The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) handled the following incidents in Arlington during April (the most recent reporting 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 SCSO reports.
April 4
Airline Road (misdemeanor drugs/narcotics violation)
A search of a male student’s car at Arlington High School on April 4 uncovered one-tenth of a gram of marijuana, a drug scale and one “cigarillo” cigar.
The search was based on tips from anonymous parents and students that he was bringing drugs to school.
The student received a juvenile summons for possession of a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia, and he was suspended from school for 180 days (six months).
U.S. 70 (counterfeiting/forgery)
A woman reported on April 4 that one of her stolen checks had been used at a local store. The Kroger in Arlington contacted her on March 23 about a returned check for $147.62, but she said she didn’t write the check.
The victim said she filed a Jan. 30 report after someone broke into her vehicle and stole her purse, which contained her BancorpSouth checkbook.
April 5
Doctor Logan Road (intimidation)
A woman who found a side mirror broken on her 2003 Black GMC Yukon on April 5 strongly suspects an angry male neighbor. They have been in a dispute for about two months.
The previous day, she was in front of her home with friends when the man backed up his vehicle, jumped out, swore at her and threatened to shoot her, she said. He then got back in his vehicle and drove off.
April 7
Milton Wilson Drive (theft from building)
Someone stole 21 microwave ovens from a locked storage facility at West Tennessee Regional Office, a state government facility at 11437 Milton Wilson Drive.
The theft happened between March 7 and April 7 and involved white, black and brown countertop models made by various manufacturers. Serial numbers weren’t immediately available at the time of the report.
The complainant said Dynamic Security Company was hired around January, and no items had been reported missing from the facility previously. Each on-duty guard had a single building-access key that was passed on to the next guard reporting for duty. The office no longer employs this company.
The complainant saw no signs of forced entry and said no known suspects were observed entering or leaving the building. He offered deputies a list of guard personnel if needed.
April 15
Marquis Court (theft from motor vehicle)
Someone stole a shotgun from the rear seat of a Chevy truck parked at the Arlington Manor Apartments on April 15.
The owner said someone broke the rear passenger window and took his Remington 870 shotgun ($300) sometime between 12:30 a.m. and about 7:45 a.m. April 15. He had parked it on the north parking lot of the apartments with the alarm on and had locked all the windows and doors.
Responding officers saw pry marks on both the front and rear passenger-side window frames, and the victim estimated the vehicle’s damage at $1,000. The victim said there was no suspect information, no known witnesses, and no known security cameras in the area. It was on the 11200 block of Marquis Court.
A crime scene officer took photos and lifted fingerprints. This crime may be related to a similar theft in the same area around the same time (see the next incident in this report).
Marquis Court (theft from motor vehicle)
A woman lost more than $600 of electronics to an overnight thief, she reported on April 15.
The woman, a resident on the 11100 block of Marquis Court, said someone broke into her Saturn Vue compact SUV sometime between 11 p.m. April 14 and about 7:50 a.m. April 15.
While it was parked in front of her residence, someone stole an Apple iPad and an MP3 player (totaling $649) from the rear passenger seat.
She thought she locked the SUV the previous night, but the responding deputy didn’t see any signs of forced entry. The deputy took crime scene photos and noted there was a similar theft nearby (see preceding incident in this report).
April 17
Knob Creek Trail (threatening phone call)
An ex-husband threatened to kill his former wife and her current husband, the victim reported on April 17.
The woman said they were married for 13 years and that he still constantly texts and calls her even though she has remarried.
She called him around 7:30 p.m. to say he needed to stop. He then threatened to kill both her and her current husband, she said, and he warned that he has an AR15 and can kill from 500 yards away.
She said she’s now in fear for herself and her family, and her ex knows where she lives and works.
April 19
Misty Trail (theft from motor vehicle)
Someone broke into a family’s Dodge Dakota overnight, the family discovered on the morning of April 19.
The victim said her ex-husband owns the vehicle and their 16-year-old son is the primary driver. The son had parked it in the driveway overnight, and that morning he found the front passenger-side window was broken and several personal belongings had been stolen.
The son went through the vehicle and moved it before the officer arrived. There were no witnesses.
Zachary Run Cove (theft from motor vehicle)
Someone stole a purse from the center console of an unlocked SUV parked overnight on the 5100 block of Zachary Run Cove. On April 19, the owner said she parked her Honda Pilot on the street around 9 p.m. the previous night, didn’t set the alarm and discovered the theft at 8:30 a.m. the next morning. The rear of the vehicle had been ransacked, and the center console was left open.
She said her Michael Kohrs purse ($120) was taken, along with its contents: A Kylie Lip Kit ($40), 10 one-dollar bills, a Tennessee driver’s license and a USAA debit card. The debit card was cancelled.
There were no known suspects, no known witnesses, and no known security cameras in the area. The responding officer took crime scene photos and fingerprints. A neighbor’s truck was also ransacked during the same time period; see the following incident.
Zachary Run Cove (theft from motor vehicle)
A man on the 5100 block of Zachary Run Cove reported that someone had been inside his GMC truck overnight sometime between 5 p.m. April 18 and noon April 19. That’s when he found the glove compartment and center console left open.
He had parked on the street in front of his home, leaving the vehicle unlocked and no alarm on. There was no vehicle damage, and nothing was taken.
There was no known suspect information or witnesses, but the victim named an across-the-street neighbor who had security cameras that might cover the area where his truck was parked.
There was no workable crime scene due to the rain and contamination by the victim. This attempted theft may be related to another theft that occurred around the same time just two houses down from this victim (see preceding incident in this report). There were at least three other thefts from a motor vehicle that occurred in the Arlington and Eads areas on the same date.
Mary Lane (misdemeanor drugs/narcotics violation)
Officers were serving a felony warrant on the 5500 block of Mary Lane when they spotted signs of drug use at the target address. On a counter in the master bedroom, they saw a silver metal pipe and a glass jar containing what appeared to be marijuana.
The person present consented to a search of the residence and admitted the jar contained marijuana. Officers learned that the federal government had already placed the original warrant suspect on house arrest for mail fraud and money laundering out of Pennsylvania.
The substance in the jar tested positive as marijuana and was 6.0 grams in total gram weight. All evidence was tagged into the Memphis Police Department’s property room, and the person at the residence received a misdemeanor citation for possession of a controlled substance.
Mabry Lane (theft from motor vehicle)
A man learned a hard lesson about leaving items in plain sight in his truck on April 19.
He parked at home at 9:45 p.m. April 18, and when he woke up at 4:30 a.m. the next morning, someone had broken his rear driver’s side window. His backpack, GPS and documents were missing from the back seat.
Thunderbird Drive (theft from motor vehicle)
An unlocked truck was too tempting for a thief on the 5800 block of Thunderbird Drive. A victim reported April 19 that someone had stolen checks and a tax return from the passenger compartment while the truck was parked in the driveway overnight.
The victim pointed to an across-the-street neighbor as a possible suspect because of a similar incident in the past. He said the suspect took a check from his mailbox and tried to cash it at a bank about eight years earlier. When the bank notified the victim, he resolved the situation with the suspect and his parents without involving law enforcement.
The victim said he doesn’t think any of the stolen checks were used, and he has closed that checking account.
April 20
Cleaves Road (felony drugs/narcotics violation)
When picking up an Arlington man without incident on a felony arrest warrant April 20, officers found drugs on him and in his vehicle.
The officers detained the man without incident on the 5700 block of Cleaves Road. Checking the man, they found a clear plastic baggie with a white powdered substance resembling cocaine.
His Chevy Silverado’s glove compartment held a clear plastic baggie containing four and a half yellow alprazolam pills at 2.0 mg each (generic Xanax), eight 100-milliliter vials of nandrolone phenylpropionate (an anabolic steroid commonly called NPP), a box of 50 live 9mm rounds, an orange pill bottle containing suspected marijuana and a glass pipe with suspected marijuana residue.
The suspect, all evidence and his vehicle were taken to the SCSO’s office (5295 E. Shelby Drive, Memphis) for an interview and processing. The white powder tested positive as cocaine and was 0.7 grams in total gram weight (TGW). The suspected marijuana tested positive and was 0.3 grams TGW.
The suspect signed a rights waiver form but refused to give a recorded audio statement. He was taken to jail on the felony warrant charges and will be charged with the narcotics, pending further investigation.
U.S. 70 (misdemeanor shoplifting)
The store manager at Kroger (11635 U.S. 70) reported a man for stealing a cake ($25) around 10 a.m. April 20. She provided the man’s name, phone number and license plate information for his vehicle.
Airline Road (theft from building)
A victim reported April 20 that someone stole the driver’s license and debit card from her wallet in an Arlington High School classroom.
Summers Road/Mabry Cove (simple assault)
Scooter and motorcycle riders clashed in Arlington on the afternoon of April 22.
The suspect drove by on his motorcycle when the victim was riding his scooter in the street. He and two witnesses said the motorcyclist was upset about them being in his way, so he dropped his motorcycle, threw the victim to the ground and kicked him in the ribs.
The victim said he hit his head on the street when he was thrown. The responding deputies did not see any injuries, but the victim’s father said he would take his son to the hospital.
The suspect’s version was very different. He said he tipped his motorcycle while trying to avoid the scooter rider. He said he stood up and was yelling when he walked toward the victim, who fell backwards. The suspect said he didn’t touch the victim.
April 22
Woodcastle Lane (child abuse — simple)
A father reported finding a suspicious injury to his son on April 22. The father and mother are divorcing, and when they swapped custody that afternoon, the father learned that the mother had kept the boy home from school that day. He was suspicious, and he found a mark on the child’s left temple that appeared to be an injury.
The child said his mom got mad that morning during an argument about a soccer ball, put him on the couch and held her hand on his mouth, making it hard for him to breathe. She then picked up a belt and tried to strike him, he said, and finally she slapped him on the left temple, leaving marks.
A crime scene tech took photos at the scene, and the case was referred to the Department of Children’s Services.
April 24
Doctor Logan Road (felony vandalism)
A victim on the 11800 block of Doctor Logan Road reported April 24 that someone flattened all four tires ($1,000) on her Honda Civic. She parked the car in her driveway around 2 a.m. and discovered the damage when she came out to head to work around 8 a.m.
April 26
Doctor Logan Cove (simple assault/domestic violence)
An argument between brother and sister turned violent, the sister reported on April 26.
The sister said she lives at the house on the 11800 block of Doctor Logan Cove with her mother. Her brother visited, unannounced, after 11 p.m. and annoyed her by walking into the kitchen without first knocking at the door. They argued in the hallway, and she said he pushed her face twice, grabbed her and scratched her right arm.
She said they separated long enough for her to call the SCSO, but then he began pushing her again and hit her on the right side of her forehead with a closed fist. She also had new scratches on the center of her back.
The brother admitted that they argued but denied hitting her. He said she swung her phone, striking him in the head, so he grabbed her arms from behind to avoid further assaults. He had no visible injuries.
The mother said she was in a bedroom and couldn’t see the incident in the hallway.
Brother and sister both refused medical attention. Officers decided the brother was the primary aggressor, based on who had injuries. They took him to jail to be booked on domestic violence charges. His vehicle was towed.
Zachary Run (theft from motor vehicle)
A man who left his gun in his truck for a couple of days may be regretting that decision.
He put his Sig 290RS 9mm weapon in the truck’s center console around noon April 22, drove it to the Bass Pro Shop on Macon over the weekend and returned home. He noticed the gun was gone when he got into the truck around 4 a.m. April 24.
He doesn’t know where the theft happened and believes he left his doors unlocked. The gun’s serial number was entered into the database of the National Crime Infor-mation Center (NCIC).
Misty Trail (theft from motor vehicle)
Someone stole a man’s pistol from his truck sometime during a three-week period in April, the victim reported on April 26.
He last saw his Sig Sauer pistol at 3 p.m. April 2 and discovered it was missing at 5 p.m. April 26. The man said he didn’t know exactly where the theft occurred. The truck was undamaged.
The only time someone besides him or his wife had legal access to the Ford F150 was when he had it serviced on April 14 at AutoNation Ford (7925 Stage Road, Memphis).
The pistol’s information was entered into the NCIC database.
April 27
Chester Street (residential burglary)
Someone vandalized and burgled a home on the 5700 block of Chester Street, the victim reported on April 27. She said she left the home around 10 p.m. April 21 and returned around 7:25 a.m. the next morning. She doesn’t think she locked the door.
When she returned, the storm door’s glass was shattered, and the wooden front door was ajar. Inside, the sofa and ottoman were slashed,and there two TVs with bashed-in screens, a broken lamp, a broken bathroom mirror, two destroyed frames, and an antique hutch with the glass broken out.
Someone had also stolen an Apple iPad 2, a Nintendo game unit and a cross necklace.
She named a former female friend she suspected of being the perpetrator. The victim said that when she confronted the suspect via phone, the other woman didn’t deny the actions but instead swore at the victim and told her to kill herself and die.
Watkins Glen Circle (simple assault/domestic violence)
A woman reported April 27 that her brother had just assaulted her. She said they argued and he grabbed her throat and pushed her against the window but didn’t restrict her ability to breath.
When he tried to leave, she followed him into the street to get his vehicle’s license plate information for when she called 911. She said he grabbed her phone, bent her finger back, threw her phone to the ground and pushed her down.
The brother admitted to taking the phone but said she fell to the ground on her own. He denied grabbing her throat, but another brother witnessed the fight and said he saw the throat grab. Another witness said he saw the brother standing over the woman and heard her screaming for help from his apartment across the street. Deputies saw small abrasions on the woman’s right hand.
April 28
Airline Road (business burglary)
A pair of would-be ATM thieves did upwards of $29,000 in damages to the Shell station at 5055 Airline Road.
A deputy responding to a burglary alarm found the front doors heavily damaged and lying on the floor. Deputies clearing the scene found a broken yellow tow strap wrapped around the ATM positioned just inside the front doors. The ATM was heavily damaged but was still intact and secured to the ground.
Security footage told the rest of the story. Starting around 2:15 a.m., it showed a white extended cab Chevrolet Silverado (1500) Z71 circle the business and leave a couple of times before returning again at 2:19 a.m.
It backed up to the front door. A suspect who appeared to be a medium-sized black man in a dark hoodie and pants exited on the passenger side with a sledge hammer and attacked the front doors.
Then the driver backed through the front doors, damaging them, the door frame, a wall and a vending machine.
The video showed their two tries to rip out the ATM, with the truck’s rear tires spinning. Then the tow strap broke, and the suspects headed south on Airline Road and continued onward to westbound Interstate 40.
The estimated replacement cost for the automatic doors is $10,000 each, in addition to drywall damages ($1,000), the metal door frame ($5,000 to $10,000), glass windows ($1,000) and the vending machine ($2,000). The complainant was not immediately able to say whether any property was taken from the premises.
The tow strap and a pair of gloves found at the scene were taken into evidence.
Lamb Valley Drive (theft from motor vehicle)
A man said a stranger came to his door around 6:45 a.m. April 28, asked for the man by his last name and handed over documents and a small plastic toolbox.
He said he was driving home from work on Bragg Road in Eads that morning when he saw the toolbox and miscellaneous documents in the roadway. He collected the items, noticed that the documents were important and felt they needed to be returned to the owner.
The victim described him as a white male, six feet one inch tall, of medium build, and wearing sunglasses, a black T-shirt and blue jeans. The victim said only the documents were his, and the toolbox and its contents were not. The documents were a medical invoice, St. Jude report, mortgage refinance paperwork and 2015 tax information.
The documents were supposed to be in his laptop case, so the victim went to his unlocked SUV and confirmed that his Dell laptop had been stolen.
The officer took the toolbox and its contents into custody as evidence.
Airline Road (misdemeanor drugs/narcotics violation)
An assistant principal at Arlington High School (5475 Airline Road) saw two students in the parking lot near a pickup. When he talked to them, they admitted skipping class and acted very nervous.
The assistant principal got permission to look in the vehicle and found a white sock. Within it was a pill bottle containing a substance that smelled strongly of marijuana. One of the students eventually admitted that it was his.
The suspect received a juvenile summons for possession of a controlled substance and was suspended for 180 school days. The substance tested positive as marijuana and weighed 0.6 grams.
April 29
Reed Bend Drive (aggravated assault)
Officers responded to an aggravated assault complaint on the 5700 block of Reed Bend Drive just before 5 p.m. on April 29.
The man who complained said he was in his bedroom a few minutes earlier when two female suspects banged on his door. He climbed out his bedroom window and called the SCSO. (Editor’s note: He is not the husband described later in this incident.) When deputies arrived, the first woman said the second woman’s husband was trying to kill them in the back bedroom.
Deputies saw the man restraining his wife on the bed. She had a pair of bloody orange scissors in her hand and a large open laceration on her left arm.
The husband asked for help, saying, “She’s going to kill herself.” Deputies restrained the woman until an ambulance arrived.
The husband said he got to the scene just a few minutes earlier and argued with both women. He said that the first woman pulled out a knife and tried to stab him, so in self-defense he punched the left side of her head and took the knife away. His wife then picked up the scissors, fell on the bed and cut her arm, he said.
The first woman said the knife was hers and that she usually keeps it in her purse. She admitted having it in her hand during the argument.
The man’s black Beretta handgun couldn’t be found in the bedroom, but the first woman said she had locked it in her car’s trunk. Deputies retrieved the gun and returned it to the man.
The two women’s breaths smelled strongly of alcohol, and they said they had begun dating about a week previously.
An ambulance took them both to Saint Francis – Bartlett for treatment of injuries. Paramedics were advised that one had attempted suicide should be evaluated. The victim was told he can swear out a warrant later if desired.
April 30
Milton Ridge Drive (theft from motor vehicle)
A male victim reported that someone stole his Maui Jim sunglasses from his Subaru Legacy overnight between 6 p.m. April 29 and 7:45 a.m. April 30.
The car’s door locks and alarm were malfunctioning, so there was no alarm during the theft.
This was one of five thefts or attempted thefts from vehicles reported during the same time frame on nearby streets.
Scarlet Ridge Drive (theft from motor vehicle)
A resident on the 5400 block of Scarlet Ridge Drive accidentally left his vehicle unlocked in his home’s driveway on April 30.
He found the next morning that someone had entered his 2009 Ford Escape and stolen about $1 in change and his wallet, which contained his Tennessee driver’s license and a $2 bill. The vehicle was undamaged, and no latent fingerprints were found.
This was one of five thefts or attempted thefts from vehicles reported during the same time frame on nearby streets.
Scarlett Ridge Drive (attempted theft from vehicle)
A couple who live on the 5300 block of Scarlett Ridge Drive said April 30 that someone had entered their vehicles that were parked unlocked in their driveway overnight. All interior compartments had been rummaged, but nothing was taken and there was no damage to either vehicle.
This was one of five thefts or attempted thefts from vehicles reported during the same time frame on nearby streets.
Summer Meadows Lane (theft from motor vehicle)
Someone stole a woman’s wallet and its contents from an unlocked car on the 5200 block of Summers Meadows Lane overnight on April 30.
Her wallet ($15) was taken from the glove compartment, and the wallet contained three credit cards and one debit card, her college ID, driver’s license and $50 in cash. An Xbox Connect ($150) was also taken from the back seat. The theft happened between midnight and 11:20 a.m. April 30.
Her Bank of America debit card was used on April 30 at an unknown Shell gas station ($7.08), a Shell gas station in Arlington ($27) and the Arlington Travel Center ($23.30), for a total loss of $57.38.
She said there was no alarm on her vehicle, no known damage, and nothing else taken to her knowledge.
Two other vehicles at the residence (a Toyota and a Kia) were ransacked at the same time but the vehicles and victims were unavailable for the report.
No fingerprints could be lifted from the vehicle.
This was one of five thefts or attempted thefts from vehicles reported during the same time frame on nearby streets.
Milton Meadows Drive (theft from motor vehicle)
Someone stole a tool bag and medicine from an unlocked truck on the 11500 block of Milton Meadows Drive on April 30.
The victim said he parked his Ford F150 in front of his home, and someone stole a black-and-yellow tool bag ($50) containing items from the back seat. The suspect also took 30 irbesartan pills ($15) and 30 metformin pills ($40) from the center console. No fingerprints could be lifted from the vehicle.
The theft happened between 8 p.m. April 29 and 1 p.m. April 30. This was one of five thefts or attempted thefts from vehicles reported during the same time frame on nearby streets.
