Police responded to a vandalism call at the 2600 block of E. 16th Street. Officers had already responded to numerous attempted break-ins/home invasions in the Highland Park area on this evening and it appeared likely this incident was related. The victim said she was home at approximately 9:50 p.m. when she heard banging on the rear door. She went to the back door and found it had been kicked in, causing damage to the door jamb and lockset ($200). The metal mesh security door had been cut around the lock area ($100) so that the intruder could unlock it from the inside prior to kicking in the main exterior door. An officer observed that the home occupants had touched both door knobs and the damaged area before he could check for possible fingerprints so it was not practical to attempt to process them. Officers checked the area extensively. However, no suspect was located and it was not certain whether this incident was related to the other incidents on the same day.
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An officer responded on an aggressive panhandling call at 400 Market St. The officer observed Donell Cash block the pathway of several citizens and ask them for cash as he "worked" the parking lot on Market Street between Fourth and Fifth streets. Cash told the officer that he was trying to get enough money to purchase a bottle of liquor.
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Police responded to 1202 Chestnut St. Upon arrival an officer spoke with a man who wished to report his vehicle stolen and recovered. Two men said they were sharing a hotel room together behind this parking garage. They both had their vehicles parked there. One man went out to the parking garage around 2:48 a.m. to put some of his bags in his car because they were leaving in a few hours. He said he noticed a female in the car of his friend. He called him on the phone and asked who was in his car and he stated that no one should be in it. The other man came running out into the parking garage and witnessed a female inside his vehicle begin to pull out of the parking space and stop at the payment kiosk at the parking garage exit. The owner ran up to his vehicle and demanded the female get out of his car. The woman asked who he was and he stated he was the owner of the vehicle she was trying to drive away in. He told her she needed to get out or he was calling the police. The woman begged him not to call the police, then she put the car in reverse and backed it into a parking spot. She then got out of the vehicle and handed him the keys that he had lost somewhere two days prior to this incident. The woman then ran over to a bicycle and took off south on Chestnut Street. He said she was a white female in her late 30's, slim build, dark brown hair, wearing a black baseball cap, black jacket, jeans, and a fanny pack. Nothing in his vehicle was taken. Police attempted to locate the female, but were unable to.
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At the Church of the Nazarene on N. Terrace, police spoke with Pastor Eric Johnson. He said sometime overnight someone vandalized the outdoor church trailer. The suspect sprayed graffiti signs on all sides of the trailer. The pastor estimates that it might cost between $500 to $1,000 to repaint the areas. The church does not have any surveillance footage and at this time the suspect remains unknown.
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Police checked out a theft in the 900 block of S. Crest Road. The victim reported that she had five packages delivered the day before. Shortly after being dropped off on the front porch a white female stole them. The theft was caught on her home video system. The footage showed the white female come onto the front porch and take all five packages. She gave them to the passenger of a dark-colored minivan. The packages contained a dress, fabric softener and miscellaneous packages supplies.
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At the Speedway at 7420 Bonny Oaks Dr., an officer spoke with the manager, who stated that a gray Toyota Camry pulled up to the store and two black males got out. They came into the store and grabbed eight cases of beer (18 count boxes) and ran out. The manager said that same vehicle came that morning and did the same thing. He said he told these two males not to come back as they were getting into the vehicle. The officer ran the tag and it came back to an address in the 3600 block of Redding Road in Red Bank. He asked Red Bank Police if they could check this address and Red Bank stated that the home owner had sold this vehicle two years ago.
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A woman on Berkley Circle said someone had sprayed graffiti on her fence on two separate occasions. She did not have any suspect information.
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A man said his construction trailer was stolen from the residence he was doing work at on Harbor Hills Road. He described his trailer as a red single-axle trailer with various tools inside. He valued the trailer at $1,800 and the tools inside at approximately $4,000. The trailer had been sitting in the driveway of that location due to him doing renovation work for the homeowner.