The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) handled the following incidents in Lakeland during the last half of January. (See last week’s issue for earlier January incidents.)
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. 16
Davies Plantation (theft from motor vehicle)
Someone broke into a woman’s vehicle and stole multiple items while she was at Cracker Barrel restaurant (9649 Davies Plantation Road) on Jan. 16. She said she parked on the east side of the parking lot and was inside for breakfast from about 8:05 a.m. until 8:30 a.m.
On her return, she found her vehicle’s passenger side lock had been forced open. Her overnight bag and a small BB&T bag were missing from the passenger seat. The bags contained a Garmin GPS, a gold ring, two checkbooks, a silver and gold watch and a black digital camera ($2,284).
The responding deputy couldn’t determine what was used to force open the lock and could not recover any usable fingerprints. The restaurant manager said he would make a copy of the surveillance footage for the investigation.
Champions Drive (misdemeanor vandalism)
Someone threw a rock through the driver’s side window of a woman’s truck on Jan. 16. She last saw the window intact at 8 a.m., and her boyfriend noticed the damage at 4:30 p.m. The vehicle remained locked and nothing appeared to have been taken or touched inside the vehicle.
Crime scene technicians were not able to respond because of a higher-priority call.
The victim said she hasn’t had problems with anyone in the area but her apartment maintenance person reported seeing juveniles riding skateboards in the area earlier that day. Her truck was parked next to the tree-bordered property line.
The incident was on the 2900 block of Champions Drive.
Pleasant Ridge (theft from building)
On Jan. 16, a woman on the 9500 block of Pleasant Ridge reported harassment for the past two or three weeks by her ex-husband. She said he has harassed her over children and finances, frequently texted, called her place of employment to harass the employees, and dug through her trash. After his visits with the children on Jan. 13, she discovered that two flash drives were missing from her purse, and she suspects he took them.
She also said she told him on Jan. 16 she was going to sell one of their vehicles to pay some bills, and he said he wanted all the proceeds. When she refused, he told her she would burn with the money, she reported. She recorded the conversation and told the responding officer she was afraid her ex would harm her.
The responding officer advised on how to apply for an order of protection against her ex.
Jan. 17
U.S. 64 (business burglary)
A deputy responded to a burglary at an AT&T store (8950 U.S. 64, Suite 116) at 4:04 a.m. Jan. 17 and found a bashed-in front glass door. The lockbox in the back office was open, and cell phones were missing.
The manager could not immediately provide a list of items missing but estimated it was about 30 phones, each worth no less than $894, for a total loss of about $30,000 in merchandise. She was advised to provide a list of phones with serial numbers.
The responding crime scene technician couldn’t lift any usable prints. The building has no security cameras because they are still on order. The manager had no suspect information at the time of the report.
Woodland Crest Drive (other larceny/ access device)
A woman who lives on the 3100 block of Woodland Crest Drive reported that someone made fraudulent purchases with her debit card on Jan. 17.
She gave it to her boyfriend to use it at McDonald’s (3665 Canada Road, Lakeland), and he used it at 10:51 a.m. He said the teller swiped the card and then walked behind a wall out of sight with the card for about 45 seconds.
When the victim tried to user her card to buy gas at 3:45 p.m., it was declined. Her bank, Bank of America, reported that someone used her card to buy $207.15 of merchandise at Victoria’s Secret at Wolfchase Galleria at 3:08 p.m. and a $103.24 purchase at 3:12 p.m. at American Eagle. She has frozen her account.
U.S. 64 (individual robbery)
A Sonic employee (9696 U.S. 64) reported an armed robbery between 10:50 p.m. and 11:23 p.m. Jan. 17. She was delivering a drink order to a man in a dark sedan when he reached for her money apron. She took a step back and said, “No, sir.”
She turned away but then he spoke and she turned back to see he was then brandishing a black revolver with wood grips. She ran inside and didn’t see the man’s direction of travel when he left. No one else witnessed the incident. She described him as a middle-aged white male of medium build with facial stubble and dark hair.
The store manager said he would provide the surveillance video the following day.
Jan. 18
Canada Road (simple assault/domestic violence)
A stepson reported that his stepfather got aggressive when they argued at the Waffle House (3640 Canada Road) the morning of Jan. 18 about the stepson’s mother being assaulted in the past.
He said the stepfather got upset, grabbed him by the collar and lifted him out of his seat. The mother was present and denied there was any physical altercation. There were no other witnesses.
The stepfather said he raised his voice but there was no physical contact when his stepson became disrespectful. No arrest was made because no one corroborated the victim’s allegation.
The stepson said he was moving out of the home and going to his grandmother’s house.
Jan. 20
Canada Road (felony shoplifting)
A prolific shoplifter took more than $10,000 worth of nail polish from various Walgreens locations, a spokesman reported on Jan. 20.
A Walgreens Asset Protection complainant said the suspect is a black female between 5 foot and 5 foot 3 inches tall. Her shoplifting forays of Essie nail polish ($8.50 per bottle) included these locations: Nov. 8, Walgreens at 8046 Macon Road, $2,125; Nov. 10, same store, $884; Nov. 11, Walgreens at 2960 Canada Road, $2,286.50; Nov. 14, Walgreens at 9028 Walnut Grove Road, $3,068.50; Nov. 14, Walgreens at 4625 Summer Ave., $544; Dec. 10, Walgreens at 6310 Poplar Ave., $1,632.
A particular suspect known for stealing Essie nail polish from the stores has been identified.
Jan. 21
Canada Road (theft from motor vehicle)
Someone stole a woman’s purse from her car while she was in a class at Orange Theory Fitness (2691 Canada Road) the morning of Jan. 21.
She said she arrived around 6:15 a.m. and returned to her vehicle around 7:30 a.m. The passenger window of her Lexus IS250 was shattered and her Marc Jacobs purse was missing from the passenger seat.
It contained a Regions Bank debit card, Regions Bank credit card, JCPenney credit card, American Express credit card, Motorola cell phone, driver’s license and cash. She was advised to contact her bank and cancel all stolen cards.
She could not advise whether her phone had any type of tracking device.
Jan. 24
Davies Plantation Road (theft from motor vehicle)
A woman reported Jan. 24 that someone stole her wallet from her Nissan Rouge while she was at work at the Cracker Barrel restaurant (9649 Davies Plantation Road) the previous day.
The wallet ($20) was in the center console and contained her Tennessee driver’s license, Social Security card, Regions Bank Visa debit card, Regions Bank Visa credit card and Capital One Mastercard. The victim could not immediately provide the bank cards’ account numbers. She said the theft happened between 8:20 a.m. and 2 p.m. Jan. 23.
She said someone used her Regions credit card for about $750 at an unknown Wal-Mart location and her Capital One card was used for an unknown amount at an unknown Q-mart location. She has cancelled all of the credit cards.
She said her vehicle’s doors were locked during the time of the theft, and there was no visible damage to the vehicle.
Champions Drive (simple assault/domestic violence)
A woman reported Jan. 24 that her live-in boyfriend assaulted her inside their apartment. She was in the dining room when he began arguing with her about a speaker, and it escalated until her pushed her to the ground, she said.
She said when she rose, he chased her to the master bathroom and damaged the door trying to push his way in. She was able to keep him out by putting her knee against the door, and she said he eventually quit trying and left in a silver 2004 Nissan Maxima in an unknown direction.
She said she wasn’t injured and declined medical treatment.
Jan. 25
Fletcher Trace Parkway (felony vandalism)
A man reported that someone pelted his 2015 Mazda with numerous rocks the evening of Jan. 25. He and his wife were traveling eastbound on Fletcher Trace Parkway, approaching the Fairway Village Apartments entrance around 6:25 p.m. when the rocks hit.
He said he didn’t see suspects but he has seen several white male juveniles in the woods behind the Somerset at Lakeland Apartments.
Rising Sun Drive (simple assault/domestic violence)
A man reported that an argument with his wife got physical between 8:30 p.m. and shortly after 10 p.m. Jan. 25. The couple are residents on the 3000 block of Rising Sun Drive.
The man, a military veteran, said he has post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). He also had surgery on his lower back within the last month and had a removable drainage tube installed over his wound. He said his wife got upset when she returned from running errands and he asked her where she had been.
He asked her if she had been drinking, and she got angry and started lecturing him. He said she followed him around the residence and kept getting in his face to instigate a fight. He said she was verbally abusive and made statements that she knew would hit on his PTSD trigger points. So he got angry, began yelling and tried to provoke her.
He claimed that she threw a small toy chair at him, and he pushed her onto the couch to get her off him. When he turned to walk outside and call 911, she pulled the drainage tube from his back, he said.
The wife’s story differed. She said he was taking out a bag of trash when she returned, but he ran and tried to hide when he saw her. She said he then ran up to her and accused her of cheating. She said they argued in the living room, and he grabbed her sweatshirt and shoved her. She also said she had one glass of wine when she got home.
The woman’s mother made the scene and told deputies that the couple both suffer from PTSD (him from military service and her from a rape several years ago), and they frequently argue. She said her daughter is very manipulative and known to instigate arguments, and her son-in-law can be physical and has been known to start fights.
An American Medical Response (AMR) unit made the scene and advised that the man’s drainage tube did not appear to have been ripped or forced from the wound. The man also said he routinely removes the tube himself for cleaning. He did not require any medical attention while AMR was present.
Neither party suffered any injuries or showed marks of physical violence. The responding deputies saw that one chair was overturned in the living room but did not necessarily appear to be out of place due to the children’s toys and furniture in the room. There were no other signs of physical violence inside the residence.
No independent third parties witnessed the altercation. Deputies could not determine who was the primary aggressor, and neither was arrested.
The woman’s mother agreed to take the couple’s two-year-old daughter and let her son-in-law leave the scene with her to spend the night at her house. Deputies reported that the wife appeared to be coherent and rational before they left the scene. Both parties advised they did not wish to prosecute one another.
Jan. 28
Davies Plantation Road (intimidation)
A man reported that a fellow diner at the Cracker Barrel restaurant (9649 Davies Plantation Road) got angry, began screaming obscenities at him and threatened him around 8:20 a.m. Jan. 28.
It began with an argument, and the suspect’s expletives offended the victim, who asked him not to swear in front of children. He said the enraged suspect stood up with a butter knife, swore and threatened to beat him severely. The victim said there was about 15 feet between then, and the suspect never threatened a stabbing or advanced in the victim’s direction.
The victim said he also threatened a male witness, but the witness said that wasn’t so. The witness said he spoke with the suspect, trying to defuse the situation, and the suspect left. The witness said the suspect might be mentally unstable because his wife had been diagnosed with cancer. However, the witness also said he didn’t know the suspect and hadn’t seen him previously.
The waitress said she knew both the witness and the suspect, and she has been waiting on the suspect and his wife for nearly two years. She said she might have the suspect’s business card at her home.
Jan. 30
U.S. 64 and Berryhill (felony drugs/narcotics violation)
Officers stopped a gold Lincoln Town Car headed west on U.S. 64 near Lakeland Hills when the noticed it had a heavily damaged windshield.
The driver’s license was suspended, and he also could not show proof of financial liability. While he was detained, officers found the man had two outstanding court dates for previous charges of driving with a suspended license.
The man consented to a vehicle search that uncovered a white bottle of pain relief medication under the vehicle’s front seat. Inside was a small white cluster that appeared to be a rock of crack cocaine. It later tested positive for the substance and weighed in at 0.10 total gram weight. The vehicle was left for towing, and the man was taken to Shelby County Jail.
Jan. 31
Brandon Way (misdemeanor vandalism)
A woman reported on Jan. 31 that someone broke a window at her home on the 3100 block of Brandon Way the previous day.
She was out of the home briefly around 11 a.m. on Jan. 30 and did not discover the damage to her master bedroom window ($200) until around 10 p.m. that night.
Canada Road (non-specific other theft)
A man reported that an unfamiliar woman took about $100 in cash from his wallet on Jan. 31. Using a translation service for the victim, who didn’t speak English, the responding officer took the following report.
The victim said he was sitting in his Toyota Tacoma on the parking lot of the Exxon station (3548 Canada Road) with his window rolled down and his wallet open in his hand.
He said she reached into his wallet, took the cash and walked away. He said he didn’t try to get his money back out of fear that others would think he was trying to harm the woman.
Another man said he was leaving the Canada Trace Mobile Home Park when he saw the woman on foot, appearing to be distressed. He said the victim approached, said “No, no, no, no,” pulled out his wallet and motioned that she had taken money from it. The woman, however, told the other man that the alleged victim was unknown and was following her. She asked the other man for a ride and handed him a pocket knife to show that she didn’t intent to harm him. He refused, and the woman was last seen behind the Exxon.
The responding officer took the pocket knife into custody as evidence.
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