The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office handled the following incidents in Arlington during the latter half of September, as well as one incident from Oct. 1. For earlier September incidents, see last week’s 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.
Sept. 16
U.S. 70 (theft from motor vehicle)
Two suspects used a ruse to lure a woman away from her car long enough for them to steal her purse, she reported on Sept. 16. She was sitting in her minivan in the parking lot of McDonald’s (11590 U.S. 70) between 3 and 3:50 a.m. when the suspects pulled slightly in front of her. One asked to use her phone. She said it was in the restaurant, charging, but the McDonald’s employees might allow use of their phone. She went with the suspect, who used the business’s phone.
Then the victim looked outside and saw the passenger side’s front door was open on her Chrysler Town and Country minivan, so she went outside to check that out. By then, the second suspect had pulled around to the opposite side of the business, and the first suspect slipped out of the business on that side. The two fled together before deputies arrived.
One employee saw the first suspect leave the restaurant but didn’t see what happened at the victim’s vehicle.
The victim said she thought she locked all but the driver’s side door of her vehicle when she went inside McDonald’s. Her purse was missing when she checked. She couldn’t provide any account numbers for the credit/debit cards taken along with her purse at the time of the report.
The victim provided the phone number that the first suspect dialed and said she contacted someone who might be the first suspect’s mother. No one answered when deputies called. McDonald’s employees advised that only the store manager, who would be there at 6 a.m., could provide access to the surveillance system.
Sept. 19
U.S. 70 (simple assault)
The manager at the Off The Hoof Restaurant (12013 U.S. 70) said a customer assaulted an employee on Sept. 19, sometime between 7 p.m. and about 7:40 p.m.
The customer reportedly because upset after getting an incorrect food order, caused a scene and was disruptive, and was asked to leave. A male employee came out from the back and also asked the customer to leave. The employee said the customer stated, “So you want to go outside and fight.”
The employee said he refused but then the customer punched him in the jaw anyway and left with a white female in a silver Ford Mustang. A check of the license plate came back as registered to an Arlington woman. The suspect paid for the meal with a credit card, and the restaurant gave the male account holder’s name to the responding officer. A law enforcement database provided a photo of the suspect that both the complainant and victim identified. The deputy also viewed video footage of the assault and advised that it should be saved for further investigation.
The deputy didn’t see any injury to the victim, and he didn’t need medical attention.
Berry Patch Cove (simple assault/domestic violence)
A couple’s oldest daughter heard her angry father wrangling with her mother in the bathroom and called the sheriff’s office on Sept. 19.
The wife said her husband had been drinking all evening, and when she got home from work he was mad about not knowing where their oldest children were. She became scared and went to the bathroom with her youngest daughter. Her husband entered and tried to take her cell phone. She was sitting on the floor when he pushed her, placed his knee in her left side and back, and struggled over the phone. Then her head hit something (probably the toilet, she speculated). Their older daughter heard the disturbance and called the SCSO.
The youngest daughter witnessed the incident, and her account matched that of her mother. Deputies saw redness and bruising on the wife’s left rib area.
Deputies talked to the husband, who had locked himself in the back downstairs bedroom with the couple’s youngest son. He said there was an argument that started before his wife got home. He said they had a bad marriage, but nothing got physical. He admitted trying to take the phone but kept saying he had not “been physical” with his wife.
The responding officers determined he was the primary aggressor and took him into custody on simple assault and domestic violence. One officer took photos of the wife’s injuries as evidence. She refused any medical attention on the scene.
Sept. 20
S. Everett Hill Circle (simple assault)
A mother reported Sept. 20 that another student assaulted her son after they exited the Arlington Middle School bus that afternoon.
The boy said the other male student continues to harass him verbally and threaten to kill him. That day, the suspect stared at him for 10 minutes on the bus. When the victim said to stop, the suspect reportedly said, “I was thinking of ways to kill you.”
The victim also said the suspect slapped his left arm after they exited the bus, and he showed the officer a photo of the injury. He said the suspect harasses him at AMS daily.
Sept. 21
U.S. 70 (simple assault)
A customer and manager at McDonald’s (11590 U.S. 70) disputed exactly what happened over a money refund the morning of Sept. 21.
The female victim said her order at the drive-thru was wrong, so she asked for her money back. She said the store manager threw the money at her, and one coin hit her in the face.
The manager said he tried to hand it to her, and when she wouldn’t take it, he dropped it onto her lap.
The responding officer didn’t see any bruises or marks on the victim’s face, and there were no witnesses to the reported incident.
Airline Road (misdemeanor weapon law violations)
Bringing a knife to school for “protection” is a big no-no, as one student found out the hard way at Arlington High School (5475 Airline Road) on Sept. 21.
Two students were in a dispute via texting and Snapchat, and one of them displayed a knife in her purse that other students saw. The assistant principal and officers interviewed the two students and witnesses. The student with the knife eventually admitted having it. One witness said she took the knife away from her friend and threw it in the trash so she wouldn’t get in trouble. Officers retrieved the knife, which had a black handle and a silver blade of 5-6 inches.
The guilty student received a juvenile summons for carrying a weapon on school property and was suspended for 180 school days. Mothers of both arguing girls were contacted.
Sept. 22
Doctor Logan Cove (simple assault)
A woman reported an assault to her daughter’s boyfriend on Sept. 22.
The victim said he was with his girlfriend on her mother’s porch, when the girlfriend’s husband and several of his friends jumped him. He said after they punched him they fled in a dark sedan (unknown model). He said he had no injuries and officers saw no signs of such. He declined an offer of medical attention. (Also see the Sept. 28 incident on Airline Road, below, for an altercation reported between this boyfriend and girlfriend.)
Sept. 27
Airline Road (simple assault)
Two students who fought outside the gym at Arlington High School on Sept. 26 each got three-day suspensions.
The mother of one boy said her son has been having problems with several students, including the one he fought, even though they used to be friends. Several students told the ninth-grade principal that particular boy talks bad and bullies them, and they were tired of him.
Officers didn’t interview or issue any juvenile summonses for the incident because the suspect weren’t on scene.
U.S. 70 (theft from motor vehicle): A mother who didn’t lock her vehicle while she went into her child’s daycare was the victim of theft on the morning of Sept. 27. She left her car unattended no more than 15 minutes while she was inside Sunshine Daycare (11900 U.S. 70), but her name-brand 31 purse was gone when she returned. She had called and cancelled her credit/debit cards by the time officers arrived.
Sept. 28
Airline Road (simple assault/domestic violence)
A woman reported that her boyfriend got physical with her while they were having a disagreement on Sept. 28.
She said she tried to walk away but he grabbed her arm and pulled her back, keeping her from leaving. A witness said he got in her face and yelled at her while pushing her back against a brick wall, so the witness called 911. He was gone when deputies arrived, and they weren’t able to locate him.
The victim said he might have had too much to drink, and this had never happened before. One deputy escorted the victim home to pick up her children, just in case the boyfriend might be waiting there for her. (Also see the Sept. 22 incident on Doctor Logan Cove, above, where this same girlfriend’s husband and friends reportedly assaulted this boyfriend.)
Sept. 30
Airline Road (theft from building)
A woman reported on Sept. 30 that she got her misplaced wallet back the previous day, but with a huge chunk of cash missing.
She said she was at the Exxon Taco Bell (5060 Airline Road), bought her meal and then got in line to purchase miscellaneous items. She thinks she dropped her wallet while in line. She went to the restroom to change, and on her way back out the clerk handed her wallet back to her. Everything was still inside except about $859 in cash.
She said the Exxon clerk told her the manager might be able to pull video footage to see what happened to her cash. There was no witness or suspect information at the time of the report.
Oct. 1
Airline Road (theft from motor vehicle)
An Oct. 1 report of a stolen backpack involves a mother and daughter. The mom parked her Ford Explorer behind 5780 Airline Road around 11 a.m. and doesn’t recall whether she locked it. When she returned around 2 p.m., her daughter’s Patagonia backpack and all its contents were missing. There was no damage to the vehicle.
