to have struck at least three vehicles, a fence and a mailbox in Memphis before striking the fire hydrant.
He was taken to Saint Francis Hospital in Bartlett for a toxicology screen.
After being medically cleared, the man was taken to Bartlett City Jail under charges of aggravated assault, unlawful possession of a weapon and leaving the scene of an accident.
The suspect’s wife gave permission to search their residence for the weapon. Officers also searched the car and the area between his home and the Morning Vista crash scene. Once the water flooding the crash scene drained away, they also searched the crash scene but were unable to locate the handgun.
At the jail, the suspect called someone on a recorded line and stated the gun was under his seat, but officers did not find it there.
Sept. 1
E. Fairway View Circle (aggravated burglary)
A property manager for American Homes reported on Sept. 1 that someone stole a black flattop Whirlpool stove ($800) from a rental property on E. Fairway View Circle.
The hardwood floors also were heavily scratched ($300) where someone had dragged the stove from the kitchen and dining room to the garage.
Sept. 3
Falcon Ridge Cove (theft)
A man reported on Sept. 3 that someone stole his handgun from his home on Falcon Ridge Cove.
The weapon was a Taurus PT-745 handgun. The owner said he last saw it two days previously in the early morning.
He also said he left his home around 3 p.m. Sept. 1 to pick up his grandchildren.
There was no sign of forced entry to his residence, and he said he keeps his bedroom locked and has the only key to the room.
Sept. 5
Stonehill (theft)
A woman reported Sept. 5 that someone stole her truck’s trailer hitch while it was parked in the driveway of her Stonehill home. It was a three-ball convertible trailer hitch with lock ($180).
She said the theft must have occurred between 1:30 p.m. Sept. 4 and 8 a.m. Sept. 5.
