Police Blotter: Multiple Home, Garden Thefts Reported

Home, School Break-Ins

Four break-ins were reported in the past week in Dearborn–three at residences and one at the school.

An administrator of Dearborn Academy reported to Dearborn police that there appeared to be foul play after hours at the school between 4:45 p.m. May 19 and 6:30 a.m. May 20.

Though there were no signs of forced entry and both doors were locked with alarms set, two school-issued laptops had been taken from classrooms and placed in a backpack, and then were moved to a chair in another classroom. One of the teachers in the disrupted classrooms said she noticed that four water bottles, two whistles and one 24-count box of crayons had been taken, along with her school-issued laptop.

Tapes from surveillance cameras in the hallway of the school still needed to be reviewed.

Another break-in was reported by a homeowner on the 19100 block of Snow, who said her garage had been forced open between 3:30-11 a.m. May 22 while she was at work. Stolen items include two lawn mowers, one snowblower, one weed whacker, one edger, one chainsaw, one heater and two tires and rims.

Neighbors and her son, who was home at the time, did not report hearing or seeing any suspects, but the resident said a particular neighbor may have been to blame.

Another garage break-in was reported on the 7400 block of Mead as happening between 12:15-8:50 a.m. May 24.

The owner of the home said he heard a loud noise coming from his unattached garage around 5 a.m. He looked out his window and saw a light on, but did not go out to check.

At 8:50 a.m., he went out and saw that the garage door was open. The only thing that appeared to be missing was a 42-inch flat-screen TV.

A fourth break-in was reported on May 24 by residents of a home on the 6200 block of Yinger.

A young woman said that her mother had placed $950 cash underneath a mattress in a bedroom the night before for the landlord to pick up. But when the mother arrived home at 3 p.m. May 24, the money was gone.

A check of the alarm system showed that someone had come in at 9:43 a.m., and it appeared to be someone who knew the entry code to deactivate the alarm, which the young woman said had been set when she left the house that morning.

The landlord reported that he did not receive the money, nor did he stop by the house.

Dog Bites Dog

A resident of the 17700 block of Oakwood Boulevard told police she was walking her Labradoodle, Dexter, near the 3400 block of Willow when he was attacked by another dog.

According to the report, the suspect dog, a chow/shepherd mix named Misty, ran out of the backyard through an open gate and bit Dexter once on each hip. Misty’s owner then came out of the house and brought his dog in, but did not apologize or offer explanation.

Police spoke to Misty’s owner, who said he had contractors working on the pool in his backyard and one of them may have left the gate open. Misty did bark at the visiting officer, but did not appear to be vicious. The case was forwarded to animal control.

Barrage of Outdoor Thefts

Four instances of thefts from the outside of people’s homes were reported within the past two weeks, with items stolen including bicycles, garden ornaments and plants.

A resident of the 5000 block of Orchard reported that five flowerpots were stolen from her front yard between 9 p.m. May 19 and 8 a.m. May 20.

Then, a resident of the 22100 block of West Village Drive reported that two fern plants were stolen from in front of her home between 9 p.m. May 20 and 7:30 a.m. May 21. The woman believes the theft may have been committed by people leaving the downtown bars.

That same night, between 8:30 p.m. May 20 and 1 p.m. May 21, a resident of the 19000 block of Carlysle reported that a 2.5-foot concrete statue of an angel had been taken from her porch. The woman believed that the theft would have taken at least two people, due to the weight of the statue.

Two bikes were reported as stolen from the 6400 block of Oakman. The resident said the bikes were stolen from his backyard between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. May 21, although he didn’t know who would have taken them.