3/11/2010 - West Side Leader
     

WEST AKRON: Burglaries occurred at the following locations: the 800 block of Diagonal Road between Feb. 22 and March 1; the 1300 block of Weathervane Lane March 1; the 100 block of Gale Street March 1; the 500 block of Wildwood Avenue March 5; the 1000 block of Packard Avenue March 5; the 100 block of Burton Avenue March 5; the 700 block of Mercer Avenue March 5-6; the 1300 block of Weathervane Lane March 6-7; the 100 block of Hollinger Avenue March 7; and a business in the 700 block of West Market Street March 7.

A 26-year-old Moreley Avenue man was charged Feb. 28 with felony patient abuse. He allegedly abused a 29-year-old male resident when he was the caregiver Dec. 29, 2008. The suspect allegedly shoved the male into a wall, giving him a bloody nose, then pushed the victim to the floor and forced him to do pushups for punishment. He also reportedly would pour water on the patient’s head when the patient didn’t comply with his instructions. This suspect was picked up on the warrant March 3 on Copley Road.

A 24-year-old Orlando Avenue man was charged with felony possession of drugs March 2. He was stopped at South Hawkins Avenue and Diagonal Road subsequent to an ongoing narcotics investigation. During the pat down, officers recovered cash. A narcotics K9 unit alerted on the vehicle, and detectives recovered 13 grams of crack and 2 grams of marijuana.

A 44-year-old Winton Avenue man was arrested for possession of drugs and paraphernalia March 2 around 11:10 p.m. after officers reportedly saw him leaving a known drug house in the area of Bye Street and Madison Avenue.

Two male suspects and a female allegedly stole meat out of a freezer of an Elmwood Court residence March 4 around 3:40 a.m. after they reportedly asked to be let into the apartment to use the phone and bathroom. The unknown suspects also allegedly punched the female victim as they fled the residence.

More than 48 pounds of marijuana are off the city streets following an investigation that started more than a month ago, Akron Police officials announced March 4. Shortly after 9 a.m. that morning, detectives from the Narcotics Unit executed a search warrant at a house in the 1300 block of Winton Avenue. Detectives recovered a loaded 9mm handgun, a digital scale, around $3,000 in cash and 48 pounds of marijuana. Detectives located the marijuana inside the clothes dryer, and the largest amount was found in the trunk of the suspect’s car, a 1998 Cadillac, parked in the garage. The suspect, Timothy Duane Christian, of Winton Avenue, was not at home during the execution of the search warrant. Detectives signed warrants on him for felony drug trafficking and drug abuse. Detectives are asking the public’s help in locating the suspect, a 29-year-old black male. He is 5 feet, 11 inches tall and weighs about 150 pounds. Anyone with information about his whereabouts is asked to contact the Akron Police Department at 330-375-2490.

Around 4:45 p.m. March 4, a juvenile male was arrested for loitering, obstructing official business and criminal trespass in the 900 block of Copley Road. Officers reportedly observed him loitering in front of a business, and he reportedly dropped a baggie of crack cocaine on the ground and attempted to walk away when officers approached. 

A 39-year-old Noah Avenue man was charged March 4 with felony drug abuse and having an open container of alcohol in a moving vehicle. The suspect was the passenger of a vehicle stopped on West Long Street after reportedly leaving a known drug house. He was asked to step out of the car by officers after he reportedly made several furtive movements in the passenger compartment. When he stepped out of the car, two baggies of drugs fell out of his pant leg. Officers also found an open bottle of lager on the floorboard in the passenger compartment.

Shortly before 11 p.m. March 4, officers responded to shots fired in the 1100 block of South Hawkins Avenue. The victim reported her ex-boyfriend, a 34-year-old Fern Street man, called her and threatened to break her jaw. Several minutes later, he drove over to the victim’s house, pulled into the driveway, honked the horn, but then drove away. Several minutes later, the victim looked out the living room window and saw him standing across the street pointing in her direction. The victim then heard a shot being fired. The suspect fled in an unknown direction. Officers recovered a spent shell casing in the area where he was standing. A warrant for felonious assault, discharging a firearm into an occupied structure, domestic violence and domestic violence menacing was filed, and the suspect also had several warrants on file for theft, assault, domestic violence and domestic violence menacing. He was subsequently arrested March 6 at his girlfriend’s residence on Fairbanks Place, where he was found hiding in the attic, and booked into the Summit County Jail.

Around 2 a.m. March 5, a male victim reported he was walking near the intersection of Wildwood Avenue and Norway Drive when an unknown male shot him in the leg. He was transported to Akron General Medical Center, where his injuries did not appear to be life threatening.

Detectives are investigating the death of a 30-year-old man with a last known address on Beck Avenue. He allegedly was stabbed with a knife during a physical altercation with his 27-year-old wife at her residence on Auten Drive around noon March 7. The victim was transported to Akron General Medical Center, where he later died. The woman has been charged with murder and was booked into the Summit County Jail. She was arraigned in Akron Municipal Court March 8.

Akron Police and the U.S. Marshals Office Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force arrested a 36-year-old Roslyn Avenue man March 8 for aggravated robbery and aggravated burglary for a home invasion he allegedly committed in North Hill March 3. Officers located the suspect at his residence. He was taken into custody without incident. Officers also executed a search warrant at his house and recovered jewelry, several guns, ammunition and more than $1,000 in cash. The female victim of the home invasion reported the suspect knocked on her door around 6:30 in the evening. When she answered the door, he forced his way into the house and demanded her jewelry, then knocked her to the floor, went through the house and took jewelry and several guns before fleeing, she said.

A 19-year-old Whittier Avenue male was charged March 9 with felony participating in a criminal gang. He reportedly was found to be in possession of crack cocaine Feb. 22 in Kenmore and was arrested that day for trafficking in drugs, tampering with evidence and drug abuse.

BATH: A Pebble Beach Drive man reported March 1 suspects used his credit card information to make a purchase totaling more than $900. The victim learned of the purchase and stopped delivery of the item.

On March 2, a San Moritz Drive woman reported jewelry and coins were stolen from her residence in February.

A Sanctuary Drive man reported March 2 an unknown type of animal attacked his dog while it was in his backyard and caused two puncture wounds in the animal’s neck, which required veterinary care.

Police are seeking an unknown male who used a fictitious Ohio driver’s license in an attempt to cash two fraudulent cashier’s checks at a Springside Drive bank March 3. Earlier that day, the suspect used the fictitious identification to obtain the checks at a Cleveland bank, then went to the second bank, where employees became suspicious when he attempted to cash them and notified police and bank security agents, who said the suspect was operating a fraud scheme. The suspect fled, leaving behind the identification and checks.

On March 4, police on Interstate 77 stopped the driver of a vehicle carrying 2,000 gallons of hazardous liquid, arrested him for having no commercial driver’s license and arranged for disposition of the vehicle.

An employee of a library on Smith Road reported March 4 a disgruntled patron threatened her during a discussion regarding library fees and a lost book. The woman left without incident, and the employee said she would be banned from all libraries in the system.

A man reported March 4 his wallet, containing $75, credit cards and gift cards, was stolen while he was working at a Medina Road business.

Police patrolling Medina Road the night of March 6 stopped the driver of a vehicle with no headlights. He appeared intoxicated, failed a field sobriety test and was charged with DUI. His BAC tested .221. He was released with a court summons and the vehicle was towed to an impound lot.

A Springwater Drive woman reported her neighbor brought her mailbox to her door the morning of March 6. It had apparently been knocked down during the previous night.

A patron of a Montrose bookstore reported March 6 he left his laptop computer on a table in the coffee shop and walked away for several minutes. When he returned, the computer had been stolen.

A driver who was stopped for lane violations on Harmony Hills Drive March 7 failed a field sobriety test and was charged with DUI and released with a court summons. His BAC tested .120. The vehicle was towed.

COPLEY: A Copley High School student reported his basketball shoes were stolen from a school coach’s office in October, and he saw another student wearing them Feb. 19. Police investigated and learned the student who had the shoes got them from another student, who got them from a different student, who got them from a student who admitted he took them but said he thought they had been abandoned. He was charged with theft and suspended from school.

On Feb. 24, police called a Stow woman regarding her placing unwanted phone calls to a Kirkwall Drive man in violation of a letter from the victim’s attorney.

Police were called to a domestic disturbance at a Burnwycke Court residence Feb. 24, when a woman and her adolescent son had an altercation over inappropriate messages on the child’s cell phone. The argument was resolved before police arrived.

A woman reported Feb. 27 she parked her vehicle in the rear lot of a Montrose restaurant in a place that was not a marked parking space. A man backed a vehicle out of a designated space and accidentally struck the driver’s door of the woman’s vehicle and drove off. Police received a description of his vehicle and were attempting to locate him.

Officers patrolling Copley Road March 1 stopped a driver of a vehicle with a suspicious temporary license plate and arrested him for driving under suspension. He was released with a court summons, and the vehicle was towed.

Copley police and officers from Bath searched an area around a White Pond Drive beverage center the evening of March 1 after a man with a firearm robbed employees of the drive-through and fled. Police found him hiding on the north side of the building and arrested him for robbery.

On March 1, police and EMS responded to a call that a woman staying at a Montrose West Avenue hotel had taken an overdose of Xanax. The victim was conscious and breathing, but she was lethargic. She was transported to Akron General Medical Center.

A Plainview Drive couple reported March 1 they have been receiving threatening phone calls from an unknown male with a heavy foreign accent. The caller repeatedly asks for a male who does not live there and states he is attempting to collect money the man owes. He has refused the victim’s requests to stop calling them, and he told the female to expect a package in the mail.

Police on South Cleveland-Massillon Road March 3 stopped the driver of a vehicle with no rear license plate, arrested a passenger in the vehicle and released him to Akron police on a warrant.

FAIRLAWN: Police have been reviewing video footage at a Montrose shopping club store to determine the identity of two females who carried an empty TV box into the store Feb. 23, stating they were returning a TV. They reportedly took the box to a display where there were other TVs of the same brand, sat the box down and took a box that contained a new TV, then left the store, saying they changed their minds about the return.

On Feb. 26, a woman reported she received a $4,870 check from a company and a letter that said the money was to hire her as a mystery shopper and instructed her to deposit the check in her bank account and wire $3,500 to a suspect in Spain via two separate transactions. After she wired the money to an unknown person in Spain, she learned the check they sent her was fraudulent, and the bank had debited her account to cover the loss.

Officers patrolling Interstate 77 Feb. 28 observed a man in a vehicle pushing another vehicle along the highway at 15 mph and stopped him. He was arrested for driving under suspension and taken to the Summit County Jail on a felony warrant. He was additionally charged with felony drug possession when a vehicle inventory revealed a scale and silver spoon containing a white powder that tested positive for cocaine.

Police went to a Rothrock Road motel Feb. 28, arrested a man on a warrant for possession of drugs and paraphernalia and took him to the Summit County Jail.

Suspects stole a wallet from a customer at a Montrose discount store between 4:30 and 6 p.m. March 1.

A woman reported March 3 she sat on a bench in a mall concourse and placed her purse beside her. While she was sitting on the bench, the purse, containing a checkbook, bank card, food card, driver’s license and $75, was stolen.

Police arrested a man for theft and misrepresenting his identity March 4 after he allegedly concealed merchandise worth $176 and left a mall department store without paying, then lied to police about his date of birth.

On March 4, officers on South Cleveland-Massillon Road arrested a man on a warrant for failure to appear in court on a charge of having an open container of liquor in a vehicle and released him to Barberton police.

NORTON: Suspects kicked in the door of a garage on Holiday Drive the night of Feb. 26. Nothing was reported missing.

Police are seeking suspects who entered a vehicle in a Greenwich Road parking lot Feb. 28 and stole a purse containing prescription medication, a child support money card and bank statements.

On Feb. 28, police went to a Norton Avenue trailer park to check on the welfare of a resident after receiving a report that her boyfriend threatened to kill her and burn down her trailer. The suspect denied making threats and agreed to go to another residence for the night. The victim was given instructions regarding eviction of the suspect. The following day, the victim obtained a protection order against the suspect, but he was not home when police went to his residence to serve him the order, and the victim reported he was calling her to retrieve his belongings. Police advised him of the protection order and told him not to contact the victim.

A Durham Road man reported March 2 suspects scattered roofing nails on his driveway and the front porch of his residence. Police are investigating.

Around 3 a.m. March 3, police stopped an erratic driver on state Route 21. He failed a field sobriety test and was charged with DUI and possession of marijuana and two drug pipes.

Police stopped an erratic driver on Greenwich Road March 5. She appeared to be under the influence of narcotics. She failed a field sobriety test and was charged with DUI and released to Wayne County deputies on a warrant.

Officers patrolling Interstate 76 March 6 stopped an erratic driver. He became uncooperative and combative with officers, provided false identification and refused to take field sobriety tests. He was arrested for obstructing official business and taken to the Summit County Jail.

Police are seeking suspects who stole a hot water heater and copper pipes from a vacant residence in a Norton Avenue trailer park between March 1 and 7.

PENINSULA: Snowboards were reportedly stolen at Boston Mills Ski Resort on the following dates in February: two incidents Feb. 1; one incident Feb. 8; two incidents Feb. 12; and one incident Feb. 15.

A teacher at Woodridge Intermediate School reported Feb. 8 that a student bit her in a timeout room.

An officer observed a vehicle operating at a high rate of speed Feb. 11. A radar unit clocked the vehicle’s speed at 68 mph in a 25 mph zone. The officer activated his overhead emergency lights and siren, but the vehicle did not pull over. The officer followed the vehicle during a series of turns and U-turns until the vehicle finally halted near the intersection of Deer Run and Snowville roads when confronted by police units from Boston Heights, Richfield and Brecksville. The driver of the vehicle reportedly assaulted the police officer while seated in the back of the squad car. The officer was allegedly kicked in the chest while trying to remove the driver’s hat. The driver was arrested for OVI, failure to comply and assault on a police officer. The suspect was taken to the Richfield police station, where he refused to take a blood alcohol test. The suspect then was taken to the Peninsula police station, where he reportedly assaulted the officer again while his handcuffs were being removed. Following the booking process, the suspect was conveyed to the Summit County Jail to await arraignment in Stow Municipal Court.

On Feb. 11, a man reported to police he had received a harassing phone call. The man said he had received a message on his answering machine and he was afraid the caller would go to his house when he wasn’t home. The person on the message identified himself as Tony Washington from “Winner International Lottery Department” and said he was calling because the homeowner had won $3.5 million and a 2010 Mercedes that the caller said he would drop off in the morning. The officer called the number that was left behind and identified himself as a police officer. The person who answered the call immediately hung up the phone. A police report was taken and other officers were made aware of the incident.

A police officer was dispatched to a property on Riverview Road Feb. 12 where there was a person on hand who was having difficulty breathing. The officer stayed with the victim until Valley Fire District paramedics arrived.

A vehicle was observed Feb. 13 on Interstate 271 with no visible license plate. A traffic stop was attempted by an officer, but the vehicle fled the scene. The driver was taken into custody when his car got stuck in a snow bank.

An officer conducted a traffic stop Feb. 19 for failure to dim headlights to oncoming traffic at the intersection of Akron-Peninsula Road and state Route 303. The officer said the car contained two males and two females younger than 21. The officer reported both males had “red watery eyes giving me the suspicion they were under the influence of alcohol or a drug.” The officer was given permission to search the vehicle, but did not find anything suspicious. The driver was given a warning for failure to dim her headlights.

On Feb. 22, police were advised that a “disgruntled” former employee might be on the property of a business on North Locust Street. The patrolling officer could not locate the ex-employee.

During a traffic stop Feb. 24, an officer was told by the driver of a vehicle that the driver did not have a valid driver’s license. The officer also noticed an open container of vodka on the back seat. The driver was placed in the back of the patrol car while the vehicle was searched. The vehicle’s license plate was registered to another vehicle and there were no registration papers in the vehicle. The vehicle was impounded and the driver was issued citations for speeding, driving under suspension, open container and fictitious plates.

RICHFIELD: A North Revere Road woman reported Feb. 19 that prescription medication was stolen from her purse while she was at a Brimfield location.

On Feb. 21, police responded to a disabled vehicle on Interstate 77 and found a man asleep behind the steering wheel. Officers woke him, and he admitted drinking three or four beers. He failed a field sobriety test and was charged with DUI and released on bond. His BAC tested .147.

A Boston Mills Road man reported Feb. 21 his credit card was used to make unauthorized purchases, totaling more than $1,000, in Kansas.

A Streetsboro Road man called police to his residence Feb. 23, when police arrived to find his wife outside the home. She stated her husband physically threw her out of the house. Officers observed several broken items in the home and spoke to the man, who admitted pushing his wife out of the house. The female requested the male be prosecuted, and police arrested him for domestic violence and took him to the Summit County Jail.

Employees of an insurance business on Interstate Drive reported Feb. 24 a client in North Carolina is upset regarding the service he is receiving from the business, and his medical records indicate he is having homicidal thoughts. They fear he will come to Ohio and harm them. Police determined the client is hospitalized in a secure facility and asked to be kept informed of his whereabouts.

The Akron police reports were compiled by Stephanie Kist, and the Peninsula reports were compiled by Sean Patrick. The remainder were compiled by Maggie DeMellier.

Editor’s note: The police reports provided here are a sampling of those filed with each community’s police departments. For questions related to the reports we’ve included or others we have not, call the West Side Leader at 330-665-9595. To provide information on an alleged criminal act noted in this week’s report, call the local police department.

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