The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) handled the following incidents in Arlington during the second half of September 2015. See last week’s issue for incidents from the first half of the month, as well as additional graphics to illustrate the crimes.
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.
Sept. 15
Interstate 40 and Airline Road (misdemeanor drugs/narcotics violation)
An officer approached a Porsche that sat at an intersection through two green lights around 8:10 p.m. Sept. 15. He saw a female suspect sitting behind the wheel, shaking her head back and forth while the car was running and in drive. She looked at him, smiled and then continued the head shaking. Another officer arrived and helped to get the vehicle into park. When the woman tried to exit the vehicle, she said she was drunk.
Officers found a clear plastic baggie containing a partially smoked marijuana roach and loose marijuana on top of her purse in the car. Tennessee Highway Patrol arrived on scene, and officers detained her until the Shelby County cage car arrived. She appeared to be unstable on her feet and needed help walking to and entering the patrol vehicle. She was unable to follow directions to take a visual field sobriety test, and the officer saw that her eyes were very glassy and watery. There was no attempt to make her do a walk-and-turn or do a one-leg stand for fear she would fall and hurt herself.
Officers also noticed fresh damage to the passenger side rear wheel of the vehicle.
Officers moved her and her vehicle to the Exxon on Airline Road to clear the intersection for other motorists. Another officer arrived to help her go to the bathroom at the business. When she exited the vehicle to go to the bathroom, the suspect said, “I had four glasses of wine, and I don’t care what people think.”
She was taken to the substation for testing but did not complete the walk-and-turn or the one-leg stand because she could not follow directions or stand without falling. During testing, she said, “I got a gun and you are going to be sorry.” She refused to submit to a blood alcohol test.
She was taken to Jail east for a blood draw, and she urinated on herself on the way to the jail. While in the back seat of the vehicle at the jail, she said her father died one year ago on that date and she drank a bottle of wine. She also said she thought she had low blood sugar.
With a search warrant, officers were able to direct a medical professional to draw blood. Her blood sugar measured 96 at 11:19 p.m.
Search warrant for blood test was obtained by a warrant. AMR 610 drew blood and checked blood sugar that measured at 96 at 2319. Officers also found that she had a previous DUI arrest in 2001 and plead guilty in 2002.
She was charged with driving under the influence, possession of a controlled substance, and refusal to submit to a blood alcohol test, and she was taken to Jail East.
The marijuana roach weighed 0.4 gram total net weight, and the loose marijuana weighed 0.3 gram total net weight.
Her vehicle was towed to Tri-State towing (3458 Park).
Sept. 16
Airline Road (misdemeanor weapon law violations
A complainant brought a male student to the office at Arlington High School (5475 Airline Road) for an interview on Sept. 16 about brass knuckles he had brought to school. He admitted having the weapon, and he pulled a pair of silver brass knuckles from his right pocket. He said he brought his belt buckle, which is a brass knuckle, for protection because another student was threatening to kill him.
He received a juvenile summons for carrying a weapon on school property. He was suspended for 57 school days, and the brass knuckles were taken into evidence.
Marquis Court (theft from building/access device)
A man reported on Sept. 16 that he and his wife were separated, and two women offered to clean up his apartment for him on the 11200 block of Marquis Court. He gave one woman some clothes and other things she needed. When she left, she carried suitcases that he thought only had what he had given her.
Afterward, he realized that his Regions checkbook, Wells Fargo check card, driver’s license, two Social Security cards and a Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance card had been stolen. He said the two women were the only people who had access to those items when they cleaned his apartment. He said the Regions checkbook’s account had been closed for about a year, and the Wells Fargo check card’s account had been closed for about six months.
National Pay Day Loan contacted him on Sept. 16 about a $3,000 loan that was due for payment, but it was not a loan he authorized. He also learned that someone reactivated his Regions bank account online without his permission and approved the loan. He also said one of the women went to Fred’s on Summer Avenue and filled his wife’s prescription for 30 pills of 40 mg Vivant without her permission. He also said there was video of the suspect getting the prescription filled.
The victim said he thought the primary suspect was now living in Dyersburg, Tenn.
Sept. 17
Woodcastle Cove (theft from motor vehicle)
A man reported on Sept. 17 that someone stole two watches from his unlocked vehicle, which was parked in his driveway on the 12000 block of Woodcastle Cove.
He said the theft occurred between 7 p.m. Sept. 16 and 7:15 a.m. Sept. 17. Items stolen were a silver metal Casio G-Shock Waverunner watch taken fro the cup holder ($150) and a black plastic Casio G-Shock Watch ($90). There was no alarm on his vehicle.
He said there was no known suspect information, witnesses or security cameras in the area. There appeared to be footsteps between his vehicle and his next-door neighbor’s yard. A crime scene officer arrived, but the victim said the scene didn’t have to be processed.
Marquis Court (non-specific other theft)
A woman reported on Sept. 17 that someone stole her son’s bike from under their apartment stairway during the past week (Sept. 10-17). Officers recovered the bike after talking to several youths.
The bike was a black mongoose bike, and the victim said a friend saw a suspect taking the wheel and pegs. Officers spoke with the suspect, who pointed them to a friend. Officers spoke with that friend (the second suspect), who had the bike. He told them the first suspect still had one wheel.
The first suspect admitted taking the wheel, putting it on his own bike, adding some air and accidentally popping the tire. Since then, he had left his bike with the wheel on his balcony. His father became upset about his son getting in trouble again, and the two began yelling across the apartment complex at each other, and one of them threatened to burn down the whole apartment complex before going inside.
Both suspects received juvenile summons for theft of property under $500.
The friend who was a witness said he has seen both suspects taking parts off numerous bikes and putting them on their own bikes.
Marquis Court (non-specific other theft)Yarrow Cove (theft from motor vehicle)
A woman reported on Sept 17 that someone had stolen her Smith & Wesson 9mm handgun from her vehicle. She last saw it on Sept. 6, when she traveled to Mississippi to do some target practice. When she returned, she forgot to take the weapon out of her vehicle.
The victim, a resident on the 11200 block of Yarrow Cove, is not sure where the theft occurred. She had no suspect information, and there was no forced entry into the car. A sheriff’s dispatcher entered the weapon into the NCIC database.
Sept. 18
Statley Hollow Cove (theft from motor vehicle)
A resident on the 5700 block of Statley Hollow Cove reported on Sept. 18 that someone stole his weapon from the center console of his unlocked vehicle overnight.
He parked his Ford Expedition in his driveway at 8 p.m. Sept. 17 and found that the weapon was missing at 5:15 a.m. the next day.
The weapon was a Beretta USA Corp. semiautomatic gun. The responding officer lifted several print cards from the vehicle and took crime scene photos. The victim could not provide a serial number.
Marquis Court (intimidation)
A woman reported on Sept. 18 that a man threatened bodily harm to her and her husband after their son received a juvenile summons on Sept. 17 for the theft of a bicycle tire that belonged to his son. She said he threatened to “kick their (butts) and burn their house down.”
She said earlier that day she and her family were driving into their apartment complex on the 11200 block of Marquis Court when the man sped toward them, making them swerve to avoid an accident. He was driving an older model maroon Toyota truck, and he continued out of the complex in an unknown direction. He was not on the scene when the responding officer arrived, and there were no injuries.
The woman said she fears for her safety. She said her family will be moving out of state in three weeks, and she will try to get a restraining order against him until them.
Sept. 19
Airline Road (other larceny/access device)
A woman on the 7400 block of Glennmere Way reported on Sept. 19 that her daughter had been a victim of identity theft the previous night. She said her daughter went to the Shell gas station at 5055 Airline Road to buy snacks after a football game but then misplaced her wallet after making her purchases. The daughter said her wallet fell off the back of a pickup truck she was riding in. She went back to the store to look for her wallet 20 minutes later but could not find it. It contained a Wells Fargo bank card and her Tennessee driver’s license.
The next morning, she noticed online that there were unauthorized items on her bank account statement. She told the responding officer that she didn’t know her bank card’s 16-digit number or her account number, and she didn’t know the last two lawful transactions because the bank card was new. She estimated the damages at $20. She had no suspect information.
Sept. 22
U.S. 70 (misdemeanor shoplifting)
A complainant at the Dollar General store (12035 U.S. 70) reported on Sept. 22 seeing surveillance video showing a female suspect shoplift an estimated $100 in makeup of unknown brand and quantity earlier that morning. She showed the video to the responding officer and offered a copy to be picked up upon request.
Sept. 23
Douglass Road (simple assault)
The beam of a random laser temporarily blinded an officer on Sept. 17, required a medical checkup and led to a child being disciplined, as reported on Sept. 23.
The officer was leaving the SCSO substation at 11670 Memphis Arlington Road when a bright light came through his front windshield. It was a laser light, and he could not see anything for a brief moment. He reported what direction the laser came from, and other deputies contacted the family at that location, on the 11800 block of Douglass Road. The father said he had recently bought one of his sons a laser earlier that day. The deputy asked if they had pointed it at anyone intentionally, and the son said no. The other son said they were upstairs and he pointed the laser at the fence and church wall.
The father later reported that he broke the laser after deputies left, and he disciplined his son.
The victim went home. When eyes began to hurt, his supervisors advised him to go to Baptist Minor Medical, where he was checked out and found to be okay.
Sept. 24
Airline Road (simple assault)
An officer responded to two students fighting in the student parking lot of Arlington High School (5475 Airline Road) at 6:45 a.m. Sept. 24. One student video recorded the incident: The suspect was seen going to the victim’s Jeep and pushing and punching the victim in the face. The victim had a bruise on the left side of his face. The suspect received a juvenile summons for assault and a five-day school suspension.
Airline Road (intimidation)
A mother on the 9300 block of Ace Drive reported on Sept. 24 that another student threatened her daughter on the school bus in the parking lot of Arlington High School (5475 Airline Road) the previous afternoon.
The suspect reportedly said, “I got on the bus today ready to punch you in the face.”
The mother said her daughter was not injured but does have a history of being harassed by this other student.
Sept. 29
Maple Landing (misdemeanor vandalism)
A resident on the 5400 block of Maple Landing said someone vandalized his mailbox between 6 p.m. Sept. 28 and when his wife spotted the vandalism at 2:30 p.m. Sept. 29. He said it is the third time in the past few months his mailbox has been damaged.
There was an indentation on the north side of the metal mailbox as if someone had struck it with an object. The victim removed the indentation with his bare hands.
He said he has video surveillance and will attempt to obtain more information for investigators. There are no known witnesses to the incident.
Sept. 30
Airline Road (intimidation)
A mother reported on Sept. 30 that another student threatened her son on a school bus at Arlington High School (5475 Airline Road) while other students were loading the bus that afternoon.
The suspect reportedly said to her son, “I’m going to beat you up. I’m gonna hit your face.”
The mother said there have been problems with the suspect since her son was in middle school and the suspect’s father showed up at the middle school looking for her son.
The assistant principal, who is also the bus director for AHS, said he will talk with both the suspect and the victim the next day to try to solve the problems between the two.
U.S. 70 (counterfeiting/forgery)
An officer responded to a suspicious persons call at Kroger (11635 U.S. 70 on Sept. 30, checked the area and did not locate the suspects. While he was there, the co-manager also reported receiving some fraudulent checks at his store totaling $764.64 the previous day.
He said two suspects left without further incident after using the fake checks to buy the following items:
- A pack of Newport cigarettes, with a $6.48 check used at self-checkout (Suspect No. 1)
- A Visa gift card for $185 and a Hallmark greeting card for $0.99, with a $192.04 check that included tax and a fee, used at a self-checkout (Suspect No. 1)
- A second Visa gift card and greeting card for the same amounts, with a $192.04 check used at a self-checkout (Suspect No. 1)
- A third Visa gift card and greeting card for the same amounts, with a $192.04 check used at a self-checkout (Suspect No. 1)
- A fourth Visa gift card for $175 and another $0.99 greeting card, with a $182.04 check used at a regular manned register (Suspect No. 2)
The co-manager said they believe the checks were fraudulent because of their appearance and the check numbers. All the checks were went to their bank. He also said there is security camera footage of each transaction.
He said they returned on Sept. 30 and Suspect No. 2 started to buy another Visa gift card and greeting card, but they left without making a purchase. The two suspects drove away in a gray Jeep Compass, with an unknown white female driver.
He also said the suspects did the same thing at their Oakland store and one of their Germantown stores.
U.S. 70 (theft from building)
A complainant reported confronting two black male suspects about stealing items from Dollar General (12035 U.S. 70) around 7:10 p.m. that night, and he recovered some of the merchandise.
He said they both entered the store and the first one asked a lot of questions but never had any items in his hands. The complainant because suspicious and followed that suspect throughout the store until the suspect left without making a purchase.
The complainant followed him to his vehicle and said, “Can I have my products back that you didn’t pay for?”
The second suspect said, “I’m not involved in none of this. I’m just driving.” The first suspect passed a University of Memphis pullover sweater ($22.50) and a U of M T-shirt ($12.75) to the driver and to the complainant.
The complainant didn’t get a good look at the first suspect, who was leaning back in the seat to avoid being seen clearly, but he suspects he also took other items, perhaps some hair products.
The complainant said he has video surveillance and will ask the general manager to burn a copy of the incident. He also said both suspects are regular customers, coming in several times per week. They left in an older model white Chevy truck in an unknown direction.
