The Blotter: Dinner Party 

Personal Chef An employee of a property management company was surprised to find a dinner party in full swing when he went to check out one of his employer's properties in east Charlotte last week — mainly because there weren't supposed to be any tenants there. The employee told police that he walked into the apartment on Eastway Drive and saw multiple people inside cooking food. The suspects had been squatting in the apartment after having entered through an unlocked window. They fled the property when they saw the employee, leaving him there alone to enjoy a home-cooked meal.

Judgement Day Police responded to a Walmart on Wilkinson Boulevard in west Charlotte last week after two heathen fraudsters pulled a scam that they will surely have to answer for in the afterlife. The report isn't entirely clear on how the suspects pulled off the scheme, but police wrote that over a two hour period, the two suspects "pretended to give the victim money for church donations and instead, the stole the victim's money and provided her with [a] roll of decoy money." In the end, $3,000 worth of church donations were missing.

Get the Dough A thief that struck at a sandwich shop in north Charlotte last week had more of a sweet tooth than an itchy palm, apparently. According to the responding officers' report, a suspect threw a brick through the window of a Subway on Sunset Road at some point overnight, but didn't go after the cash register. Instead, the thief went for the cookies, making off with $8 worth of snacks in the heist.

Gifted A Lancaster, South Carolina, woman was willing to do anything it took to get back to her apps last week when her phone froze up and her password was lost. The woman later told police in Charlotte that she was attempting to have the password reset on her Apple iPhone, so she called someone she thought could help and was told she would have to buy $500 worth of Apple gift cards to get a new password. She did so at a Family Dollar in east Charlotte, then called in the numbers to the suspect. She later told officers she realized she was scammed when the suspects failed to give her a password.

Ungifted Another woman was thankfully stopped by a knowing cashier when someone tried to pull a similar scam on her in Uptown last week. The woman told police someone emailed her claiming to be the CEO of Caesarstone, a countertop company in Charlotte, saying he needed her to buy iTunes gift cards for their clients. When she went to a local Target and attempted to buy the cards, a helpful cashier told her there had been many scams involving similar emails, so the customer called Caesarstone and was told the CEO would not have made any such requests of anyone.

Keep Walking A man was arrested for shoplifting last week after he broke the golden rule of criminal activity: Never return to the scene of the crime. Police responded to a Circle K convenience store in the Fourth Ward after a man allegedly picked up a pre-made sandwich and left the store with it. While police were talking to employees, the same suspect walked right back into the store as if nothing were wrong, apparently looking for something to wash the sandwich down.

Rude Awakening A 20-year-old man's relaxing situation quickly turned quite the opposite in west Charlotte last week. The man told police he was simply sitting in his home at 8:30 a.m. when a suspect "entered into the residence and proceeded to spray a chemical agent in his face." That's a quick way to ruin breakfast.

Refuel Police responded to a Speedway convenience store on North Tryon Street last week after someone hauled off a display rack during one of the busiest times of day. According to the report, a suspect walked in at 6 p.m. and snatched up a rack holding 150 lighters and 12 5-hour Energy shots then ran out the door. And he probably didn't stop running again for another 60 hours.

Need a Lift A 20-year-old man called police after his kindness was taken for weakness on the side of the freeway in northeast Charlotte last week. The victim told police he was driving on the outer loop of I-485 near University City when he saw a man walking down the side of the interstate. The victim pulled over and asked the man if he needed any assistance, at which the walking man pulled out a gun and said no, but he could certainly use a car. The suspect drove off with the victim's Honda Accord, and just like that, they switched roles. The victim walked to a nearby QT gas station and called police.

Dogtags A 70-year-old man was upset to only find the remnants of a bag he believes was stolen at Charlotte Douglas International Airport last week. The man reported that he was standing at the luggage carousel awaiting his bags so he could return to his west Charlotte home, but realized the odds were against him when the handle for his suitcase came around the carousel, followed later by the bag tag. Perhaps if he stands there long enough he'll end up being able to put the whole suitcase back together.

All stories are pulled from police reports at CMPD headquarters. Suspects are innocent until proven guilty.