Westlake -
On 2/1/19 a Detroit Rd business owner reported that he discovered several of his bank deposits were not accounted for.The business was missing several thousand dollars.The suspect is a former employee.The investigation is ongoing.
On 2/2/19 an officer made a traffic stop of a GMC Yukon on I90 at Columbia Rd for a violation.The operator was driving under suspension and had active warrants from both Lakewood and Middleburgh Hts PDs.While being arrested for these violations, the 35yo from Cleveland admitted that he had been driving back from Elyria where he bought what he believed was heroin.A baggie of the suspected drug was located along with a digital scale and marijuana grinder.The male was charged with possession of heroin and possessing criminal tools.
On 2/5/19 at approx. 2:40PM WPD received a call from Lakefront Bus Lines reporting that one of their buses pulled over on I90 at Crocker.A female on the bus had reported to the driver that she was being held against her will by a male who was also on the bus.Officers responded and separated the 2 passengers.The adult female from Illinois reported that she was being directed as a prostitute by the male on the bus.They had traveled through several states while “working” before ending up on the side of the road in Westlake.The male half, a 27yo from Peoria, IL denied the allegations indicating instead that they were a couple and just liked to travel.After officers investigated the claims, the male was taken into custody.He was charged with felony Promoting Prostitution.WPD investigators are working alongside detectives with the Cuyahoga County Human Trafficking Task Force to continue gathering evidence which will be presented to a grand jury to determine further charges.
On 2/7/19 at about 3:15AM a resident on Settlers Reserve Way reported that after he heard his car alarm sound, he observed a male wearing a hoodie walking away from his yard.He suspected that the male was trying to steal from his vehicle.Officers responded to the area and located a male hiding in the bushes.They were not fooled by the suspect’s story that he was hiding from his girlfriend with whom he was in a fight.The male slurred about being dropped off by the girlfriend but could not explain what they were doing in the neighborhood nor how he could mistake several uniformed officers with flashlights and marked police cars as his frightening girlfriend.The male was placed into custody for disorderly conduct while being intoxicated while the investigation continued.In the meantime, another officer located an occupied running vehicle parked in a driveway around the corner on Sperrys Forge Tr.This was the same vehicle described as belonging to the angry girlfriend.The female in the vehicle agreed that she was with the male who had been located in the bushes.She could not explain why she had pulled into a stranger’s driveway on the residential street.The female was field tested and arrested for Physical Control of the car.Conveniently, officers located items, including pills and a purse, in the female’s vehicle that had been stolen from car break ins in both Bay Village and Westlake.The couple were both charged with felony receiving stolen property along with several misdemeanors.The stolen merchandise including credit cards will be returned to their rightful owners.
On 2/7/19 at approx. 2pm a resident of Bay Landing Dr reported that someone let air out of a tire on his vehicle and stole the spare tire off the SUV.The vehicle had been parked in the lot of the condo complex.
On 2/7/19 a Westlake resident reported he fell victim to a scam.It started earlier in the month with a phone call from an unknown number.The male on the line was excited to announce that the soon to be victim had won a contest and to collect the cash prize a certain amount of money would have to be “fronted.”At the instruction of the unnamed contest entity, the victim bought gift cards and eventually a laptop computer to send to the fraudsters.In all the victim was out several thousand dollars.After becoming suspicious the male reported the activity to his bank who in turn sent him to the police.
On 2/7/19 an officer stopped a vehicle for a traffic violation on Detroit Rd at Columbia Rd.The operator said that he forgot his driver’s license but provided a name and date of birth as identification.This information belonged to a real person, but not the real person who was driving the car.Furthermore, the driver did not know how to properly spell his supposed own last name.A short investigation revealed the correct identity of the operator who was lying because he was driving under several license suspensions.The 22yo from North Olmsted was arrested for misidentification as well as driving under suspension.
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