Best of the Blotter 2005

Excerpts from police calls are a regular feature in all nine Bee Group Newspapers. Some of the more unusual reports from 2005 are reprinted here. Each is an actual listing from a town police blotter.

Illustrations by Robert Malloy

• A customer threw a box of chicken wings at the clerk at a Genesee Street store and then left.
• A female reported a suspicious man, who parked next to her at the Walden Galleria Mall, called her a pig.
• A taxi driver reported dropping a man and a woman off at a George Urban Boulevard address to get the $75 fare after driving them around the East Side of Buffalo for an hour. Neither one came back out.
• A motorist was stopped after being observed driving down numerous streets in the Seneca-Kirkwood area in the early morning hours. The suspect, who said he was just "driving around," had a suspended license and registration.
• A subject whose vehicle struck a tree on Mill Road was charged with DWI after he fled the scene and was found hiding in an outside crawl space at the rear of his East and West Road residence.
• A victim of vandalism at a Union Road address said her vehicle was spray painted blue during the night.
• A West Seneca resident, who was vacuuming a vehicle in his garage, became agitated when a police officer arrived to investigate a noise complaint. The individual demanded to know which neighbor made the complaint and said, "I'll show them noise." He also told the officer to get out of his garage. The man was then handcuffed and placed in the rear of the patrol car. He was issued an appearance ticket for violating the town noise ordinance.
• A Grover Cleveland Highway resident reported someone kept pounding on the door; it was only a neighbor trying to get keys.
• A Getzville caller reported a neighbor may be smoking something illegal because it was a different smell than cigarettes and was giving her a headache. It was burnt food.
• A customer at the Subway on Ridge Road ran out without paying for his sandwich.
• A suspicious white female was lying in a snow bank on Cayuga Road.
• Police arrested a woman for DWI on Bowen Road after receiving reports of an intoxicated driver leaving a Broadway bar. She was pulled over after officers observed her cross the yellow line twice.
• A Depew woman reported someone broke into her residence and removed $180 in various bills from a coffee can in her daughter's bedroom.
• A Goodrich Road woman was arrested for DWI on Transit Road. The suspect was found to be intoxicated after patrol responded to her vehicle being disabled in a snow bank.
• An ambulance struck a deer on Coventry Road, Amherst.
• A man was in the street on Main Street, Amherst ; he was resting during a long walk.
• Police arrested a man on Walden Avenue for aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle after pulling him over for driving with a broken windshield.
• A man reported that someone had entered his unlocked vehicle and removed a chainsaw and a cutoff saw valued at $2,550.
• A 12-year-old girl's tongue was frozen to a pole on Harlem Road.
• A Harlem Road woman left her vehicle running to warm it up and then forgot about it. The next morning, the vehicle was missing, but it was later recovered, minus the ignition key, in the Rose Bowl Lanes lot.
• A suspicious man, who was missing a shoe, was acting strange and asking people for money in a Maple Road store.
• A suspicious person, "a little under the weather," was given a ride home from Sheridan Drive to Tonawanda.
• Two girls were found fighting and wrestling in the parking lot of a popular Colvin Boulevard bar. After police investigated, they found the two women were fighting over a man the two had met in a bar. The man said that he wasn't interested in either of the women.
• Boys were throwing snow balls at passing by motorists on Colvin, from behind a snow barrier they had made in the drive way. The caller stated that when the snowball hit her windshield, she thought she was under attack.
• A Slade Avenue fare was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest after an officer advised him he must pay the total amount due a taxi driver.
• An 18-quart roaster was stolen from a Tindle Avenue hallway which was reportedly accessible to other tenants.
• A woman said her cell phone was stolen from her car or purse while she was shopping on Orchard Park Road. She later called the phone and a young girl answered.
• After investigating an auto accident on Ellicott Road, Orchard Park Police arrested at 66-year-old East Aurora man for driving while intoxicated.
• A woman reported the coin change machines were taken off the wall at the Laundromat on Broadway and the change was taken.
• A Rowland Road man was arrested for harassment after punching an employee from a television installation system firm. The employee stated he was working in the man's house, an argument started and the man hit him.
• A South Forest Road resident reported someone rang the doorbell and when the resident opened the door, a pile of dog poop was burning on the front stairs.
• A woman reported she dropped her cell phone in a drain while getting off a bus at Thruway Plaza.
• Five youths rang the door bell of a Francis Avenue house and damaged the flower bed. They were located and their parents were advised.
• A suspicious incident was investigated on Roll Road. A passing motorist reported an upside down flag flying at a residence.
• A man in small claims court wished to pass trespassing charges against a man who had photographs of his house. He said he must have trespassed to take the pictures.
• Police arrested a man for leaving the scene of property damage and unlawful possession of marijuana after receiving a report of a reckless driver striking two mailboxes on Genesee Street. A spot inspection showed damage to the bumper, and a search revealed the marijuana.
• A Cheektowaga resident reported losing a wedding/engagement ring with 16 diamonds worth $10,000.
• A hit and run was reported on Aris Avenue, there was no plate information but the victim said they suspect was a friend of the family.
• Robin Road neighbors were arguing about a glass; one resident was banging on another's door threatening to break down the door to get the glass back.
• Someone stole beer and meat from a Transit Road store.
• A Penora Street woman reported the upper tenant in her building had been taking her mail.
• A disturbance was reported on Roland Street. The mother was upset because her son had taken four cans of beer from her 30 pack.
• The Tops market on Harlem Road reported the citizen's arrest of an employee for allegedly secreting a package of cream cheese on his person.
• Money totaling $41.75 was stolen from an envelope taped to the door of a Clarence Center home.
• A Chesley Court woman reported a FedEx package was stolen. The woman called the State Police later to report that her neighbor brought the package over. It had been delivered to the wrong house.
• A wooden reindeer was removed from the front lawn of a Carla Lane address and later found atop a car parked in a neighbor's driveway.
• A case of beer was causing road obstruction on Broadway.
• A Clarence man reported that his credit card had been used in Singapore.
• A Main Street, Depew, woman reported that someone removed her electric scooter, valued at $600, from a common hallway in her apartment building.
• An employee of a national tobacco firm living in Lancaster reported that a man left a message on his office answering machine threatening to kill him and burn down his building. No names or addresses were mentioned in the message, so police feel the victim was probably chosen at random.
• A female reported a male threw a paint can at her on Cleveland Drive.
• A motorist broke down after he drove up onto a lawn on George Urban Boulevard.
• Officers responding to the report of a suspicious person lying inside a vehicle at a Round Trail Road address found that the individual was asleep with his legs hanging outside the open car door. He was charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance after he was awakened and a crack pipe observed nearby.
• A man reported that he left his sport jacket, tie and PDA, all valued at $225, at a table in a Lake Avenue, Lancaster, pub and went to another bar. When he realized his mistake, he returned, but the articles had been removed.
• An intoxicated male was having trouble getting into his house on Andrews Avenue.
• An individual was charged with harassment and resisting arrest after he had to be physically restrained when he encountered officers affixing a notice to his front door. The notice advised him that his dog attempted to bite a mail carrier.
• The owner of a construction company working on Ann Marie Drive, in Lancaster, reported that someone had entered an unlocked house and removed a sump pump valued at $150.
• A Henry Street resident reported a loud car was racing on and "gunning" it down the street.
• An employee of a Walden Avenue, Lancaster, restaurant reported that a man, approximately 50 years old, had left without paying his bill of $5.74.
• Police charged a motorist with having an obstructed view because she had several air fresheners and necklaces hanging from her vehicle's rear view mirror. She was also cited for suspended registration due to an insurance lapse.
• An unknown person entered a house under construction on Park Meadow and stole a furnace.
• An employee from Sicar Construction, of Elma, reported that someone broke several windows of a John Deere Tractor parked on Braunview Way in Orchard Park.
• A 17-year-old West Seneca man was stopped on Orchard Park Road for driving with a loud exhaust.
• Unknown culprits removed four aluminum rims and tires from a vehicle parked at a Union Road auto dealership and then left it sitting on plastic milk crates.
• A female motorist was cited for having an obstructed view when an officer noticed numerous necklaces hanging from her vehicle's rearview mirror. She was also cited for driving with a suspended registration.
• Police arrested a man for DWI on A Street, Depew, after observing him make an extremely wide right turn into oncoming traffic on Terrace Boulevard.
• Police responded to a complaint of a barking dog in Lancer Court, Depew.
• A Depew, man reported that his brother was using his Social Security number to receive credit. He said his sister was discovered to be using the number to obtain services as well, but only wanted to press charges against his brother.
• A 15-year-old Conner Road boy was found to be driving a car with a 5-year-old passenger at Transit and County roads in Clarence.
• An East Amherst man driving a Dodge Viper was reported having driven into a tree and a mailbox on Clarence Center Road.
• Two suspects were charged with petit larceny after an officer reportedly saw one of the individuals run out of Sunoco Mini Mart on Union Road with two cases of Coors Light. The other suspect was in a waiting pickup truck.
• A caller reported that several fire extinguishers were stolen from four separate apartment buildings located on East Quaker Road in Orchard Park. Also, several fire extinguishers were also emptied on the property.
• A 19-year-old Medina woman was arrested for stealing $27 worth of socks from the Bon-Ton on Transit Road.
• A suspect was charged with grand larceny in connection with the theft of a stereo system he was reportedly helping to reinstall for the Burch Avenue victim.
• A passenger was charged with impersonation and criminal possession of a controlled substance after the vehicle in which he was riding was stopped on Mineral Springs Road for having a loud muffler.
• A suspicious person was reported on Davidson Road. It was a teenager walking home without a coat to wear. Patrol gave him a ride.
• A Rockford Fosgate Amplifier, two 10 inch Kicker Competition speakers and a Pioneer AM/FM CD player were reported stolen from a 1988 Dodge Dynasty parked in a Transit Road Wal-Mart parking lot. In all $200 worth of equipment and $150 in cash were reported stolen.
• An employee of a Walden Avenue, Depew, business reported observing someone illegally dumping furniture in the business's trash bin.
• Two males were considered suspicious because they were walking down Genesee Street carrying a basketball hoop.
• An intoxicated male was sent to bed after being found in a parking lot on Genesee Street.
• A suspect who smiled and waved at an officer as he left the Stop & Gas station on Clinton Street was cited for driving with a suspended license after the patrolman recognized him from an ongoing court case for the same offense.
• When police questioned a suspect about a purse recovered in an Orchard Park Road building, they saw a rectangular bulge in the woman's sock and found the victim's credit cards, driver's license and Social Security card. The suspect was charged with criminal possession of stolen property.
• A man came to the station to tell police he lost control of his vehicle on the ice, and that it was now stuck in a snow bank. The man said he walked home after the accident.
• A motor home was broken into on Eggert Road, a VCR, TV, radio and other items were stolen.
• Police arrested a man for DWI after observing him drift into the curb lane on Transit Road near Como Park Boulevard, nearly striking another vehicle, and stopping at a green light.
• After a patrol located a youth sleeping in his car on Transit Road after an eight-hour shift at Dominos pizza, approximately nine 9 grams of marihuana were found in plain view. The youth was arrested.
• An intoxicated man reported being hit with a pitcher and punched by an unknown subject at a bar on Transit Road.
• Customer trouble was reported at a Union Road store, the customer was gone when police arrived; he was scratching off lottery tickets in the store.
• A black car refused to move out of the drive-thru at the Tim Hortons on Union Road.
• A man reported that someone took his keys from his jacket and stole his vehicle from in front of a Main Street, Depew, residence.
• A Stephenson Street complainant who found a suspect inside his vehicle chased the man east on Seneca Street and through the woods behind Stephenson before he lost the individual on Kirkwood Drive.
• An individual was charged with harassment after he allegedly grabbed the victim by his sweater at a Union Road club. An employee said the trouble started when she asked the suspect to remove his hat.
• The manager of a hotel in the Town of Aurora told police someone slashed the front and rear tires on the left side of his vehicle sometime during the night.
• A scooter emblazoned with several Ohio State stickers was stolen from an Aurora Avenue driveway.
• A Pleasant View Lane resident lost his wallet when he placed it on top of his vehicle and drove away.
• An adult suspect was charged with trespassing after he was seen jumping on grave stones at Fourteen Holy Helpers Cemetery.
• A suspect left the Bargain Outlet on Seneca Street without paying for items that an employee helped him load into a truck.
• A 16-year-old Orchard Park male was arrested for disorderly conduct after obstructing traffic by walking down the middle of Abbott Road.
• Orchard Park Police stopped a 29-year-old Blasdell female on Abbott Road for driving with a suspended registration. She was subsequently charged with driving with no insurance.
• Police arrested a man for DWI and avoiding a traffic device after observing him cut through the parking lot of a gas station on Broadway and Transit Road in Depew.
• Police responded to a Clermont Avenue, Lancaster, residence to investigate a report of an injured raccoon.
• A Trent Square resident reported her neighbors took her pants.
• A deer was stuck in a fence on Whitney Place.
• An officer was flagged down on Nandale Drive by a 12-year-old boy who had a dislocated finger.
• A speeding complaint was investigated on Martha's Vineyard. A 16-year-old driver and his parents were advised.
• Harassment was reported on Keller Road. Subject claims her neighbor beeps their horn at her in the morning.
• A Depew woman reported that she couldn't find her wallet when she went to leave the house, then remembered leaving it at a George Urban Boulevard business two days earlier.
• Police advised a youth because he was in Harlem Road trying to pick up a snake.
• A loud band was reported playing on Sunshine Drive in Amherst ; it was a Bee Gees cover band practicing in the basement.
• Police received a call from a Main Street resident who said a tractor trailer car carrier backed into a pole on her property damaging it.
• A cross dresser who frequents the store stole $44 cutting shears from a business on Main Street in Amherst.
• Police responded to a Main Street, Depew, business and viewed a video of two men removing $100 worth of cast iron radiators and pipes from the site.
• Amherst Police responded to call from a Transit Road restaurant from someone claiming to be an FBI informant needing a ride back to a hotel on the same road. The police arrived and sent the person on their way, explaining the department was not a "taxi service."
• A Bucyrus Drive resident reported that a woodchuck bit one of their dogs and that their other dog then bit the woodchuck.
• A subject was apprehended when he left the Harlem Road Tops Market without paying for several packages of steaks.
• An officer found a vehicle with extensive damage on a Lind Avenue lawn after the resident reported a loud noise outside his home. An individual standing outside the car volunteered the information that he was the driver of the vehicle and had been drinking. He was charged with DWI.
• A Center Pine Lane resident reported a suspicious person in the area. A patrol found that person to be selling magazines without a town permit.
• Unknown subjects were reported to have stolen two leather heated seats, one rear bench seat, a leather gear shift knob and one driver's side sill from a 2005 Nissan Ultima from a dealership on Main Street.
• A person reported that a Greenway Boulevard house had the property staked out and a warning posted that if anyone touched the signs they would be harmed.
• Police arrested a man on Broadway after witnesses observed him back into a parked vehicle in a Broadway, Depew, parking lot and flee the scene. When pulled over, the man said he left due to being in a hurry.
• An Apple computer, I-Pod and other items were stolen from an Orchard Park Road home by someone who apparently used a key hidden in the garage to enter the house. The culprit replaced the key on the way out but forgot to turn off the garage light.
• A suspicious male was reported going into yards in Cheektowaga with a shopping cart.
• A vendor allegedly was breaking the Agricultural and Marketing Laws at a flea market on Walden Avenue by selling turtles that were less than four inches long.
• Lancaster Police arrested two men for unlawful possession of marijuana in Como Lake Park after observing one toss something into the weeds, which turned out to be a still-warm glass smoking pipe.
• Police responded to a report of a dog barking on Calumet Street in Depew. The owner agreed to bring the dog in the house.
• A Robin Road resident reported that neighborhood children are harassing them. Resident said it is a constant problem: children are playing ball, ball went onto resident's property, so resident went outside and took the ball. Caller was advised by police and returned the ball to the children.
• A motorist reported seeing a man lying on the ground near Sheridan Drive. The driver stopped and approached the man, asking if he was OK. The man said he was fine and lay back down.
• A Halstead Avenue resident reported a neighbor was calling her names and taking pictures of her dog.
• Two youths were seen carrying a yellow raft to the reservoir on Lovejoy, they were located and advised.
• A Jane Drive resident thought someone had put up a tent behind their home under a power company tower but it had just been blown there by the wind.
• An individual later charged with possession of marijuana was acting strangely and appeared to be changing his pants while parked in the fire lane outside a bank in West Seneca.
• An alleged shoplifter who fled the Tops Market on Orchard Park Road with approximately $80 worth of shrimp, had to be subdued by pepper spray after officers found him in a nearby swamp.
• A woman charged with DWI was stopped in West Seneca after an off-duty Orchard Park police lieutenant said her vehicle ran him off the road.
• A Buffalo man was charged with shoplifting $289 worth of deodorant from the Tops Market on Orchard Park Road.
• Police arrested a man on Dick Road, Depew, for aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle and unlawful possession of marijuana after observing him talking on a cell phone while driving.
• A Glenhaven Drive resident reported to Amherst Police that there was water coming from the right side of a vacant apartment. The caller ended up breaking into that side of the wall to shut the water off.
• Amherst police responded to a Niagara Falls Boulevard fast food restaurant on a call regarding two people in the parking lot fighting because they were unhappy with their salted French fries.
• A youth on a scooter was running into shopping carts on French Road.
• A 25-year-old female was arrested on Aero Drive for chasing two males with a knife.
• A Nadine Drive resident reported having some type of paint or petroleum product on her house, possibly from an airplane. Police found no cause for the complaint, it was goose droppings.
• A driver on I-290 reported to Amherst police that three motorcycles were doing wheelies on the highway.
• A resident reported to Amherst Police that someone had called their home threatening to smash his car into another car at the home. When police called back, the resident said the man was now throwing something at their window.
• A caller reported to Amherst Police that someone was walking their German Shepard without a leash in a Niagara Falls Boulevard plaza near a pet store.
• Youths were throwing potatoes at vehicles on Strasbourg Drive.
• An intoxicated female was arrested for criminal mischief after breaking things on Genesee Street.
• A firefighter reported that a door emblem on Engine No. 4 had been intentionally scratched with a key or similar object, causing approximately $50 in damage.
• A white male suspect in his forties left the Wegmans store on Orchard Park Road with a boneless chuck roast in his pants.
• A Lackawanna man, who attempted to steal a large number of steaks from the Tops store on Orchard Park Road, dropped the items when confronted by management and fled the area on a bicycle. He was later apprehended and charged with petit larceny.
• A woman reported coming out of a Broadway, Depew, supermarket to discover one of her license plates was missing.
• A Central Avenue, Lancaster, man reported that he had found a BMX bicycle in the grass near his residence.
• A male was in the construction area on Union Road, kicking traffic cones.
• Baseball cards were stolen from a Rushford Hollow Drive house.
• A fight broke out at bar between two men over a girl on Sheridan. Upon investigation, it wasn't really girl, but a man dressed up like a girl. It was not a Halloween costume, but his everyday attire.
• A person reported a power saw fell off of a truck on Maryvale Drive and they didn't know what to do with it.
• A Depew woman who lost her cell phone called the number to try to get her property back. When she tried her voice mail, she found the greeting had been changed to someone enthusiastically saying "Boo-ya" and that they're keeping the phone.
• A Bowen Road, Lancaster, man reported that someone had removed a political sign from his lawn, and knocked over three others.
• Two females were at the front desk of Cheektowaga Police Headquarters arguing about a stolen cat.
• Wires were pulled down on Main Street, Clarence, after being struck by a truck.
• A 17-year-old former employee was at a Walden Avenue business and he refused to leave when asked, said he was waiting for his wife who still worked there.
• An intoxicated patron was fighting with security at an adult entertainment facility on Aero Drive.
• A motorist placed her vehicle in reverse instead of park when she was pulled over on Seneca Street and backed into a police patrol vehicle. She was subsequently charged with DWI, as well as unsafe backing and phone use while in motion.
• A woman told police she left a plastic bag containing $9,000 worth of jewelry on a toilet paper dispenser in the women's locker room at a fitness facility in West Seneca. When she returned 20 minutes later, the bag was gone.
• A Main Street resident complained that someone poured a trail of chemicals on his front lawn, killing some of the grass.
• An officer responding to a Louis Avenue dispute charged a woman with criminal tampering after she reportedly threw French fries, a tomato and mayonnaise at a neighbor's vehicle.
• A Hinchey Avenue, Lancaster, woman reported that she heard the front window of her apartment building being broken, and a man had struck her vehicle with a 40-ounce beer bottle. When officers found the man at a gas station, he had another open, 40-ounce beer in the console of his vehicle. He was charged with harassment, and unable to make the $250 bail, was remanded to the Erie County Holding Center.
• A Pine Ridge Road resident reported she came home to find the contents of someone's purse dumped on her front porch.
• A Depew man reported that he received a collections letter for $191.44 for a satellite TV network he does not have.
• A kid threw a stuffed animal onto power lines on Wagner Avenue. The incident caused no problems because the toy landed on cable TV wires.
• A 911 hang up call was investigated on Clarence Center Road. It was a misdial.
• A Windermere Boulevard resident reported that loud rap music with obscene language was coming from inside a home on Princeton Court.
• A resident on American Campus Drive reported that an upstairs neighbor was stomping loudly. Police checked and found maintenance working on the floor above.
• A Fairbrook Court resident reported youths operating a motorized scooter in the street.
• A person on Transit Road, Clarence reported locking the keys in the car while it was running.
• A Hamilton Drive resident reported that a neighbor put his garbage out at the curb several days in advance of pickup. The caller was concerned for neighborhood children.
• A Brunck Road, Lancaster, man reported that a man walked onto his property and removed a wind block made from two-by-fours from his rear yard.
• A Lancaster woman reported that someone pushed her garden hose through her basement window and turned on the water. The only damage was to the window screen.
• An Olmstead Avenue, Depew, woman reported that her car became stuck when she was moving it. Responding officers found the vehicle half in the creek bed.

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