MAYFIELD HEIGHTS, Ohio
Theft: SOM Center Road
Target loss prevention reported Jan. 14 that a man had stolen a pair of ear pods valued at $70.
Responding officers found the suspect inside the neighboring Marc’s with the ear pods in his ears.
He was also in possession of drug paraphernalia and suspected narcotics. He refused to identify himself.
Although he appeared to be fine, the Eastlake man, 34, claimed that he was having difficulty breathing. He was taken to Hillcrest Hospital.
A short time later, he left the hospital with an IV in his arm, but officers found him in the parking lot and arrested him on charges of theft, failure to identify and possession of drug paraphernalia.
His insistence to be taken to a hospital to avoid arrest led to an additional charge of obstructing official business.
Officers believed he lied because he had several active warrants.
Assault: Mayfield Road
A man, 76, was charged with assault Jan. 8 after he slapped a woman in the face in the cafeteria at the Villa Serena apartments.
He and the victim told the same story, in which the man’s coffee mug fell to the floor and the woman kicked it.
Theft: Mayfield Road
A Villa Serena resident said Jan. 8 that he suspected a home assistant had fraudulently used his debit card to withdraw $407 from an ATM at the BP 7-Eleven in the city.
Officers spoke to the suspect, a 24-year-old Cleveland woman, who said the man had given her permission to take money from his account.
The man insisted that he had not.
The woman was arrested Jan. 12 while working her other job at the Burger King in the city.
Impaired driving: SOM Center Road
A Maple Heights woman, 29, was arrested for OVI after she was found slumped over at the wheel of her vehicle at the Mayfield Road intersection around 5:15 a.m. Jan. 10.
Officers had to reach into the vehicle to get the car out of gear because they were unable to wake her and did not want the car to strike other vehicles.
Menacing: Mayfield Road
A Willoughby man, 25, was charged with menacing due to threats he made during a custody exchange in the police station parking lot Jan. 11.
He had brought his daughter to her mother, who was there with her wife. He threatened that woman after she involved herself in a parenting schedule discussion.
Assault: Marsol Road
A woman said Jan. 14 that the father of her child had pushed her and slapped her twice during a custody exchange in the parking lot of the Drake apartments.
The woman’s boyfriend said he was present and that the man also threw him to the ground and punched him.
Only the man showed signs of being assaulted, which led to a warrant being issued for the arrest of the 24-year-old Wickliffe father.
Forgery: Landerhaven Court
A woman came to the police station Jan. 9 to report that somebody had intercepted a check she had mailed and used it to forge a fraudulent check.
The check had been for $2,400, but was changed to $12,400 and addressed to an unknown person.
The incident is under investigation.
Fraud: Genesee Avenue
A woman reported Jan. 9 that she was scammed out of money when trying to work as a secret shopper.
She said she found the job posted on the Indeed website and was sent a check for $1,561.
She used the funds as instructed to purchase $1,500 worth of gift cards. She sent photos of the redemption codes to a specified email address.
Her bank later advised her that the check was fraudulent after learning that the supposed employer had canceled it.
Sex offense: Golden Gate Plaza
A woman said Jan. 9 that she was inappropriately touched by a customer while working at Half Price Books earlier in the week.
She said the unknown man first grazed her buttocks with a hand when he walked past her.
She thought it may have been accidental, but said that he then used the palm of a hand to touch her buttocks when she was in a different section of the store.
She said she immediately yelled at him to leave the store and he did.
Officers confirmed the woman’s story through surveillance video and are trying to identify the suspect.
Theft: SOM Center Road
A woman said Jan. 10 that another woman, who had been subleasing salon space from her in the MaySom building, threw trash throughout the building and stole a mirror after she was evicted for smoking.
She did not have proof that the mirror and some decorative rugs had been taken by the woman, 18, but she said the woman was moving out when she last saw the items.
Officers advised her that it was a civil matter, but said they would have the prosecutor review the incident.
The woman said she planned to keep a $150 security deposit that had been paid.
Fraud: Ridgebury Boulevard
A woman, 76, reported Jan. 12 that she was scammed out of approximately $10,000 after she was led to believe that she won a car.
She said the incident started when she received a text message from somebody claiming to be with FedEx. She continued to communicate with the scammer through a messaging app.
Police are investigating.
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