Road Road on I90, Bad Money, Don't Shoot the Arborist!: Westlake Police Blotter

Tire thief: Used tires storage enclosures were broken into at two auto repair shops on the night of Sept. 1. An employee of the first one (on Detroit Rd.) does not think any old casings were taken, although the gate was damaged. A minimum of 5 old tires were taken from the second shop (on Dover Center Rd.) after the gate was forced open.

Watch your meds: Rx medication disappeared from a Hedgewood Dr. home on Sept. 2; the homeowners suspects two employees of a plumbing company who were in the home earlier that date. One employee has denied involvement; the other did not return the investigating officer’s phone calls.

Family solicitors: A 23-year-old NY woman and her 1-year-old child were soliciting money from drivers passing on Detroit Rd. on Sept. 3. Her 23-year-old husband showed up shortly after officers arrived. $1,277 cash and a credit card belonging to a CA man (which was still attached to the mailer from the issuing bank) were recovered from his minivan. He was arrested for Receiving Stolen Property.

Bad money: A counterfeit $20 bill was passed on Sept. 3 at a Columbia Rd. restaurant. A white male in his 30s driving a black Honda 4door and accompanied by a small brown dog claimed that it was just old, not counterfeit. He left before police arrived.

Road road on I90: A 32-year-old Huron man displayed a .45cal semi-automatic handgun to another driver while both were westbound on I90 on Sept. 4. He was stopped in Avon by Westlake and Avon PD officers and arrested for Improper Handling of a Firearm. The incident stemmed from road rage involving the driver of one car (suspect was a passenger in it) and the complainant (48-year-old CT woman) in another vehicle.

The car was fine when it broke down: A Cleveland man’s 1997 Chevrolet Camaro broke down on I90 on Sept. 2. An officer noted that it was intact at 2AM on Sept. 4 when he put a 72hr tow notice on it. At 8PM that day, another officer noticed that the passenger front window had been broken and that the in-dash am/fm/cd ($125 value) had been stolen. The owner was contacted and stated that some fishing gear was also missing.

But I never even went to WalMart! On Sept. 5, a Tricia Dr. man reported that his credit card account had been used in IA and IN to make 5 illicit purchases totaling $3300. All were made at Wal Mart stores. He had the card in his possession at the time.

An alcohol-fueled breakup squabble led to the arrest of a 33-year-old Westlake man for DCI and his 27-year-old female former love interest for OVI on Sept. 6. They were arguing in a Detroit Rd. parking lot when an officer pulled up. The female drove alongside the male after he got out of her 2013 Ford Fusion. Both had been drinking.

Junkie attack? 3 men (from Westlake, Lorain, and Elyria) were spotted running through yards on Sept. 6 by a Laura Ln. resident after her dog started barking. They were corralled on Westwood Rd. and found to be carrying knives in excess of the permitted length, in case of attack by “junkies”. The Elyria man also had a pellet gun. It was eventually determined that two of the three had been checking for unlocked cars in the area. All were charged with Carrying Various Weapons and Trespass.

Don't shoot the arborist! A neighbor dispute over tree trimming may include threats by a 72yoa Hilliard Blvd. man to “shoot” the arborists employed by his 59-year-old female neighbor. The male acknowledges using the word “shoot”, but only in reference to using his cell phone camera to record any arboreal misconduct. Prosecutor to rule.

Junkie attackers try to force open a window: A Laura Ln. resident found that a window on his home had been forced on Sept. 6. Tool marks left on the frame were tied to a knife seized from one of the trio of 19-year-old men described in an earlier item. The residents had heard a racket around 4AM, when the three were running through yards nearby. All three were rearrested, this time for Agg. Burglary.

Taken right out of the yard: A Dover Center Rd. man is missing 2 bikes and a power washer. They were taken sometime Sept. 3-8. One bike is a maroon Next 28 inch Mountain Bike; the other is a silver Next 28 inch Mountain Bike. The bicycles were $180.00 each; the power washer cost $120.00. All were taken from his yard.

Lock your doors! An unlocked pedestrian garage door and keys left in a 2014 Cadillac SRX resulted in an aggravated burglary at a Farrs Garden Path home during the night of Sept. 7. The resident found that the car had been stolen (hitting a brick wall as it was driven down the driveway); credit cards that were also left in the car were used thrice at gas stations and a fast food joint in Cleveland. The car was located in Cleveland by WPD via the vehicle tracking system. A car stolen from Lakewood was also found nearby; LPD impounded that one.

Again, Lock your doors! That same night, several likely related incidents took place. A Glock 9mm handgun and house keys were stolen from a 2009 GMC truck parked at the owner’s Sunset Dr. home. The owner was sure he locked it and set the alarm. An unlocked 2006 Honda Acura was rummaged through on Farrs Garden Path; nothing was taken. A 2001 Honda Acura had the driver’s window broken at the owner’s Schwartz Rd. home; nothing taken. 4 unlocked vehicles were rifled at a Bassett Rd., with a set of keys and $2 cash taken. On Holdens Arbor Run, a GPS and loose change were taken from an unlocked 2010 Cadillac SRX.

The building jumped in front of my car: A 51-year-old Avon man crashed his 2014 Ford Escape into a Clemens Rd. building on Sept.8. He was arrested for OVI and was transported to St. John Medical Center for non-life-threatening injuries.

Assault with a wrench: A 20-year-old North Olmsted man hit his 29-year-old brother-in-law (from Westlake) with a wrench on Sept. 9 in the parking lot of the Porter Library. They had argued over the North Olmsted man’s marriage to and treatment of the Westlake man’s 23yoa sister. The younger man was arrested for Felonious Assault; the older man did not require medical treatment.

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