The Bartlett Police Report for Nov. 12-25, 2018, lists the most notable crimes for that period as reported by the Bartlett Police Department; it does not necessarily reflect all police activity. 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.
Violence/threats
Violent or threatening incidents for the period included a carjacking, an armed robbery, a possibly mentally disturbed man with a weapon, and a report of shots fired.
Carjacking: A woman said a male demanded her truck keys while she was loading groceries into her pickup at Kroger (7615 U.S. 70) around 8:30 p.m. Nov. 16. She refused, and the male said he was armed and again demanded her keys.
She then kicked the suspect several times and began hitting him with her truck door. Several Good Samaritans rushed to help, and the suspect ran away northbound through the parking lot toward U.S. 70. She sustained no injuries.
Officers were flagged down near Kroger around 10 p.m. and told that someone fitting the suspect’s description was near the Kroger fuel pumps, trying to sell a laptop. They arrived and arrested him.
The laptop belonged to the city of Bartlett, and the suspect was a runaway from Youth Villages on Memphis Arlington Road. The officers determined that, after the failed carjacking, the suspect stole the laptop from a BPD squad car parked at Phillips Auto Body, awaiting maintenance. He was able to enter the car by tearing a plastic cover off an already broken window. Officers also discovered that the vehicle’s radar system was damaged.
Armed robbery: A man reported that two unknown males robbed him around 1 a.m. Nov. 17 at Quail Ridge Apartments. He was walking to his apartment when he saw one suspect with a black face mask standing in front of the staircase and a similar suspect standing outside an apartment door. He believed they might be preparing to break in, so he walked past them to the stairs.
As he stepped onto the staircase, he felt a pistol next to his head, and one of them men demanded the book bag he was carrying. They took it, ran to a waiting vehicle in the parking lot and fled.
The victim said the bag contained a handgun and an iPhone charger. He also said he didn’t immediately think to call the police after the incident.
Armed and alarmed suspect: An employee at Sam’s Club (8480 U.S. 64) could tell that a customer was upset and he approached him to start a conversation the morning of Nov. 17. But the suspect said he would shoot anyone that came near him.
The employee thought the man must have been joking, and he told the suspect to give him a hug. The suspect began backing away and reaching toward the back of his waistband as if to indicate a weapon was there.
The employee notified a manager, who called police. Officers found the suspect to be hesitantly cooperative but seemed paranoid. He admitted to having a pistol in his right rear back pocket and let an officer retrieve it. They detained him and took him to a medical facility for a mental evaluation.
Bullet damages: officers responded to a shots fired complaint at Siegel Select (7380 U.S. 64) around 9:15 a.m. Nov. 25. They found the complainant in the rear of the parking lot, and he said he had just been shot at while in his room.
In the room, officers saw numerous holes in the window and signs that bullets had hit the half wall below the window. They determined that the man hadn’t been shot and was illegally in possession of a handgun. He was taken into custody and taken to the Bartlett City Jail.
Thefts and burglaries
Three Doves Cove: A man reported on Nov. 13 that someone had been breaking into his detached garage and moving things over the previous week. He said the suspect sometimes takes an item overnight but returns it the next day, but on Nov. 12 a five-gallon jug of 50-cent coins ($4,000) was taken. He wouldn’t let the officer look inside the garage because it wasn’t neat and orderly. There was no sign of forced entry.
South Earhart Drive: A woman who shopped at the Neighborhood Walmart (6520 Memphis Arlington Road) said she carried a purse that contained her cell phone and believes she accidentally left it outside in her shopping cart. At home, she realized her purse was missing. She suspects that someone stole her purse while it was in the cart. Reported Nov. 13.
Calla Drive: A man looked out his home’s window on Nov. 14 and saw a male get out of a Jeep Cherokee, walk to the front door, ring the bell and knock. Then the suspect went back to the Jeep and emerged, putting on gloves. The resident went to another vantage point in another room and spotted another male. He called police as he was trying to exit his house and confront the two suspects.
The suspects fled northbound on Call Drive and turned right into the cove of Dana Cheryl Lane. The driver then turned around and sped away westbound. Responding officers found the glass front storm door to be pried away from the frame near the deadbolt lock and observed pry marks around the deadbolt on the large wooden front door.
Daybreak: The front door of a home was kicked or pried open, and officers found several areas of the house had been rummaged through. The victim said her husband’s rifle and some jewelry were missing. Reported Nov. 14.
U.S. 70: A man reported that he forgot and left his iPhone in a shopping cart at Kroger (7615 U.S. 70). When he returned, a clerk told him that a woman had just picked it up from the lost and found. The clerk said that the suspect came to the counter and described the phone, so the clerk handed it to her. The suspect left in a small white pickup. Reported Nov. 18.
West Grove Drive: Officers responded to a home alarm around 12:55 a.m. Nov. 19. The homeowner said he looked out his window and saw someone trying to break in through the front door. He heard a loud sound and then the alarm triggered. The suspect fled, and the front door didn’t appear to be damaged.
Vehicle-related
Stage Hills: A woman said her vehicle was burglarized late on Nov. 2, but she didn’t complete a report as nothing seemed to be missing. Several cars in the area were burglarized that night, and officers arrested two suspects found with several of the stolen items. The woman said she only recently noticed that her garage door opener was missing from the truck. Reported Nov. 12.
Bartlett Boulevard: A woman said someone entered her unlocked vehicle, took her wallet and used her credit cards in Memphis. Reported Nov. 12.
Alfaree Street: A man reported that someone broke into his vehicle overnight on Nov. 11. He said he double-checks his vehicles’ locks every night before bedtime. The responding officer saw scratches where someone had pried open the back window hatch and broken the lock bar. Items taken included a new chainsaw and some other tools. Reported Nov. 12.
Payton Randolph: A woman reported that someone stole the dealer plate from the vehicle she drove home from her car dealership between Nov. 6 and 7. Reported Nov. 13.
Wheelers Place: A woman reported a stolen purse, possibly taken from her vehicle while she picked up her children from First Childcare Center (8045 N. Brother Blvd.) on Nov. 12. The purse contained an iPhone 7, a Visa card and a spare key to her vehicle. She was later notified of fraudulent charges totaling $2,240.68 on her debit card. Reported Nov. 13.
Burton Church Cove: A man said someone stole the license plate from his parked vehicle on Nov. 16 or 17. Reported Nov. 17.
Dylan Valley Cove: A woman said someone entered her sister’s unlocked vehicle while parked at the woman’s house overnight on Nov. 18. Nothing seemed to have been stolen. Reported Nov. 19.
Frances Wood Cove: Someone entered a woman’s unlocked vehicle and removed a nylon gym bag early on Nov. 19. She found the bag in the street that morning, but the contents were missing. A male at the home said someone also burglarized his car and took about $2 in cash. Reported Nov. 19.
Dylan Valley Cove: Nothing was stolen, but a man reported that someone entered his unlocked vehicle while it was parked in his driveway overnight on Nov. 17. Reported Nov. 18.
Molsonwood Cove: Nothing was stolen, but a woman said someone entered her vehicle and opened its glove compartment overnight on Nov. 18. Reported Nov. 19.
Stage Road: A customer at Dollar Tree said she was returning home when she realized her purse was missing from her vehicle. The responding officer saw that the driver’s side door lock was punched out. Reported Nov. 19.
Stage Road: A man parked in front of the Dollar Tree said someone broke into his vehicle and took two laptops that were in a black Swiss Army backpack. The driver’s side door lock was also punched out on the vehicle. Reported Nov. 19.
Stage Road: A woman shopping at Dollar General (6600 Stage Road) said someone broke into her locked vehicle and stole backpacks containing three iPads, a TI 84 calculator and school books during the 15 minutes she was in the store. The responding officer observed damage where her front passenger door was forced open. Reported Nov. 19.
Trail Creek: Someone entered a man’s unlocked vehicle overnight on Nov. 19 and stole a laptop. Reported Nov. 20.
Guffin Road: A woman said she accidentally left her vehicle unlocked, and someone entered it overnight on Nov. 19 and left items strewn about. Nothing seemed to have been stolen. Reported Nov. 20.
Daybreak Drive: A man said he parked in his driveway at 2 a.m. Nov. 21, and when he woke up at 4:15 a.m. he noticed that someone had stolen his vehicle. Reported Nov. 21.
U.S. 64: A woman said she locked her car and put her car keys in her shopping cart at Walmart on Nov. 22, but she couldn’t find them when she got back to her car. She went to the Walmart customer service department and found her keys there. Back at her vehicle, she realized that two remote-controlled cars were missing from the car. There were no signs of forced entry, and she believes someone grabbed her keys from her cart and used them. Reported Nov. 23.
Vandalism
Stage Road: Officers responded to a silent alarm at Friendly Quick Stop (5510 Stage Road) at 6:18 p.m. Nov. 18 but found only vandalism. The manager said he heard a loud bang so he hit the hold-up alarm and ran to the back of the business. They found that one of the front entrance doors was shattered.
Rockyford Lane: A man said someone set his mailbox on fire, also burning the mail it contained, sometime during Nov. 17-19. Reported Nov. 19.
Altruria Road: Someone damaged the wooden support of a man’s mailbox sometime during Nov. 17-18, allowing the mailbox to fall over. The victim had already repaired the mailbox but showed officers photos of the damage. Reported Nov. 19.
Stage Road: Someone smashed the front and back windshields of a City of Bartlett engineering vehicle, and the responding officer found a brick in the back of the vehicle. Reported Nov. 22.
Shadowlawn Road: A man and his 11-year-old son arrived at the Shadowlawn Park basketball court around 1 p.m. Nov. 17 and reported that they found it covered in graffiti. Images of male genitalia were drawn in blue spray paint and varied in size from about one to 20 feet. There was also a drawing of Pac-Man and a racial slur. The city immediately had the damages painted over at a cost of about $45.
