Police Beat

A local business received an email from a known vendor requesting an ACH payment along with instructions. Four days after the payment was made, a Bank of America fraud team member called to report a possible fraud. Instructions were given on how to file a claim to recover the fund’s original payment of $272,404. Bank of America was able to recover $148,019.

An officer was leaving the police station parking lot. He took his eyes off the road “for a moment.” In that moment, he drove off the pavement and hit a lamppost causing damage to the cruiser.

A woman in Tennessee called to report her 15-year-old daughter had locked herself in the bathroom at a local truck stop. The girl had called her mother to report her stepfather had sexually assaulted her the night before while he was intoxicated. Officers took the girls statement and removed her to the safety of a patrol car. The stepfather was located and confessed to the sexual assault. The girl was taken to Children’s Hospital for examination. The mother was on her way from Tennessee. The stepfather was arrested, charged and his rig towed.   

At 2 p.m., an officer responded to the report of a Ford Focus parked in the passing lane on 77SB in a construction zone. The officer encountered three females and two males, apparently highly intoxicated, standing around the vehicle. To questions such as, “Whose car is this?” and “Why are you stopped in the roadway?” responses included confused looks, shrugs and garbled remarks that didn’t match the queries. Identifying the players proved challenging since no one had I.D. or a drivers license. One of the women was finally able to articulate that the group had been celebrating her upcoming birthday. No one could locate the car keys until the driver was identified and an officer suggested the keys might be attached to the lanyard hanging out of his coat pocket.  After the driver’s farcical attempt at a field sobriety test failed, he was arrested and Mirandized. He demonstrated a comical inability to provide a breath test, but was evidently able to pee in a cup. One woman was arrested on an outstanding warrant and the remaining three were taken back to the rest area to await transportation.

On Wheatley Road, a deer t-boned a vehicle damaging the driver’s door and mirror. The deer vacated the scene before officers arrived. Time 5:43 a.m.

A woman was stopped from accessing 77NB using the SB exit ramp. She had patronized a local drinking establishment for the prior six hours. She opted to take the walk-and-turn test in her bare feet, which did not help. The one-leg-stand test was aborted when she almost fell over. Refusing to provide a BAC sample, her license was suspended. 

The manager at a local truck stop stated that when she terminated an employee, he began stomping around the store, yelling in a threatening manner, before storming out. Officers located him at his residence at the motel next door. When confronted by officers, the man became aggressive and refused to talk. He was informed that if he returned to the truck stop he could face arrest at which point he slammed the door on the officers. 

A resident, checking her bank account online, discovered someone had cashed a $5,000 check using mobile banking. The actual check, with the same number as the counterfeit, was still in her checkbook. She is trying to sort things out with her bank.

At a vacant lot on the southeast corner of Farnham and Brecksville roads, a white pick-up became stuck while turfing the lot. The driver was able to extricate the truck just before the property owner arrived. A flock camera identified the vehicle as belonging to a transport company out of North Royalton. The business was called and told to expect a call from the property owner. 

On Black Road, an elderly man who lived alone had not been heard from in over a week. A friend called police for a welfare check. Officers gained access to the man’s home and discovered multiple bottles of urine throughout the house with a narrow path between them. The man’s body was located in the basement. Foul play was not suspected. 

A man was making a delivery to a local brewery. He parked his truck in the east driveway and extended the loading ramp across the adjoining lane. A local resident exited his vehicle and shoved the ramp back into the truck while yelling at the driver. This initiated an exchange of angry words culminating with the driver shoving the resident.  Icy conditions put the man on his butt from where he dialed 9-1-1. While being checked by EMTs, the resident stated that he didn’t remember what caused the driver to shove him. He declined to press charges. 

Meanwhile, back at the motel:

A manager reported a 12-year-old boy wandering around in the parking lot. When officers made contact, he was emotional and distraught. He told officers he did not want his mother to hit him for not cleaning his room at the motel across the street. He said he ran away when his mother left to take his siblings to daycare. An officer took him back to his room, which was unoccupied, and suggested if he started cleaning, his mother might not be angry. He was advised that if he didn’t feel safe to call the police, and they would take care of the concern at hand. At the indoor pool, a woman started an argument with other guests. Her husband tried to pull her away, which resulted in the couple having their own argument. Fearing for the welfare of the couple’s child, management contacted the police. The family was located in their room and the adults were questioned separately. They both denied physical contact and the child appeared to be in good health.