Best of the Blotter 2012

Excerpts from police calls are a regular feature in all nine Bee Group Newspapers. Some of the more unusual reports from 2012 are reprinted here. Each is an actual listing from a town police blotter.

Illustrations by Robert Malloy

• An Indian Church Road female was charged with aggravated unlicensed operation after patrol pulled her over for not signaling. When asked for her license, she replied, "I don't have one. I have not had one for over 10 years."
• A person reported that he was crossing train tracks on West Blood Road when a train almost hit him. The person said the caution arms did not lower when the train was approaching.
• A Victoria Avenue resident reported that she discovered a screwdriver and butter knife in the bushes in front of her home.
• A Hamburg woman signed a written statement for East Aurora police, admitting that she participated in stealing $140.86 worth of baby formula from a Grey Street supermarket.
• An Oakwood Drive resident reported to police that he had received numerous calls from various males who stated that they got his phone number from a dating site. The males were looking to contact a female named "Felicia."
• A Hoerner Avenue male reported that the tenants in the upstairs apartment had their electricity turned off and then ran multiple extension cords down to his outlets. The complainant said he had unplugged them, but the neighbors keep plugging everything back in.
• An employee of a Main Street grocery store reported that a man opened dozens of toothpaste boxes, put the tubes into a duffel bag and fled the store.
• A Panama Lane resident reported that garbage had been stolen from in front of the house for the fourth time in eight months.
• A Springfield Drive female reported that her children were playing in the house with improvised flamethrowers.
• A group of children were "performing death-defying acts in front of motorists" at Hanley Park.
• An 85-year-old woman left her son's home in Buffalo and drove in a reckless manner through West Seneca and Cheektowaga. She was found and stopped eventually by the Cheektowaga police and was returned safely to her home.
• A Countryside Lane man reported that sometime overnight someone entered his unlocked vehicle and stole several bags of recently purchased school supplies totaling $198.77.
• Two women got into a public fight and were throwing water bottles at each other in Orchard Park.
• A Winterhall Road man reported finding his car covered in ketchup, toilet paper and an "unknown, light substance."
• Patrol responded to Main Street near Davidson Road at 2 a.m. for a report of three teens lying in the middle of the road. The teens were advised.
• Police responded to a Niagara Falls Boulevard pet business where an employee reported that a $25 bill for dog grooming services was not paid.

• Two sisters, ages 22 and 23, were having a loud argument over bacon in a Marne Road residence.
• A road rage incident on Walden Avenue led to one motorist throwing a bag of ice at another's vehicle.
• A Boston woman reported that she stopped to fill her tire at Stadium Mobil and, as she did, put her change purse on the top of her car. She then drove away, not realizing until hours later that she never retrieved the purse from the top of the car. In it were her wedding ring, necklace, earrings and cash totaling $4,160.
• A Lakeview Avenue woman reported that she's being repeatedly harassed by a tenant at her home. When she arrived home that day, the tenant was screaming at her and telling her that she was going to kill her. The tenant told her that her primary offense is that she walks too loudly.
• Patrol responded to Oak Lane for a neighbor dispute. A female accused a male neighbor of damaging her lawn mower.
• Patrol responded to the Clarence Inn Motel for a report of an intoxicated male who was sitting in the road in a recliner.
• A McKinley Avenue resident reported that her 100-pound white goose lawn ornament was stolen from her property.
• A naked female was seen being chased by a male with a flashlight on Pine Ridge Road.
• An Edmund Street female requested a check on her house, because her husband would be out of town and "strange things happen when he is gone."
• A child called 911 from a Kevin Court address reporting that the battery on his toy Jeep was going dead.
• Deputies responded to Kalayne Lane for a report of a larceny. An intoxicated male claimed that someone stole his pants and beat him up.
• Patrol confiscated a rock as possible evidence in relation to a broken greenhouse window at a French Road business.
• More than 300 prescription pills were reported stolen from a Harlem Road apartment after it was ransacked. Approximately $400 hidden in a Bible was also missing.
• A woman was arrested for driving while intoxicated after allegedly hitting another vehicle in the Mighty Taco drive-thru on Ridge Road. When she pulled over to exchange information with the victim, she apparently also drove onto and over the curb. She admitted to patrol that she previously drank three glasses of wine while taking Xanax.
• A 5-foot-long python bit a dog on Toelsin Road.
• A Linda Drive female was not happy with the way her daughter was doing the laundry.
• A female in the produce section of a Transit Road grocery store reported that a female slapped her in the face and said she shouldn't leave her kids in the car.
• A Cheektowaga female reported that a female in another apartment was threatening to beat her up because she "took too many meatballs and way too much sauce."
• A Jamison Road caller reported that an intoxicated male was urinating outside, then re-entered his vehicle and continued to drink. He was charged with exposure and released on appearance tickets to a third party.
• A David Drive resident reported that her neighbor was trying to disrupt her party by mowing his lawn and using a grass trimmer near her guests.
• A resident of Tonawanda Creek Road reported that two men were in his yard with a baseball bat and a 12-pack of beer. The resident told police he told the men to leave his property after he spotted them urinating near a bedroom window.

• A confused male wearing a clown outfit on Cleveland Drive was advised.
• Patrol responded to a motel on Main Street in Clarence for the report of a snake in a complainant's room.
• An employee of a Cleveland Drive funeral home complained that youths were skateboarding in the parking lot and making too much noise.
• A Stolle Road caller reported an ongoing issue with a barking dog. The dog's owner was notified and agreed to find someone to take care of it when he is not home.
• Five cats were reported missing from a Clinton Street business. One owner reports that a couple was in the shop near closing time the night before and inquired about the cats.
• A woman reported that seven Sunoco gas station bumper stickers were applied to her vehicle on Lyndale Court.
• A Barrymore Road male reported that a group of youths threw snowballs at him when he went outside for a smoke.
• A Cleveland Drive female said she lost her husband inside the house.
• A Buffalo man was arrested for driving while intoxicated after striking a fire hydrant, an above-ground pool, two fences and shrubbery on Center Road. The man failed several sobriety tests.
• An Orchard Park liquor store reported that a man put a bottle of Knob Creek Whiskey into his jacket before walking out of the store.
• Kohl's department store reported that a man tried to leave the store with two packages of Jockey underwear worth $54.
• An Arthur Mussara Parkway male reported that his wife left him for two months to go work for a carnival, leaving him to take care of two children. The male wanted police to file abandonment charges.
• A guest in a Walden Avenue hotel reported that people in a nearby room might be setting up a meth lab.
• A male called from Corrine Lane stating that an unknown male had followed his wife from Amherst and that he and some friends had the vehicle blocked in on a dead-end street. The man was a private investigator mistakenly following the wrong person.
• A battery weighing 130 pounds was taken from a pay loader that was parked behind Reserve Fire Hall on Berg Road. The battery was said to be worth $300.
• A man was observed loading approximately 2 tons of scrap metal from Ebenezer Railcar on Indian Church Road into his red pickup. When the complainant questioned his actions, the man asked, "Is this steel?"
• Patrol followed an alleged drunk driver who was swerving on Seneca Street and who did not activate his vehicle's headlights. When patrol initiated a traffic stop, the vehicle struck the curb and went up onto the sidewalk, also striking a road marker. The driver had bloodshot eyes and garbled speech. In an attempt to recite the alphabet, the man repeated "AB3" several times.
• A Tamark Court male called police because he didn't want his brother-in-law to live there. However, the complainant's wife did want the brother to live there, so he stayed.
• Traffic was disrupted on French Road by a dog relieving itself in the middle of the road.
• Police responded to a North Seine Drive residence where a male and female were having an argument about how the pizza had been sliced.
• A Currier Street female reported that a male has been writing messages in the snow on her car while she is at work and leaving presents for her at her home.
• An East Cherbourg Drive male reported that his girlfriend used his Social Security number to get a job at the Walmart on Transit Road.
• Police received reports that a woman was standing outside by the cars at the Cheektowaga Records Center on Maryvale Drive, saying she needed someone to guard the cars because a congresswoman had taken hers.
• A Washington Avenue resident was arrested for harassment after he threw a coffee table down a flight of stairs.
• Police responded to Olmstead Avenue after a man reported that his girlfriend's son broke the cover of the thermostat and damaged the wall.
• An employee of a Maple Road dental office reported that a 22-year-old male was causing a disturbance at the business. The employee said the man, who canceled several previous appointments, was in the office for dental work but was unhappy because he had to wait his turn.
• A Jerome Drive female reported that her soon-to-be ex-husband was calling her business customers claiming to be an FBI agent and telling them that the business was under investigation for fraud.
• An Orchard Park man reported that someone went into the detached garage, jacked up the car, and stole the tire and rim.
• Patrol responded to a report of a suspicious vehicle parked on Lein Road. It was learned that the female passenger had an outstanding warrant out of the Town of Tonawanda for prostitution. She told patrol she was waiting for a friend named "Mike." However, both her clothing and possessions were indicative of prostitution.
• An unknown male wearing a Mario Brothers T-shirt reportedly struck another man in the face at a Union Road bar.
• Patrol responded to Cambridge Avenue where four people were attempting to free a vehicle that was stuck in the mud. The driver was observed to have slurred speech, poor coordination and a strong odor of alcohol on his breath. He said they were coming from Niagara Falls where they "drank a lot of whiskey." The man refused to recite the alphabet, stating that he did not know it.
• A resident of West Overlook Drive reported that a window on his motor home had been broken. He believed that it may have been related to a tree-trimming crew working in the area.
• A Cleveland Drive male wanted his wife removed from the house because she was swearing in front of the children.
• A male who was riding his bike around Town Hall and the Police and Court Building told police he was bored because the power was out.
• Police responded to a fast food restaurant on Niagara Falls Boulevard where a group of females reportedly were unhappy with the ice cream cones they ordered. An employee of the restaurant told police that after the women became agitated, they threw the ice cream cones through the drive-thru windows.
• A resident of Fairgreen Drive reported that an intoxicated neighbor was yelling at him about garbage in the yard.
• A West Seneca resident found the words "DEAD MAN" written in shaving cream on his driveway.
• A woman was caught attempting to steal several items, including a metallic Santa-style bra worth $10.99, from Kmart on Orchard Park Road.
• A 49-year-old man from Ohio was caught soliciting tickets to the Buffalo Bills game on the Route 219 ramp at Milestrip Road and was subsequently charged with disorderly conduct, obstructing traffic, being a pedestrian on a prohibited part of the state highway and soliciting on a highway.
• A Caroline Lane resident reported that an unknown person vomited all over his vehicle.
• A woman reported to police that while she was arguing with a man on Lincoln Street, he took her cellphone out of the pocket of her hooded sweatshirt and smashed it on the ground. When she picked it up, he grabbed her arm and bit her thumb.
• Police responded to a department store on Transit Road after receiving a report that a shoplifter was in custody. After taking the subject back to the police station, it was observed she was wearing a new pair of sneakers. She later admitted to stealing those, too.
• A cashier at a gas station on Transit Road called police after he discovered a roll of quarters that a customer had given in exchange for a $10 bill was actually filled with metal washers.
• Police were called to a gas station on Transit Road after the owner reported that an irate woman had urinated on the side of a Dumpster in his parking lot after being told there were no public restrooms available.
• Police stopped a woman driving into a parking lot of a movie theater on Transit Road after observing her holding what appeared to be a beer bottle. The woman said she was picking up her children from a movie. Police noticed a beer bottle and mug filled with beer under a newspaper in the center console of the vehicle. She was charged with DWI.
• Security reported that a man was following a patron around a grocery store. The man told police he visited grocery stores to try to meet women.
• A Depew woman reported that she had received electronic notice that her Facebook page would be shut down unless she was able to provide her email account name, password and credit card information. Scammers were able to get her credit card information and charged $75 to the card for online poker.
• A man was charged with petit larceny after he allegedly attempted to steal shrimp and cases of energy drinks from a grocery store on Dick Road. The man fled to his vehicle, losing his left shoe in the process.
• A resident of Via Marina Drive reported that one of her neighbors had left a bag of dog feces on her front steps with a note to keep her pet on a leash.
• Patrol received complaints of males running naked and removing road signs on Quaker Road near Grover Road. Police noticed several vehicles parked at a Grover Road residence and decided to investigate. The suspects at the residence denied involvement, but patrol found one of the missing road signs under trees in the backyard.
• A man was charged with petit larceny after he was found to have been stuffing several grocery items into his pants and sleeves while riding a motorized scooter around inside a Transit Road grocery store.

• A Chapel Avenue resident reported finding a large opossum in the basement. It was actually a rat. Police advised the resident to get a rat trap.
• An Affinity Lane male reported that he wanted to get back into his apartment but was afraid that his roommate would attack him, because the roommate was upset about getting caught with drugs.
• A bicycle with two flat tires was found on North Buffalo Road.
• A 10-year-old male tore up an Ivanhoe Road house because he was not being allowed to go trick-or-treating.
• A Harlem Road supermarket reported that a white male took 35 cases of Pepsi without paying for them.
• An Orchard Park woman was charged with driving while intoxicated, aggravated unlicensed operation and failure to have an interlock device in the vehicle after patrol observed her cross the center and fog lines on Orchard Park Road. After failing several field sobriety tests, she told patrol, "Just go ahead and arrest me."
• A Klas Avenue man was charged with unlawfully fleeing an officer after patrol observed him doing a "wheelie" on his motorcycle on Arcade Street.
• An Elmwood Avenue store manager reported that a vehicle parked in the lot was taking up two spaces, including a portion of a handicap spot. The complainant claimed that when he asked the vehicle owner to move the car, the driver said, "It's an $85,000 vehicle, and I can park that way."
• Two people were assaulted in the parking lot of O'Neill's Stadium Inn. The victims said one of the men was dressed in a pink tutu costume.
• A Tonawanda man was stopped for speeding on Newhouse Road. The male insisted that exceeding the posted speed limit was not a violation of New York State law. He was ticketed.
• A Linda Drive female reported that her roommate wasn't home and didn't leave a light on, so she was scared to go inside.
• A 13-year-old male caught shoplifting in the Walden Galleria told police he didn't know his home phone number or address.
• A Broadway male needed help removing a 150-pound Rottweiler from the bathtub.
• A woman called police after she cleaned a male's kitchen in his Williamstowne apartment and he kicked her out without paying after she refused his request for a back rub.

• An Alaska Street female reported that her husband refused to get off the computer so she could use it.
• A manager at a Delaware Avenue pharmacy reported that a male in his 60s had been inside the store's bathroom for approximately 45 minutes. The manager added that this same man was found sleeping in the bathroom the night before.
• A Euclid Avenue female reported that she is moving and that her roommate had dumped frozen food all over her belongings and let it melt.
• Two girls, ages 12 and 13, were caught shoplifting just before 2 p.m. at the Walden Galleria. When asked why they weren't in school, they said they had been suspended.
• A male was found filming two females who were barely clothed in a cemetery on Pine Ridge Heritage Boulevard.
• Police and firefighters responded to a call at a restaurant inside the Walden Galleria after a cook got upset and threw his keys at a sprinkler head, causing it to discharge.
• A Ferndale Drive resident reported that someone stole a doghouse from the backyard.
• Deputies were called to a residence on Lapp Road for a report of a missing person. A woman reported that her boyfriend was several hours overdue. He stated that he was trying to catch up at work and had left his phone in the car.
• A Wheaton Drive boy would not get out of bed to go to school.
• A Bellwood Drive man was charged with petit larceny after an Orchard Park Road department store reported a shoplifter. When asked about the new shoes he was wearing, the suspect replied, "I guess I'm going with you guys."
• Police received a report of a theft-in-progress at the KK Food Mart on Southwestern Boulevard. The man emptied his jacket when he was confronted by the store owner. He had four cans of energy drinks, four candy packages, coffee cakes and doughnuts — items totaling $20 — in his jacket. He left before police arrived.
• A vehicle was traveling south in the northbound lane on Chestnut Ridge Road when it forced a patrol car off the road and then crashed into a fence near the Chestnut Ridge riding stables, taking out a fire hydrant in the process.
• A teenage male made a mess of the restroom at Sunoco on Main Street.
• Police went to the parking lot of a business on Abbott Road at the report of a robbery that occurred. The victim told police he was meeting two men in the lot to purchase Buffalo Bills tickets. He claims the men assaulted him, took his money and fled.
• A burglar alarm was reported on Wildwood Drive. The alarm had been triggered when the homeowner removed an air conditioner from a window.
• A suspicious vehicle was reported in the parking lot of a Clarence jewelry store. It was an off-duty police officer who was waiting for a friend.
• An East Hazeltine Avenue resident reported that her neighbor's son throws items in her yard. Last week it was Barbie and Ken dolls; today it was potted plants and tree limbs.
• An electric company employee reported that while he was attempting to shut off power at a Delaware Road residence, the resident threatened to hit him with a hammer.
• A Michael Avenue male reported that someone had gone through his vehicle overnight. When asked what was taken, the complainant said, "Nothing but some old chicken nuggets."
• A Hamburg man reported three trail stands and a trail camera stolen from his father's home on Ward Road. They are worth an estimated $1,150.
• Deputies responded to Limehouse Drive for a report of an unwelcome person. The complainant stated that another male barged into his home and began yelling at him. The offending subject was advised that he was no longer welcome at the address.
• A Penwood Drive male reported having a opossum under his deck and that he was afraid to try to get to his hot tub.
• An Eastland Parkway male reported that when he got home he found his ex-girlfriend had come in through the back window and was taking a shower. The male had an order of protection against the female, so police arrested her.
• An Angola man who is a vendor at the Antique Mall on Orchard Park Road reported that someone stole 24 rings worth more than $5,000 from one of his display cases.
• A suspicious incident was reported on Goodrich Road. A male stated that he overheard some other kids talking about drugs and now there were three people outside his house. Some other teens from the neighborhood were playing a prank.
• The manager of an Aero Drive strip club reported that a male walked in, did three shots and then passed out. The manager believes the male had a drug overdose, because "he was fine when he walked in."
• The manager of a Genesee Street hotel reported that a male in his 60s, who was not a guest, went into the business center and started looking up porn on the computer.
• Police received a report of a person passed out in a car at the Five Corners. The man was passed out in his vehicle in the driving lane, with the car in drive and his foot on the brake.
• A man reported that he went to his father's house on Southwestern Boulevard and found the rear door window broken. Several items were removed from the home, including a sofa set, table, paintings and a washer and dryer.
• A suspicious vehicle was reported at the park on Greiner Road. A 50-year-old male who was living in his van was ejected from the park.
• A Southgate Road female reported that her cousin jumped on her car and smashed her windshield.
• During a traffic stop on Clinton Street, patrol observed four open cans of beer in the center console of the stopped vehicle. The driver failed several sobriety tests and later registered a 0.28 percent blood alcohol level.
• A Willowdale Drive resident's orange traffic cone, which she places at the end of her driveway to prevent vehicular turnarounds, was stolen sometime overnight.
• Patrol stopped a vehicle with suspended registration on George Drive. Further investigation revealed that the driver's license was suspended and that the license plates did not match. Additionally, the "plates" were actually photo copies created on a computer.
• An elderly Suzette Drive female reported that she was being harassed by her neighbors and had found a half-eaten bird on her door.
• A Lapham Road woman reported the theft of 50 "no trespassing" signs she'd placed on a portion of her property line.
• An Olean Road man reported that he was leaving his residence when his neighbor came up to his car and began to yell at him. The neighbor told patrol that the man had been leaving an outside light on that shines into his bedroom window on purpose.
• Patrol responded to a report of a suspicious vehicle on Delaware Road. Two males had set up a telescope and were observing a meteor shower.
• A Treehaven Road woman was charged with possession of marijuana and growing it after police found a plant growing in her basement. The offender said she didn't know about the plant, adding that it may have belonged to an exchange student she recently had living with her. Patrol advised her that the plant looked freshly watered and was under a lit lamp.
• Police arrested a man accused of stealing three bottles of cologne and two fishing reels from Kmart.
• A man wearing a Santa hat was arrested for shoplifting at the Galleria Mall.

Get the Police Blotter Every week in the mail:
Subscribe to the Bee Today!