The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) responded to the following incidents in Lakeland during the first half of January 2016. See next week’s issue for the remainder of January’s incidents.
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.pects 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.
Jan. 1
Knobby Pine Lane (simple assault/domestic violence)
A woman reported that her husband assaulted her while she was on the phone with her mother on Jan. 1. She said he tried to grab the phone and then shoved her down.
The two had been having marital problems for several months and there were earlier unreported domestic incidents, she said. This argument began over child custody issues.
The victim’s mother reported hearing some of the argument over the phone, including her son-in-law saying, “You will never see our kids again, you stupid [expletive].” She said she also heard what sounded like someone falling and being hit. The responding deputies, however, saw no visible injuries to the victim.
The husband said his wife “fell like a sack of potatoes” when he tried to grab the phone from her. He said he’s never hit her.
The responding deputies determined he was the primary aggressor and took him into custody.
See the next entry below for a related incident.
Knobby Pine Lane (intimidation)
The victim of a simple assault/domestic violence incident reportedly began getting threatening text messages from her brother-in-law after her husband’s arrest on Jan. 1. One text stated, “You’re barking up the wrong tree.”
She texted the brother not to come to the house, but he arrived about five minutes later, unlocked the house with a key he had, entered and sat on the couch, she said. Then he calmly told the victim she was wrong for what she had done to his brother.
Her mother was present to witness the encounter, and both she and the victim reported the man saying, “You better not cross me.”
The mother said the brother-in-law yelled, “I’m gonna kick your [expletive]!” as he jumped around immediately in front of her. Both women said the man then began telling them to hit him and asking them what they were going to do.
The mother walked outside and spoke to the brother-in-law’s wife, who said he was intoxicated and upset. The couple left in a dark SUV.
Both the mother and her daughter said they felt threatened.
Jan. 3
Salem Road (misdemeanor vandalism)
A woman reported Jan. 3 that someone shot and broke her kitchen bay window with a BB gun. The window was double-paned, but only the outer glass and screen were damaged (less than $100).
None of the multiple video cameras on the home recorded the incident. She took photos of the window before trying to repair the glass before the responding officer arrived.
She said family members reside on both sides of her large property, and she will check to see if relatives were playing on the land during the incident.
She saved her photos of the minor damage on her cell phone and said she will forward them to the SCSO’s General Investigations Bureau (GIB) Division upon request.
No witness or suspect information was available, and no other evidence was found at the scene.
Jan. 4
Wren Hill Drive (impersonation)
A resident on the 9100 block of Wren Hill Drive reported Jan. 4 that someone tried to swindle him over the phone using the bench warrant scam currently circulating in the Mid-South.
Someone claiming to be Sgt. Steve Wilson with a law enforcement office’s warrant division called just before 3:30 p.m., gave a badge number and said the man had a bench warrant out for his arrest for not responding to a federal jury duty summons.
The man became suspicious because the caller used a version of his name he doesn’t commonly use.
The caller said to go to Kroger and get a voucher for $1,985 while the caller remained on the phone with him. The man’s son-in-law joined the call at this point and was told that his father-in-law had to come to the county jail to sign some paperwork. The caller said he would be at the jail until 9 p.m.
The potential victim’s daughter also spoke with the caller, who asked for her cell phone number. He called her back five times within the next hour, leaving one voice mail.
The family provided the responding officer with the suspect’s telephone number.
Blue Spruce Circle (other larceny/access device)
A resident on the 3900 block of Blue Spruce Circle reported Jan. 4 that someone burglarized his pickup in his driveway. He said that someone time on the weekend of Dec. 25, 2015, through the present date someone entered his unlocked Chevrolet pickup and stole a First South Bank checkbook containing approximately 16 checks.
The victim said he noticed on Jan. 4 that someone had written several checks drawing on his account. He put stop-payment orders on most of the checks, but two had already posted on Dec. 29 (one for $1,500.00 and another for $675.30).
He was unsure of when or where the checks had been used, but he said he believes his bank will have the transaction information at a later date.
Because of the length of time that had passed since the burglary, no processable evidence was found on or around the victimized vehicle, and there was no suspect information.
Sequoia Point Cove (simple assault/domestic violence)
A couple’s fight the night of Jan. 4 left both with minor injuries and no clear evidence who was the primary aggressor. The woman flagged down deputies and said her husband had just thrown her against the kitchen countertop during an argument on the 9500 block of Sequoia Point Cove. She had a visible lip laceration.
The man said they were arguing about her daughter when the woman attacked him, punching his nose and biting his fingers. Deputies observed small lacerations on the man’s fingers and a small amount of blood on his nose. An ambulance came tot he scene to provide medical assessment/care.
Both parties said they had been drinking alcohol, and deputies saw two open bottles of Budweiser in the kitchen. The man agreed to leave the home for the night.
Jan. 5
Ace Drive (felony vandalism/domestic violence)
A woman reported on Jan. 5 that her boyfriend damaged her father’s car when she came to the boyfriend’s apartment at Somerset Apartments on Ace Drive.
She said he called her to bring his clothes sometime around 2:30 p.m. They met in the parking lot and argued, and she said he began kicking her Jeep Patriot.
The damage was to her driver’s side front door and the front and rear passenger door, she reported. Damages were estimated at more than $500.
All of the vehicle’s doors had dents in them. She told officers that her boyfriend has anger issues.
The apartment complex’s property manager said she called 911 after seeing the couple in the car with the man leaning over her.
The victim’s father made the scene and looked over the damages. He said it was not the first time his daughter’s boyfriend had damaged his vehicle. He mentioned previous hood damage that he did not report.
Officers observed that the suspect’s shoe prints matched those on the vehicle.
Jan. 6
Conifer View Lane (false pretenses/swindle/ confidence game)
A phone scam that is making the rounds in the Mid-South took on new complexity for a woman who lives on the 5200 block of Conifer View Lane.
On Jan. 6, she said someone called her multiple times, saying there was a warrant her arrest for missing federal jury duty and that she needed to come to the county jail to satisfy the fine.
She also received calls from a second person to involve her in a “sting” to arrest the first suspect who had called her.
Her first contact with the scammers was when she checked her phone messages around 2 p.m. A man pretending to be Sgt. John Kirby of the SCSO left a message for her to call him back so he could update his records and keep from having deputies dispatched.
When she called back, he made the false claim about an active warrant. To prevent arrest, he told her to go to Kroger and load two “Kroger recharge gold/blue cards” with money — $1,000 on one card and $575 on the other.
She said that would take awhile and hung up. She was on the phone with someone else at 3 p.m. when another call beeped in and displayed “emergency 911” on her phone.
The caller said he was with the “Federal Department” and that he knew of the first suspect’s actions. He asked her to cooperate with the instructions so he could set up a sting to capture the scammer. He assured her he could have agents to her area in seconds and they would be able to arrest the scammer if she was discrete and followed his instructions.
The woman became frightened and said she would call him back. She then called the SCSO’s office and requested a deputy.
She received at least seven calls from both of the suspected scammers on her home and cell phones that day.
She was advised not to contact either caller and to save any voicemails or texts from them. There was no additional suspect information available. She did not lose money to the callers and did not provide either suspect with her personal information.
Chambers Chapel Road (misdemeanor drugs/narcotics violation)
An officer stopping a speeder caught a whiff of marijuana odor and nabbed the driver on drug charges on Jan. 6.
The officer clocked a Buick LeSabre traveling 62 mph in a 35 mph zone and stopped the vehicle at the intersection of Memphis Arlington and Chambers Chapel roads.
At the traffic stop, the officer smelled the drug and found it in a green plastic cup that had a false bottom. He also found a glass pipe and a drug grinder in the car.
A test confirmed the substance was marijuana with a total gross weight of 9 grams.
The suspect received a misdemeanor citation for possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Jan. 7
Three Iron Drive (misdemeanor vandalism)
A car owner reported Jan. 7 that someone pried off his vehicle’s side mirror ($300) at the Somerset Apartments on Three Iron Drive.
He said he parked his white 2014 Chevrolet Silverado in the parking lot on the east side of his building the previous night around 8 p.m. and found the damage around 6:45 a.m. the next morning.
Someone had pried the driver’s side door window completely off. The responding officer saw the broken window on the ground next to the vehicle, and thre was a small pry mark, possibly from a screwdriver, on the top frame of the driver’s window.
There was no other apparent damage to the vehicle, and nothing had been taken from inside the vehicle. There were no latent fingerprints on the vehicle or the window, and there were no witnesses.
Three Iron Drive (misdemeanor vandalism)
A second vehicle owner at the Somerset Apartments also had criminal activity to report on Jan. 7: Someone stole his truck.
He said he parked his father’s blue 1981 Chevrolet Scottsdale 4×4 pickup in a covered parking slot on the north side of his apartment building around 8 p.m. the previous night. It was missing by the next morning at 6:45 a.m.
The vehicle had been locked, but officers saw no evidence of forced entry, such as broken glass on the ground.
The thief also made off with the victim’s green 2014 Honda 4×4 all-terrain vehicle, which was in the back of the truck.
There were no witnesses to the incident.
The tag and VIN were not available at the time of the report, but the complainant said the tag is for an antique vehicle.
Champions Drive (non-specific other theft)
An apartment manager at the Somerset at Lakeland apartments reported on Jan. 7 that she uncovered why several tenants were late in paying rent: Someone had stolen their checks.
She reviewed the surveillance video for the rent payment’s drop box and found that two men someone removed several checks from the box.
One suspect was a black male with long dreadlocks, wearing a light hooded coat. The second suspect was of unknown race, heavyset, and also wearing a hooded coat.
The apartment manager said she will save a copy of the surveillance video in case it’s needed.
Pingback: Lakeland ends January with car burglaries, vandalism, domestic violence - Bartlett ExpressBartlett Express