Best of the Blotter 2003

Excerpts from police calls are a regular feature in all nine Bee Group Newspapers. Some of the more unusual reports from 2003 are reprinted here. Each is an actual listing from a town police blotter.

Illustrations by Robert Malloy

• A man took all of the credit card receipts from a store at the Thruway Plaza.

• A caller reported a car pulled over to the side of the road on Tonawanda Creek Road with its occupants wearing hunting hats and shining flashlights into fields; the family was watching deer.

• Four youths were banned from a Transit Road discount store after the theft of a bag of candy valued at $4.75.

• Four wheels from a vehicle parked at a Transit Road auto dealer were stolen. Windows in several vehicles were smashed and the jacks removed.

• A bicycle was reported missing in front of "big daddy's house" on Millard Fillmore Place.

• A man was charged with petit larceny after he allegedly left the Ridge Road Home Depot with a power nailer in his pants.

• A caller from an Orchard Park business reported that someone stole money from a cash register. Police report no signs of forced entry.

• A man was observed on store videotape taking 20 cans of baby formula without paying.

• An ice scraper and a knit hat were the only items missing in a vehicle break in on Tampa Drive.

• A suspect was charged with shoplifting three packages of strip steaks from the Wegmans store on Orchard Park Road.

• A drill and 100-piece socket set were taken from Delaware Road residence.

• A Cell phone, CDs and a vehicle registration were taken from a vehicle on Sheridan Drive.

• A vehicle was stuck in a pile of leaves on Carpenter Avenue.

• A counterfeit $20 was passed at Tops on Grey Street. When questioned about the authenticity of the bill an unidentified woman with two children said, "I don't want to find out." She left the store without further conversation. Identification of the woman is being sought through video surveillance.

• A Jewett Holmwood Road man driving a 1994 Camaro accelerated at a high rate of speed near his residence. Upon interviewing authorities discovered the man was driving with improper plates.

• A stolen 1999 Dodge parked on Stoneybrook Road was reportedly missing a bumper, taillights, door panels and a front grill.

• Assorted snow blower parts were dumped off at the Department of Public Works site on Pine Street.

• An Arend Avenue resident reported he found his mailbox stuffed with mud and a plunger stuck to the front door when he came home.

• A woman was stuck in an elevator between the fourth and fifth floors in an East Spring Street building.

• Police received a call from a husband on Darwin Drive, Snyder, who wanted police to explain "the finer points of living in the United States" to his Columbian wife who wants to leave.

• A caller reported someone was driving a car slowly around a building on Park Club Lane. It was a middle-aged person learning how to drive.

• One pair of boots and 20 pair of underwear was taken from an apartment on Lancer Court in Depew.

• A South Newstead Road resident reported hearing strange noises in the house.

• A convoy of noisy trucks was sent on its way.

• A caller reported a large black and tan Doberman was in the area of Garden Court. Police determined it was only a giant porcelain deer.

• A four-foot stuffed Easter bunny was found on the front lawn of a Hybank Drive residence, where a 12-inch decorative Easter Egg was reported missing. The rabbit was tagged and placed in the detective bureau.

• Two plastic-coated wicker chairs, stolen from a front porch on Eastwood Drive, were recovered in the woods near a campfire site.

• A Rocky Point resident said a man with a dog ran through her yard and then her garden.

• Power tools, a generator and motor were reportedly stolen from a construction site at the foot of Penora in Lancaster.

• Twenty pair of underwear were taken from a laundry machine on Raintree Island.

• Smoke was reported in a home on Wardman Road due to an overcooked meal.

• An Ellis Road woman asked a patrol to speak with her 12 year old son, who spent $600 on the Internet using the caller's credit card.

• Files and tools were reported missing from a Genesee Street business in Lancaster.

• Authorities were called to a village restaurant after a report of a " threatening handshake" between two women.

• A 38-year-old male was charged with harassment seconds after someone complained that he was an unwelcomed guest in Depew.

• A vehicle knocked over mail and paper boxes on Harris Hill Road in Lancaster.

• Bushes caught fire on Warsaw Street in Depew due to fireworks.

• A man was taking a nap in his car on Main Street.

• A resident of Goodrich Road saw a black hearse with a skull and crossbones front license plate and a man with a yellow jacket sitting inside.

• Two 15-year-old males were standing in front of a fast food restaurant on Main Street in Amherst asking patrons as they entered if they were selling drugs.

• A toddler reported missing was found sleeping under bushes on Robin Road, Amherst.

• A man took a crate of 2-liter bottles of pop from a store on Transit Road.

• A person reported that someone covered their car with food on Lehavre Drive.

• A gas tank fell off a vehicle within two feet of a storm drain on Oakwood Avenue. The victim reported just coming from the gas station. The Department of Environmental Conservation was notified.

• An unknown person opened the side doors of a truck parked on Shisler Road and threw its contents on the ground.

• A crack pipe fell from the lap of a motorist who was stopped for not wearing a seat belt.

• A stall partition was torn apart and several ceramic tiles smashed in the men's room at a Denny's Restaurant.

• A man was charged with criminal mischief after being observed driving on the playing field at the West Seneca Soccer Complex. Part of the goal and netting were caught in the vehicle's muffler, and the rest of the goal was found damaged near the north parking lot.

• Two Cabbage Patch dolls, one Chatty Cathy and three other dolls, along with a storage box, were reported missing after a padlock was cut in the basement storage area of a Fisher Road apartment complex.

• Two brothers were fighting over showering on Millersport Highway in Amherst.

• A caller walking through a field on Mill Street, Williamsville saw a skull; the caller said it could possibly be a dog's skull but isn't sure.

• A suspicious man wearing a tan hat and gloves and carrying an umbrella matched the description a neighbor gave him of someone looking into windows on Harlem Road, Amherst; he was selling magazines.

• A Seneca Street youth illegally operated a vehicle without permission. The driver was observed by authorities driving recklessly passing vehicles and also driving on a median. Eight cans of Budweiser were also discovered and logged into the detective bureau as evidence.

• An intoxicated father was in the lobby of an Amherst day care center screaming that he lost his child, demanding the staff to lock the door until he found his child. The child was found.

• A Westfield Road, Amherst, resident reported a problem with raccoons in his garage.

• A Buffalo woman said while her vehicle was parked on Orchard Park Road, someone broke her driver's side window. Nothing was missing from the vehicle.

• A West Seneca resident said her car was parked on Weiss Avenue when someone broke into it, stealing her wallet and personal papers.

• Diamond earrings, a paint ball gun, $500 cash and a bottle of rum were stolen from a residence on Villa Place in Lancaster.

• A furnace motor smelled like burning plastic on Sherwood Court in Depew.

• A woman, observed driving on the shoulder of Orchard Park Road with one headlight out, was charged with driving while intoxicated.

• An unknown motorist struck multiple bushes on the front lawn of a Reserve Road residence.

• A person was charged with driving while intoxicated on Genesee Street. He was then charged with harassment at headquarters after he threatened a police officer.

• A man was charged with theft of services after he refused to pay a $38 cab fare on Edgebrook Drive.

• Two license plates were taken off a vehicle on Wilton Parkway.

• A male was struck over the head with a beer glass at a Transit Road bar in Lancaster.

• An X-Box, camera, radio and CD player were stolen on Lancer Court in Depew.

• 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.

• An Orchard Park woman was charged with driving while intoxicated on Main Street. During field sobriety tests she reported said the finish of the alphabet as R, X, T, V and Z. When asked if she would authorize a chemical test she said, "No way."

• A "residential fire" reported on Ericson Drive turned out to be steam from a dryer vent.

• A soldering gun was taken from Sheridan Drive.

• Several buildings were hit with blue paint balls on Kenmore Avenue.

• A Wynngate Lane resident reported a rabies-infected groundhog running around in circles in the yard.

• An East Chateau Terrace resident reported someone damaged the lawn using pepper spray.

• Someone reportedly left an obscene voice mail greeting on a Depew resident's cell phone.

• A woman reported seeing a man wearing a monkey suit riding a bicycle on East Grand Blvd.

• An intoxicated man was reported walking down the middle of Union Road.

• A motorist purchased other items at a Southwestern Boulevard convenience store, but left without paying for the $5 worth of gas pumped.

• Signs which had been posted at West Seneca East High School were recovered from an area of the Little Loop Football field behind the senior center.

• A caller reported a male walking on Route 20 swinging a stick at passing cars. A patrol found an elderly man with a cane.

• An Arrowhead Lane resident reported receiving a suspicious letter from Spain.

• A 74-year-old woman left her purse on top of her car and drove off. The purse was lost on Transit Road in Depew.

• Two youths were shooting fireworks on First Avenue in Lancaster. The one youth had been left home alone.

• A neighbor put a padlock on a community shed and refused to open it on Fairgreen Drive, Amherst.

• An East Aurora resident reported a damaged screen door. A neighboring 9-year-old was suspected.

• A woman who reportedly consumed 10 drinks at a Center Street home became unconscious and had to be transported to South Buffalo Mercy Hospital.

• A resident of Main Street said landscapers using a leaf blower spread leaves across his lawn. When police arrived, a gust of wind had carried the leaves away.

• An Oakwood Lane resident said he saw a man on his property. It turned out to be a fence installer doing an estimate.

• A caller said a dog fell out of a vehicle the caller was following. The vehicle kept going, dragging the dog. One of the occupants of the car finally dragged the dog back into the car by the leash.

• A caller on Southwestern Boulevard said he heard excessive moaning behind his house. It was found to be an exchange student praying loudly.

• A call of unknown trouble on Strickler Road was determined to be garbage men emptying a Dumpster.

• A Sheridan Drive resident was suspicious about a phone call for charity.

• A port-a-john was demolished by an explosion at a Depew park.

• Youths were skateboarding on a roof on Union Road.

• A raccoon attacked cars driving on Transit Road.

• Authorities responded to an argument between two males concerning a lost dog on Elm Street.

• A 60-year-old man was hunting without permission on Grover Road.

• A Williamsville business reported a suspicious man kept looking into the store and watching people walk out. It was a man stopping to use a cell phone.

• A Fruitwood Terrace resident reported when he approached a parked car in front of his house, four teenage occupants threw a beer can out and sped away.

• A Big Tree Road woman said a motorcycle had pulled into her carport. The driver put something in her garbage and waited there until police cars went by. She said he then retrieved whatever he put in the garbage can and drove off.

• A Cheektowaga man said an associate of a co-worker vandalized his truck with lipstick.

• In Depew, a 19-year-old female kicked and punched a 37-year-old male six to 10 times.

• An empty baby carriage was found on Victoria Boulevard.

• Flowerpots were removed from a porch in Kenmore and put by the curb. Some of the pots were missing.

• Diapers were taken from Sheridan Drive.

• A raccoon entered a garage on Pine Loch and slept on the shelves.

• An odor on South Bridlewood was coming from an old refrigerator.

• A caller reported there was a mother cat and 10 kittens in the street on North Buffalo Road.

• A Jewett-Holmwood man reportedly threw a book at his wife during an argument.

• A man was arrested for stealing hard cider at a Transit Road business.

• A Maple Road man reported a missing bracelet on Grey Street.

• An Oakwood Avenue woman received a harassing phone call political in nature.

• A patrol car hit a patch of ice on the Route 400 Expressway before striking a median, damaging the cruiser.

• A Hamburg man was pulled over by Orchard Park Police on Southwestern Boulevard for failing to keep right. He was subsequently arrested for DWI and resisting arrest.

• A caller reported that while at the Buffalo Bills game, she left her seat and when she returned someone had stolen her jacket.

• Youths were reported throwing water balloons at people on Clinton Street.

• Letters were taken off of an outdoor sign on Genesee Street.

• Elmwood Avenue, Pine Street and Linden Avenue juveniles attempted to purchase malt liquor and beer at a Main Street gas station.

• Mashed potatoes were smeared all over a car on Shetland Drive, Amherst.

• An Amherst man overheard youths talk about a crack in his fence he thinks they're up to no good.

• A hysterical female home alone on Clearwater Drive reported wasps were coming into the kitchen from a nest in a gutter.

• Someone tried to pay for $2.40 worth of gas with empty beer cans at a Central Avenue gas station in Lancaster.

• A loud party due to a new Playstation game was reportedly going on most of the day on Sundridge Drive. No arrests were made.

• A man was stranded at a Millersport Hwy. resident's house because he got off the bus to switch to another but there were no more buses in the area.

• A security alarm was checked at a drug store. A deflating snowman tripped a motion sensor.

• A Clarence resident received a non-threatening letter telling her to control her children.

• A 22-month-old toddler locked its mother outside of the house on North. Woodside Lane, Amherst.

• A bag of potato chips was taken from Delaware Avenue.

• A tree was snapped off at its base on Gettysburg Avenue.

• A West Seneca Police Officer said two males were in a restaurant urinating all over the place. The officer said the two were escorted out. The two then went to another restaurant on Orchard Park Road.

• A suspicious vehicle was reported on South Freeman Road. It belonged to a representative of an environmental group.

• A caller heard a small popping sound and later discovered someone had blown up her mailbox.

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