The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office handled the following incidents in Arlington during the first half of January 2016.
See the Feb. 18 issue for the remainder of Arlington’s January incidents.
Because of the way the SCSO’s reporting periods are calculated, a few incidents from late December are also included in this report.
Editor’s note: All suspects are presumed to be innocent until 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.
Dec. 28
Elderton Drive (other theft/non-specific)
A resident on the 12400 block of Elderton Drive noticed his Christmas lights were off just before midnight on Dec. 27. When he went outside, he found that his blue-and-white Elsa inflatable from the movie “Frozen” was missing and the outlet’s breaker had tripped.
His home security cameras showed a light Nissan X-Terra approach his home from Arrabella Drive. On the video, a white female wearing a light jacket with a reflective stripe exited the passenger size of the SUV and took his inflatable from the yard. The vehicle backed down Elderton and went north on Arrabella, making a stop near Caymus or Renwood Loop before disappearing from the camera’s view.
Dec. 29
Hidden Meadows Drive (false pretenses/swindle/confidence game)
A resident on the 5300 block of Hidden Meadows Drive reported on Dec. 29 that he lost thousands to the jury duty phone scam that has been circulating Shelby County.
Someone posing as an employee of the SCSO’s warrant division called his home on Dec. 28 and spoke to his wife. He called back and was told he had failed to appear for jury duty and a warrant would be issued unless he paid $2,632 via reloadable debit cards.
Following instructions, he went to Kroger and bought three cards in the amounts of $975, $975 and $682. He gave the suspect all the cards’ information and was told to mail them to 201 Poplar using a return address on Madison Street. He did so at a Germantown post office.
He said there was one female and possible two different males involved in the scam. They used the names of Stewart and Lt. Ballard.
The victim also said he had recently appeared for jury duty, and the suspect had all of the related information.
Dec. 30
Memphis Arlington Road (theft from building)
An inventory taken at the SCSO’s Arlington substation (11670 Memphis-Arlington) on Dec. 29 revealed that some radio equipment was missing, according to a report filed the next day.
The three missing Motorola handheld radios were last used on Aug. 11, 2009; March 5, 2013; and Sept. 28, 2011. The ID numbers for all three were entered into the database for the National Crime Information Center (NCIC).
Brooks River Road (identity theft)
A man reported on Dec. 30 that someone had stolen his identity and opened a fraudulent credit card account.
The man, a resident on the 11600 block of Brooks River, said a credit protection agency contacted him around 8 a.m. the day after Christmas, saying his name and Social Security number were used on a credit application at Old Navy. He had Old Navy’s fraud department to close the account.
U.S. 70 (misdemeanor shoplifting)
Two black females shoplifted mostly cleaning supplies at Fred’s (11888 U.S. 70), a spokesman reported on Dec. 30.
Earlier that afternoon, both suspects entered the store and began their spree. One woman was seen putting these items in a handbasket and in her purse: Downy fabric softener, Air Wick liquid refill, Dove soap, Old Spice soap, L’oreal shampoo and a Monroe comforter. She carried a black purse and wore a maroon cotton jacket with silver wings on the back, a black T-shirt, gray pants, black furry boots and black glasses.
The other woman wore a plaid shawl in gray, black and white that concealed the blue nylon bag she used to gather stolen merchandise. She also wore light blue leggings, a peach shirt, brown loafers and black glasses. She was seen taking a Febreze candle, Febreze air freshener, Glade liquid refill and cleaning products in the Lysol, Scrubbing Bubbles, Fabuloso and Mr. Clean brands.
They left the store with the items and drove away in a silver sedan with Tennessee temporary tags.
U.S. 70 (business robbery)
Two black males robbed a convenience store clerk at gunpoint around 8:50 p.m. Dec. 30, the victim reported. Both covered their faces and ordered her not to look at them. The location was the Quick Mart at 11933 U.S. 70.
She said the first suspect pointed a silver handgun at her and said, “I’m gonna shoot you. Open the cash register.” The second suspect went behind the counter and emptied the cash register’s drawer into a big trash bag, also taking numerous packs of cigarettes and an undetermined amount of Tennessee Lottery scratch-off tickets. They fled west on U.S. 70 in a silver Nissan Altima, model year unknown.
The first suspect is between 5 foot 2 inches and 5 foot 4 inches tall, weighing about 150-160 lbs., wearing jeans and a green jacket with a camouflage lining.
The second suspect is in the same height range, weighs about 160-170 lbs. and is of medium build. He’s believed to be 20-30 years old. He wore a gray hoodie sweatshirt and jeans.
U.S. 70 (simple assault/domestic violence)
A woman sick with flu-like symptoms reported an attack by her boyfriend while he was driving her to the hospital between 10 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. Dec. 30.
He said they began to argue because she was sick, and he couldn’t go to work. He said he did not strike her.
She said they were arguing because he was taking too long to drive her to the hospital. Without warning, he hit her several times in the face and told her to get out of the vehicle at Kroger (11635 U.S. 70), she alleged.
She then called the SCSO’s office.
The responding officers saw a small scratch and blood on the right side of her nose and a small scratch on her right hand. Officers determined that the man, who smelled strongly of intoxicants, was the primary aggressor. They arrested him on simple assault/domestic violence charges.
An ambulance took the woman to Baptist East Hospital.
Jan. 4
Village Center Street (residential burglary)
Someone broke into a woman’s home on the 11800 block of Village Center Street, she reported on Jan. 4.
She left home around 7:30 a.m., and when she returned around 3:30 p.m., she found her southeast bedroom window screen had been removed and the window was open. Her dresser drawer was opened, and someone had rummaged through her closet, but no items were missing, she said.
The responding deputies saw tracks in the backyard, leading from Etheridge Cove to her home, including where someone had climbed over the four-foot fence in her backyard.
Southern Winds Drive (theft from building)
A family reported the theft of multiple electronics from their home after a repairman visited their home on Jan. 4.
The victim said he called Hiller Repair Co. (1190 Big Orange Road) to look at the furnace of his home on the 5400 block of Southern Winds Drive. He and his wife both left between 6:30 and 7 a.m., but his three sons were at the house. He said a man from that company called him around 10:30 a.m., saying he was at the house.
The oldest son said the repairman was there for about half an hour. The son left around noon, returned around 1 p.m. and left again with his brothers around 1:20 p.m. He said they didn’t check to see if the front door was locked.
The father returned around 4:30 p.m. and the rest of the family soon arrived too. They discovered the burglary, which included a Sony Play-Station and game controllers, a Microsoft Xbox, an Apple laptop, Apple headphones, Amazon tablet, Microsoft and Sony video games, a Texas Instruments calculator (Stolen), and cash. The items that the victim could provide identification numbers for were listed on NCIC.
The father said he would get the repairman’s name the following day. The family also found three pillowcases that might have been left behind by the suspect.
Jan. 5
Polk Street (false pretenses/swindle/confidence game)
Scammers tried to frighten a Polk Street woman into paying hundreds in a fake arrest warrant phone scam that’s been circulating in Shelby County. Her son reported on Jan. 5 that someone pretending to be Sgt. Wilkinson from the Shelby County Sheriff’s warrant division called his mother that morning and said there were arrests warrants on her.
The warrants supposedly were for missing jury duty($495) and contempt of court($495). The caller said the warrants were signed, the federal courts were aware and she would be arrested if she left her home.
Her son said she was handicapped and could not get the money. The caller told him to go to the local Kroger and buy two recharged cards for those amounts. He was told to bring the cards to the second floor of the jail at 201 Poplar in Memphis and drop them off at the kiosk.
The responding officer dialed the phone number given by the scammer, and it went straight to a recorded voice mail, stating, “This is the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office Warrant Division.”
Airline Road (theft from motor vehicle)
A woman reported that someone burglarized her SUV while she was in ATC Fitness (6050 Airline Road, Suite 120) on Jan. 5. She arrived at 4 p.m. and worked out until 5:15 p.m. She didn’t notice her purse was missing until shortly afterward when she stopped at a gas station.
She said she thought she locked her Chevrolet Tahoe but might have forgotten.
The officer saw no damage to the SUV. A crime scene technician lifted prints from the front passenger door.
ATC staff told officers there are no cameras monitoring the vehicles in the parking lot, only the front door.
The victim deactivated all of her credit/debit cards, but someone tried to use her green Regions debit card.
Jan. 6
U.S. 70 (misdemeanor drugs/narcotics violation)
An employee at Fred’s (11888 U.S. 70) found a small bag of what appeared to be marijuana on the floor near her register on Jan. 6.
Testing confirmed it was marijuana with a total gram weight of 1.3 grams (0.5 grams total net weight).
Jan. 8
Millus Cove (felony vandalism/domestic violence)
Officers arrived on the scene Jan. 8 where an upset man had reportedly frightened his child’s mother and damaged her rental home on the 5000 block of Millus Cove.
Officers found the apparently agitated man near the rear of a car, where he said he was trying to deflate her vehicle’s tires.
He said he was trying to pick up his child when she wouldn’t answer the door or her phone.
She said he arrived around 6:30 p.m. and seemed very upset. She was afraid and didn’t want to have any contact with him because of his level of anger, so she barricaded herself in the upstairs bedroom in case he entered the house.
She said he became so irate when she told him to leave that he kicked the front door and broke it. She notified her landlords about the damage.
The responding officers saw muddy shoe prints on the door and noticed that it wouldn’t open because of apparent damage.
The suspect freely admitted he had kicked and broken the woman’s front door but planned to pay for it.
He was arrested for vandalism over $500 and taken to jail.
Jan. 11
Greenlee Street (forcible rape)
Officers responded to a report of forcible rape on the 6200 block of Greenlee Street on Jan. 11. The incident happened sometime after 11:10 p.m. Dec. 26. Currently, additional case details are not publicly available.
Jan. 12
Goat Valley Cove (false pretenses/swindle/confidence game)
An online scam bilked a man out of $375, he reported on Jan. 12. The man, a resident on the 11000 block of Goat Valley Cove, said the scam happened between 11 a.m. Jan. 11 and 4:30 p.m. Jan. 12.
He said he went online to nanaimagold.com to buy crypto currency (digital currency protected by encryption). In an effort to buy $370 worth of bitcoin (a type of online currency), he followed directions to pay via Western Union. He never received the bitcoins.
Jan. 13
Milton Wilson Drive (identity theft)
A man became aware around the first week of December that someone had stolen his identity when credit reporting agency Experian contacted him. He reported the crimes on Jan. 13.
The man, a resident on the 5400 block of Milton Wilson Drive, said Experian reported there were several attempts to open accounts in his name.
Then on Jan. 12 he received billing statements from two companies, but he had not opened an account with either. One was a Peebles account with a balance of $1,474.03, and the other was a Brooks Brothers account with a balance of $3,899.50. He said both companies fall under Citibank, and he has notified their fraud departments.
He said this has been an ongoing issue and he has notified all companies involved. He filed an earlier Jan. 3, 2015, report.
Jan. 14
U.S. 70 (false pretenses/swindle/confidence game)
A spokesman for Arlington Liquors (11949 U.S. 70) reported on Jan. 14 that his bank had returned a counterfeit check he had deposited.
He said a woman brought in the $378.41 check made out to her from O’Reilly’s Auto Parts on Jan. 2. She paid a $4 fee and received the rest in cash from one of his employees.
The woman provided a Tennessee driver’s license that identified her as a resident on the 4100 block of Beaver Creek Drive, Mason. The check had a thumb print and the woman’s signature on the back, and the complainant said that a video of the suspect presenting the check was available.
