A bold would-be thief tried to climb through a broken window in a Bartlett home Aug. 28, but the Shadow Hills homeowner fired her pistol and scared him off. Officers quickly found him two streets over, bloody and screaming about the return of God.
The Bartlett Police Department handled that out-of-control suspect and the following incidents in Bartlett from Aug. 22 through Sept. 1. This listing includes the most notable incidents for the reporting period and does not necessarily reflect all police activity.
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 BPD reports.
Aug. 22
Bevan Drive (residential burglary)
A vacant home that’s been on the marked for about a year was too tempting for a thief. The complainant said he’s been showing the house for a month, and on Aug. 22 he discovered that someone had forced entry and stolen a GE stainless steel dual fuel range/stove ($900), a white Maytag Neptune washer ($800), a white Maytag Neptune dryer ($800), a GE stainless steel wine chiller ($375), a Sony 60-inch flat screen television ($800), a gray Porter Cable circular saw ($1250), a black Dremel hand saw ($130), a gray Porter Cable reciprocating saw ($100), and a gray Porter Cable cordless drill ($150).
Bartlett Heights Cove (vandalism)
Someone dented the driver’s side front door of a woman’s car and tore off the door handle, the victim reported on Aug. 22. No one entered the vehicle or stole belongings.
Aug. 23
Appling Road (theft of a license plate)
A man reported on Aug. 23 that his Tennessee license plate was taken from the rear of his truck. He filed the report after parking on the back lot at 2945 Appling Road around 7 a.m.
Aug. 24
U.S. 64 (individual robbery)
A man trying to help a friend was a robbery victim Aug. 24 at the Suburban Lodge (7380 U.S. 64). He said he was on his way home but stopped at the Suburban Lodge around midnight because a friend (the suspect) texted and asked him to come over and give another person a ride.
He arrived, parked and saw a black male standing on the west side of the building, appearing to talk on a cell phone. A second unknown black male approached him at his vehicle, held up a black pistol and demanded all his belongings if he didn’t want to get shot. The victim pushed the suspect away and ran across the parking lot toward the main office. He also took $70 out of his pocket and tossed it at the suspect.
The gunman demanded the rest of his money, but the victim ran into the main office while the suspect picked up the cash. The suspect was about 5 feet 10 inches tall, weighed about 150 lbs. and wore a white tank top and blue jeans.
U.S. 64 (individual robbery)
A neighbor texted a man that he’d seen a stranger take a gas container off the victim’s trailer in his driveway on Aug. 24. The suspect then walked to his own vehicle, an early 2000s-model Ford Explorer and fueled up.
The neighbor made the suspect walk to the victim’s door to apologize and offer to pay for the stolen gasoline. The victim spoke to the suspect through the front door but refused to accept any compensation.
The suspect was an unshaven white male about 20 years old, of medium build and about 5 feet 10 inches tall. He took about three gallons of gas ($6).
Avi Cove (theft)
Someone raided a home under construction on Avi Cove and took materials, the foreman reported on Aug. 24. Items stolen included a pallet (17 rolls) of felt roofing material ($350), 15 boards measuring 1 inch by 6 inches by 10 feet and 15 board measuring 1 inch by 8 inches by 15 feet ($250). The theft happened between Aug. 19 and Aug. 23.
Germantown Road (auto burglary)
A man reported Aug. 24 that someone broke the driver’s side passenger back window of his truck while he was spending the night at the Hampton Hotel (2935 Germantown Road).
Bartlett Boulevard (theft from a motor vehicle)
A woman returned to her vehicle from an evening run at W.J. Freeman Park on Aug. 24 and found that someone had broken into her vehicle.
The lock was picked on her front driver’s side door, and items stolen included a blue Samsung Note 5 cellphone ($600), Big Buddah black purse ($80), Tennessee driver’s license, Social Security card and Bank of America debit card. The theft happened between 6 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.
Champaign Street (theft)
Someone stole two political signs from a man’s front yard on Champaign Street, he reported on Aug. 24. He said both thefts have happened since Aug. 10.
Stage Road (theft)
A woman at Sweet Peas restaurant (5824 Stage Road) said someone stole her vehicle’s license plate between 3:40 p.m. and 8:40 p.m. on Aug. 24. Her vehicle is a 2011 Hyundai.
Aug. 25
Robins Roost (aggravated burglary)
A vacant home on Robins Roost was the site of another break-in and theft, the victim reported Aug. 25. Suspects tried prying open a rear window but were only partially successful. Then they pried open the inoperable and unsecured garage door and pried open the interior wooden/glass door.
Inside, they stole an older model white Kenmore Washer ($100) from the kitchen.
Aug. 27
Old Brownsville Road (burglary)
A man lost his shotgun to one or more thieves who broke through his home’s rear entrance, he reported on Aug. 27. They gained entry by damaging the frame and lock on the outer storm door.
The stolen weapon was a black Beretta A400 with a gold trigger ($1,500).
Aug. 28
Shadow Hills (prowler, shots fired)
An officer responded to Shadow Hills at 3:13 on Aug. 28 about a prowler call with shots fired.
A woman heard a loud crash from her master bathroom’s window around 3:05 a.m. When she checked, she saw a wood log in the middle of her bathroom floor with glass shards all around. That’s when she saw a suspect trying to climb through her bathroom window.
She grabbed her Sig Sauer 229 handgun from her purse, which was on the floor near the bed. When she pointed her gun at him, his upper body was already through the window and she fired one shot. She said he had cuts on both hands from the broken window, and the responding officer later observed blood droplets in the bathtub under the window.
He fled the scene on foot. She described him as a white male, medium build, with no shirt.
Another caller from Grey stone Oaks, just two streets away, said there was a shirtless white man lying in the driveway, screaming. Officers found the suspect lying in the driveway, screaming, “God is coming back and I was trying to let people know!” He resisted arrest and screamed uncontrollably, waking several neighbors nearby.
The Bartlett Fire Department Unit 4 made the scene to treat the man’s cuts. Officers were also able to backtrack his footsteps to the crime scene through the dew in multiple yards. He was taken to Bartlett jail on multiple charges.
The suspect also kicked the police car’s interior door panel multiple times, causing the panel to break in several places ($500).
Aug. 29
Bartlett Crest Drive (theft from motor vehicle)
Someone stole a woman’s black Apex laptop ($600) from her unlocked Chevy Cobalt parked outside her apartment. She said it happened on or around July 21, but she reported the crime on Aug. 29.
Sept. 1
Altruria Road (attempted aggravated burglary)
A victim on Altruria Road reported that someone tried to pry open the home’s back sliding door around midnight Sept. 1.
