Police saw a man in the doorway of Olivet Baptist Church, 740 E. Martin Luther King Boulevard, which was closed. Police spoke with the man and later identified him. He said he was just charging his phone and the pastor allowed this as long as he kept the property clean.
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The night clerk at the Microtel Inn & Suites, 7014 McCutcheon Road, told police he had a guest that was causing problems, but that the guest had agreed to leave. The guest left while police were on scene.
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Police observed a black Ford Fusion backed in next to the pavilion at Boulevard Park, 4801 Divine Ave. Police found this to be suspicious due to the time of morning (5:43 a.m.) and a high number of stolen vehicles recovered around that area. The officer noticed a black male sleeping in the vehicle. Police approached the vehicle and also noticed a white female in the passenger seat. Police asked the man if he had any identification, to which he responded he did not. Police attempted to get the tag off the vehicle and observed that it had a temporary tag. The officer then asked the man if he had any kind of paperwork for the vehicle and he said he did not, that he was "borrowing" the car. Police began to suspect the vehicle may be stolen and requested the driver open his door. At this point, he took off at a high rate of speed through the residential area, without his lights on. Police will be attempting to identify the man. It was found that the property he was on is a city park, which means the park was closed at the time of the interaction.
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A woman on W. Bell Avenue told police that sometime during the night someone entered her unlocked 2022 Toyota Corolla and stole her change, two charms and two music CDs. She requested patrol of the alleyway, as she and the neighbors have been seeing suspicious people
prowling in the alleyway. The residence was added to the Watch List.
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A man told police that one day last week, he lost his phone at the Community Kitchen, 727 E. 11th St. He said he thinks he threw it out when he emptied his trash at the Kitchen. The man could not tell police the brand or anything else about the phone, except it is "assurance" (insurance).
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Police observed a vehicle partially in the roadway on 7th Avenue. Through further investigation, it was determined that the vehicle had been reported stolen from InTown Suites, 5730 Lee Hwy. The vehicle was removed from NCIC as stolen and the owner was notified via phone. The vehicle was towed from the scene via Shackleford Towing.
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A man on Portland Street told police that someone had taken approximately $360 cash from his shirt pocket. The man told police that while he was in Bridgeport, Ala. he had picked up a black female and a black male from a gas station to give them a ride to Chattanooga. He said that once he and the two arrived in Chattanooga, the woman exited the vehicle and began walking south. As the woman began walking south, the man grabbed the cash from his front shirt pocket. He said that at no point was he threatened by either of them, the man just simply took the money from his pocket and fled south also. The man was described to be wearing all black and the woman had orange hair and was wearing tights.
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An employee of a business on Central Avenue told police that a business check for $1,995 was fraudulently changed to $8,840.78 and made payable to Rudy Lyle Thompson. He said the address on the check was a residence on Belle Valley Drive in Nashville. He said the check was cashed or deposited at an unknown location.
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A man told police he left his vehicle parked outside of his father's house on East Avenue and returned to his vehicle to find it stolen. He said there were no identifiable stickers or damage on the vehicle. The vehicle has been put into NCIC as stolen.
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The office manager of Chattanooga Tractor and Equipment, 2034 East Poymer Dr., told police that a black male came into the store and rented two Snapper Pro riding lawn mowers. She said the man provided a Tennessee drivers license and paid with a credit card. The credit card at the time of payment provided the business with an authorization number. The lawn mowers were not returned on the day they were due back, per the agreement, so the business attempted to collect payment and discovered that the payment was declined and the account used to pay was closed. The business provided police with photos of the suspects and a copy of the drivers license to police. The overall value of the equipment is $17,000. Due to the value of the equipment and the fraudulent attempt to use a credit card, this has been forwarded to Fraud Division.
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A woman told police someone entered her Jeep, broke her center console and moved the property inside her vehicle while it was parked in the parking lot at Erlanger, 705 E. 3rd St., between 9:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. She said she has not identified any stolen property yet.
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An employee at the Dollar General, 7345 Lee Hwy., told police he was able to catch on camera a white female with red hair concealing pet items in her purse. There wasn't a clear photo of the woman to possibly identify who she was. The employee doesn't know if she took any other items from the store.
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A suspicious person was reported making a homeless camp on the loading dock behind the Big Lots at 3901 Hixson Pike. Police spoke with the man and identified him and found him to have a warrant out of Blount County; however, it did not verify. The man was told to pack his belongings and move along.
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A man told police his cell phone was stolen at approximately 2 p.m. while he was at the bus stop at 701 Market St.
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Police were walking around the perimeter of the permanently closed Airport Inn, 7725 Lee Hwy., to check for signs of homeless habitation and/or vandalism, due to the property being owned by the city of Chattanooga (private property) and having observed homeless in several of the rooms
previously. While walking the perimeter, police observed that a portion of the chain link fence had been pulled open to make an entry onto the property. Police observed several broken windows and an open door from the fence line. Police entered the property through the hole in the fence and observed that someone had broken the windows to four rooms and had kicked the AC unit under the window inward in a fifth room. In total, six rooms had been entered and showed signs of habitation by people. Police will be following up with Public Works to have the hole in the fence fixed and will continue to patrol the area to prevent future intrusions.