The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) handled in Lakeland during February.
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.
Feb. 2
Canada Road (simple assault)
There were no signs of injuries when deputies checked a Lakeland Elementary student who said another student punched and slapped him on the school bus on Feb. 1. His mother reported the event on Feb. 2. The other student was suspended from the buses for two days, pending review of school bus security footage.
Deputies went to the other student’s home and spoke with him and his father. The student said he punched the victim once in the chest for calling him a five-year-old. The father said he has spoken with the school principal, and the Department of Children’s Services has been contacted through the school.
Feb. 3
El Hill Road (simple assault/domestic violence)
A flicked cigarette landed a boyfriend in jail on Feb. 3.
His mother reported that her son and his girlfriend, both adults, were arguing at her home on the 9500 block of El Hill Road, and she wanted the young woman escorted out. The son said it wasn’t a physical fight and he was only trying to reconcile with his girlfriend.
The girlfriend, however, said he pushed her out of the house and flicked a cigarette butt in her face, burning her right eyelid. Deputies saw the burn with fresh ashes on it, and one took crime scene photos. They arrested the boyfriend and took him to the Shelby County Jail on assault charges.
The victim declined medical attention and was taken to Vinegar Jim’s in Arlington at her request, saying she didn’t have anywhere else to go.
Deputies heard the boyfriend warn her, “You better grow eyes in the back of your head, and just wait ’til I get out.”
Feb. 5
U.S. 64 (misdemeanor shoplifting)
Two males reportedly left Sonic (9696 U.S. 64) without paying for a $25.53 meal the morning of Feb. 5. The complainant said the driver was a light-complexioned black man with dreadlocks, driving a teal Toyota Camry with tinted windows and a Tennessee tag.
She said the passenger tried to hand his card to her to pay, but the driver started backing out. They left, heading west on U.S. 64.
Feb. 6
Woodland Birch Cove (residential burglary)
A homeowner on the 10000 block of Woodland Birch Cove reported a break-in with no items taken.
She said she recently bought her late uncle’s house for a rental property and had worked there the previous weekend, locking the door before she left.
On Feb. 6, she found the front door kicked in around 10:30 a.m. Nothing was disturbed in the house other than all the kitchen cabinets being opened.
Renovations in progress at the home made lifting fingerprints from the scene impractical.
Feb. 7
U.S. 64 (business robbery)
The overnight attendant at a Citgo gas station (9108 U.S. 64) reported an armed robbery around 12:40 a.m. Feb. 7. He said the suspect entered the business, jumped over the counter and pointed a handgun at him.
The suspect was a skinny black male who wore a black ski mask, black gloves and a purple pullover with no hood.
He demanded that the victim open the safe, but only the owner can access it. So instead he took about $400 from the register and six cartons of cigarettes, as well as the victim’s cash and wallet. The wallet held his debit card, Social Security card and driver’s license.
The suspect jumped back over the counter and left on foot toward Canada Road. The store owner provided surveillance footage of the robbery to officers. Deputies did not find anyone in the area who fit the description.
The victim said there was no physical contact and no injuries.
Feb. 9
Fletcher Trace Parkway (simple assault/domestic violence)
An argument on Feb. 9 turned physical for a divorcing couple on the 9200 block of Fletcher Trace Parkway.
The couple are legally separated and have begun filing for divorce, but they still live in the same home to reduce the emotional damage to the children, she said. It was amicable until the previous weekend, when he brought a woman and a couple to the house while she was spending the weekend at a friend’s house. She said her husband is part of a local fetish/sex club called “Impact Memphis” and has been dabbling with a fetish website, fetlife.com. The children were home with him that weekend, she said.
She confronted him on Feb. 9, and she said he became extremely agitated and tried to take the phone she was holding. When she wouldn’t let go, he grabbed and bruised her wrists, pushed her to the ground and wrapped his arms around her, she said.
During the struggle, she took his car keys and refused to hand them over until he returned her phone. When he asked if they could call a truce, she said there could be no truce, and they exchanged property. She left immediately.
The responding officer noticed a small bruise on her right wrist. A crime scene officer took photos of the victim, who refused safe transportation to another location.
Feb. 10
Champions Drive (stalking/domestic violence)
A husband and wife who are separated now have allegations of stalking and veiled threats of violence in the mix.
The wife, who has sole custody of their two children, lives on the 3000 block of Champions Drive. Her husband lives at an unknown address in Kentucky. On Feb. 10 she reported seeing him driving around the Somerset Apartment complex five times between December 2015 and February 2016. She also said he showed up at her former workplace once.
She said he believes she has taken his children from him, and he refers to her as an “alienator.” While discussing a post on Facebook about a father who committed suicide after his children had been taken away from him, her husband wrote, “I’d much prefer one of these men go ahead and take the alienator’s life instead.”
He went on to compare killing an alienator to justifiable homicide and added, “imagine how things would change if the narcissists found themselves facing a death sentence from their victims.”
In another Facebook post, the report notes that he stated, “Violence can sometimes be the answer.”
The man’s statements made her believe he would harm her, and seeing him at her apartment and workplace made her fearful, she said.
Feb. 12
Canada Road (theft from motor vehicle)
A City of Lakeland employee reported on Feb. 12 that someone stole belongings from his unlocked vehicle while it was parked the previous day at International Harvester Managerial Park (I.H. Park) at 4523 Canada Road.
He was working about 200 feet away when he saw another vehicle pull behind his Ford Ranchero. Someone got out, took his lunchbox from the Ford and drove away with it. In addition to his food, the lunchbox also contained his cell phone.
He immediately notified his employer. Surveillance video footage was not immediately available of the incident. The crime scene was contaminated and could not be worked. The deputy didn’t see any damage to the Ranchero.
Feb. 14
Canada Road/Monroe Road (felony drugs/narcotics violation)
An officer spotted a driver who couldn’t maintain her lane as she drove northbound on Canada Road, approaching Monroe Road, at 1 a.m. Feb. 14. He pulled the tan Mercury Mariner SUV over onto Monroe Road.
A black glass marijuana pipe was in plain view on the back seat. The officer asked for her driver’s license and proof of insurance, and she had to ask her male passenger for the ID. The driver handed the officer her Tennessee ID and a hard copy of it from her purse.
Her license had been revoked, and the officer asked her to get out of the SUV. When she got out, staggering, the officer could smell the strong odor of an intoxicant. He detained her and the passenger.
A check of the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database revealed that her license had been revoked on Feb. 19, 2014, for driving under the influence (DUI) of drugs/alcohol.
The officer searched the vehicle and found another marijuana pipe in the center console, a clear bag of a leafy green substance under the passenger seat and a 1.7-liter bottle of Sailor Jerry rum. The driver didn’t answer questions about who owned the drugs and paraphernalia, and the passenger said he didn’t know the items were in the vehicle.
The officer couldn’t perform sobriety tests because of poor road and weather conditions. The driver was transported to a location at U.S. 64/Canada Road for sobriety testing, but she refused a blood draw and a breath test. The green leafy substance tested positive as marijuana and weighed in at 19.4 total gram weight.
The man was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia and a controlled substance with the intent to manufacture/distribute/sell. She received the same charges as well as DUI, driving while her license was suspended/ cancelled/revoked, refusal to submit to test, reckless driving and public intoxication.
A third party who owned the SUV picked it up.
Feb. 16
Pine Hill Cove South (simple assault/domestic violence)
A man reported a knife attack by his runaway niece on Feb. 16. He arrived home on the 4000 block of Pine Hill Cove South around 5:30 p.m. and saw his niece, a runaway juvenile who normally lives there with him. He argued with her about being a runaway and said she couldn’t leave. He said she then picked up two kitchen knives and charged him.
He was able to take the knives away but got a small cut to his left hand in the struggle. He then escorted her out of the house.
His nephew witnessed the struggle and backed up the man’s story.
The niece was found to be the primary aggressor and was charged with domestic violence.
Feb. 18
North Huff N Puff (other theft/non-specific)
A woman reported on Feb. 18 that someone stole her cosmetics bag from the bus while she was on an outing with the Ministries of Praise church. The bag contained $200 and three bottles of medicine.
The theft happened between noon Feb. 17 and 10:45 a.m. Feb. 18. The victim had no suspect information.
Feb. 26
Davies Plantation Road (felony vandalism)
An employee of Stone-bridge Golf Course (3049 Davies Plantation Road) discovered vandalism on the course on Feb. 26.
Someone had destroyed a green/gray Rain Bird Par ES water irrigation control panel ($2,000) near Hole No. 16. He found the control panel in pieces, lying on the golf cart path, 100 feet south of the control box, at 8:15 a.m. that morning. He gathered the pieces and brought them to the golf course superintendent at the main office.
The last time the panel was seen undamaged was at 2:30 p.m. Feb. 25. There were no known suspects or witnesses and no known security cameras in the area.
The superintendent said he suspected that children from nearby apartments were the ones who damaged the control panel.
Feb. 27
Beverle Rivera Drive (drug equipment violation)
An officer saw two vehicles stopped in the park at the dead end of Beverle Rivera at 2:27 a.m. Feb. 27.
A white male and female were in the silver Toyota Camry. The officer saw a glass pipe in plain view between the driver’s seat and center console, and the driver said it belonged to him.
The other vehicle was the woman’s maroon GMC Sierra, which had a glass pipe in plain view in the center console near the cup holders.
A further search revealed a round grinder used to process marijuana for smoking. She admitted the paraphernalia in the truck belonged to her.
Both parties received citations; the man’s was a misdemeanor.
