Obsessed: A person called a local man’s cell phone 7,620 times. If that was not enough, the offender also e-mailed at least 3,000 Instant Messages to the man. Although the calls and messages were non-threatening, they were interfering with his business and daily living. The man said that he had changed his telephone number twice, but the offender always managed to get the new unlisted number. He blocked the Instant Messages at work, but the offender now uses a different name. The man stated that he did not want the offender to contact him for any reason.
Welcome: Even though the gates around her community were locked, a local woman’s doormat was stolen from in front of her home. There were no witnesses to the theft.
Disconnected: Failing to get a dial tone, a Charlotte woman went outside of her home to check the telephone lines. She then realized that someone had ripped the telephone lines out of the phone jack beside her house.
Now Will You Turn It Down?: After having fecal material smeared under the front door handle of his vehicle, a local man called police. He stated that he did not know who did it but he thought that it was someone who had a problem with him playing his music too loud and loudly revving his car engine.
One Woman’s Trash Is Another Woman’s Problem: A local woman called police after noticing that someone had illegally dumped trash onto her property.
It Ain’t Heavy…: An unknown person stole a weight set that was off to the side of a Charlotte man’s home. The set contained one bar, two 45-lb. weights and two 25-lb. weights. The man stated that the items were not secured.
In The Dark: Trying to get out of the store without paying, a man was stopped before he could make his escape. His loot of choice was a pack of light bulbs.
Bus Fare: A Charlotte woman was held at gunpoint and robbed of a mere five dollars. The unknown assailants got away on foot.
Ribbit: Without her knowledge or consent, a local woman had her cement frog planter stolen. Someone just walked right up to the steps of her townhouse and removed the frog. The woman reported that no other items were missing.
Claustrophobia: When a local police officer came to a traffic stop, the “passenger” sitting in the back seat kicked out the rear window of his patrol vehicle. The kicker was charged accordingly.
Fan Or Foe?: While at work, a woman received disturbing letters and notes that said she used to be a dancer at a strip club. She claims to know who sent the letters because similar messages were sent to her e-mail. She blocked the address of the sender of the e-mails, but the notes continued to show up. In addition to being sent to her personally, notes were also posted on doors and copies were sent to her boss and coworkers. The notes also inquired if it was possible for her to perform in the breakroom.
Silence Is Golden: A local man repeatedly hit a member of his family on the leg when she refused to turn off her Walkman and go to bed.
Dog-gone: A Charlotte woman put her dog out on her back porch and then went back inside. By the time she returned, her dog had been stolen from the porch by unknown persons.
No Swimming: A man reported that when he went to go check on his unfinished swimming pool, he saw two men pushing a wheelbarrow into it. The wheelbarrow caused $500 worth of damage.
Blotter items are chosen from the files of the Charlotte Police Department.
This article appears in Feb 26 – Mar 4, 2003.
