The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) handled the following incidents in Lakeland during the second half of June. See the previous incidents from June in last week’s issue.
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.
June 15
Mitchwood Oak (misdemeanor vandalism/domestic violence)
A mom reported on June 15 that her angry son threw items around the house and broke things during an argument that started the previous afternoon about a trip he was supposed to go on during the weekend.
Responding officers saw lamps and other items thrown to the floor, a wood chair with a broken arm, and a picture hanger broken off the wall.
She said he fled the scene before officers arrived.
She reached him by phone but he refused to return to the location while officers were still on the scene.
June 16
Autumnlight Drive (intimidation)
A woman reported another incident on June 16 in a string of clashes with neighbors on the 9900 block of Autumnlight Drive.
The victim said she was cleaning storm debris off the road (picking up branches and using her grass blower) when her male neighbor sped toward her in his truck. She ran from the road because she thought he was trying to frighten her. She said he parked in the middle of the road and blocked her actions as she tried to work.
The female neighbor videotaped her husband’s actions with his truck during the incident.
The victim said the male driver also started recording her actions as she stood out in the heat, waiting for him to move his truck.
The victim said she wants something done because of the ongoing issues with her neighbors. She also has advised her neighborhood association of the problems.
Oak Point Circle (theft of watercraft)
Someone took a man’s paddleboat ($500) from where it was tied up near the shore of Garner Lake near his property. He reported the theft on June 16 and said it happened between 6:30 p.m. June 15 and about 9 a.m. June 16. He had used a 3/8-inch cable and a heavy-duty padlock to secure the boat.
The owner had no suspect information. He said the East Shores neighborhood has a camera that may have captured images of the suspect, but he hasn’t been able to contact that homeowners association yet.
June 18
Stewart Road (misdemeanor vandalism/domestic violence)
On June 18, a woman reported a break-in at her home and pointed to her ex-girlfriend as a potential suspect. The victim came home around 9 p.m. June 17 and found her housesitter and her ex together in the home. They had a brief discussion, and she noticed her ex was intoxicated. The victim asked her ex to leave.
The ex was angry, and she put on her tan and black high heels, grabbed her belongings and left. The housesitter left too, and then the victim locked the doors and left the home herself.
She returned around 11:30 p.m. June 17 and noticed that her carport interior wooden door was open, and the door frame was damaged ($100). Nothing was missing from the home, but she saw the suspect’s high heels now on the kitchen counter.
June 21
Blue Spruce Drive (theft from motor vehicle)
A woman who left her Jeep unlocked and valuables inside it learned about theft the hard way. She said she arrived home on the 9500 block of Blue Spruce Drive around 10 p.m. June 20 and left her nursing bag inside the vehicle.
The next morning, she discovered that her bag was missing and her Jeep’s console was damaged. The bag contained miscellaneous insurance cards and copies of her driver’s license and Social Security card.
The thief also took four cell phone chargers and a set of headphones.
June 23
Pleasant Ridge and Salem Road (simple assault)
A repo man reported that an angry man on the 9500 block of Pleasant Ridge assaulted him during a repossession attempt on June 23.
The victim works for Wrecker United Auto Recovery, and he had recovered a 2006 black Silverado 1500 from the suspect’s home. As he proceeded down the road, the owner’s mother approached him. He said that while they talked, the car owner ran out of his home and began cursing at the repo man.
He said the suspect threatened, “I have a gun and I will shoot you,” and then, “Call the police! I don’t give a damn — I will go to jail!”
The victim said the suspect had his hands in his pants as he made the comments but the suspect never displayed a weapon.
When the suspect pushed him, the mother got between the two men. The repo man said he was getting back in his truck when the suspect threw his tow lights to the ground, damaging them, and then threw his cords to the ground, breaking another tow light. He estimated damages at $150.
The repo man said the suspect then went inside his home but emerged again, coming toward him aggressively and chasing him around the wrecker truck.
A witness sitting on a nearby porch said he saw the whole encounter.
Oak Seed Lane (other larceny commercial construction)
A former employee reported a possible theft of tools from Jolly Roofing while the company was working on a summer project at Lakeland Elementary School (10050 Oak Seed Lane).
The former employee said one of his own employees saw two people wearing Jolly Roofing shirts get out of a white GMC Yukon with a large orange stripe on the side and walk into the Cash America Pawn (Lamar and Knight Arnold) with screw guns. He thought their actions were suspicious and so reported them to his boss.
The incident happened between 12:30 p.m. June 21 and 7:49 a.m. June 23.
A Jolly Roofing representative said the two suspects were working on the roof at Lakeland Elementary but were released at 12:30 p.m. June 21. He recognized the described GMC Yukon as the vehicle driven by one of the suspects.
An inventory of a work box at the school work site showed that six DeWalt screw guns were missing. The two suspects denied taking the equipment. The Jolly Roofing representative said the first suspect said he pawned two screw guns and a cordless drill, but he said he got them from a friend several months earlier.
The complainant couldn’t immediately provide any of the equipment’s serial numbers at the time of the report.
Canada Road (theft from building)
The store manager at Waffle House (3640 Canada Road) reported on June 23 that the cash register came up $57 short at the end of a shift the previous day. She said the theft must have happened between 6 a.m. and 2 p.m. June 22.
Several trainees and two other employees worked then but all denied knowing anything about a theft. The business had no security video available.
Canada Road (theft of vehicle parts/accessories)
A man realized on June 23 that his Honda motorcycle was missing its license plate. He believes that someone stole it while he was at ATC Fitness in Lakeland (2991 Canada Road No. 101). He then went to Sprouts Farmers Market (9050 U.S. 64), where he noticed the plate was missing.
He also said he was in the Bartlett area on June 19 and it could have been stolen then.
A dispatcher entered the stolen license plate’s information into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database.
June 26
Huff N Puff and Canada Road (felony drugs/narcotics violation)
An officer saw a driver blow through a stop sign at Seedtick Road at Beverle Rivera Drive 10:55 p.m. June 26.
The officer pulled the driver over at the parking lot of Motel 6 (Huff N Puff and Canada Road). The inside of the vehicle smelled strongly of unburnt marijuana, so the officer had the driver get out so he could search the vehicle.
The officer found a glass jar that appeared to contain marijuana inside the center console, and there was a used glass pipe in the driver’s door.
The driver was arrested, and Mad Max Towing removed his car.
The substance in the jar tested positive as marijuana and was 15.8 grams in total gram weight.
June 29
U.S. 64 (business robbery)
Backyards Burger employees became the victims of an armed robbery on June 29 at 9000 U.S. 64.
Victim 1 had the back door open, prepping the trash, when the suspect showed up, demanding money. The victim ran to the front of the restaurant to tell coworkers. Then the suspect grabbed Victim 2 in a headlock and pointed a black handgun at his head.
Victim 1 said the suspect demanded money and told Victims 3 and 4 to open up both registers and give him the cash. Victim 3 reported that the suspect said, “Put the phone down. All I want is the money. You got 30 seconds or I’m gonna blow his [expletive] head off.”
Victim 4 asked if the suspect wanted money from the drive-thru register, and he said he wanted it all. Victim 3 told the suspect she couldn’t get any money out of the safe.
She also noticed that the suspect was looking for the restaurant’s fifth employee, who was later discovered to be hiding in the freezer area.
With the money, the suspect backed up toward the back door with his hostage still in a headlock, pointing the gun at all the employees. Then he released the hostage and fled in an unknown direction. None of the victims suffered injuries.
The suspect wore a gray/black hoodie and dark pants.
June 30
Back Nine Drive (misdemeanor vandalism)
A resident on the 9000 block of Back Nine Drive reported June 30 that someone apparently tried to break into her Ford Mustang through the driver’s side window overnight.
The responding deputies saw that the window tint was scraped on the driver’s side window but spotted no other damage. The victim said she didn’t know if anyone made entry into the car. She said it happened between 8 p.m. June 29 and 1:40 p.m. June 30.
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