The Bartlett Police Department (BPD) handled the following incidents during July 11-17, 2016. 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 items. These are brief summaries of detailed BPD reports.
July 11
Kimberly Elise Drive (vandalism)
Someone used black shoe polish to deface the tailgate of a Toyota 4Runner on Kimberly Elise Drive. The police report didn’t specify the message but said it was “consistent with a recent protest group.” On the passenger front door was another message, “I’m a racist.”
The vandalism happened between 11 p.m. July 10 and 11:55 a.m. July 11.
July 13
U.S. 64 (robbery at knifepoint)
A white male robbed a cashier at Walmart (8400 U.S. 64) at knifepoint on July 13 around 12:30 a.m.
Store security video showed the suspect leave the store, get in a car and leave the parking lot toward U.S. 64. The vehicle was a dark blue four-door car that had no registration tag displayed.
The suspect appeared to be a white male with a medium to dark complexion. He was wearing a dark gray Hurley brand T-shirt, khaki cargo shorts, fli- flops, and a black baseball cap with a flat brim.
U.S. 64 (auto burglary)
A Honda Accord owner isn’t sure he locked his car but he knows it was burglarized while he was at the Malco Theater (7930 U.S. 64).
Sometime between noon and 1:30 p.m. July 13, a suspect entered the car and took a Fossil watch ($30) and a bottle of about 31 Suboxone pills from the center console.
Halstead Street (fraud)
Scammers tricked a woman out of more than three grand with a fake online boat sale, she reported on July 13.
She answered an Internet ad July 6 from the eMotortransGarage website about a 2007 Seadoo Speedster for sale. The next day she wired $3,430 to the seller’s Regions Bank account.
The seller confirmed receipt and said shipping would be in two days with the boat being delivered in five to seven days. The victim also received information on tracking the progress of the shipment online. When she checked a few days later, the entire website was gone.
She found the same pictures of the boat on another site, where the owner said the boat was still available for sale.
She believes that someone is putting up websites to defraud people; after the sale, they close the old site and open a new one to continue the ruse.
Bartlett Crest Drive (theft of bicycle)
A mom and son learned that someone stole his Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle bike on July 13. A neighborhood girl knocked on their door to tell them that someone just rode off on the bike.
The victim didn’t know the witness’s name, and the girl didn’t give her any other details.
The bike is normally left under the stairs that lead up to the family’s apartment. The family last saw it around 1:30 p.m. July 13. It is a black framed Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle bicycle ($75) with green rims and a green seat, and the grips are missing from the handle bars.
U.S. 64 (theft)
An Arby’s theft suspect had only short-lived success the night of July 13.
Manager of the Arby’s (8018 U.S. 64) reported that a Hispanic male walked behind the counter, stole money from the cash register and fled on foot, first westbound and then northbound toward the 2900 block of North Germantown Parkway.
Officers began the search for the suspect, who wore a white hat, orange shirt and blue jeans. They found himalmost immediately, hiding behind a dumpster in back of Gus’s Fried Chicken at 2965 North Germantown Parkway.
In a patdown of the suspect, officers found brass knuckles and a canister of Mace. They also found $229 in one of his shoes.
July 14
Star Valley Drive (theft from a yard)
Someone stole about $95 worth of yard plants and ornaments from the front yard of a Star Valley Drive home. The owner said it happened between 10 p.m. July 7 and 7 a.m. July 8.
Items taken included two large silk geraniums in pots ($40), two pots of large live yellow chrysthanteums ($30), a Fourth of July metal pinwheel ($10) and a large hanging plant ($15).
She said a neighbor also has had an item stolen. The neighbor did not report the theft.
July 15
Aaron Cove (auto burglary)
Someone stole prescription medicine froma man’s truck on July 15.
He said the thief took about 60 20-milligram Adderall pills ($20), 60 10-milligram Hydrocodone pills ($20) and 60 20-milligramXanax pills ($15) from his glove compartment.
The man’s 2008 Ford F-250 was parked in his driveway at the time. The theft occurred between 3 a.m. and 7 a.m. July 15.
U.S. 70 (unsafe driving)
A maroon four-door Lincoln alarmed other drivers on July 15 by traveling into oncoming traffic eastbound on U.S. 70 just before 11 a.m.
The first responding officer found the car headed westbound on U.S. 70 at Yale Road. It swerved into the next lane, almost striking another patrol car. The other officer advised that the driver was texting while driving.
The driver seemed intoxicated at the traffic stop. The first officer said he smelled strongly of alcohol, had glassy eyes, and was unsteady on his feet when he exited the vehicle. Officers on the scene had to help him to prevent him from falling. He admitted he had only stopped drinking about six minutes before talking with the officers.
He had a black handgun in plain sight on the front passenger side’s floorboard. The handgun had five rounds in the magazine but none in the chamber. Officers took him into custody and transported hin to the Bartlett Police Jail.
Falling Star Cove (automobile theft)
A woman saw a stranger steal a neighbor’s vehicle just before 4 p.m. July 15 on Falling Star Cove.
She saw a black SUV with dark tinted windows pull into her cove and park behind the neighbor’s vehicle. Next, a black male got out, jumped into the neighbor’s vehicle and then sped away within a few seconds. He was followed by someone driving the black SUV.
July 16
U.S. 70 (theft)
A padlock didn’t stop a determined tool thief on July 16.
A man said someone broke the handle off his Stihl BR600 blower, which was secured by a padlock to the trailer parked in his driveway on the 8300 block of U.S. 70. The thief made off with the $500 blower.
Bartlett Boulevard (automobile burglary)
A woman learned the hard way that leaving her purse in the car was an invitation to thieves. She was parked at W.J. Freeman Park (2929 Bartlett Blvd.), and someone smashed the driver’s side rear window of her 2013 Ford Explorer between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.
The suspect made off with her Mossimo purse ($40) containing $100 in cash and a USAA debit/savings card ($10). The victim estimated the window damage at $450.
Robinson Cove (theft)
A man reported on July 16 that someone had entered his home and had stolen about 50-55 pills of his 7.5 325-milligram Lortab medication while he was away.
July 17
Stage Road (auto burglary)
Even a church parking lot isn’t safe from thieves. A man reported that someone punched the lock on his pickup July 17 while it was parked at St. Ann Church (6529 Stage Road). The only thing taken was his Pioneer touch-screen radio/DVD/CD player ($229). He said the theft happened between 10:30 a.m. and 12:20 p.m.
