The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) handled the following incidents in Arlington during the second half of March. For earlier March incidents, see the April 14 issue of The Bartlett Express.
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.
March 20
Marquis Court (felony vandalism)
An irate and apparently intoxicated father landed in jail after his second night of front-door confrontations with his ex, who lives in the same apartment building. Officers responded to a call for help at 12:25 a.m. March 20.
The victim said he came to her front door, banging on it and calling for his son to come out just a few minutes after midnight. She opened it and reminded him that he’d given permission for his son to visit. She said the boy was asleep and told the man he was very drunk. He became irate and said, “You’re not going to keep my son from me.”
He tried to force his way in, but she held him back, shut the door and locked it. Seconds later, he kicked the front door open and entered, she said.
The woman said she feared for her life, so she ran to the bedroom, grabbed her phone and called law enforcement. While waiting, she peeked into the living room and saw her ex talking to his girlfriend before he left the apartment. The son, a male witness and a female witness backed up the victim’s story.
The son’s grandmother picked him up and took him to her home in Millington.
The father’s girlfriend told officers she tried to get her boyfriend not to come to the house, but he would not listen.
Officers went to the suspect’s apartment, found him intoxicated in his bathroom and arrested him on felony vandalism charges.
Officers had answered a similar complaint call about the man the previous day. During that incident, the suspect smelled strongly of what seemed to be alcohol, and he said his son had permission to spend the night at his ex’s home. The man said his ex confronted him about his excessive drinking, but he told her it didn’t matter. She tried to shut the front door on him then too, but he put one foot in the doorway to stop her. Eventually, he let her shut the door and he went home.
March 21
South Fork Drive (simple assault/domestic violence)
A concerned woman was flung to the floor late on March 21 when trying to stop her intoxicated and possibly suicidal wife from leaving their home and driving away.
Officers arrived just before 1 a.m. March 22, and she told them her wife began texting around 8 p.m. the previous night. When she got home around 11:15 p.m., her wife was making statements as if she were considering suicide.
The wife had been diagnosed with anxiety and was taking prescription medicine for it, and she was also drinking alcohol.
The victim said she stood in the doorway to stop her wife from drinking and driving, but the suspect grabbed her shirt and slung her to the floor.
The wife fled in a black 2012 Kia Sorento. Officers could not find a record of the vehicle and did not have any tag information.
The wife texted the victim while deputies were on scene but disconnected before they could talk with her.
Deputies didn’t see any injuries to the victim, and she refused medical treatment and transportation to another location.
March 25
Ewe Turn Drive (non-residential burglary)
A man was standing in his garage about 2:10 a.m. March 25 with the door about a third of the way open when a stranger crawled under the door.
The victim yelled at the suspect, who slipped out and ran westbound on Ewe Turn Drive. The victim ran after him and saw the suspect reach into his shirt several times, yelling, “I’ve got a gun!” and “I’m about to stab you!” Then the suspect got into an older model tan Toyota Camry that was parked about 100 yards away from the victim’s home. The victim said he snapped a photo of the suspect’s license plate before the suspect abruptly reversed toward him, trying to hit the victim with the car.
The victim dented the Camry’s front passenger door while trying to pull the suspect out, but the man escaped, driving west on Ewe Turn.
The suspect was a black male about 6 foot 3 inches tall, weighing about 250 lbs., and he appeared to be in his late 40s to late 50s. He wore blue jeans and a red long-sleeved flannel shirt.
Officers ran the suspect’s license plate and identified a Memphis man who lives on the 1500 block of South Montgomery Street, Memphis. The resident is a close match to the suspect’s height and weight, and he also has a history of theft and burglary.
Wolf Woods Drive (identity theft)
A woman contacted the SCSO on March 25 after she noticed fraudulent charges on her First Tennessee Bank checking account.
They included an $89.40 check to Marshalls department store on March 11, $80 and $64.62 checks to Walmart on March 14, a $72.13 check to Kroger on March 18, and a final check for $58.86. Someone also opened a Comcast account, using her checking account number and check routing number, running up a $226.58 balance.
The victim said she was able to get a copy of the checks, which had her routing information but the suspect’s name on them. She said her checks never left her possession, and the checks that were used were fraudulently purchased.
March 26
Magnolia Bend Drive (felony vandalism)
A woman reported March 26 that there appeared to be bullet holes in the east part of her back yard fence. It appeared that six projectiles pierced the fence, traveling from west to east into the back yard.
The victim estimated damages at almost $500 (six fence segments at $83.33 each).
The last time the fence was seen undamaged was at 1:30 p.m. March 23, and her husband found the fence holes at 10:45 a.m. March 26. No bullets or bullet cases were found, and there were no known witnesses or suspects. There are no known security cameras that monitor the area.
March 27
Bending Trail (simple assault/domestic violence)
A man reported that his enraged stepdaughter assaulted him at his home around 8:30 p.m. March 27.
He said his stepdaughter visited that night to celebrate Easter with the family, but she was intoxicated when she arrived at 6 p.m. He and his wife were in the living room when the stepdaughter got belligerent, thinking her mother has more love for the children from her current marriage than her mother has for her.
When he told her to leave, the enraged stepdaughter punched him multiple times in the face, he said. He was able to muscle her out the front door to the front yard, where he held her on the ground, trying to stop the attack.
Respondents to the scene included the SCSO, the Shelby County Fire Department and AMR Unit 613. The mother was trying to help her daughter off the ground, but she was not responding.
Deputies observed the daughter to be highly intoxicated and unresponsive to questions from the deputies, firefighters and paramedics.
She had very minor injuries, but the stepfather had a large amount of swelling around his left eye and a cut on his upper right cheek.
The ambulance took the daughter to Saint Francis – Bartlett in stable condition. The stepfather declined transportation to another location.
An SCSO detective took a statement from a juvenile neighbor in the presence of her mother. The witness was in her bedroom and heard the suspect screaming, and she saw the stepfather holding her down. The witness said she never saw the man strike the suspect.
The stepdaughter was taken to Jail East and charged with simple assault/domestic violence.
March 29
Milton Ridge Drive (felony vandalism)
A man reported fence damage on March 29 and speculated that his next-door neighbors were the culprits. Three boards were partially pushed/pulled off the north section of the back yard fence.
He estimated damages at $500 and said the damage occurred sometime during March 25-29. There were no known witnesses, but the man said he has a back yard security camera. He had not yet examined the footage at the time of the report.
Windsor Falls Loop
An argument turned into a physical struggle for one Arlington couple on March 29.
They were arguing about the contents of a folder in one of their vehicles. The wife unlocked the vehicle so he could review the folder, and she said he picked it up, held it close to his chest and then pushed her with his shoulder.
She tried to take the folder back, but during the struggle the folder scratched her forearm.
He followed her into their bedroom and she tried to hold the door closed, but he forced the door open, pushing her against the bedroom wall, she said. He didn’t damage the bedroom door or wall, and her only injury was the forearm scratch caused by pulling the folder from him.
The husband’s account differed. At first, he said she punched him in the left ear and right temple when he picked up the folder. Then he changed his story and said she punched him as he was trying to get into the vehicle. He said he sat in a chair and didn’t follow his wife into the bedroom.
She said she did not punch him, and officers didn’t see any visible injuries to the man, who appeared intoxicated.
Officers couldn’t determine who was the primary aggressor because of the lack of injuries, conflicting statements and no witnesses, so they didn’t arrest either person.The husband agreed to spend the night in a nearby hotel, and an officer drove him there.
March 31
Dargie Drive (theft of other trailer)
Some-one stole a woman’s trailer from her driveway between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. March 29.
The missing property is a black mesh 5-foot-by-8-foot single-axle Tractor Supply utility trailer ($660).
It has lights, and the only identifying feature is a black-and-gray novelty rear plate that reads, “Chevy Silverado.” No serial number was available at the time of the report, and there was no suspect information.
Rolling Creek Cove (arson)
An officer responded on March 31 to an alleged arson incident. A fire department memo notified the SCSO about the fire, which occurred on March 28.
The property owner said her niece was staying with her at the time and started the fire. The victim wasn’t on scene at the time the fire was started, but the fire department memo includes a statement from the suspect.
The niece admitted being frustrated and bored, and she started the fire using sticks, leaves and a flint stick. Her mother was notified of the incident.
Only grass and woods were damaged, and there were no injuries, the memo stated.
Pingback: SCSO looks into fights, thefts, drugs and intimidation in Arlington - Bartlett ExpressBartlett Express