A chatty parking lot robber, costly construction site thefts and a romancing couple trespassing at a vacant house were among the cases the Bartlett Police Department (BPD) investigated from July 27 through Aug. 2.
These are the most notable cases of the week and do not necessarily represent all BPD activities for the time 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 BPD reports.
July 27
U.S. 70 (theft)
A construction superintendent for Drywall Systems Plus found that someone had stolen nine tools from a job site on U.S. 70 by the time he arrived at 6 a.m. July 27.
The tools stolen from a large metal toolbox were two Hilti DX460 nail guns with auto heads ($1,000 each), two Hilti GX120 nail guns ($1,000 each), a Hilti PR36 laser ($3,000), a Hilti cordless hammer drill ($1,000), two Hilti cordless screw guns ($250 each) and a Hilti TE 70 hammer drill ($3,000).
Galvin Cove (aggravated burglary)
A Bartlett resident found his side door kicked in and multiple items stolen when he returned from work around 1 p.m. July 27.
The door frame was damaged ($100), and someone stole an Xbox 1, two Xbox 1 controllers, a Minecraft Xbox 1 game and a 46-inch Toshiba TV.
U.S. 64 (theft from motor vehicle)
A Jonstone Lake resident reported on July 27 that two days earlier someone had stolen his black Velcro wallet ( $1) from his unlocked truck’s center console. The vehicle was parked at Circle K (8110 U.S. 64) at the time of the theft.
Hare Point (residential burglary)
A victim reported on July 27 that someone had broken into the victim’s vacant property sometime since July 12 and stole or damaged multiple items.
Items stolen included a Whirlpool brand stove/oven combo ($500) and two electronic garage door openers ($50 each).
The house is up for sale and had electronic key boxes on the front and rear doors. The suspect broke the key box off of the rear door, destroying the door knob ($150), to access the key and open the home.
Damages also included the broken glass pane in a second rear door, requiring total replacement ($600).
July 29
Carebi Way (suspicious vehicle)
An officer saw a suspicious vehicle parked in front of an unoccupied home under construction on Carebi Way around 3:30 a.m. July 29. There have been several thefts in the area and at this residence recently.
The officer saw a black woman and black man inside and shone a spotlight into the residence. The woman came out the front door and the man ran out the back. She told the officer that the man claimed the house was his and invited her over.
Backup arrived, and officers followed footprints in the grass through the back yard behind multiple residences, leading to Bend River Cove, while giving the suspect verbal commands to stop fleeing and reveal himself.
The footprints stopped in Bending River Cove and picked back up on the South side of Bending River Road through the front yards of all the residences leading to Bending River Road, where the footprints ended in a driveway.
Officers continued searching the area, and one officer returned to the original residence and spotted a vehicle nearby that had not been there recently.
The Cadillac was registered to a man living on the 6200 block of Bending River Road. Officers arrested the man and read him his Miranda rights. He said he was only in the home for a romantic rendezvous with his female companion.
Beagle Trail (burglary)
A man reported that someone broke into his vacant house sometime between July 22 and July 29, when he arrived around 8:30 a.m. The responding officer saw that the rear door had been kicked or struck with an object, breaking the inside door frame. No other damage was discovered by officers.
Peyton Randolph Cove (suspicious circumstances)
A man reported on July 29 his stepson’s allegation that someone stole his shoes at gunpoint around 8:30 p.m. the previous night.
The stepson had been meeting with a friend, allegedly a gang member, to do a mutual exchange of shoes. Instead, the “friend” and another person drove up in a 2000 black Ford Mustang and robbed him.
The driver, an unknown light-skinned black male in his late teens or early 20s, got out of the car and pointed a small black revolver at the victim, who initially tried to run away.
At the suspect’s command, the victim dropped the shoes and backed away. The suspect picked up the shoes and fled in the car.
U.S. 64 (robbery)
A victim reported on July 29 that a menacing man tried to rob her in the parking lot of Walmart (8400 U.S. 64) around 7 p.m. that night.
She was parked in the first handicapped parking spot when she heard someone speaking to her. She didn’t respond. As she put her purse in the backseat and held her keys in her hand, the person then said, “I should have said ‘madam’ so you wouldn’t feel old.”
She turned around, and the man was right behind her.
He said, “I’m gonna let you put your things in your trunk and I want you to think about what I’m gonna tell you.”
He kept repeating that and slapping his hands on her car roof, she said.
He also repeatedly said, “I want everything,” and he reached behind his back in a manner that led her to believe he was armed.
An unknown citizen interrupted, and the suspect fled. Nothing was stolen during the encounter.
The suspect was a dark-skinned black male, about 5-foot-3-inches tall, with facial hair and a receding hairline. His hair was cut very low. He was last seen wearing a white T-shirt with green numbers and a pair of shorts in faded Army green.
July 30
Hyman Drive (attempted theft of vehicle parts/accessories)
A truck owner reported on July 30 that someone tried to remove his Ford F150’s bumper.
He parked the truck in front of his home around 2 p.m. July 29, and the vehicle was operating properly.
When he headed to work the next morning, he noticed the truck’s front end was rattling and shaking. An inspection revealed the front bumper was hanging by only one screw. The owner and the responding officer found no damage to the vehicle and didn’t identify any items as missing.
July 31
Stage Hills Boulevard (auto burglary)
A woman left her purse unattended in her unlocked car briefly while picking up her daughter at We Love Kids Learning Center (8040 Stage Hills Boulevard). When she returned, her car key and Maurice purse ($50) were missing.
Items in the purse included a Bank of America ATM card, a Capital One bank card and and her checkbook. She notified her banks and cancelled the cards.
She was not able to provide the responding officer with the credit card numbers at the time of the report. One of her credit card companies reported recent charges at Circle K and Dillards after the purse was stolen.
Aug. 2
Hurst Court (auto burglary)
The owner of a Chevrolet Trailblazer reported on Aug. 2 that someone stole a weapon from his vehicle between 2 p.m. July 31 and noon Aug. 2. The vehicle might have been left unlocked.
The item stolen from his door compartment was a Walther PPKS, .380 caliber. It had been stored in a black nylon holster with one addition magazine.
