Police Blotter: Spring Break Vandalism and Burglary to Cars, Homes and School

A Meijer store detective called in a license plate and vehicle description to the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office when a DVD player was stolen from the store. OCSO deputies identified the car, followed it into the Walmart parking lot and made contact. 

The suspect, a 19-year-old Pontiac man, was asked where he was coming from and what he had in the car. The man said he was coming from Meijer, and he had a DVD player his mom had given to him two weeks ago. 

The serial number on the DVD player matched that of the empty box found in the bathroom of the Meijer, brought by the store detective who called in the initial report. The man was arrested for retail fraud in the third degree and released with a pending court date.

Cars, homes and school vandalized

• A 56-year-old Rochester Hills man woke up to three slashed tires on his Nissan Ultima, which was parked in front of his house in the 1300 block of Crescent Lane. He said two decorative strips and the gasoline cap had also been removed from the car sometime during the night of April 2.
• A residence in the 3300 block of Vardon Drive had its garage door and two cars parked in the driveway egged overnight on April 2. The 50-year-old Rochester Hills woman said it’s an ongoing problem that typically occurs on Friday nights. The woman and her 17-year-old son were able to remove the eggs from their cars and property without anything being damaged.
• OCSO deputies were dispatched to a residence in the 3000 block of Fantail Court when a 50-year-old man called in a report of eggs being thrown at his house and car at approximately 11 p.m. on April 3. The residence had been egged two days prior to this incident occurring. The man said his children go to college and he hasn’t had any problems for the year he’s lived there until recently.
• Hampton Elementary School was vandalized by rocks sometime during the weekend of March 30. A school employee found the rocks, used for drainage on school property, on the sidewalk near a shattered glass door and a cracked window the morning of April 2.

Property stolen from residences and cars

• A 46-year-old Rochester Hills man had a Casio digital camera and four memory cards stolen from his car from his driveway in the 1300 block of Thames Drive. The man woke up on April 1 to find his passenger door ajar with the glove box and center console open and the camera, valued at $140, missing.
• Also in the 1300 block of Thames Drive, a 46-year-old Rochester Hills man noticed someone opening and closing his car doors in the driveway on April 1 at approximately 11 p.m. The man hit the panic button on his keychain and scared the suspect away. OCSO deputies and a K-9 unit responded to the 911 call, and the suspect was tracked into the woods heading north toward Avon Road before the scent was lost. No description of the suspect could be obtained from the victim, and nothing was missing from his vehicle.
• A $4,000 gurney prototype was stolen from a residence in the 2000 block of Fairview Lane on April 1. The 54-year-old Rochester Hills man, who builds these gurneys for a living, was cleaning his garage when he set the stolen gurney under a tree in his front yard. He left his residence at 5 p.m. he noticed it was missing. The gurney is made of aluminum and titanium, is red in color and has a “light lift” logo.
• A silver ring with purple amethyst and diamonds was reported stolen from an 89-year-old Rochester Hills woman’s dresser drawer in the 1400 block of Rochester Road. The woman noticed the ring was missing when she went to put it on to match her purple outfit on March 30. The ring, valued at $700, holds a sentimental value to her because it was a gift from her late husband. The woman phoned in the report and will file an insurance claim.

For questions on the police blotter, email bw.mcgaughey@gmail.com.