Best of the Blotter 2007

Excerpts from police calls are a regular feature in all nine Bee Group Newspapers. Some of the more unusual reports from 2007 are reprinted here. Each is an actual listing from a town police blotter.

Illustrations by Robert Malloy

• An officer stopped a vehicle for speeding on Seneca Street. The officer noticed an odor of alcohol on the driver. When asked for his license and registration, the driver handed the officer a $10 bill. The driver was placed under arrest for DWI.
• A welfare check was requested by a ski resort looking for an employee from Amherst who had missed two days of work but never missed a day in the past. Police reported the person in question was in jail.
• A Coventry Road resident reported that someone broke into her house and stole her pet's dog dish.
• A Transit Road resident called police to tell them he had a bat in a plastic container and would be leaving his residence shortly for an appointment.
• An officer responded to a complaint of loud music on Nash Street. Upon his arrival, the patrol could hear the music in the street, coming from a half-open garage door. When confronted, the suspect refused to believe his music was too loud and said he would play it as loud as he wanted. At this point, the man raised his hand to the officer. The suspect was handcuffed and taken to the police station, where he was held until he was sober.

• On Berkley Road a resident was concerned about a camera she found on the side of her house that she hadn't installed. The item the complainant thought was a camera was the transmitter used by the water authority to read the meter.
• West Seneca police responded to the Route 219 South entrance on Ridge Road, where a vehicle was off the road. Though the driver said he had not been drinking, he failed field sobriety tests. While attempting to recite the alphabet for the second time, the suspect said, "My mouth doesn't work right."
• An employee at Tops on Harlem Road noticed a white male in his mid-30s stuffing a bag of Doritos, two bags of shrimp and two bags of scallops under his Buffalo Bills jacket. The man dropped everything except the Doritos and fled on foot toward Clinton Street.

• A man told police that while he was at an automotive dealership in Orchard Park, someone entered his vehicle and stole cologne, CDs and a cigarette adapter.
• An Amherst resident complained to police that when the boyfriend moved out, he took the cat.
• A dispute was reported on Grandview Drive because a mother wouldn't give her 16-year-old daughter the cell phone charger.
• On Niagara Falls Boulevard, a larceny was reported regarding an employee that hid two bags of sandwiches behind a Dumpster.
• Erratic driving was reported on Transit Road in Clarence; the car could not be located.
• A patrol observed a vehicle pull onto Seneca Street without yielding to traffic and nearly causing an accident. When asked how much he had been drinking, the driver said, "Too much to be driving." When asked to perform field sobriety tests, the man replied," Why bother? I won't pass them."
• A North Collins man reported that while his vehicle was parked on Abbott Road, somebody broke the passenger side window and stole a radio worth $150.

• A female on Main Street believed that her cupcakes had been poisoned because she was fatigued and had a dry mouth.
• Police were at a Clinton Street residence for a domestic call when one of the officers noticed a brass pipe, prescription bottle and other drug paraphernalia on a dresser in the bedroom. When questioned about the items, the resident said, "It's mine, but I haven't smoked cocaine since January. I only do cocaine when my friends are over."
• A larceny was reported at a Transit Road restaurant; a cellular phone was taken from the employees' locker room.
• A one-legged turkey was reportedly in the middle of Willow Ridge Drive. The complainant said the bird was unable to move to the side, but it chased the patrol car that responded.
• On Robin Road, someone reportedly went into a locked apartment building and threw snow into the hallway. The complainant stated this has happened before.
• A patrol stopped a vehicle on Seneca Street because it had a missing brake light. The driver could not produce her license, but told the officer her date of birth was March 3, 1982. However, the driver appeared to be about 50 years old. Investigation revealed she was impersonating her daughter, who was also in the vehicle.
• Two mothers stopped their cars on Tonawanda Creek Road and were involved in an argument. They had just picked up their teens that had been caught shoplifting.
• A person called from Niagara Falls Boulevard to report that a woman was beating on her own car.
• A patrol observed a vehicle traveling at alternating speeds and weaving in and out of its lane of traffic on Union Road. While searching for her registration she kept trying to open the passenger's side air bag rather than the glove box. She said she drank three Southern Comforts at a local tavern and kept saying, "I'm almost home, just let me go home."
• A suspect was arrested for shoplifting from Tops on Orchard Park Road after he pushed a cart filled with $160.17 of assorted merchandise into the parking lot without paying for anything. Eggs, juice, cake mix, frosting and pork chops were among the goods which the suspect allegedly attempted to steal.
• A Niagara Falls Boulevard business reported a group of youths sprayed Silly String all over the store after being asked to leave.
• A Hillside Drive resident reported a garbage can was stolen overnight. It was the third time since the summer that a can full of yard brush was taken and the rest of the garbage and cans were left behind.
• A truck was reported stolen from a Clarence residence. Officers determined it actually had been repossessed.
• Two men stole 99 razor blades from Eckerd Drugs on Mineral Springs Road.
• An officer saw a vehicle pull onto the shoulder of Transit Road in order to avoid a police checkpoint. The driver exited his vehicle and began walking toward the patrol car. He told the officer his speech was slurred because he had "new teeth."
• A patrol responded to the complaint of an unwelcome guest pounding on the door of a French Lea Road residence. Upon the officer's arrival, the suspect, who had a strong odor of alcohol on his breath, was standing on the porch. When asked what he was doing, the suspect said he was, "trying to get some action."
• Police arrived at a Wedgewood Drive residence to execute two warrants. It was determined that the suspect was hiding in the attic. Police shouted orders to give himself up, but the suspect refused to answer. An officer found the suspect lying face down in a pile of insulation. He was placed under arrest.
• A 60-year-old man was stopping cars on Sheridan Drive and asking people for a light. The man left prior to police arrival.
• A Fiddlers Green resident reported she had locked herself with her newborn baby in the bathroom because there were two bats in the house and she was unable to get them out on her own.
• An Amherst resident returned to her home to find the house unlocked and a non-threatening note in her bathroom.
• A man took a set of car keys from his ex-wife and left. He said he was upset the vehicle was being sold and just wanted to drive it.
• An underage Goodrich Road resident was issued an appearance ticket for possessing one bottle of Smirnoff strawberry vodka and two empty cans of beer.
• A suspicious vehicle was reported in the Main-Transit plaza. It had been parked there for 40 minutes.
• A Big Tree Road resident had a laptop and audio recordings worth $1,250 taken from his vehicle.
• Representatives of an Orchard Park movie theater complex reported the theft of a cardboard standup sign from the movie "Borat."
• On Clinton Street, a resident reported a motorist driving a blue truck stole garbage cans with the garbage still inside them.
• An Allenhurst Road couple called police because the complainant's boyfriend took her coat and was refusing to give it back.
• Harassment was reported on Sheridan Drive. Someone entered a restaurant, pulled the complainant's hair and yanked menus out of her hands.
• Police charged a 21-year-old East Aurora man with leaving the scene of an accident after police received a call of an explosion on Ellicott Road. When they arrived, they found a 20-year-old East Aurora man on the side of the road. He told police he was riding in the back of his friend's pickup truck when he heard something that sounded like an M-80. He said he stood up, lost his balance and fell off the back of the truck.
• On Northwood Drive a complaint was made about two males selling magazines. They said they weren't selling anything, just practicing to be attorneys.
• A restaurant on Main Street reported customer trouble involving a man who sent back his first meal, then complained the second was cold. The manager stated the man was talking on his cell phone and never touched his food.
• A purse was stolen from a Barnsdale Avenue home sometime overnight. A witness who resides on Harlem Road reported seeing a man sitting on her porch around 3 a.m. with a handful of money, going through a purse. The purse was later recovered in the bushes near the witness's porch, but $200 had been taken.
• Police responded to a report of a car striking the guard rail on the Interstate 90 ramp to Route 400. The driver had left the scene, but a computer check showed the vehicle had been previously involved in at least one gasoline theft. The suspect was located walking home on Harlem Road. He was intoxicated and had minor cuts on his head. He said the car belonged to his lawyer and that he had been at a tattoo shop and then fell asleep behind a church.
• Two women reported that a man in his car had purposely exposed himself in two separate incidents in the parking lot of a bar on Orchard Park Road. The women reported that the man appeared to be about 50 with shoulder-length blond hair and round, wire-frame glasses. They said he resembled musician Tom Petty.
• A 911 hang-up call was investigated on Bridlewood Drive. A child called because he was hungry. His parents were advised.
• An underage drinking party was reported on Greenbriar Road, but the event was a parentally supervised practice for the high school powder puff game.
• A Dorset Drive woman reported someone stole several Halloween decorations from her front lawn. One was a wooden tombstone with the saying, "Trick or treat smell my feet."
• Police were called to investigate a rollover accident on Transit Road. They found the vehicle, but the driver had left the scene. Police found the driver, and she told them she hadn't been drinking or taking any medications. Once she failed field sobriety tests, she admitted to having four or five shots of alcohol a few hours earlier.
• A large dog chased a man and his wife down Washington Avenue.
• A Kenmore 911 caller mumbled something about his shoe and then hung up.
• Deputies investigated a complaint of a female outside screaming on Four Rod Road in the Town of Elma. Upon arrival, the police found the intoxicated woman to be alright and she was escorted home.
• Deputies responded to a residence on Townline Road where political signs were taken from a property.
• A caller from Ridge Park Avenue reported a male with long hair and a goatee was breaking into a vehicle. Police arrived at the scene and discovered the male was just leaving a note to his friend.
• On Cayuga Road, a resident reported youths were throwing pumpkins from a porch onto the street in front of passing vehicles.
• A woman called police from a Main Street address because a man was snoring in front of the TV. Reportedly she was intoxicated and was going to wait for police outside. The report didn't indicate the man and woman's relationship to each other.
• Police were called to an accident on I-290 in which someone reported a man fell off his motorcycle and rolled down the embankment. Police responded to the scene and found no sign of an accident.
• A Buffalo woman noticed her purse was missing while she was at a bar on Clinton Street. She found her purse and items from it scattered beneath cars in the parking lot, but could not locate her cell phone.
• A Wabash Avenue woman's inflatable pumpkin was stolen from her front yard.
• A Washington Avenue resident reported someone came into her home and wrote on the wall.
• Police responded to a loud music complainant on Millersport Highway. The tenant, who was not home, was contacted by cell phone and told to return home to turn off her stereo.
• Police responded to a call on Amberwood Drive in which a woman reported receiving statements for banks she didn't belong to. She was advised it was just junk mail.
• A patrol responded to a report of a car-fence collision on Harlem Road. The officer arrived to find a vehicle stuck on the fence next to Winchester Elementary. The driver said his ex-girlfriend cut him off and he lost control of his vehicle.
• A Burch Avenue resident reported that a heavyset male suspect in a blue Ford Windstar stole the spare tire off her vehicle.
• Police responded to a report of an intoxicated individual in the parking lot of Pappas bar on Orchard Park Road. Police advised the woman, a Blasdell resident, to take a cab home. The woman got into a cab, but then became verbally abusive to the driver, calling him obscenities and accusing him of trying to take her money.
• Someone apparently used a hidden key to enter a Michael Road residence. The homeowner noticed the key's hiding spot was disturbed and a strange pillowcase was left on her kitchen counter. Nothing was missing from the residence.
• A Tonawanda resident reported his house may have been struck by lightning.
• A truck on Victoria Boulevard was seen being driven with the headlights off and a passenger was throwing lit fireworks out the window.
• Police were called about a highly intoxicated male, who was in town for the Bills game, and was lying in Transit Road. The man called his girlfriend, saying he was in the back of a truck, being driven around by unknown people.
• A shopper reported that while she was waiting for the cab driver to load her groceries at a store on Sheridan Drive, two older ladies came by and took half of her things and she didn't discover it until she got home. The call was cancelled when her husband located the groceries.
• A Valley Drive resident reported several acts of criminal mischief that occurred in his yard. A lawn ornament was glued to the front stoop, and landscape rocks were tossed on the driveway. In addition, someone entered the garage and wrote a profanity on the floor and damaged a piece of paneling. Family members' shoes were also taken from the garage and scattered throughout the yard.
• Erratic operation was reported on Kraus Road, but the car could not be located.
• Disorderly youths were reported skateboarding on Main Street. They were stopped and advised by patrol.
• A Callodine Avenue resident complained about a group yelling and screaming in the street. They were just overjoyed about an upcoming wedding.
• Two male teenagers were charged with third degree burglary, petit larceny, criminal possession of stolen property and criminal mischief at the Stadium Mobil on Southwestern Boulevard after they entered the back door, smashed the glass out of the counter and stole lottery tickets.
• An unknown individual who seemed to be highly intoxicated went into a store on Clinton Street and purchased a bottle of cola. He then walked over to a display of beer, and the store clerk said, "Not this time," because she did not want to sell the man alcohol as he appeared to already be intoxicated. The man took an 18-pack of Labatt Blue and left without paying.
• Police responded to Campus Drive where someone reported a man was breaking into a two-door green car. Police discovered he was just trying to get into his own car.
• A Berehaven Drive resident complained to police about a group of teens playing football on his front lawn. He wanted them to leave.
• A patrol arrived at a Cheektowaga residence to investigate a complaint of a possible burglary. A highly intoxicated man at the residence confessed he had lied about the complaint in order to gain access to his parents' home. The subject's mother said he could stay there for the night, so the officer left. Several minutes later, the patrol returned because the subject had called the police again and was verbally abusive and using foul language. The subject's parents told police their son he was not welcome there any more.
• A pizza delivery person said he had been to a house on Seneca Street where he was paid with fraudulent money. After realizing the money was counterfeit, he attempted to knock on the door of the residence but no one responded. Police responded and followed footprints in the snow, which led to a car in the driveway. The suspect was lying in the front seat of the vehicle.
• Patrolmen extinguished a fire that started inside of a dishwasher on Princeton Place.
• A Clarence woman was charged with driving while her license was suspended when she was stopped on Goodrich Road; she was released on an appearance ticket.
• A woman complained she was being followed by a man at the Boulevard Mall. He was walking around the food court and claimed he was waiting to meet his wife.
• A Covent Garden Lane resident reported a UPS package had been sitting on a neighbor's utility box for three days. The box had only garbage in it and was disposed of.
• A Seneca Street resident came home to find a vehicle resting against a tree on her lawn. There was no driver or keys in the car. Someone had apparently pushed the vehicle into the yard as a prank.
• A 29-year-old Dunkirk woman was charged with larceny and possession of burglar's tools after attempting to steal diet pills and razor blades from a Cheektowaga drug store.
• A clerk at Target in Orchard Park told police that a man she believed to be in his 40s exposed himself at the checkout counter.
• Police were called to a dispute on Creekside Drive where a 15-year-old girl was out of control. The mother controlled the situation by sitting on the daughter.
• A North French Road resident said a man came to the complainant's door looking for youths with paintball guns that would have sprayed his mother's car. The complainant asked the man if he called police and he said, "No, I'm taking matters into my own hands."
• An officer was on Mill Road searching for two brothers with warrants out for their arrest. He spotted one of the suspect's vehicles and attempted to pull it over, but the driver did not stop. The vehicle pulled into a driveway and one of the suspects exited. He told the officer his license was in his house. The officer told the suspect he had a warrant for his arrest and to put down his beer and put his hands behind his back. The suspect said, "Let me put my beer inside." The suspect struggled with the officer, but was placed under arrest. Police located the second suspect hiding in a basement cabinet.
• Harassment was reported at a Ridge Lea Road business after an employee, who was let go, threatened to shoot the complainant if he did not get his bonus check.
• A Tonawanda man on a motorcycle struck a parked car. Upon police arrival, the driver was sitting on top of his motorcycle and smelled like alcohol. When asked if he had been drinking, he replied, "Way too much."
• A group of males and one female entered a store. While inside, one man purchased a 12-pack of beer and another asked the clerk if she was going to let him walk out of the store without paying. The clerk said no, but the man walked out anyway.
• Two customers paid $1.18 of their bill at an Amherst restaurant, leaving $20.35 unpaid. One of the suspects, a male in his 20s, also removed his shoes when he went up to get food, causing another customer to complain.
• A taxi driver called police after a man refused to pay him cab fare. The suspect had asked for a ride to Wegmans, then said he would pay the driver later, when they got to Buffalo. A patrol arrived at Wegmans. When the suspect exited the cab, the officer noticed something in the man's left pant leg. There were 29 Funsaver cameras, which he had apparently shoplifted from Wegmans. The suspect was placed under arrest.
• Town of Tonawanda Police responded to a welfare check and upon entering the apartment found several marijuana plants. The woman begged police not to confiscate them because "they were not big enough to smoke yet."
• A Charlesgate Circle resident complained about getting a ticket for parking illegally. Reportedly she did so because someone took her parking spot.
• A Hummingbird Lane resident reported that at some point during the day unknown persons took the solar cover half-off the pool and went swimming.
• Someone stole about three cases of Bud Light from an outdoor cooler at the Red Brick Inn. The suspect also took two trolleys to transport the beer. Wheel tracks indicate the beer was taken to a vehicle parked under the Thruway bridge.
• A patrol stopped a vehicle believed to have been involved in a larceny on Center Road. The driver had several items for which he had no receipts in his car, including a bag of ham, two cases of Ramen noodles, a package of beef tenderloin and two onions. The suspect also had a marijuana joint in the ash tray of his car.
• A suspicious person thought to be wearing a "gothic" outfit was smoking a cigarette in Mang Park. It was a security guard.
• Youths were throwing eggs at moving vehicles on Westgate Road.
• A Northpointe Parkway business had the letters loosened from the entrance sign and changed to read to something about pornography.
• Police responded to a disturbance at Union Common. The couple was advised to stay in separate corners of the condo for the night.
• A car was reported stolen from a Transit Road parking lot; it was later found where the driver had parked it.
• An Allendale Road resident reported receiving threatening calls on her cell phone in which an unknown female said, "Wait until tomorrow morning."
• A woman was issued an appearance ticket for attempting to steal a bottle of conditioner, chicken Caesar salad and a cookie cake from a supermarket in Tonawanda.
• A woman reportedly left her purse in her unlocked vehicle as she used a restroom in Ellicott Creek Park. After she returned to her vehicle and drove away, she realized her purse was missing. When she returned to the park later that evening she was chased away by skunks.
• A woman reportedly parked her vehicle on Hamilton Road overnight and when she returned, it had been covered in marshmallow fluff, bologna and mustard.
• An officer responded to a report of a vehicle fire at the Seneca Street entrance ramp to Route 400. He arrived to find the vehicle engulfed in flames with the driver standing nearby. The driver, who had an odor of alcohol on his breath, said he had blacked out while driving and did not know what happened.
• A neighbor dispute was investigated on Greiner Road; two subjects were charged with harassment. They were released on appearance tickets.
• A solicitor, described as a 25-year-old white male with bleached blonde hair, wearing a leopard print shirt, was on North French Road attempting to sell magazines. The man, who was missing most of his teeth, was advised by police.
• A hotel employee on Flint Road reported a dog ran out of one of the rooms and was barking outside of the front door. The dog was returned to its room.
• On Foxberry Drive a resident complained about a substance, possibly paint, on the complainant's 2006 Cobalt. Police reported it was goose droppings.
• A motorist on North French Road reported that youths in two vehicles were waving wrenches and hammers out of the windows and swearing at motorists.
• A Lexington Green man befriended a woman who called herself "Jasmine" while at a bar on Elmwood Avenue. He brought her home and the two were talking and having beers when she offered to make him a mixed drink. She prepared the drink and then reportedly kept nagging him to "guzzle it down." He finished the drink and passed out within 15 minutes. When he awoke around 10 the next morning, he found the following items missing from his residence: a laptop computer, cell phone, CD player, Coach watch and hooded sweatshirt.
• An officer noticed a vehicle pull into an auto service facility on Seneca Street and drive around the back of the building although the business was closed. The driver said he was looking for a place to fix his girlfriend's son's dump truck.
• A patrol picked up an individual on East & West Road who had a warrant out of Buffalo for driving with a suspended license. While the suspect was being held in the booking room at the police station, a dispatch officer observed the man pull down his pants and remove pills that had been concealed on his person. The suspect swallowed one tablet and placed the remaining pills in his work boot.
• Police responded to a report that someone had driven a vehicle through a fence and onto the lawn on the south side of Winchester Elementary.
• A larceny was investigated at a Transit Road jewelry store in which $6,500 in diamonds was taken.
• On High Park Boulevard a family of ducklings fell into the sewer grate and the mother and father ducks were "very frantic." Police found nothing showing and "no quacking."
• Fives males were in custody for a food fight that took place at Niagara Falls Boulevard business.
• An unknown suspect put metal shavings in the motor of a bulldozer belonging to a Seneca Street construction company. The shavings caused the motor to blow up. The complainant noted that someone has previously vandalized this equipment by putting shavings, sand and Pepsi in the transmission.
• A patrol stopped a vehicle after observing it weaving and turning into the oncoming lane of traffic on Seneca Street. There was an odor of alcoholic beverage emanating from the driver. He said he drank a couple of beers. The officer asked the driver to recite the alphabet, and the suspect said "A," then "T" and started laughing.
• Criminal mischief was reported by a man driving on Willow Green Drive. He said a tennis ball was thrown at the car, causing minor scratches. Reportedly the suspect admitted to throwing the ball because he thought the car was speeding and agreed to pay for damages.
• A North Union Road resident found a big pile of bones under a pile of trash she removed from the yard. Police determined they were of a deer.
• A patrol responded to a report of a loud party on Forestall Lane. Upon his arrival, the officer heard a bang and saw a vehicle up against a Dumpster. The vehicle backed up and then pulled forward, striking the Dumpster again. When attempting to recite the alphabet, the driver got to G, but then mixed up the letters. He tried again, but continued to confuse the letters until finally he got to T and said, "Oh, you know."
• Deputies notified the highway department of a grate missing from a drain hole on North Davis Road.
• Deputies investigated a complaint from a subject on Clinton Street regarding an assault after a traffic incident. Patrols located both subjects and both were advised.
• A Rehm Road teen reported he was the victim of a road rage incident. He told police he was at the corner of Dick Road and Broadway when a Lancaster man exited his vehicle and punched and broke the windshield of his vehicle. The teen said neither he nor his three passengers were antagonizing the other driver.
• A welfare check was requested on Island Park on Main Street for a middle aged man that was on the ground moaning. He was practicing yoga.
• A black toy poodle was reportedly "out and about," harassing landscapers on Nature Cove Court. The dog's owners were at work when the dog worked its way out of the garage.
• A Depew resident received an unusual phone call from a man inquiring about some clothing she was trying to sell through an advertisement in several local publications. The caller asked if he could purchase unwashed clothing.
• A white male with gray hair filled two plastic bags with various merchandise at Rite-Aid on Seneca Street and fled without paying. The stolen merchandise included skin care products, an electric razor, two at-home cocaine drug tests, two bottles of Advil and 11 packages of razor blades.
• Property was found in an attic of a Main Street building by someone who was doing maintenance work. The identification the wallet was for a woman born in 1949.
• A North Woodshire resident complained that she had a wild bird in her house and thought she might have killed it by moving the refrigerator.
• Emergency responders were called to Crosspointe Parkway where one person was bleeding from stitches and another passed out from seeing the blood.
• A Millersport Highway resident called police because his roommate was smoking marijuana and he couldn't stand the smell.

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