The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) handled the following incidents in Lakeland during the first half of June. See the remainder of June’s incidents in next 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 1
Canada Road (business burglary)
Officers responded to a report around 4:50 a.m. June 1 of the front door of Little Caesars Pizza (2991 Canada Road) being shattered. They saw no suspects on the premises.
The area manager arrived, determined that no property or money was taken, and showed deputies the store security footage. The video showed a black male wearing black pants, a black shirt and a white cap break the glass front door and enter at 1:22 a.m.
Inside, the suspect walks around the front counter and tries unsuccessfully to open the cash registers. He fled southbound.
Little Caesar’s didn’t receive a commercial alarm call before deputies arrived. A customer at a nearby gym spotted the broken door and reported it to the gym manager, who called it in.
The area manager wasn’t immediately able to make a copy of the security footage.
Chi Chi Lane (theft from building)
A mother on the 9500 block of Chi Chi Lane reported on June 1 that she was missing some jewelry and suspected her son of taking it.
She noticed the previous night that a ring and chain in precious metals were missing from her bedroom. There were no signs of forced entry into the house, and she said her son has stolen from her before. She was unable to provide any serial numbers for the property.
June 2
Canada Road (theft from motor vehicle)
A woman pumping gas at 3660 Canada Road was the victim of a quick purse thief around 3:30 p.m. June 2.
She said a driver in a nearby car opened her driver’s door, took her purse and fled southbound on Canada Road.
The total loss of items stolen was $970; no serial numbers were available. The site has a security system but a manager who can access the video wasn’t available. No witnesses were on scene.
June 3
Cedar Point Road (residential burglary)
A Lakeland property owner who lives in Oxford, Miss., heard from her alarm company at 8:04 p.m. June 3 when someone broke into her unoccupied house on the 4200 block of Cedar Point Road. The intruder broke the back door’s window.
The alarm company dispatched a sheriff’s deputy, who saw the rear patio bottom window was kicked out and the glass of the rear door was shattered with a rock lying inside the home. The officer had the owner just call in the morning because of the distance (about a 90-minute drive) she would have had to travel to get to the residence.
Nothing was taken from the home, and the owner estimated the window damage at $400-$500.
The deputy, who is also a crime scene tech, took photos but couldn’t lift any latent fingerprints.
Autumnlight Drive (misdemeanor vandalism)
A security system helped a resident on the 9900 block of Autumnlight Drive foil would-be vandals on June 3.
He was looking at his home’s surveillance system that night when he saw two white males in a white golf cart make a U-turn in front of his home and approach his 2016 gray Toyota 4Runner. He reported that the suspects fled when he walked outside.
The only damage he spotted was an inch-long scratch on the driver’s side rear quarter panel of his SUV. He said the suspects may live in the neighborhood but he doesn’t know an address.
The crime scene car couldn’t capture photo evidence of the light scratches in the SUV’s clear coat.
June 4
Owl Hill Drive (theft from motor vehicle)
A resident on the 4000 block of Owl Hill Drive noticed on June 4 that his golf clubs were missing from his Hyundai Elantra.
The theft of the Cobra golf clubs ($1,200) and golf bag ($300) happened between 5 p.m. June 2 and 10 a.m. June 4.
June 5
Autumnlight Drive (stalking)
A woman reported June 5 that her neighbors followed her for about eight miles, turn for turn, the previous day.
The responding officer advised her to call the SCSO the next time she is being followed. The report noted that there is a long history of tensions between the two families with several reports on file.
June 6
U.S. 64 (theft from motor vehicle)
A woman who parked behind Fantastic Sams (9160 U.S. 64) on June 6 returned to find a broken window and a minor theft.
The incident happened between 8 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. She estimated the damage to her front passenger window at $2,000. The only item stolen was a black pencil bag with pencils in it ($5).
Pheasant Hill Drive (Motor vehicle theft of a passenger vehicle)
Someone stole a man’s 2004 Chevrolet Silverado pickup from the 9000 block of Pheasant Hill Drive between 10 p.m. June 5 and 9 a.m. June 6.
The vehicle’s information was entered into the National Crime Infor-mation Center (NCIC) database.
June 9
U.S. 64 (other theft/non-specific)
An L.A. Fitness customer was the victim of theft on June 4. He reported five days later that someone took his Beats by Dr. Dre headphones while he was at the gym (9020 U.S. 64).
He had the headphones on except for when he was leaving. That’s when he tucked them into another pair of shoes, used his phone for a while and then left without checking to see if the headphones were still in his shoes. He realized they were missing when he got home. He didn’t turn them up in his search.
He provided a serial number and receipt, and the headphones’ information was placed in the NCIC database.
Trotter Drive (other theft/non-specific)
The owner of Charlie’s Septic reported payment problems after doing work for customer on the 9000 block of Trotter Drive June 6-8.
Regions Bank advised the victim that they couldn’t cash the suspect’s check payment for $2,400. Since then, the victim hasn’t been able to make contact with the check writer.
June 11
Piper Bay Lane (theft from motor vehicle)
Someone stole $1,000 worth of belongings from a man’s unlocked 2008 Suzuki Remo on June 11.
It was parked streetside on the 3800 block of the lane and said the theft happened in a narrow window — between 3 p.m. and 3:10 p.m. that day.
Items stolen included a black Fender Stratocaster guitar ($200), Microsoft Lenovo laptop ($700) and two Sony Playstation game controllers ($100).
The Remo wasn’t on the premises when the man reported the incident, but officers processed his Buick Encore for fingerprints after determining that someone may have placed hands on the window frame while peering into the vehicle.
Surveillance footage of the theft is available but the video quality is poor.
The victim does not have any model or serial numbers from the items that were stolen.
Shadow Green Lane (theft from motor vehicle)
A woman on the 3000 block of Shadow Green Lane noticed her handgun was missing when she was loading her vehicle to go out of town on June 11.
She normally keeps the black Taurus 709 9mm handgun ($300) in the center console of her 2006 black Ford Explorer. Also missing were 50 rounds of 9mm ammunition ($20).
There were no signs of forced entry, and the victim said she might have left the vehicle unlocked. She didn’t have the serial number of the gun immediately available.
The theft happened between noon May 28 and around 12:30 p.m. June 11.
New Canada Road (intimidation/domestic violence)
An argument between a married couple on the 4200 block of New Canada Road turned to property damage and threats of harm on June 11.
The husband said his wife came to his home around 4 p.m. June 11. As they argued, she began damaging his Dodge Charger, he said.
He reported that she also threatened, “I’m coming back with killers tonight to come get you.”
She left, headed southbound on New Canada Rd in a Ford Explorer and was not present when officers arrived.
The husband had no signs of injuries, but the responding officers saw damage to the rear passenger side door of the Charger.
June 12
Davies Plantation East (theft from motor vehicle)
A customer at Cracker Barrel (9649 Davies Plantation) returned from his meal to find evidence of a vehicle break-in. The man said someone broke the back window of his 2016 Denali pickup between about 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. that day.
Items stolen included $65 in cash, an Apple 6S cellphone ($700) and a white purse ($35).
The victim contacted his cellular provider and had the phone turned off but didn’t have the phone’s serial number at the time of the report.
The general manager of the Cracker Barrel said she was too busy at the time of the report to review surveillance video that might have captured suspect information.
June 13
Hadley Cove (identity theft)
A man realized he was the victim of identity theft when Comcast called him about an account that was being referred to collections for the overdue amount of $462.28.
He reported the crime on June 13. Apparently, someone used the victim’s personal information to open an account around June 30, 2014. A Shreveport, La., address was listed on the account.
Barley Mills Circle (simple assault/domestic violence)
A couple’s argument turned violent on June 13, the husband reported.
The husband said his wife slapped them while they were arguing. Deputies could smell the scene of alcohol on the man, who said he had been drinking vodka all day.
His wife said he punched her in the thigh and right shoulder.
Deputies couldn’t see visible injuries to either party, but the man got a medical assessment at the scene because he complained of a headache.
Officers couldn’t tell who was the primary aggressor because of conflicting stories, the lack of visible injuries and the lack of independent witnesses.
June 14
Woodland Bend Drive (theft from building/access device)
A man alleged on June 14 that his former girlfriend was using his debit card without permission.
He said the four fraudulent charges happened between June 3 and June 14 and totalled $2,140. The charges were at WWLKQ, South Ear, CRSI and Cricket.
When he confronted his ex on June 14, she apologized, he said.
Barley Mills Circle (simple assault/domestic violence)
On June 14, a woman reported violence at the hands of her brother earlier last month.
She said it was about May 24 when her angry brother grabbed her shoulders and began pushing her. She resisted by kicking the wall in an attempt to break free, and then she tried running up the stairs.
She said their mother saw the brother choking her and pulled her from his grasp. She couldn’t call law enforcement immediately because her brother took away her phone and also because she feared being taken from the home.
Then the brother reportedly punched the mother on the head on June 14 around 11 p.m. when they were still inside their vehicle outside the home, just returning from the grocery store.
The mother said the suspect is under a lot of stress at work and that he “began to see red” before hitting her.
The responding deputies saw knots on the woman’s head above her left ear and small scratch marks behind her left ear (consistent with earrings scratching the skin).
A deputy took photos of both victims. Because of the elapsed time from the first reported assault, there were no signs of injuries to the first victim.
The suspect was charged with simple assault/domestic violence, not aggravated assault/ domestic violence, because of the elapsed time between the incident and the report. Deputies took him to the Shelby County Jail.
The suspect said he and his mother were returned from the store when she fussed at himabout an air conditioning unit he installed at the home. He said he didn’t hit her.
The mother refused medical treatment.
June 15
Canada Road (intimidation/domestic violence)
A woman was afraid when her angry husband began destroying items in their home and threatening her and the children, she reported on June 15.
She said he got home from work around 11:40 p.m. and got irritated when he saw there was no pizza left. He went into the garage and began to break things. She said he didn’t make physical contact but his threats about her and the children made her afraid.
Responding deputies saw broken items throughout the home. The suspect had already fled the scene by the time deputies arrived.
His brother confirmed hearing the threats and said the couple have been having issues.
The wife said her husband’s behavior has gotten worse but she was reluctant to involve law enforcement previously.
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