The following were taken from actual incident reports filed last week by the City of Charleston Police Department. These are not convictions and the names of businesses, complainants, and suspects have been left out to protect the innocent. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty … of course.
May 1
SHOPLIFTING
An apparent shoplifter was foiled in his attempt to make off with more than $1,400 in merchandise from a Sam Rittenberg Boulevard grocery. A loss prevention officer at the store told police that he had seen the man stuffing items into bags in the aisles and then walk out the front door. When they stopped the man, he pushed the cart back inside the store and said he had left his wallet in the car. Once outside, the man jumped into an SUV and sped off.
May 1
GENERAL INFORMATION
Police responded to reports of a West Ashley school on lockdown after a young boy was spotted riding a bicycle while wearing a mask and brandishing a weapon outside of the school’s playground. The boy was soon located in a nearby apartment complex, and it was discovered the gun was a toy and that the boy had ridden to the school to show his sister there his new toys.
May 1
BURGLARY, BREAKING AND ENTERING
Police arrested a man with bloody hands and a stolen check at a West Ashley church the man had allegedly just broke into. County sheriff’s deputies were the first on the scene and found a broken window with blood on the sill. The offender admitted to police that he had on several occasions broke into the church, and then apologized to an employee of the church on hand, saying he wanted to pay for all damages. The man said he had stolen the church’s video camera because he wanted to make music videos. Officers entered a host of items into evidence, including a $1,500 laptop computer, a $300 cellphone, an electronic scale, and a tripod, among others items.
May 1
INTIMIDATION
An Ashley River Road woman told police that she awoke in the early hours of the night to find her upstairs neighbor standing over her in her bed, saying he was going to take her dog. The neighbor had been asked earlier to stop coming into her apartment and playing with her dog uninvited. The upstairs neighbor told police he believes the woman is intentionally harming the dog, and was worried for its well-being.
May 3
FAMILY OFFENSES
Police entered an Haddon Hall apartment and found two young children left alone with no adult supervision. Earlier they had knocked at the door, and upon hearing a small child’s voice ask, “Daddy?” decided to enter. The mother soon drove up and said she had left her children with food and locked the door while she attended to an errand. The family has a history with DSS, and state official said they would follow up.
May 4
IMPERSONATION
A S. Shore Drive man told police that his bank had informed him that someone had taken $3,000 out of his bank account and transferred it out with the use of Venmo, a cellphone app for moving money. Venmo wouldn’t release the name of who the money was sent to. The man remembered the same thing happened to him last year and that the man responsible had just been released from prison and still had to repay him $2,800 in restitution.
May 4
ASSISTING OTHER AGENCIES
Police responded to a report of a woman sleeping on a sidewalk in front of a motel room on Savannah Highway. When police arrived, they found the woman on the ground, with her head “bobbing” and eyes closed. Once awake, the woman told police she and her boyfriend were visiting friends in one of the rooms. While doing a records check on the woman, police discovered she had an outstanding warrant in a nearby town, and turned her over to one of their officers.
May 4
SEX OFFENSE, FORCIBLE SODOMY
Officers responded to a Magwood Drive fast food restaurant in reference to a sexual assault that allegedly took place in the rear lot of a nearby hospital.
