The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office handled the following incidents in Lakeland during the latter half of August. For earlier August incidents, see the Sept. 8 issue of The Bartlett Express.
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 goods. These are brief summaries of detailed SCSO reports.
Aug. 18
U.S. 64 (intimidation)
An irate customer keeps showing up at Gateway Tire & Services (9750 U.S. 64) and trying to start a fight over a repaired flat tire, a Gatesway spokesman reported on Aug. 18.
The suspect reportedly came into the business on Aug. 18, cursing and telling the victim to come outside because “I got something for you.” The victim said the display of anger made fear danger for himself and his employees. The suspect also reportedly said he was going to crash into a light pole so he could sue the victim for not fixing his tire properly.
The suspect had fled the scene before deputies arrived.
Ace Drive (other theft/non-specific)
Someone stole two new Sprint phones from a woman’s doorstep, the victim reported on Aug. 18.
She ordered a Galaxy phone and an iPhone on Aug. 9 and was told the phones would arrive no later than Aug. 17. When she called that day, she learned the phones were left on her front doorstep on Aug. 16. The Sprint rep advised her to file a police report.
The victim wasn’t able to provide any serial numbers or suspect information at the time of the report.
Aug. 19
Champions Drive (false pretenses/swindle/confidence game)
A resident at the Somerset at Lakeland apartments said a suspect bolted with his cellphone after asking to borrow it on Aug. 19.
The suspect was an unknown black male wearing a black shirt, long pants and Nike Jordan shoes. He ran toward the back of the apartment complex with the phone ($350).
The victim said he was working with his carrier, T-Mobile, to find the phone.
Aug. 20
Champions Drive (simple assault/domestic violence)
A woman calling from Champions Drive reported that her male companion came home drunk, argumentative and irrational, and he assaulted her the morning of Aug. 20.
The assault happened after he got home around 4:15 a.m. to the Sycamore Lake Apartments on Westchester Drive, Memphis. She said he pinned her to the bed, holding her wrists, and placed a pillow over her face. He punched her in the nose and above the left eye, she said, and when she screamed he squeezed her throat.
Officers noted that the victim had a bloody face with lacerations above her mouth and on her nose, blood around the left side of her face to her left ear, and a bloody fingerprint near the right side of her throat. An ambulance came to the scene, and officers followed up with her at Saint Francis-Bartlett.
The man said he’d been drinking Captain Morgan rum and beer, and officers noticed that he smelled of alcoholic beverages. The officers had him evaluated at Regional One for medical clearance and then took him to jail.
Memphis Arlington Road (non-residential burglary)
A woman on the 10200 block of Memphis Arlington Road reported Aug. 20 that someone burglarized her shed between Aug. 18 and 20. The home is currently vacant, and no one was home at the time. She found the shed door pried open, and her Homelite gas blower was gone.
Aug. 21
Rising Sun Road (aggravated assault/domestic violence)
A couple were arguing about their children Aug. 21 when violence erupted at their home on the 3000 block of Rising Sun.
He said she hit his elbow with a board and threw it at him as he walked downstairs, hitting him in the back. Deputies saw a small red mark on the man’s lower back.
She said he put his hand around her neck. Deputies did not see any injuries on her, however.
A broken window frame surrounded with glass was on the floor, and the man said that’s what she used to hit him. The woman told officers the frame had been broken and lying on the floor for weeks. She also said she threw the frame at the ground, not at him.
Each claimed the other was an unfit parent, was taking drugs and was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Deputies observed piles of debris and dirty clothes throughout the home. The man said their children were staying with a family friend, and he gathered up clothes and school supplies for them.
The woman said she didn’t give her permission for the children to be with him and his family, and deputies explained the civil process. She said she believes he has a key to one of her vehicles and she wants it back. He denied this and said she lost the only key the previous week.
The man agreed to leave the scene. Officers didn’t make an arrest because there wasn’t enough evidence that an assault occurred or that a weapon was used to provide aggravated assault. The couple also had conflicting accounts that could each be true.
Aug. 22
Maple Forest Drive (residential burglary)
On Aug. 22, a man reported thefts from his home, under construction on Maple Forest Drive. He noticed a chandelier missing from the interior entryway and an attempted removal of the dining room’s chandelier. He also found an open window in back that had previously been locked, and there was a ball of painter’s putty on top of the windowpane.
The victim said he suspects the painters or the man who did his home’s flooring, and he said the flooring man had already stolen another item (not reported).
A crime scene tech took photos but couldn’t lift any prints. A neighbor with a surveillance system said his camera doesn’t included the burglarized home in its view.
The burglary happened between 7 p.m. Aug. 21 and 10:34 a.m. Aug. 22.
Gainsborough Drive (other theft/non-specific)
A curious neighbor thwarted would-be thieves Aug. 22 on the 9000 block of Gainsborough Drive.
A man said his neighbor saw two white males walk into his backyard and pick up his kayak aroung 6:45 p.m. When she walked outside, they saw her, dropped the kayak and fled onto Stonebridge Golf Course. One wore a blue shirt and orange shorts, and the other was wearing a blue shirt and black shorts.
Aug. 23
Pine Hill Cove (threatening phone call)
An anonymous caller threatened to kill a local high school coach for allegedly sexually assaulting his daughter, the coach reported on Aug. 23.
The victim, a teacher and coach at East High School in Memphis, said he got the call Aug. 20. The man didn’t identify himself but named his daughter and claimed the coach assaulted her in the school weight room on Aug. 19. The coach said he didn’t recall a student by that name and didn’t have classes in the weight room. He advised the dad to call the school if he had a complaint.
The caller then allegedly said, “No, we’re gonna handle this man to man, and that might end in murder.”
The coach then hung up. On Monday, he checked his class roll and realized he does have a student by that name in his new fifth period class. He advised his principal about the disturbing call.
Aug. 24
U.S. 64 (misdemeanor shoplifting)
An apparently intoxicated customer stole an armful of items from a U.S. 64 store on Aug. 24.
A witness was about 20 feet from the store’s front door when the suspect entered, stumbling. The suspect had a large bloodstained bandage around his right elbow. The witness said the suspect grabbed several items from the display in front of the cash register but left without taking anything. Then he came back inside, followed by a white female. He tried unsuccessfully to borrow money from her, and she walked back out and sat in the driver’s seat of a dark blue four-door Honda Accord. The suspect again grabbed merchandise and this time left without paying, the witness said.
The store’s parts manager said the suspect got into the car with the woman. The parts manager asked the man if he was going to come back inside and pay, but the car sped off westbound on U.S. 64.
Stolen items included about three pairs of work gloves ($17 per pair), four baseball caps ($10 each), a black flashlight ($20), two pairs of sunglasses ($13 each) and one utility knife ($25). The parts manager estimated the total loss was about $162 before tax and $177 after tax.
The Accord was a late 1990s model with a missing front passenger-side fender. The witness described the woman as thin with short blond hair, wearing a low-cut shirt.
The suspect didn’t make threats, use any weapons or imply that he had weapons, the parts manager said. The store didn’t have any surveillance cameras covering the scene.
Aug. 25
Canada Road (individual robbery)
A robber injured a man who tried to protect his girlfriend’s property, the victim reported on Aug. 25.
They were at the Exxon gas station at 3548 Canada Road around 9:30 p.m. Aug. 24. The suspect reached through an open window of the girlfriend’s car and grabbed a cell phone and a prescription pill bottle. The boyfriend confronted the robber, and the two fought.
During the struggle, the boyfriend took back the phone, but the suspect pulled a weapon from his pocket and cut the boyfriend’s hand. The suspect then fled toward Lakeland Factory Outlet Mall.
The girlfriend was in the restroom and didn’t witness the conflict, but she saw her boyfriend was bleeding heavily when she returned. They didn’t call law enforcement but instead drove to Baptist East Hospital, where the Memphis Police Department was contacted. The boyfriend told hospital staff he was coming to the emergency room because of injuries from his assault. He also said his girlfriend was coming because of injuries from a dirt bike incident earlier that day. Both had several scrapes and abrasions.
The boyfriend didn’t advise MPD at the hospital about the dirt bike incident and didn’t contact MPD to report the incident earlier on Aug. 24. He also smelled strongly of alcohol, told the deputy he had been drinking and appeared to be intoxicated.
The Exxon store clerk said he started his shift at 9 p.m. and didn’t recall any altercations. A review of the store’s surveillance footage also didn’t show the victim or his girlfriend entering the business.
Champions Drive (business burglary)
A burglar stole from a maintenance shop in the rear of the Somerset Apartments complex, a maintenance technician reported Aug. 25.
Sometime between 8 a.m. Aug. 17 and 5 p.m. Aug. 19, someone stole a Garrison stand-up portable air conditioner ($400). The maintenance technician said he and coworkers routinely leave the doors and garage open while they work around the property, and there were no signs of forced entry.
He also said a temp worker reported seeing the a/c unit in the back of a white pickup. The truck was a Toyota model from the late 1990s or early 2000s, with a regular cab and two-wheel drive. The temp also saw a white male with long hair and skinny jeans leaving the truck. The truck was gone by the time the maintenance tech heard about it, but he said it’s been on the property several times.
The temp worker wasn’t on scene at the time of the report and couldn’t be reached by phone.
Aug. 26
Kingsridge Drive (residential burglary)
Someone stole lawn care equipment from a home on the 9000 block of Kingsridge Drive, the owner reported on Aug. 26.
He said his garage door was previously damaged and the garage is open. Sometime between 8 a.m. Aug. 25 and around 10 a.m. Aug. 26, someone took his lawnmower and edger. He couldn’t provide any serial numbers at the time of the report.
Silver Fox Cove (intimidation/domestic violence)
A woman’s angry ex-boyfriend made threatening phone calls and made her fear he would hurt her, she reported on Aug. 26.
According to the woman, she went out with friends on Aug. 25, but her ex persisted in calling her repeatedly until her male companion finally answered the phone for her. The ex reportedly became angry and said, “Put my b____ on the phone” before saying he was on his way over to her home.
He was waiting in his vehicle there when she returned. She said he began threatening to harm her if she didn’t let him cut her hair, so she allowed it because she was afraid. The reponding deputies saw a thick pile of hair in the passenger side floorboard of her vehicle.
The incident happened between 12:45 a.m. and 3:22 p.m. Aug. 26.
The ex was gone when deputies arrived. The woman appeared unharmed except for her hair being splotchy and uneven. She said she feared for her life and the life of her child. She ended the relationship with her ex in April, two months before the birth of their child.
Aug. 27
Canada Road (threatening phone call)
An angry customer threatened a store manager with death on Aug. 27, the victim reported.
The victim, a manager at Walgreens (2960 Canada Road), said the suspect paid cash for a $250 iTunes gift card just after 7 p.m. Aug. 26, and store surveillance footage showed the footage.
Around 9 a.m. the next morning, the customer called to say he wanted to return the card. The victim said store policy doesn’t allow that. The customer reportedly called back a half hour later to say he was upset and threaten a lawsuit. At 3:35 p.m., an anonymous caller who sounded like the customer told the victim, “I’m going to kill you, b____.”
Aug. 28
Champions Drive (theft from motor vehicle)
A woman on the 3000 block of Champions Drive reported a car burglary on Aug. 28. She believes someone was able to enter the Dodge Challenger because sometimes the lock button doesn’t work.
She said someone entered her vehicle between 3 p.m. and 11 p.m. Aug. 27, leaving the door unlocked and the middle console open. The only thing missing was her nursing tote bag, which contained medical equipment, medical card certificates and paperwork.
A deputy was able to lift fingerprints from the car.
Coltwood Drive (residential burglary)
One or more thieves took their pick of tools and equipment from an open garage on the 4500 block of Coltwood Drive, the victim reported on Aug. 28.
Items missing included an air compressor, Stanley hammer, toolbox, and a tool set. The victim didn’t have any suspect information and couldn’t provide serial numbers for the missing items.
Triumph Circle (theft from motor vehicle)
A couple who were working out at their apartment’s gym were victims of crime on Aug. 27, the man reported on Aug. 28.
They were at the gym for Somerset at Lakeland Apartments around 10:55 p.m. and then decided to take a run. They emptied items from their pockets into his Mazda 626 in front of the gym and left the car unlocked. When they returned about 10 minutes later, the glovebox was open, the car had been rummaged through, and his wallet and Rayban sunglasses were missing.
The wallet contained cash, two debit cards, his driver’s license, a health insurance card and car insurance card.
He said two unidentified black males were near the gym around that time, and he rode around the apartment complex to check for any pedestrians. He saw them sitting on some steps. By the time he left the apartments to take his girlfriend home, the two were stanging out on U.S. 64 with backpacks on. He didn’t confront the suspects or immediately contact law enforcement because he hoped the apartment’s security cameras caught the event.
Green Spruce Drive (theft from motor vehicle)
On Aug. 28, a mother flagged down a deputy on U.S. 64 about a car burglary. She said her juvenile daughter was on the 9700 block of Green Spruce Drive on Aug. 20, and when she returned the next day in a Jeep Wrangler the mother realized the Jeep’s top was unzipped.
They discovered the daughter’s backpack was missing. It contained an Apple Air Mac laptop issued by Briarcrest High. They didn’t contact law enforcement until school personnel advised that they needed a report for the lost property. The laptop’s information was entered into the National Crime Information Center database on Aug. 28.
Chapel Hill (motor vehicle theft/passenger vehicle)
Someone stole a man’s Cadillac Deville from his father’s driveway on the 10900 block of Chapel Hill, he reported on Aug. 28.
He said he hadn’t driven it in several days but believes it was taken on Aug. 24 or 25. The vehicle was locked and keys were not in it, and he didn’t know how someone could have taken it.
The vehicle’s information was entered into the NCIC database.
Aug. 29
Champions Drive (theft from motor vehicle)
A woman said on Aug. 29 that someone took her Guess wallet from the center console of her car. She noticed the theft on Aug. 27 when the Nissan Altima was parked and locked outside her apartment on the 3000 block of Champions Drive.
The wallet contained her Social Security card and MPD badge. She didn’t have any suspect information. The responding officer didn’t see signs of forced entry to her car.
