Arlington sees varied crimes in November.
Criminal minds in Arlington were busy in November with another school shooting threat, felony and misdemeanor drug violations, a stolen truck, counterfeiters, identity theft, and a doorbell-ringing, vehicle-scratching and Silly String-spraying vandal, to name just a few incidents.
The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) reported handling the following incidents in Arlington during the month of November.
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.
Nov. 1
U.S. 70 (business burglary)
A woman flagged down officers at the SCSO substation on Memphis-Arlington Road in the early hours of Nov. 1, saying she saw a broken window at El Mezcal Mexican Restaurant (11615 U.S. 70) as she was driving by. Officers arrived on scene at 5:35 a.m. and cleared the building.
The owner and co-manager arrived and reviewed security camera recording with the officers. Two Hispanic males smashed the front window with a sledgehammer and entered the building at 1:55 a.m. They were disguised and wearing gloves.
They kicked open the security equipment door and removed the cash register drawer from the closet. Finding only coins in it, they abandoned the drawer when they left through the rear kitchen door. The owner advised that nothing appeared to be stolen or removed from the restaurant.
Nov. 3
Airline Road (false pretenses/swindle/confidence game)
A black youth tried and failed to cash a counterfeit bill at a business on the 5700 block of Airline Road on Nov. 3.
The clerk told the suspect she couldn’t open the register unless he bought something. He bought a cookie with legitimate cash and tried to get her to change a $20 bill while the register was open, but she determined that the bill was counterfeit and contacted the SCSO instead.
She described the suspect as a black male around age 12-13, wearing a gray sweatshirt.
The youth left and went to the nearby Domino’s Pizza, which has a surveillance system. The manager there told officers who could give them access to the surveillance video.
Employees at Lenny’s Sub Shop said the boy headed southbound toward Doctor Logan Road on foot.
Officers were unable to locate the suspect, and they took custody of the $20 bill as evidence.
Hidden Trail (intimidation)
A man reported on Nov. 3 he was jogging on the 12000 block of Hidden Trail when a barking, growling dog charged him. He shouted for someone to get the dog and put both hands in the air.
He said a white female came out to get the dog, and he told her what happened.
Shortly after she went inside, a white male came running out of the house, threatening to do bodily harm and telling the jogger not to scream at his wife. The jogger said he tried to calm the man down, but the man followed the jogger to his home on the same block and threatened to throw a rock through his window if he called police. The jogger said the dog didn’t harm him, and he didn’t need medical attention.
Officers spoke with the dog owners, who told a different story. The man said he spoke with the jogger but neither had an issue afterward. He also said he didn’t follow the complainant to his home or threaten him.
The woman said the jogger screamed at her and she felt afraid. She said her six-year-old son was the one who let the dog escape from the house.
Nov. 6
Airline Road (felony drugs/narcotics)
A Homeland Security/ Customs agent notified an SCSO detective on Nov. 5 of a seized parcel addressed to a suspect with an Arlington U.S. Postal Service box. The parcel contained 53 MDMA pills (commonly known as Ecstasy or Molly) hidden in a DVD case.
Detectives removed all but four pills and put a parcel notification in the suspect’s post office box.
When the suspect retrieved the parcel on Nov. 7 and drove off, detectives did a felony takedown of the man on Airline Road north of Memphis Arlington Road.
They saw him moving around in the vehicle as if he were trying to hide something, and they recovered the parcel stuffed in his pants.
After being advised of his Miranda rights, the suspect admitted that he unpacked the pills and stuffed them under his emergency brake console, which also contained 64.5 grams of keif (crushed marijuana). A field test positively identified the drugs.
The suspect also said he had drug paraphernalia at his home and consented to a search of his bedroom on the 9400 block of Slezenger Lane. A search there uncovered the press that the suspect used to crush his marijuana.
The suspect said he has had the Arlington post office box for about three months and has received several packages of marijuana and MDMA pills, which he sold to supplement his income. The suspect was taken to Shelby County Jail on felony narcotics charges.
Nov. 9
Marquis Court (theft from building)
A woman reported that someone stole her clothes from a washing machine in the Arlington Manor Apartments laundry room between 5:30 p.m. and 6:45 p.m. on Nov. 9. She said the room is locked, and only residents have access. There were no signs of forced entry.
Nov. 10
Orville Cove (identity theft)
An IRS representative contacted a resident on the 11100 block of Orville Cove on Nov. 11 about her 2013 tax return filed online. The victim said she hadn’t filed that tax return yet and asked to cancel the online form. The IRS rep did so and advised that her Social Security Number was on the form.
She filed a report with the SCSO and said she doesn’t know where anyone could have obtained that information. She had no suspect information and said she hasn’t had any personal documents stolen. The theft occurred between Aug. 11 and Nov. 10.
Nov. 12
Airline Road (intimidation)
On Nov. 12, an Arlington High School teacher found a threatening message written on the boys’ restroom urinal wall in the 300 hallway. The penciled message said, “shoot up the school,” and it was in an unknown handwriting with no date, time or name. Custodial staff painted over the graffiti after photos were taken.
Nov. 17
Country Valley Drive (misdemeanor vandalism)
A resident on the 12000 block of Country Valley Drive reported a series of vandalism acts and nuisance disturbances on Nov. 17. The latest incident that day damaged the front and bed of the victim’s truck.
The responding officer saw two large rocks on the cover of the truck bed, which was carved with scratches, and a large rock sitting on the hood. The victim said someone has been ringing his doorbell and knocking on the front door between 7 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. for the past week and a half, disappearing before the victim can come to the door.
Someone sprayed the vehicle with Silly String on Nov. 16, and the officer noticed white foam-like string remaining in the driveway and near the vehicle. The rocks were taken from a neighbor’s flower bed.
Country Valley Drive (misdemeanor vandalism)
Another resident on the 12000 block of Country Valley Drive reported a series of vandalism acts and nuisance disturbances on Nov. 17. The victim said someone damaged a truck’s hood with a large rock. The responding officer saw scratches and dirt on the hood and a potted plant lying nearby.
The victim said for the past week and a half someone’s been knocking on the front door, ringing the doorbell and disappearing before anyone can answer, typically between 7 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.
Someone also sprayed a vehicle with Silly String the previous day, and the responding officer saw white foam-like string remaining in the driveway and near the vehicle.
One of the victims at this address named a suspect and said she has filed several previous reports where he is the suspect.
Nov. 19
Memphis Arlington Road (theft from motor vehicle)
A woman reported on Nov. 19 that she left her locked car in the Arlington Sports Complex parking lot (11307 Mem-phis Arlington Road) around 7:10 a.m. while she walked her dog. When she returned about 25 minutes later, her driver’s side window was broken and someone had stolen her wallet ($25) containing her Tennessee driver’s license, Visa credit card, Chase debit card and $4 in cash.
Jon Oak Drive (identity theft)
A woman on the 5000 block of Jon Oak Drive reported her father’s claim that someone had stolen his identity. Capital One notified him on Nov. 2 of a possibly fraudulent account opened with about $1,300 in his name.
A Credit Karma report listed several accounts that had been opened in the past year, and she provided the responding officer with five different account names and opening dates.
She said her brother has used their father’s Social Security Number to steal his identity previously, and she suspects him this time, too. She had no information on where the brother might be living.
U.S. 70 (counterfeiting/forgery)
A man reported on Nov. 19 that a black female cashed a check at Arlington Liquors (11949 U.S. 70) on Nov. 4, and it was later returned as counterfeit and unpaid. The complainant provided surveillance photos of the suspect cashing the check.
Nov. 20
Lamb Road (theft from building)
Someone at Arlington Middle School (5470 Lamb Road) reported on Nov. 20 that candy and drinks valued at $50-$100 were missing from the concession stand inventory office.
A male student goes into this office daily to complete schoolwork, and he admitted to taking candy daily since he returned from a suspension on Nov. 3. The SCSO report noted it was not the student’s first stealing offense.
He received three days of out-of-school suspension (OSS) and a juvenile summons for theft of property under $500.
Nov. 21
Lubiani Valley Drive (threatening phone call)
A mother on Lubiani Valley Drive reported that her daughter’s former boyfriend started sending the girl threatening messages on Nov. 21, saying things like, “Im killing you tonight..and all your family..Bet I don’t shoot up your house tonight.”
Both the daughter and the male suspect are in the 10th grade at Arlington High School.
Nov. 22
Anderson Bend Cove (theft from motor vehicle)
An Xfinity technician found his work van burglarized the morning of Nov. 22.
He said he parked it in his driveway on the 11100 block of Anderson Bend Cove around 6:30 p.m. Nov. 21, and around 7:45 a.m. the next day he found the interior light on, the rear door open and a window broken out.
The only item stolen was a JDSU signal meter, and the victim did not have a serial number immediately available.
Greenlee Street (motor vehicle theft)
An employee at Rizzi’s Pizza Café (6230 Greenlee St.) said someone stole his maroon 1990 two-door GMC Sierra ($3,500) between 8 p.m. and 8:20 p.m. from the café’s parking lot on Nov. 22.
He said the truck was locked. The vehicle identification number (VIN) was entered in the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database.
Nov. 28
Milton Wilson Boulevard and Darton Drive (misdemeanor drugs/narcotics violation)
Officers responded to a possible drug violation report on Nov. 28 about someone parked in a field at Milton Wilson Boulevard and Darton Drive.
They located a juvenile white female sitting in a car filled with the scent of marijuana at 8:15 p.m. In a search of her vehicle, the officers found a gold and white Marlboro Blend No. 27 box containing marijuana, as well as a rolled blunt paper. The suspect said the marijuana belonged to a friend.
The officers tested and confiscated 1.2 grams of marijuana, charged the girl with possession of a controlled substance, issued her a juvenile summons and released her to her parents at the scene.
Nov. 30
Gulf Stream Road (other theft/non-specific)
A man reported that his soon-to-be ex-girlfriend stole from him in the parking lot of R & L Carriers Inc. (11305 Gulf Stream Road) on Nov. 30.
He said she pulled in behind him and tried to start an argument when he got out of his vehicle around 10:45 p.m.
When he tried to cross the parking lot to his workplace, he said she snatched his LG Bluetooth headphones from around his neck and refused to give them back.
She left with an unknown female black passenger.
The victim said there was no physical contact or struggle and he only wants to have his property returned.
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