The Bartlett Police Department (BPD) handled the following incidents for the week of Feb. 15-21, 2016.
This listing includes the most notable incidents for the reporting period and does not necessarily reflect all police activity.
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.
Feb. 15
Hare Pointe (theft)
A pair of friends had their wallets stolen from unsecured lockers while they worked out at ATC Fitness (6600 Stage Road) on Feb. 15. The friends arrived around 6 p.m. and discovered the thefts when they returned around 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 16
Sycamore View (weapons law violations)
An unlit license plate drew an officer’s attention to a car at 12:41 a.m. Feb. 16 and led to serious charges.
An officer saw a tan Chevrolet Malibu southbound on Bartlett Boulevard with the vehicle’s license plate not illuminated. As the officer got closer, the suspect vehicle increased from 35 mph at the intersection with Magnolia Woods to 54 at the Elmore Road intersection before pulling over at the patrol car’s blue lights.
The officer smelled the scent of marijuana when speaking with the driver and passenger. In the vehicle was a Coca-Cola can containing a clear plastic bag of marijuana. There also was a Taurus .44 magnum pistol under the driver’s floor mat. The revolver was covered with blue tape that obscured the weapon’s serial number.
Feb. 17
Chaucer Lane (burglary)
A rental home owner found his property burglarized on Feb. 17. The locked rear entry door had been forced open and a black microwave had been stolen from the kitchen.
The man and his wife and property manager were adamant that they locked the home’s storm door before leaving on Feb. 15.
The door frame was destroyed, and it appeared that the door had been kicked in.
Feb. 18
Old Brownsville Road (theft from motor vehicle)
Someone stole two handguns and a wallet from an unlocked Chevrolet Express van overnight, the owner reported on Feb. 18.
Weapons stolen from the center console included a Glock 36 .45-caliber handgun and a North American .22 handgun. The victim’s wallet which contained $60 cash, his driver’s license, two Bank of America credit cards and one Bank of Bartlett bank card.
He said the theft must have happened between 10:30 p.m. Feb. 17 and 4:30 a.m.
Germantown Road (auto burglary)
A man reported on Feb. 18 that someone burglarized his 2004 Toyota SUV while it was parked in his driveway. He parked it around 8 p.m. on Feb. 17. The next morning, he noticed the dome light was on. When he got to work, he also realized that his Ruck bag was missing from the back of the vehicle.
The bag contained a Glock 26 9mm ($495), a Kahr CW 380 ($350), an iPa ($500) and a Mac Book ($800). His phone charger ($10) was stolen from the front console. The total amount of loss is approximately $2,155.
An officer lifted three latent prints of unknown value from the vehicle.
Feb. 19
Countryhill Drive (theft from a house)
A thief caught in the act dashed away from a home on Countryhill Drive on Feb. 19. The homeowner reported that his daughter walked into the garage around 2:15 p.m. and saw a male walking out with a Porter Cable air compressor.
She said he turned and ran to his truck (a red early model Toyota) and drove away.
The suspect is a white male in his late 20s, about 5 feet 10 inches tall with a skinny build. He had facial tattoos and was unshaven. He wore a black beanie with jeans and a jacket.
Feb. 20
Terry Franklin Drive (animal cruelty)
Officers responding to a suspicious person complaint instead found evidence that suggested poor care of pets.
The complainant called police because he thought someone was in his attic, but the responding officers found no signs of an intruder.
They did, however, see three dogs that captured their attention. The animals were a female brown Labrador/pit mix, a female black chow/shepherd/lab mix, and a male brown chow/shepherd mix. The two females looked to be in poor health, showing signs of hair loss and ribs visible under the skin. Officers also noticed a large amount of feces in several rooms of the residence, with a strong smell of urine throughout the house.
At the officers’ request, an Animal Control agent made the scene. The agent found that the suspect failed to provide the necessary food, water, care and shelter to the animals in his custody, and Animal Control seized the dogs.
He received a misdemeanor citation for animal cruelty and was released at the scene.
