The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office handled the following incidents in Arlington during the first half of January. For later January incidents, see next week’s 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 items. These are brief summaries of detailed SCSO reports.
Jan. 4
Airline Road (misdemeanor vandalism)
Someone vandalized a display case behind the Shell gas station (5055 Airline Road) overnight, the owner reported on Jan. 4. Officers reviewed surveillance footage but couldn’t obtain any suspect information. They found a hammer with a blue grip and a relatively large pool of blood near the shattered display case. Officers also saw a small amount of glass near one of the gas pumps. A sergeant took a DNA swab of the blood, and the swab kit and hammer were taken as evidence.
The incident happened between 10 p.m. Jan. 3 and 7:30 a.m. Jan. 4.
U.S. 70 (misdemeanor shoplifting)
Deputies responded Jan. 4 to a theft call at Auto Zone (11701 U.S. 70), checking the area for a black Dodge Ram 1500 the suspect was driving. They spotted it at the gas pump of the Shell Station at U.S. 70 and Airline Road and identified the driver.
Another deputy contacted the complainant at the store, who said he saw the suspect enter, holding an open pocket knife. He watched the suspect go down the first aisle, looking at different items. After a couple of minutes, he saw the suspect cutting open a package containing a flashlight. The suspect got spooked, put the package down and went to another aisle out of sight.
Then the suspect got in line as if he were attempting to check out but instead put the items down and tried to walk out.
The complainant said he saw a ReJuice Super Slim USB pack ($19.99/$21.94) in the suspect’s right front pocket. The suspect took the item out of his pocket, sat it on the counter and said, “Here, I was not trying to steal it and didn’t want to buy it anyway.” Then he walked out.
The complainant walked to the aisle where he lost sight of the suspect and found a ripped-open box for a Replay audio pulse wireless speaker ($12.99/$14.26), which officers found in the suspect’s possession.
A search of the suspect also turned up a burned glass pipe with a white powdery substance like methamphetamine in his left front pocket. The suspect had $3 and no other means to pay for the speaker.
He was arrested, charged with possession of drug paraphernalia and misdemeanor shoplifting, and booked into Shelby County Jail. Officers returned the speaker to the store and had the suspect’s truck towed.
Jan. 5
U.S. 70 (misdemeanor shoplifting)
An employee at the Paisley Rooster (11981 U.S. 70) reported Jan. 5 that she was reviewing the day’s security camera footage and saw a regular customer put a necklace and earrings into her purse. The suspect walked out without paying for the items and left in a Ford Fusion.
Evening Mist Drive (residential burglary)
A resident on the 5400 block of Evening Mist Drive said someone stole beer from a fridge in his garage, which was left open. The theft happened between 8:30 p.m. and 8:45 p.m.
Jan. 7
Chester Street (residential burglary)
A burglar smashed a window ($100), took groceries from the fridge ($50) and cut the phone and cable lines on the outside of a house on the 5600 block of Chester Street, a woman reported. The incident happened between the morning of Jan. 5 and around 2 p.m. Jan. 7.
Doctor Logan Drive (intimidation/domestic violence)
A resident on the 11800 block of Doctor Logan Drive reported hearing two gunshots outside of her residence the afternoon of Jan. 7. She saw her son-in-law standing near her mailbox before he got into a dark gray older model Lexus sedan that belongs to his current girlfriend. The vehicle sped away westbound. She said the man is married to her daughter, who lives with her.
T
he woman said she’s been in an ongoing dispute with her son-in-law and told him he’s not welcome at her house. She also said she’s seen him with numerous firearms in the past.
The responding officers recovered two .45-caliber shell casings on the opposite side of the street in front of the woman’s home. They didn’t see any damage to the property. A routine computer check of the suspect turned up the fact that he’s a convicted felon with multiple felony charges.
Jan. 10
Country Valley (theft from building/access device)
A woman reported Jan. 10 that her grandson stole her credit card and withdrew $200 from her bank account. When she received notification of the withdrawal, she searched the car seat where he was sitting and found $180.
The suspect admitted watching his grandmother enter her PIN, stealing her debit card and withdrawing the money.
The woman said she believes he also stole $80 from her nine-year-old son around the same time, but the suspect denied this.
U.S. 70 (robbery of an individual)
A woman fought with a robber while she was inside McDonald’s (11590 U.S. 70) around 4 p.m. Jan. 10. She said she was getting a drink and talking to a female employee when a black male in a hoodie approached. He stood there for a minute and then grabbed her wallet with both hands, trying to snatch it from her right hand. She grabbed his sleeve and said, “No, don’t take my wallet!”
As they struggled, he pushed the McDonald’s employee on the right side of her chest, and she fell back. The man tried to head toward the northern door of the business but couldn’t break free at first. When he finally got loose, he changed direction and bolted out the south door. He got into the passenger side of a red Ford Mustang with chrome rims, and the victim took pictures of the car as he fled.
The car pulled out of the parking lot, crossed over U.S. 70, entered the Shell gas station parking lot and then headed south on Airline Road.
A check of the area didn’t turn up the car.
Jan. 11
U.S. 70/Jetway Drive (misdemeanor vandalism)
A man said he was driving west on U.S. 70 around 6 p.m. Jan. 11 and heard his rear driver’s side window shatter as he approached Jetway Drive. He said he didn’t hear any shots fired or see anyone throw anything, and no vehicles passed him on U.S. 70. The responding officer checked the interior of his Infiniti Q56 and didn’t see any evidence that it was shot by a firearm. The officer checked the area but didn’t locate a suspect.
Jan. 15
Thunderbird Road (theft from building)
A man reported a pistol missing from his home on Jan. 15. He kept the Kel-Tec pistol between his mattress set and noticed it was missing around Jan. 10. He and his wife said his son or a friend of his who has access to the home might have stolen it. They hoped that the gun would be returned once the suspects were questioned. The wife contacted the friend’s mother to advise her of the situation.
The son was at home, so the responding officer questioned him. At first, he said he didn’t know who could have taken it but that his friend would often go to the bathroom and be gone a long time. He also said he didn’t know anything about the gun other than its location. Then he admitted that he had taken the gun and carried it for his own protection a few days earlier but had returned it. He said his friend was with him and saw where the pistol was stored.
The friend’s mother said she confronted her son about the gun. He said the victim’s son was the one who took the pistol and showed it to him, saying his father knew he had it and he was going to return it when he got home.
She also said she was present when her son contacted the victim’s son to ask about the pistol. The victim’s son reportedly said he had been in trouble and had just gotten his car back, so he had to cover for the pistol.
The pistol’s information was entered into the National Crime Information Center’s database.
Special to the Express.
