December 31
8:12 pm A motorist reported that a vehicle was traveling erratically down Milnor Road. Police caught up with the driver, a 60-year-old woman from Louisville, KY, at the corner of Hill Road and Columbus Street. where her Chevy Traverse had come to a stop after straddling the curb.
The woman explained to the officer that her prescription eyeglasses had broken. She bought a pair of glasses at the Dollar Store but was struggling to see, especially at night. The officer offered her a ride to Comfort Inn. While at the motel, she was able to have her prescription glasses repaired.
January 2
5:25 pm A 56-year-old Pickerington woman told police that she suspected that an employee of Buckeye Carpet Care, Inc. took her wedding band when the company cleaned her home on December 21.
5:52 pm A 82-year-old Canal Winchester woman accidentally left her wallet by the register at Discount Drug Mart and the 31-yearold Newark man behind her in line allegedly took it.
January 4
2:47 am A Canal Winchester woman dialed 9-1-1 to report that her friend in the Pineridge neighborhood feared that someone was outside his home with a gun. No person was found.
3:01 pm A 31-year-old Columbus man was allegedly asked to leave Kroger on Hill Road after yelling at other customers.
3:58 pm A 67-year-old homeless man allegedly tried to cash a forged check at Park National/Fairfield National Bank.
4:06 pm Huguenin Dental called the police to report a theft. A 36-year-old patient from Logan allegedly became belligerent when told that the dentist would need to adjust his tooth before applying a new crown. He refused.
He allegedly snatched the crown (valued at $808) from the tray and proclaimed that he would just glue the crown onto his tooth himself. Then, he let loose a string of obscenities as he stormed from the office.
4:27 pm In what police are calling an incident of road rage, a 56-year-old Pickerington man allegedly keyed the vehicle of a 67-year-old Columbus woman in the parking lot of Giant Eagle.
5:24 pm Police were dispatched to the Learning Never Ends parking lot (in the dip between Ridgeview STEM Junior High and Pickerington High School Central) on reports that someone had damaged a Kia Sedona. The victim reported that he saw two boys in the parking lot ten minutes before discovering that someone had rummaged through his vehicle.
The officers recognized the suspects as two Ridgeview students who earlier that night had been causing a disturbance at the Main Branch of the Pickerington Library The staff reported that the boys (ages 14 and 13) had damaged a young volunteer’s new bicycle by repeatedly throwing it into the street. When the police arrived, the two escaped into the woods by the high school.
At 6:14 pm, the officers received a call from the library that the boys had returned and were again causing a disturbance. At the library, the older boy (Boy A) told police that he and his friend had been at the library earlier that evening but that the library staff accused them of being loud. Even though it was other kids causing the disturbance, the boys decided to go hang out in the woods for a while.
After Boy A’s father arrived and an officer read the boy his Miranda Rights, the boy continued with his narrative. From their vantage point in the woods, the boys saw the Sedona pull into the Learning Never Ends parking lot and they noticed that one of the sliding doors did not appear to close completely.
The two walked to Circle K where Boy A allegedly stole a “screwdriver.” (The police would later identify the object as a “tire repair tool.”) The boys returned to the Kia and allegedly attempted to use the “screwdriver” to start the vehicle.
When officers asked Boy A how expected to start the car without a key, the boy allegedly answered, “It’s a Kia.” However, he failed in his endeavor and only succeeded in snapping the turn signal arm and the wiper control arm off the steering wheel.
The two decided to return to the library where the police met them.
January 5
11:39 am Police were called to Verizon on reports that a customer was causing a disturbance. When the officers arrived, they were met by a 34-year-old Columbus man who accused Verizon of billing him for $1,100 when they led him to believe the price was $600.
Verizon employees provided police with paperwork which they purport proved that the man agreed to pay $1,100. The man said that he did not recall signing the contract. The police planned to review the surveillance footage.
January 6
10:15 pm A 24-year-old Columbus man was charged with driving under a suspended license after police pulled him over for allegedly not having a license plate light and speeding on Interstate 70.
January 7
8:38 pm A resident of Pickerington Village reported that her ring camera recorded an unknown man taking a flat Amazon package from her front doorstep. She had not ordered anything; therefore, she did not know the contents of the package.
January 8
1:16 pm A 51-year-old Reynoldsburg woman reported that a man in a white work van pulled a gun on her as she was ordering food from the McDonald’s drive thru on Hill Road. The man, a 38-year-old Pickerington resident, said that he did have a gun in his van, but he never threatened the woman with it.
The man told police that he first encountered the women as he was trying to enter Interstate 70 from James Road. He said that she made it difficult to merge onto the interstate. When he finally succeeded to merge, he alleged that the woman flashed her gold teeth at him in a menacing way.
Both parties claimed the other followed them to the McDonald’s lot.
5:44 pm The Loss Prevention Officer at Kohl’s called the police station to report a robbery in process. Three individuals had allegedly just left the store with a cart full of merchandise. Officers caught up to the suspect’s Volkswagen as it pulled through the Taco Bell parking lot.
The vehicle came to a stop in the Premier School parking lot. A 35-year-old Columbus man allegedly exited the car then fled behind the daycare. Officers caught up to the man after tripped and fell.
Allegedly, the police said that the man falsely identified himself multiple times. When asked why he ran, the man allegedly responded that he had swallowed a bag of “fentanyl.” The officers found Kohl’s athletic apparel, valued at $1097.39, in the suspect’s vehicle.
January 10
10:08 am When cleaning theatre Ten at Marcus Cinema, staff reportedly found a pistol in a paper bag.
3:34 pm A 14-year-old boy at Pickerington High School Central allegedly stole from a 16-year-old girl. The boy is being investigated for grand theft, but no other details were provided.
6:55 pm An officer pulled over a 25-year-old Columbus man on Hill Road near Stonecreek Drive NW for allegedly not properly displaying a license plate. He was also accused of driving without a license and failure to file vehicle registration.
January 11
11:13 am Police cited a 56-year-old Columbus woman for allegedly hitting the vehicle of an 83-year-old Columbus man then skipping the scene. Both vehicles attempted to turn left onto State Route 204 from southbound Hill Road. The woman’s vehicle had expired tags.
12:21 pm A Pickerington Schools bus driver reported that the Little Tigers Preschool shuttle struck the back corner of her bus. The driver said that she was loading students onto the bus when the collision occurred.
12:36 pm A 27-year-old Reynoldsburg man was cited after he allegedly ran a stoplight on Hill Road near Interstate 70 and crashed into another vehicle. He was driving without a license.
January 12
12:55 am Police pulled over a vehicle in the Cherry Hill neighborhood for allegedly missing a license plate light. The driver, a 43-year-old Canal Winchester man, allegedly had a suspended license. When he opened the glove compartment for his insurance information, the officer observed a handgun.
Due to a previous conviction for drug trafficking, the man was not permitted to possess a firearm. He told officers that the gun belonged to his son. When he came to pick up his father from the police station, the son confirmed that the gun belonged to him.
11:58 am An 18-year-old man was pulled over near Hill Road and Diley for allegedly driving without a license and using fictitious plates.
5:06 pm Police responded to a complaint in Pickerington Hills that a 74-year-old man was involved in the “unauthorized use of a vehicle”. The vehicle owner was wanted on a warrant. The police report provided no further details about the incident.
7:00 pm Two 18-year-old women from Reynoldsburg allegedly stole $519.50 worth of merchandise from Kohls.
