The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) reported the following incidents in Lakeland for December.
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.
Dec. 1
Canada Road (business burglary)
Someone burglarized the Los Helados Ice Cream Shop (2981 Canada Road, Suite #101) between 9:30 p.m. Nov. 30 and 8:10 a.m. Dec. 1 when the owner arrived.
The responding officer said it appeared that someone took the handle apart on the rear/alley door to enter the business. The owner checked the shop’s interior before the officer arrived, and no intruders were present. An open cash register was on the counter, empty except for some coins, and a large empty cash register drawer was on the floor. A glass container was broken on the floor in the front of the shop, possibly knocked off the counter while the cash register was being opened.
The shop had a working alarm, but the owner’s son forgot to arm it when the business closed the previous night. The owner also said an employee was given a key the previous evening because she was supposed to open the business the next day.
The only thing missing was $200 cash from the register. The business normally doesn’t open until 11 a.m., but the owner arrived early when his wife said the phone and security cameras in the business were not working. (She can check via her smart phone.)
An officer took photos and fingerprints from the scene and found a time-stamped cash register receipt, indicating the register was opened at 4:57 a.m. Dec. 1; the owner advised that the time may be an hour ahead.
Bluebridge Cove (threatening phone call)
A man reported on Dec. 1 that his stepfather had called at 7:22 a.m. that day and left a voice message threatening physical harm for threatening his friends. He heard the message but still met with his stepfather about half an hour later to help him move property from the 3400 block of Bluebridge Cove to another residence. They parted ways around 1:30 p.m. The victim said he fears his stepfather.
Dec. 2
Carly Drive (simple assault/domestic violence)
A woman on the 10100 block of Carly Drive said her child’s father came to her house around 1:30 p.m. Dec. 2, argued with her in the driveway and began hitting her with a closed fist on the head and shoulders while she was holding their child. A witness who saw the assault chased the suspect away.
The child’s father fled in a tan Astrovan with a Florida license plate, and the victim said the van belongs to him or his parents. The man’s address was unknown, but his parents live on Broadway Avenue in Bartlett.
The victim had an abrasion on the inner side of her lower lip, but she refused medical treatment.
The suspect had outstanding warrants in Bartlett and turned himself in later that day; Bartlett officers said he would not have a bond set. He gave them an address on the 3800 block of Advantage Way, Memphis.
The suspect also claimed to have been assaulted inside the city limits of Bartlett, resulting in a bloody nose. His child’s mother said she had told friends about how he assaulted her, and she thought they might have hurt him.
Barley Mills Circle (simple assault)
A resident on the 3000 block of Barley Mills Circle said he took a friend to get beer around 11 p.m. but refused to take him back out to get cocaine. The friend reportedly elbowed the victim in the face, then got out, pulled the victim from the driver’s seat, and scratched and punched his face several times before leaving.
The responding officers saw minor bruises and abrasions on the victim’s face and took photos of his injuries, but he refused medical treatment. The victim couldn’t give creditable information about where his friend lived.
Dec. 3
Dylan Drive (misdemeanor vandalism)
A man on the 9400 block of Dylan Drive heard a white man and woman arguing outside his neighbor’s home around 6:45 p.m. Dec .3. When the complainant heard glass breaking, he saw the male suspect walking westbound and noticed his neighbor’s window was broken. Although he didn’t witness the vandalism, he suspected the man and called the sheriff’s office.
The complainant wasn’t able to give the responding officer any suspect information, and officers weren’t able to contact the neighbors about the broken window.
Dec. 6
Hepplewhite Cove (other larceny/access device)
A resident on the 3000 block of Hepplewhite Cove said a friend stole a check while visiting his home Nov. 28-29. She filled out the USSA check for $400 payable to herself, forged his signature, and got her boyfriend’s grandfather to cash it at Trustmark. The victim reported the crime on Dec. 6.
He also said he confronted the woman, who admitted the crime and apologized. The victim said both the woman and her boyfriend are heroin addicts, and he believes she stole the check after he refused to loan her money during her visit.
Dec. 9
Shoehorn Drive (theft and recovery of passenger vehicle)
DTS Towing has a contract to tow illegally parked vehicles at Canada Trace Mobile Park Home (3291 Shoehorn Drive), and a tow driver contacted the sheriff’s office on Dec. 9 to advise that a Chevrolet Camaro parked nearby would be towed. While the tow was in transit, the sheriff’s dispatcher advised that the vehicle was listed as stolen in the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database. Deputies called the company and told them to return the vehicle to the original tow site.
During the investigation, a man approached the officers and said he had bought the car earlier that day from a man and woman for $16,000 cash after seeing it advertised on Craigslist Memphis. The man took a photo of the seller’s driver’s license. The woman accompanying the seller also was connected through a 2012 report on the same vehicle.
A deputy took crime scene photos and lifted fingerprints from the passenger side door. In the vehicle, officers found a bill of sale and Mississippi title bearing the illegal seller’s name. DTS towed the vehicle to 3906 Thomas St., Memphis.
Dec. 11
U.S. 64 (misdemeanor shoplifting)
A store clerk on the 9100 block of U.S. 64 said a black man and woman stole a sandwich, a case of beer and two cartons of cigarettes ($135) between 12:30 a.m. and about 1 a.m. Dec. 11.
The clerk said he bagged the items, and the man took the bag and walked out without paying. He tried to stop the man, but the woman said she would pay and pulled out a debit card. When the charge didn’t go through, she said she would get money from the car. The suspects then drove away, headed west on U.S. 64 in a white four-door vehicle, possibly a Cadillac. The clerk had no additional information, and there was no workable crime scene. The store has video surveillance, but the clerk wasn’t able to check it.
Cleff Lane (motor vehicle theft/passenger vehicle)
A man said he parked his Nissan Versa in his driveway on the 3200 block of Cleff Lane around 4 p.m. Dec. 10, and his cousin came over around 5 p.m. to replace a headlight. Around 7 p.m., the cousin went inside the house, leaving the doors unlocked and the keys in the car. When he returned about 10 minutes later, the car was gone.
A sheriff’s deputy took the report on Dec. 11, and the car’s information was entered into NCIC.
Dec. 14
Cedar Point Road (theft from motor vehicle)
A resident on the 4100 block of Cedar Point Road said someone ransacked his car overnight, between 9 p.m. Dec. 13 and 8:30 a.m. Dec. 14. The only item taken was his garage door opener. The car was unlocked, and there was no workable crime scene because the victim had entered the car and cleaned it out.
Pine Point Drive (theft from motor vehicle)
A resident on the 9500 block of Pine Point Drive said someone ransacked his family’s truck overnight, sometime between 8:30 p.m. Dec. 18 and about 10:10 a.m. Dec. 14, when a neighbor called. The neighbor reported some items were in her yard, and the victim found his Garmin GPS and a work bag on her property.
When officers arrived, the victim saw that the truck had been ransacked, and the center console and glove box were open. Officers also observed a car charger and the GPS bag in the yard next to the truck. The only item missing were electric hedge trimmers ($90) that had been on the floor behind the passenger seat. The responding officer took crime scene photos of the truck and noted that it was one of several auto burglaries in that area.
Dec. 15
U.S. 70 and Canada Road (simple assault/domestic violence)
A woman reported that her daughter assaulted her around 7 p.m. Dec. 15 while the mother was driving west on U.S. 70, headed home. The mother was looking through her daughter’s cell phone and refused to give it back to the daughter immediately.
The mother said her daughter tried to wrestle the phone away, covered the mother’s face while the car was still moving and started to slap and hit the mother in the face. A son also in the car said he yelled at his sister to stop, but she turned around and slapped him too.
The mother pulled over the vehicle and called 911. The responding officers determined the daughter was the primary aggressor and arrested her on domestic violence charges. Neither victim had injuries, other than small scratches on the son’s face from being slapped. The mother refused medical care and transportation.
Dec. 16
Blue Spruce (theft from motor vehicle)
A woman reported that someone had entered her gold Toyota Camry illegally between 11 p.m. Dec. 13 and 8 a.m. Dec. 14. Nothing was taken, but she knew someone had entered the unlocked car because objects were out of place. No damage was done to her car.
An officer took her report on Dec. 16 and also took crime scene photos and lifted two prints from the driver’s door handle.
Dec. 19
Quaking Lane (other larceny/commercial construction)
A builder for Magnolia Homes reported on Dec. 19 that someone stole five pallets of shingles (243 bundles, valued at $6,219.53) from a home construction site overnight between Dec. 10 and 11. The site was on the 10000 block of Quaking Lane. The complainant did not have any suspect information.
Dec. 20
Parrish Drive (simple assault/domestic violence)
A woman on the 9900 block of Parrish Drive reported on Dec. 20 that her boyfriend had assaulted her outside her home between 2:30 a.m. and about 3 a.m.
She said they argued inside, and he walked outside to his white Chevrolet Silverado. She jumped into the passenger seat, still arguing with him and telling him not to leave. Then she got out of the truck’s cab and climbed into the truck bed. She said her boyfriend then got out of the truck, grabbed her by the hair and punched her in the face while pulling her off his truck. She freed herself from him, and the couple continued arguing in front of her home. She said he then tackled her, and then he got into his truck and left.
The victim’s sister was a witness to the truckbed assault, and the victim had bruises and marks on her face, legs and feet.
Another officer stopped the man’s truck at U.S. 64 and Fletchers Trace, identified the suspect and took him back to the scene. He was arrested on domestic violence charges, and his truck was towed away from the location where he was stopped.
Ace Drive (threatening phone call)
A resident on the 9200 block of Ace Drive reported that his ex-girlfriend’s new boyfriend called and threatened to kill him if he didn’t leave her alone. The victim thought the other man was angry because she texted her former boyfriend to say she was coming over later that night.
Dec. 22
Triumph Circle (theft of vehicle parts/accessories)
A resident at Champion Hills/Stonebridge Apartments (9350 Triumph Circle) reported that someone stole his driver’s side rear tire and wheel ($1,000) between 7:45 p.m. Dec. 21 and around 7 a.m. Dec. 22. His vehicle was parked on the side of the apartment building, away from other vehicles. He had no additional information and could not name any suspects.
North Fir Hill Drive (misdemeanor vandalism): A woman on the 9300 block of North Fir Hill Drive reported that someone shattered her white Honda Accord’s back window between 9:20 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. on Dec. 22. The car was in her driveway in front of the garage at the time.
Swingbridge Cove East (intimidation/domestic violence)
A Munford woman reported on Dec. 22 that her ex-husband menaced her with his car and verbally abused her and her daughter on Dec. 21 in Lakeland.
The couple have been divorced for two years, and she was leaving her boyfriend’s house on the 9700 block of Swingbridge Cove East around 9 or 9:30 a.m. with her daughter when she saw her ex at a nearby intersection. She said he turned toward her car as if to hit it but didn’t make contact.
Then he backed up and allowed her to leave the cove. He followed her until they reached U.S. 64, and then he drove past them. The daughter said her father called her about five minutes later and used degrading terms to describe her and her mother.
The mother also said her ex also yelled at her in the Walgreen’s parking lot on U.S. 64 on Nov. 26, and when she came back out of the store he had pulled his car closer. He swore at her and said he was not done with her, and then she left.
Both the mother and daughter fear for their safety. They said there has been physical domestic violence in the past and they are unsure of the suspect’s intentions.
Kaki Lane (other theft/non-specific)
A pizza delivery man for Papa John’s (9160 U.S. 64) reported on Nov. 22 that a black male suspect stole a large 14-inch pizza during a delivery to the 9400 block of Kaki Lane.
The delivery man said the suspect, a black male, approached him at the delivery location and then grabbed the pizza and ran. The delivery man drove around and saw the suspect return to the delivery address and try to enter the garage. When the suspect saw the delivery man, he took off again. The delivery man contacted the people at the delivery address, and they said they didn’t know the suspect.
Three Iron Drive (motor vehicle theft/passenger vehicle)
A woman reported that someone stole her GM Rally van between 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Dec. 22. She said the van doesn’t have any identifying marks, and she didn’t have any suspect information. The sheriff’s dispatcher entered the vehicle into the NCIC database.
Dec. 23
Light House Lane (misdemeanor vandalism)
A man reported that someone smashed his driver’s side mirror ($250) off his Chevrolet Silverado between 11 p.m. Dec. 22 and the morning of Dec. 23. The vandalism happened while the truck was was parked outside a friend’s home on the 3900 block of Light House Lane. A crime scene officer took photos of the damage. There was no suspect or additional information at the time of the report.
Mackwood Drive (felony vandalism)
A man on the 10100 block of Mackwood Drive reported that someone vandalized his 2011 blue Nissan Sentra just before 3 p.m. Dec. 23, knocking off the driver’s side rear-view mirror. The victim had a surveillance system, but the video footage was unclear and only verified the incident and time of occurrence. He said similar damage happened to another vehicle at that location in June.
Dec. 24
Ace Drive (other theft/non-specific)
A man reported two mountain bikes stolen from his home on the 9300 block of Ace Drive between 6 p.m. Dec. 23 and 10 a.m. Dec. 24.
The bikes taken were a Sedona mountain bike ($490) and an Electra mountain bike ($549), locked to a metal bar outside his apartment. Whoever stole the bikes cut the lock that secured them both. The victim did not hear or see anything at the time of the theft and didn’t have any suspect information. Both bikes were entered into the NCIC database.
U.S. 65 (business robbery)
The manager of Carwash USA (9122 U.S. 64) reported that a man robbed him and a co-worker at gunpoint as he prepared to close the business on Dec. 24 around 5:20 p.m. They gave the suspect about $1,800 in ones and fives, and he made them lie on the office floor as he fled the scene on foot. The alerted the authorities via a silent alarm.
The suspect wore a hoodie and a ball cap low on his head, so the victims could not see his face clearly for identification. Responding officers checked the area without finding the suspect, and they also reviewed video surveillance that supported the victims’ statements.
Dec. 25
Brunswick Road at Stewart Road (felony vandalism/domestic violence)
A woman reported that she and the suspect were driving south on Brunswick Road near Stewart Road between 1 p.m. and 2:20 p.m. Dec. 25 when her male companion erupted in anger about an argument and domestic assault he and she had been involved in earlier in Tipton County. She said he punched the dashboard, air conditioning vents and passenger side door instrument panel, and he tore the rear-view mirror off the windshield. Damages were estimated at $1,000.
She pulled into the emergency lane near Stewart Road and called the sheriff’s office and then her father, who arrived before the responding officers. Her father, who was enraged at the prior domestic incident, arrived and saw the man sitting in the ditch on Stewart Road. The father slapped the right side of his face with an open hand.
The suspect was walking east on Stewart Road when the responding officers arrived, and one officer returned him to the scene, where the suspect refused medical attention. A responding officer processed the scene and took photos. The female victim was advised to file a domestic assault report with the Atoka Police Department. Officers arrested the suspect and took him to the Shelby County Jail.
Dec. 26
East Davies Plantation (theft from motor vehicle)
Someone vandalized and stole electronics from a Chevy Tahoe while it was parked on the 9600 block of East Davies Plantation between 2:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. Dec. 26. The suspect shattered the glass on the front passenger side and stole a Chrome laptop, Hewlitt Packard laptop and Toshiba portable DVD player. The victim did not have any serial numbers or suspect information.
Dec. 27
Silver Fox Cove (identity theft)
A resident on the 9600 block of Silver Fox Cove reported on Dec. 27 that his ex-wife had opened four credit cards (Kohl’s, JCPenney, Express and Victoria’s Secret) in his name with her as the secondary user. She had charged about $375 at Kohl’s and $250 on the Express card at the time of the report. The man said she tried to open several other cards in his name, but they were not approved.
He said she admitted opening the accounts but she said she did not know that they were in his name as well. He said she offered to pay off the balances for each card.
The couple have been divorced since 2010.
Dec. 29
U.S. 64 (theft from motor vehicle)
A man reported that someone broke into his Ford Sport Trac sometime after he arrived at work on the 9100 block of U.S. 64 on Dec. 29. He got an email about fraudulent use of one of his cards and went to his truck to get his wallet, where he found the driver’s side door lock damaged and popped out. His wallet and SunTrust checkbook were missing. Property stolen included a Chase Visa credit card, Discover credit card, SunTrust debit card, BancorpSouth debit card, HSA debit card, driver’s license and Social Security card.
The truck was parked in the back of the building where there are no cameras.
By the time the theft was discovered, someone had already used his Chase card at Wheelz Plus ($6,000), twice at a Shell gas station at 3330 North Thomas (unknown amounts), and Marathon Petro (unknown amount).The SunTrust card was used twice for gasoline and other purchases; amounts were not known at the time of the report.
Dec. 30
Davies Plantation East (theft from motor vehicle)
A man reported that someone broke into his 2013 Ford F150 between 9:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. Dec. 29 while it was parked at a Cracker Barrel restaurant (9649 Davies Plantation East).
He found the driver’s side rear window broken and the driver’s door handle was damaged, and a camouflage duffle bag containing children’s toiletries ($100) had been stolen. The responding officer took crime scene photos and lifted two prints from the door handle.
The victim did not have any suspect information. The restaurant manager said the surveillance cameras do not cover the area where the truck was parked.
