What were you thinking?: A man told police that his car was stolen from his home and that there were valuable items in the car, namely his computer and stereo. The car was later found with no signs of forced entry, but all of the valuables were gone. Luckily, the man was able to drive the car home since the keys were in the middle console exactly where he had left them.
Where are your manners?: After a glass break alarm went out, an officer was sent to the scene to find that there was indeed damaged property. The report emphasized that the suspects did not have permission to damage the listed property.
All In The Family: At a family gathering, family member #1 hit family member #2, at which point family member #3 jumped in to stop #1 from hitting #2 again. Then #1 jumped all over #3, who defended himself, thus prolonging the fun.
Selective Thievery: A woman came back to her home only to find that someone had stolen two rings that had been stored in her jewelry box. No other items appeared to be missing from the home.
The Bulldozer Approach: A restless woman reported that she received 46 phone calls from someone who told her they were going to kill her and she’d be in a casket by the end of the week. The caller also told her that they didn’t know her specific address, so they were going to blow up her apartment complex.
Strike three, you’re out: A man told police that while he was out, someone tried to enter his home by breaking several windows. The would-be burglars first tried to gain access by breaking the window on the front door. When they couldn’t get in that way, they tried to get in through the window at the back of the house. Last, they tried to take the screen off a window, and they couldn’t even do that.
You can’t have it: A man who worked for a vehicle repossession company told another man that he was going to come over to try to locate his truck. When Repo Man arrived at the man’s residence, he was greeted by the man, who was pointing a large-caliber revolver at him. The man told Repo Man that he wasn’t pointing the gun at him, but he also wasn’t going to let him take his truck. The man then informed Repo Man that the truck would be available tomorrow and to come back then.
Somebody’s been sleeping in my bed: A woman contacted authorities after she came home and found a man she did not know sleeping in her apartment. The police came to her home and removed the man.
Follow That Car: A man was sitting and waiting for traffic to go by so he could make a right turn when a man in another car collided with him and drove off. The man went after the hit-and-runner, only to have the speed demon double back and pull up beside the man and tell him not to follow him or he’d kill him.
Company Write-Off: Two trucks were robbed while parked over the weekend in a company parking lot. The thieves broke into the trucks and took eight tires and wheels and two handtrucks. One handtruck was “standard” and the other was battery-operated. We just thought you’d want to know.
Window Shopping: A man entered a convenience store, removed four six-packs of beer from a display, and then left the store without paying.
Blotter items are chosen from the files of the Charlotte Police Department.
This article appears in Jul 30 – Aug 5, 2003.