The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) reported the following incidents for Arlington during July 2014. (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 more detailed SCSO reports.)
July 1
Airline Road (theft from motor vehicle): Responded at 2:41 p.m. July 1 to Sonic Drive-In (6101 Airline Road) regarding a theft from motor vehicle. The victim said he parked his Dodge Ram 1500 pickup and attached trailer in the back of the business and walked up front to eat. When he returned to his truck, his lawn equipment was missing. Items missing from the trailer included an Echo weed trimmer ($165), Red Max edger ($400) and Red Max blower ($500). The victim said a witness reported seeing a black sedan leave from behind the business with a weed trimmer and edger hanging out the back window. The witness didn’t see the suspect’s license plate number or who was in the car. A Sonic employee said there were no cameras in that area, and no employees saw a vehicle leave with the description given. The employee said video of other areas around Sonic would be reviewed.- Carters Bluff Drive (misdemeanor vandalism): Responded at 3:25 p.m. July 1 to the 5900 block of Carte4rs Bluff Drive regarding a misdemeanor vandalism complaint. The victim said someone smashed her mailbox into pieces over night and that someone had posted on the Arlington Facebook page images of the mailbox being vandalized.
- Longleaf Oak Trail (theft from motor vehicle): Responded at 8:54 p.m. July 1 to the 12100 block of Longleaf Oak Trail regarding a theft from motor vehicle. The victim said she left her Apple iPhone on the charger in her Nissan Sentra earlier that day, and it was gone when she returned. She spoke with a juvenile suspect’s parents, who checked their home and found the phone case in the backyard drain pipe. The suspect them confessed to stealing the phone and said where to find it. Before the police arrived, the phone was returned to the victim. The suspect’s parents said they found other property that didn’t belong to their son, and the responding officer took custody of the items. Because the victim had travel arrangements, she refused to prosecute.
July 2
- Airline Road (other theft/non-specific): Responded at 10:47 p.m. on July 2 to the 4900 block of Airline Road regarding gasoline being stolen from the pumps at a business. The complainant said his wife reported that someone took gasoline from pumps 15 and 16 without paying, but it didn’t register in the store, possibly because of some electrical issues with the pumps. The complainant provided multiple license plate numbers that may be related to the thefts. The thefts started between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. July 2. The complainant said he would have an electrician work on the gas pumps the next day.
July 3
- Willow Walk Cove (misdemeanor vandalism): Responded at 12:10 p.m. July 3 to vandalism report on the 6300 block of Willow Walk Cove. The victim said someone put fireworks in his mailbox earlier that morning. Neither the victim nor his 20-year-old son heard the explosion, but a neighbor said a loud noise woke her up around 2:30 a.m., and she saw smoke billowing from the victim’s mailbox. She saw a vehicle speeding away south but didn’t get a description because of the smoke.
- Jetway Drive (misdemeanor vandalism): Responded at 4:45 p.m. July 3 to a report of misdemeanor vandalism occurring the previous day on the 5800 block of Jetway Drive. The victim said she parked in her workplace’s east parking lot around 5:30 a.m. July 2. When she returned at 4:50 p.m., she saw a bullet hole in the driver’s side near the gas tank lid. She asked her employer to check surveillance videos, but the vehicle was obstructed from view.
July 4
- Armistead Street (three incidents of misdemeanor vandalism): Responded at 10:11 a.m. July 4 to the 5900 block of Armistead Street regarding misdemeanor vandalism at three homes. The first victim said someone threw eggs at his Jeep Cherokee, parked in the driveway, and his county vehicle, parked on the street, around 8 a.m. that day. The second vehicle said someone egged his Chevrolet Silverado pickup around the same time. The third victim said his county patrol unit was egged around the same time. No suspect information was available.
- Village Gate Drive (forcible fondling): Responded on July 5 to the 4400 block of Village Gate Drive regarding a report of forcible fondling occurring between 8 p.m. July 4 and 1:47 a.m. July 5. No additional information is publicly available on this incident.
- South Fork Drive (vandalism): Responded at 11:52 p.m. July 4 to the 12200 block of South Fork Drive regarding a report of felony vandalism. The victim said his company work vehicle, a Chevrolet Impala, was damaged while parked in his open garage when someone threw fireworks into the garage. He heard a loud bang and went outside, seeing lots of smoke, a broom on fire and fireworks debris on the car. The responding officer observed the damage, which appeared to be minor; the incident was noted as misdemeanor vandalism in the incident report. No other suspect information was available.
July 6
- Milton Wilson Road (misdemeanor vandalism): Responded at 8:10 a.m. July 6 to the 5400 block of Milton Wilson Road regarding misdemeanor vandalism that occurred the previous evening. The victim said someone destroyed his mailbox and threw it in the yard, threw watermelons and water bottles in front of the home, knocked over the trashcan and left a note on the victim’s car, saying, “Cut your grass.” Although the trash vandalism has been an ongoing issue, the victim said, the property damage is a new development. The victim also said the property owner next door is building a fence that will cut the victim’s driveway in half, and the victim and his wife will not have access to their own driveway when the fence is built. His wife has seen a man working on the fence when she leaves the home at 7 a.m. The victim has not met the neighboring property owner, but he has been told he can use his driveway if he pays $78,000 for the property.
- Ewing Boulevard (misdemeanor vandalism): Responded at 2:30 p.m. July 6 to the 6000 block of Ewing Boulevard regarding misdemeanor vandalism. The victim said someone rang his doorbell several times around 3 a.m., but no one was at the door and there was no vehicle on or near his property. When he left for church later that morning, he saw his mailbox and outdoor light had been vandalized. The responding officer saw that the mailbox had been dented and completely removed from its foundation and the light was damaged and detached from its electrical wiring and mount. There was no suspect information available at the time of the report.
- Shetland Loop (felony drugs/narcotics violation): Responded at 3:36 p.m. July 6 to the 11000 block of Shetland Loop regarding a felony drugs/narcotics violation. The complainant said some of the neighborhood kids were fishing at the lake and found a zip-up bag containing a bottle of white crystals and clear liquid, as well as a black-and-gray backpack containing white dust masks, white coffee filters and a 20-lb. weight. The backpack was halfway in the water and halfway on the bank. The complainant’s neighbor, an off-duty Shelby County deputy, said the crystals looked like methamphetamine. A narcotics detective confirmed the substance and brought the Tennessee Methamphetamine Task Force to the scene to neutralize and dispose of the substance. No suspect information could be confirmed at the time of the incident.
July 7
- Eldridge Ridge Drive (arson): Responded on July 7 to the 6000 block of Eldridge Ridge Drive regarding a reported arson. The complainant said someone burned a portable toilet ($800) in front of that address sometime between 4:30 p.m. July 3 and 8 a.m. July 7. The complainant said the toilet was in place for his construction crew’s use while working on an uncompleted home. Safety Quip (4950 Getwell) owns the portable toilet. No suspect information was available.
July 10
- Memphis Arlington Road (misdemeanor vandalism): Responded at 2:10 p.m. July 10 to the 11000 block of Memphis Arlington Road regarding misdemeanor vandalism. The victim said someone damaged her mailbox ($50) between 3 p.m. July 9 and 3 p.m. July 10. The officer observed that the mailbox was missing its door and was misaligned as if it had been struck. Two nearby mailboxes were also vandalized, but the officer was not able to reach those other property owners immediately.
July 13
- Misty Trail (intimidation/domestic violence): Responded at 12:34 p.m. July 13 to the 12000 block of Misty Trail regarding a report of intimidation/domestic violence between 11:30 a.m. and 12:43 p.m. that day. The victim said she was waiting at a gas station near her mother’s house while her ex-boyfriend was en route to drop off their son at her mother’s house, and she described a harrowing experience: He saw her at the gas station and drove recklessly into the parking lot, nearly crashing into her vehicle with their son in the back of his vehicle. When he said he wouldn’t return the boy to her custody, she moved the boy and his car seat to her vehicle. Her ex then tried to forcibly remove the child and threw the car seat into the parking lot, but she escaped with the boy and drove toward her mother’s house. He followed, driving dangerously close and almost striking her vehicle while their son was in the rear seat. He fled when she dialed 911.
July 14
- Statley Hollow Cove (non-residential burglary): Responded at 5:25 p.m. July 14 to the 5700 block of Statley Hollow Cove regarding a non-residential burglary attempt. The victims’ son heard people talking outside around 3 a.m. July 12, and then he heard the exterior garage door open. His parents walked into their garage and saw three white male juveniles standing in front of their neighbor’s house. The husband yelled, and the boys ran away. The wife recognized one juvenile, and her son looked up his Instagram.com profile, finding a picture of the suspect and two other juveniles that had been posted at 2:15 a.m. that morning. The wife also recognized a second suspect in the picture. The next day, the parents asked the first suspect about the incident, and he said he didn’t go insider their garage but the second suspect did. No items were stolen, and the garage door was not damaged.
July 15
- Rosebrook Lane (false pretenses/swindle/confidence game): Responded at 6 p.m. July 15 to the 12000 block of Rosebrook Lane regarding a yard work swindle. The victim said she wrote a $210 check on June 20 to a man to begin yard work at her home. Later that day, he said he couldn’t cash the check and needed cash to purchase the mulch. She gave him the cash, but he kept the check anyway and never returned to do the yard work. Her bank records showed that the check was cashed and deposited into a Bancorp South account in Bartlett on June 26. She had no other information on the suspect other than her belief that he lives somewhere in her neighborhood. The victim also reported that another suspect stole money from her bank account (see the following report).
- Rosebrook Lane (other larceny/access device): Responded at 6:03 p.m. July 15 to the 12000 block of Rosebrook Lane regarding unlawful use of a victim’s debit/credit card. The victim said she had just realized a friend had been borrowing and returning her card to withdraw money from her account without her permission between April 21 and July 15. Her card was in his car when the friend was stopped and locked up on a warrant. The withdrawals totaled $4,000. She said he is currently at the penal farm.
July 17
- Memphis Arlington Road (counterfeiting/forgery): Responded at 3:23 p.m. July 17 to the 11600 block of Memphis Arlington Road regarding a counterfeiting/forgery report. The owner of Vinegar Jim’s restaurant said a male employee gave a counterfeit bill to a colleague with instructions to get change around 9:30 p.m. July 13. The owner saw the bill and tried to confront the suspect, who left.
- U.S. 70 (other theft/non-specific): Responded at 7:16 p.m. July 17 to the Citgo gas station (11017 U.S. 70) regarding four drivers’ thefts of an estimated $331.46 of gasoline. The gas station’s owner said the driver of a dark blue SUV pumped gasoline at Pump 8 without paying for it around 6 p.m., and then a white Expedition did the same. Both vehicles left eastbound on U.S. 70. Around 6:25 p.m. a white Chevrolet Impala also took gasoline without paying at the same pump. Around 6:40 p.m., a gold Chevrolet Suburban pumped $91.46 of fuel at the same pump before the victim confronted him. The suspect went inside the store and tried to pay for the gasoline with three different credit cards, but all were declined, so the suspect walked out and drove away southbound on Lamb Road. The victim captured that suspect’s license plate number and his description; the driver was a white male about 5 feet 7 inches tall, weighing an estimated 160 lbs. and wearing a gray shirt, blue jeans and boating shoes. The victim said he may have camera video evidence of the last driver because he came inside, but there was no camera coverage for the gas pump. Because of a pump malfunction, the victim didn’t know the amount of fuel the other suspects stole, but he estimated that each took about $75-$80 of gasoline. The deputy did not see any sign of physical tampering to the pump.
July 22
- Arlington Trace Drive (motor vehicle theft): Responded at 8:10 a.m. July 22 to the 11100 block of Arlington Trace Drive regarding a motor vehicle theft. The victim said she parked her unlocked Ford SUV in the driveway around 7 p.m. July 21, and it was still there at midnight when she went6 to sleep. When she woke up around 7:15 a.m. July 22, the vehicle was gone. She said a set of vehicle keys was in the SUV’s console. The responding officer didn’t see any broken glass in the driveway, and the vehicle’s information was entered into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database.
- Arlington Trace Drive (theft from motor vehicle): Responded at 8:51 a.m. July 22 to the 11200 block of Arlington Trace Drive regarding a theft from motor vehicle. The victim said her unsecured Chevrolet Equinox and Scion XB were parked in her driveway around 8 p.m. July 21. She noticed the next morning that both vehicles had been ransacked, and someone took $25 in assorted coins and bills from the Scion’s center console. A crime scene deputy took several photos and obtained fingerprint ridge details.
- Shetland Trail Cove (theft from a motor vehicle): Responded at 10:59 a.m. July 22 to the 5400 block of Shetland Trail Cove regarding a theft from a motor vehicle. The victim’s wife left their Hyundai Veloster unlocked in the driveway overnight on July 21. Then around 9:30 a.m. on July 22, a neighbor came by to advise that he’d had items stolen from a vehicle. The victim immediately checked his own Hyundai and found that it had been ransacked, but nothing appeared to be missing.
- Hidden Meadows Drive (theft from motor vehicle): Responded at 12:30 p.m. July 22 to the 5300 block of Hidden Meadows Drive regarding a theft from a motor vehicle. The victim said she parked her Chevrolet Tahoe in her driveway around 11 p.m. the previous night and found it ransacked around 4 a.m. July 22. Both doors were open, and paperwork from her glove compartment was littered across her front lawn. The only item missing was her work keys and a City of Memphis debit card. She thought the vehicle was locked, but the reporting officer could not find any sign of forced entry.
- Arlington Trace Drive (residential burglary): Responded at 7:24 p.m. July 22 to the 11100 block of Arlington Trace Drive regarding a residential burglary. The victim said he noticed his red and silver Giant mountain bike ($600) and a black bike computer mounted on the handlebars ($50) were missing when he got home that same day around 6 p.m. The last time he saw it was July 20 around 5 p.m. He said his garage door is broken and stays open, and the bike was covered up in the back. The bike’s model number is Revel 29er 1, with serial number C92C0616.
- Multiple locations (auto burglaries): Responded at 9 a.m. July 22 to multiple vehicle burglary complaints in the Arlington area on July 21-22. While on scene for a different vehicle burglary on the 5400 block of Shetland Trail Cove, detectives canvassed nearby houses and discovered additional victims. A woman said someone stole her iPhone from her Hyundai Elantra overnight, and the phone’s tracking application led detectives to a suspect’s home on the 3400 block of Maclin. The homeowner allowed detectives to search her house, and in the bathroom closet they found a backpack containing the missing iPhone, its charger and a flashlight from a separate auto burglary the same date. An additional search revealed a Giant brand mountain bike in the home’s attached shed. After being read his Miranda rights, the homeowner’s son said he and several other males had targeted unlocked vehicles to burglarize in Arlington. He admitted to the iPhone theft and said he had stolen the flashlight from a maroon Explorer in the same cove. He said he had also stolen a Ford SUV from the area and abandoned it at the corner of Partridge and Rolling Woods, about 500 yards from his residence. Additional charges will follow in this investigation.
- Arlington Trace Drive (other theft/non-specific): Responded at 9:50 p.m. July 22 to the 11100 block of Arlington Trace Drive regarding a bike theft. The victim said someone stole her son’s burgundy bike ($125) from their front yard between 10 p.m. July 21 and 6 p.m. July 22. One identifiable feature of the bike is clear tape holding the brake line to the handlebars. She also said there have been multiple bike thefts in the neighborhood over the past few days, but neither she nor her son had any additional information on a suspect.
- Shetland Trail (theft from motor vehicle): Responded at 9:30 a.m. July 22 to a home on the 5400 block of Shetland Trail regarding a theft from an unlocked motor vehicle. The victim said someone stole a Streamlight flashlight and Safariland bulletproof vest from the vehicle. The vest was recovered in a neighbor’s front yard. A separate burglary on the same block led officers to a stolen iPhone that was traced via a tracking application to the 2400 block of Maclin, where a suspect confessed to the theft of the phone, its charger, the flashlight and an SUV. Officers took the suspect into custody.
July 24
- U.S. 70 (simple assault/domestic violence): Responded at 10:25 p.m. July 24 to the 10900 block of U.S. 70 regarding a simple assault/domestic violence incident. The victim said she and her boyfriend got into an argument while standing outside her residence. She said he choked her, threw her against the garage door and punched her face several times. She bit him on the hand, and he dropped his cell phone, giving her the opportunity to push him away. He ran away to a second woman’s vehicle, and they drove off through the grass and left via a neighbor’s driveway. The victim called 911, but officers were not able to locate the suspect immediately. The victim had red marks on her neck and face, but she said she did not need medical attention. A check of NCIC revealed that the victim had an outstanding warrant dated July 23 for a parole violation and another out-of-state warrant in Georgia, dated March 4. Officers transported her to Jail East.
- Arlington Trace Drive (theft from motor vehicle): Responded at 9:40 p.m. July 24 to the 11100 block of Arlington Trace Drive regarding a theft from an unlocked motor vehicle parked in a driveway. Someone burglarized the victim’s vehicle between 11:15 p.m. and 11:45 p.m. July 21. A security video shows a male suspect walking around the neighborhood, checking for unlocked vehicles and taking a gray leather purse from the victim’s vehicle. The purse and its spilled contents was found by a nearby fence, with only $4 missing. The video also showed a vehicle that drove around while the suspect was getting into various vehicles.
July 25
- Lamb Road (simple assault/domestic violence): Responded at 11:35 a.m. July 25 to the 5700 block of Lamb Road regarding a simple assault/domestic violence incident. The complainant said she called 911 after her two sons began fighting in a bedroom. One son and her daughter were arguing because he’d been in her room for no reason. The second son tried to step in and calm both parties, slightly shoving the first son away. The brothers then began shoving each other and fell to the floor. The fight ended when the mother called for police, and the first son left voluntarily when his mother told him to get out. The sister and the second son’s girlfriend were witnesses who backed up the second son’s story about what happened. The responding officers saw no injuries, and the involved parties refused medical attention. The first son said he also called 911, claiming his brother was armed with a knife during the fight, but the witnesses and mother said they saw no weapons. Officers deemed the knife accusation to be unfounded.
July 26
- Dempsey Drive (simple assault/domestic violence): Responded at 1:10 a.m. July 26 to the 11600 block of Dempsey Drive regarding a simple assault/domestic violence incident. The complainant said her brother was possible involved in a domestic incident with his girlfriend at the girlfriend’s residence at Belle Ridge Drive and Evening Ridge Drive. While waiting there for additional units to arrive, a deputy saw a white male at the front door, throwing objects throughout the residence. Deputies confronted the man, who said his girlfriend took his wallet, which contained $500. He said the argument was verbal and did not turn physical, but his girlfriend had a different story. She said he confronted her about the missing wallet and money, and she locked herself in the bedroom when he became irate. When she came out, he grabbed her, pulled her by the hair and hit her face. She had bruises on her face, carpet burns on her back, scratches on her neck and handprints on her arms. She received medical treatment at the scene and refused medical transport. Deputies didn’t see any injuries on the defendant aside from a stumped toe, which he said didn’t occur during the fight. Both the man and the girlfriend said they threw each other’s belongings throughout the residence and broke each other’s phones. Deputies recovered the girlfriend’s shattered cell phone from the storm drain in front of the residence. Both subjects said they had consumed multiple alcoholic beverages throughout the night. Officers arrested the man and took the woman to a safe location. Deputies searched the woman’s purse and belongings and did not find the man’s missing wallet or $500.
July 28
- U.S. 70 (theft from motor vehicle): Responded at 7:55 p.m. July 28 to the 11600 block of U.S. 70 regarding a theft from a Ford F150 pickup parked behind the Kroger shopping center. The complainant, a Pizza Hut delivery driver, said he returned to his truck around 6:30 p.m. and found some of his belongings on the ground near his truck. Then he discovered that someone had stolen his FI brand SP4 15” from his back seat, along with the box in which it was mounted. The reporting officer found handprints and fingerprints on the truck and lifted those for processing. There are no known suspects.
July 29
- Airline Road (misdemeanor vandalism): Responded at 3:45 p.m. July 29 to the 5000 block of Airline Road regarding misdemeanor vandalism. The complainant said Comcast employees entered his office to retrieve equipment he was no longer using, although he’d previously told the techs not to enter the office if he was not present. Without notifying a female employee at the business, the first suspect used a small hand tool to pry open the office door and enter the office to recover Comcast equipment. Store surveillance captured the unlawful entrance at 9:53 a.m. In the process of the Comcast equipment removal, the suspects disabled several cameras. The victim said it was unknown if any items were taken from the business because of the number of supplies and materials that were present (such as lottery tickets and checkbooks). The responding officer observed minor damage to the door facing and edge, took photos of the damage and completed a crime scene report. The first suspect is a white male, 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighing about 180-200 lbs., about 25 years old with short brown hair, a beard and mustache. The second suspect is a white male, 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighing about 180-200 lbs., about 25-35 years old with a shaved head and brown beard.
July 30
- Bevan Drive (drug equipment violation): Responded at 12:35 a.m. July 30 to the 12300 block of Bevan Drive regarding a report of child neglect. The complainant said he was returning three children (ages 10, 4 and 3) to their mother around 9 p.m. after dining out. She was gone when he returned, and he couldn’t reach her via phone. He called her mother, who also didn’t know her location. The oldest child used his key to open the house, and then the complainant called police to ask them for a visit regarding the children’s welfare. The responding officer discovered deplorable living conditions through the home, including furniture flipped over, scattered clothes, and food left out in the kitchen. Knives were lying around the house within the children’s reach, and officers found drug paraphernalia and drug residue in plain sight on the master bathroom’s counter. Officers saw a white glass smoking pipe, a used hypodermic needle, a small mirror and a TennCare card that looked as if it had been used to separate a white powdery residue (possibly methamphetamine) on the mirror. An officer spoke with the suspect via the complainant’s cell phone, and she came home around 2:30 a.m. July 30. She was driven by a man who said she was a stranger who appeared at his house asking for a ride home. The woman appeared to be very unsettled with dilated eyes and jittery speech, and officers determined she was under the influence of some type of intoxicant, possibly narcotics. She told officers that she and her husband use meth. An office took photos of the scene and confiscated the drug paraphernalia for testing and storage.
- Haley Road (felony vandalism): Responded at 8:20 a.m. July 30 to Fleet Services (6200 Haley Road) regarding property damage at the Wolf River Trails at Collierville-Arlington near Shelton, where a Kubota tractor/mower had been left for mowing. Overnight between 6 p.m. July 22 and 5 a.m. July 23, someone shattered the tractor’s cab window, unlatched a fire extinguisher and emptied the contents into the tractor’s interior. The complainant, a Fleet Services supervisor, estimated $800 to replace the cab window and clean up.
