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.
April 15 | SHOPLIFTING
Police were unable to find the getaway car of a pair of suspected shoplifters who had allegedly made off with more than $150 in various “Magic: The Gathering” merchandise from WalMart.
April 16 | CRIMINAL DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, SIMPLE ASSAULT
A woman told police that her former boyfriend had slapped her in her face while she was picking up their child from his mother’s Trailmore Drive trailer. The woman told police that when the mother attempted to take the child from her, she told her ex-boyfriend that DSS had informed her that his mother wasn’t fit to take their child. The woman said he then open-hand slapped her across the side of her face, saying, “do not talk to my mother like that.” The woman said she would call a domestic violence hotline later “once she got her sugar levels under control.”
April 16 | THEFT FROM A MOTOR VEHICLE
A woman told police that when she returned the next morning to pick up her car where she parked behind several Avondale bars the night before, she discovered that her purse was missing. She said that inside the purse had been her prescription pills for depression, anxiety, and birth control, as well as cash, and identification and credit cards.
April 16 | WEAPONS LAW VIOLATION
Police responded to shots being fired at a Bolton Road address. Upon arrival, officers initially heard a single shot ring out from what sounded like a small-caliber handgun. Officers in the rear of the residence were able to remove two people from the residence, and soon found another man on the ground in the carport. The man told police that he was the last one in the house, except for the offender firing the gun inside. Soon, as many as six shots rang out from inside the residence, and a man then began pushing out the window screen, flinging his body on the ground outside the residence in some bushes. Police instructed the man to come out of the bushes, and when refused, they threatened to send in a K-9 unit. At which point, the man got up with his hands raised and empty of weapons, stumbled through the yard, and then laid down between two cars, whereupon he was arrested. Police reported that the man was intoxicated and witnesses said he had taken Ecstasy. Once the man was taken to the hospital, officers searched the house, finding a handgun, bullet holes in the floor, and a bevy of shell casings.
April 17 | ALL OTHER LARCENY
A Yew Street daycare center reported numerous outdoor toys were missing from its yard. A daycare employee said she had seen several kids playing with similar items in the street. After police contacted the parents of the kids, many of the items were quickly returned. One of the parents told the employee he will retrieve the rest of the items missing, or reimburse the center for them.
April 17 | MOTOR VEHICLE THEFT
A Sylvan Shores Drive woman returned home to find that her son’s powerful motorcycle had been stolen. The motorcycle was recovered in front of a nearby neighbor’s front yard, with a screwdriver jammed into its ignition system.
April 17 | HIT AND RUN COLLISION
A man riding his bicycle along Sam Rittenberg Boulevard reported to police that he’d been struck by a truck towing a large white motorboat. The man told police the truck hit his handlebar, sending him into the grass on the right side of the roadway, twisting his knee.
April 17 | CRIMINAL DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
A woman told police that she was assaulted by her estranged husband while meeting with him at an Ashley River Road business with their two children. The woman claimed the man was mentally ill and not taking his medication, She said that when the two began arguing, she tried to drive away, but was thwarted when her husband reached into her car and took her keys. She added that when she exited the car, she claimed he then rubbed ice cream on her shoulders before driving away in his own car.
