Excerpts from police calls are a regular feature in all nine Bee Group Newspapers. Some of the more unusual reports from 2002 are reprinted here. Each is an actual listing from a town police blotter.
Illustrations by Robert Malloy

• Employees at the Petco Store on Orchard Park Road apprehended an individual who was stealing leather dog collars, chain leashes and a prong collar.

• A male wearing a dark shirt and light-colored pants was seen running from an apartment complex on Autumn Creek Lane.

• A speeding driver ran over a cellular phone at Transit and Greiner.

• A resident of Wellingwood Drive reported that his mailbox in the shape of a cow was stolen.

• Youths burned a bonfire behind a Transit Road grocery store.

• A loud outdoor party was reported on Rambling Road.

• Someone intentionally drove over freshly painted lines on Sheldon Street in Lancaster. He was later charged with harassment for swearing at construction workers.

• A Little Tikes Castle was stolen on Olmstead Avenue, Depew.

• A driver was charged with DWI after speeding on Transit Road in Lancaster, losing control of the vehicle and striking a boxed berm and several cars.

• Flying and squatting Canadian geese lawn ornaments were stolen from a Seneca Creek Road residence.

• A suspect admitted driving a vehicle into a house on Mt. Vernon Avenue.

• A man was charged with harassment after answering his front door naked on Euclid Avenue.

• A man threatened a neighbor with a hammer and large block of wood on Poinciana Parkway.

• Larceny was reported at a Main Street auto dealership.

• Welding equipment and auto accessories were stolen from a vehicle parked on Olmstead Avenue in Depew.

• An 8 year-old bought beer at a Central Avenue gas station in Lancaster.

• A motorcycle helmet was reported stolen.

• Officers responded to an alarm of fire on Shepard Avenue. There was no fire; steam from the shower had set off the alarm.

• The window of a vehicle parked in the lot of a Sheridan Drive business was smashed.

• A vehicle was seen swerving on Maple Road.

• A three-unit apartment complex on Broadway was ransacked, vandalized and burglarized.

• A confused, elderly woman backed her car into an empty store at a Transit Road plaza.

• Baseball cards, CDs, two football jerseys and two pair of jeans were stolen from a George Urban Boulevard apartment.

• Two men were charged with attempted larceny and criminal mischief after grabbing bullets and putting them in their pockets at the Thruway Plaza. One of the men was also charged with possession of narcotics.

• A loose animal was reported on Greiner Road.

• A resident reported an unknown person had written on the door of the residence with lipstick.

• A loud party and arguing were reported on North Castlerock Lane.

• An unknown male was seen opening the door of a garage on Allenhurst Road.

• Eight suits were taken from a home on Fayette Avenue.

• A driver was stopped on Union Road for driving without a front tire and failing to stay in his lane.

• A caller reported a man running naked through a store on Walden Avenue while another man was videotaping him.

• Two teenagers were reportedly hanging out in a parked vehicle at Como Lake Park. A large, glass smoking device containing residue was found on the floor of the vehicle. The two youths were supposed to be in school.

• An 8 year-old male was arrested after reportedly leading police on a high-speed chase down Ransom Road. A case of beer, 8 bottles of vodka and drug paraphernalia were found in the vehicle.

• Bras and underwear were taken from Paradise Lane.

• Officers were called to Wabash Avenue because a squirrel had its leg caught in a fence. The officers were able to free the squirrel.

• A man shopping at the Home Depot on Ridge Road found the tailgate missing from his truck when he returned to the parking lot.

• Officers responded to the Tops Market on Harlem Road to apprehend a suspect accused of stealing an AA Energizer battery.

• A group of youths were reported to be throwing firecrackers out of a window on Kensington Avenue.

• A building on Calumet Street in Depew was splat balled.

• A stolen credit card was reported on Court Street in Lancaster.

• A mailbox was damaged on Transit Road in Lancaster.

• A confused person was reported at Transit and Main.

• A Westwood Road man forgot where he parked his vehicle after a night out on the town.

• A Union Road caller said condoms and beer bottles were found in the rear parking lot.

• A caller said a white male was walking west on Route 20. She said he was wearing funny clothes with lots of colors, a funny hat and was carrying a large bag. She said he looks like he "doesn't belong in Orchard Park."

• Genesee Street was checked for a loose horse.

• A mailbox was damaged.

• A group of youths was allegedly shooting fireworks on Birchwood Drive.

• A street light fell to the ground and shattered on Maple Road.

• Smoke was pouring out a cupboard on Argonne Drive. Kenmore fire fighters determined it was coming from a defective extension cord.

• A 37 year-old male wrote a bad check in Depew.

• A pair of half-carat each diamond earrings was reported missing from a home on Lombardy Street in Lancaster.

• A vehicle parked on Hemlock Lane in Lancaster was smeared with applesauce and pudding.

• A man was reported walking in the middle of Greiner Road.

• A loose dog was reported to be chasing people and vehicles on Shimerville Road.

• A caller said a suspicious person drove down Westgate Boulevard and parked at the dead end. Police encountered the owner, who claimed someone was coming to look at the vehicle for possible purchase.

• A woman said someone entered her locked apartment on Clinton Street, rummaged through her belongings and left a smudged handprint on her bedspread.

• A Dirkson Street woman complained that a former tenant was sneaking onto her property to contact an existing upstairs tenant.

• A pizza deliveryman suspected a setup when he attempted to deliver a bogus order and then discovered a large pizza, 30 wings and a "hot bag" missing from his vehicle.

• Youths were seen throwing eggs at passing vehicles on Hopkins Road.

• A Bonview Terrace resident reported rocks in his pool.

• A vehicle was reportedly taken from Eggert Road. The vehicle was found a short time later in a nearby lot.

• Loud music was reported on Victoria Boulevard.

• A man harassed a clerk in a Dick Road store, and then went outside and urinated on the side of the building.

• Ornaments were taken from a lawn on Lou Ann Drive. The resident found that someone had left stickers from the "Gnome Liberation Front."

• An injured raccoon was seen on Sweet Home Road.

• A vehicle ran several red lights on Millersport Highway.

• At a town board meeting, one councilmember claimed another councilmember hit him with a microphone. She said it was an accident and that she was only passing it to him. He wanted police to arrest her after the two argued loudly. The female councilmember was taken to the station on charges of second-degree harassment because her angry comments were on tape. She was later released on an appearance ticket.

• An Irwinwood Terrace resident got a phone call from a credit card agency saying he owned upwards of $400. The man said he didn't have that credit card. It turned out to be a mistaken identity by the company.

• A resident got a knock at the door in the afternoon from a stranger who said he was looking for "Steinweld Road." The man then started talking about sports and wrestling and offered to show the resident some wrestling moves on his lawn. The resident said his mom would not approve of that. The stranger left.

• Scrap aluminum was taken from Cooper Avenue

• A ladder was taken from West Hazeltine Avenue.

• A cab driver was stiffed his $30 fare after driving a very pregnant woman and her male companion from Children's Hospital to Bellwood Avenue.

• Statues of Mickey and Minnie Mouse were among items removed from a front lawn on Indian Church Road.

• Youths having a party on Argus Drive were reported as having stolen items from the neighborhood and burned them at the party. They were also blamed for a damaged basketball backboard.

• A man exposed himself at a Seneca Street business after becoming angry while waiting for a woman to get off the telephone.

• A vehicle was seen speeding near Milton Street.

• A vehicle drove across a lawn on the 6000 block of Main Street.

• On Losson Road, two youths wearing dark clothes were reported playing chicken with cars.

• Windshields were taken from a business on Genesee Street.

• A resident of Allenhurst Road reported that an unknown person was standing at his front door.

• Four males attempted to break into a vehicle on North Long Street.

• A door-to-door salesperson was reported on Ransom Road.

• A large bird crashed through a bedroom window on Foxcroft Lane

• Cash was found in the trash on Delaware Avenue.

• Door hinge pins were taken off a door on Kenmore Avenue.

• A woman was napping in her car at Main and Transit.

• An Oak Leaf Drive resident reported children riding scooters without helmets.

• Luggage, CD's and tapes were reported missing from an Olean Road trailer home.

• A baseball game was reportedly taking place on Fairfield Drive.