June 18
1:15 a.m. A 35-yer-old Columbus man allegedly was pulled over for driving while intoxicated at Refugee Road and Fullers Way.
2:53 a.m. A 37-year-old Columbus man was pulled over on westbound I-70 after allegedly driving 70 mph on northbound Hill Road between Cross Creek Boulevard and the interstate. The man had a firearm between his seat and center console and the officer smelled alcohol.
When asked why he was driving so fast, he told the officer that he was late for a party, “Ridiculous, right?” When asked to take a field sobriety test the man stated, “No habla ingles.”
9:05 p.m. Police were called to A Team Transmissions on reports that teenagers were rummaging through the console of a Volkswagen. The boys (one from Columbus and one from Violet Township) allegedly collected change from the center console, then bicycled to Kroger on Hill Road. Once at Kroger, they exchanged the coins in the Coin Star machine for $5.00 in cash.
While at Kroger, the two attempted to steal fireworks. The boys admitted that they liked to hang out behind Get Air and light fireworks with another boy. The teens said they were hanging out there when the fence of nearby Legacy Church caught fire. The cause of the fire was determined to be firecrackers lit inside condoms.
June 19
12:51 a.m. Three women in a Mazda SUV allegedly chased an Amazon delivery van driving northbound on Hill Road and threw ranch dressing and barbecue sauce at the driver. Then, they began to throw bottles. When the driver stopped along Stone Creek Drive North, the women attempted to enter the van.
6:14 a.m. A woman reported that someone had entered her Lakes Edge Apartment through her bedroom window.
9:32 a.m. Witnesses reported that a 68-year-old Canal Winchester man drove over the curb at the corner of Hill Road North and Stone Creek Drive, through the grass at US Bank and then hit a sign. He continued across the lawn to enter the parking lot of Red Robin, then drove through the grass along Hill Road to park at Bob Evans.
The responding officer recognized the suspect from a previous vehicle collision at Bob Evans. This was the fourth alleged traffic incident for the man since 2022. In each case, he became belligerent with officers and witnesses. In April 2022, he drew a gun on the driver of the vehicle he hit.
2:46 p.m. A woman called police to report that her boyfriend, a 53-year-old Pickerington man, was allegedly trying to break into her Willow Pond home. When officers arrived, they found the man at the front door with a hammer and a pry bar. He told the police that he lived there, but his girlfriend told the officers that the man lived with his wife near Hines Road.
June 20
1:50 a.m. An officer noticed a Hyundai with its door ajar at the residence of Turnberry. The driver had permission to use the vehicle, but he was wanted on a Franklin County warrant.
8:58 a.m. A Kia Sportage was stolen from the Marcus Cinema lot.
June 21
7:12 p.m. Two women allegedly stole alcohol from Kroger on Hill Road.
June 22
2:20 p.m. A 25-year-old Pickerington man allegedly stole two White Claws and a slushie from Speedway.
3:44 p.m. The Pickerington Founder/CEO of The Starts Within Organization (a nonprofit working to reduce the number of felons who return to prison allegedly stole $200,000 to $300,000 from the organization. Read more.
6:51 p.m. Marijuana was allegedly confiscated from a 22-year-old Reynoldsburg man who committed a lane violation at Hill Road and Turnberry Drive.
7:44 p.m. Police were called to remove a 40-year-old woman from the Arby’s drive thru. She allegedly was unhappy with her meal and refused to leave without a refund of her $15.00 order.
June 23
11:26 a.m. A 41-year-old man from Blacklick called police to report that the driver of a utility van pulled a gun on him outside the north Subway. The man said that he believed the driver was upset because he slowly pulled into a parking spot to avoid a pothole and the other driver must have been in a hurry.
However, a witness allegedly heard the Blacklick man yell, “You can’t park there, b__h!” as he aggressively approached the utility van parked on the far side of the lot. The driver of the van, a 73-year-old Violet Township man, said that he was driving through the lot when he noticed a minivan coming right towards him. He gestured “what are you doing?” The Blacklick man gave him the finger which he returned.
When the Violet Township man parked, the Blacklick man crossed the lot wanting to fight. When he approached the driver’s side window, the older man pulled out a can of pepper spray – not a gun.
June 24
8:55 p.m. A 28-year-old Pickerington man allegedly stopped his car perpendicularly on Hill Road between McDonald’s and BP – blocking the left turn lane onto Refugee Road and a southbound lane on Hill Road. The man was cited for operating a vehicle while intoxicated, not having a license and a marked laned violation.
2:47 p.m. Someone smashed the window of a vehicle at the Violet Township Dog Park and took a purse.
June 26
12:27 a.m. A customer was allegedly caught on camera stealing $46.00 from Marcos Pizza.
11:17 a.m. A Kia Soul was reported stolen from Firestone. It was found crashed behind Redwood Apartments.
7:01 p.m. Two Pickerington teenagers were allegedly smoking marijuana in Sycamore Park.
8:48 a.m. A duffel bag full of toddler-sized clothing and shoes was found along Diley Road near Wright Road.
10:21 a.m. Someone smashed the window of a vehicle parked along Courtright Drive and took a wallet.
7:28 p.m. A 38-year-old Columbus woman allegedly left Jay’s Crab Boil & Oyster Bar without paying.
June 27
5:33 p.m. A 23-year-old Columbus man, who allegedly shoplifted from Kohls, was also charged with drug possession.
June 28
11:45 a.m. A 36-year-old Columbus man allegedly stole an impact driver from Tractor Supply. The same man had attempted to shoplift from Kohl’s half an hour earlier.
5:04 p.m. A 17-year-old Columbus boy riding in a vehicle allegedly shot a pedestrian in front of Scramblers with an Orbeez gun.
June 30
1:11 a.m. Someone damaged a garage door in the Reserve at Pickerington Ponds.
3:13 a.m. Columbus Police recovered a Kia stolen from the Pickerington Ridge Apartments near Eastland Mall.
5:25 a.m. Columbus Police recovered a Kia stolen from Independence Village near the Speedway on Gender Road.
3:47 p.m. Columbus Police recovered a Kia stolen from a Pickerington man near where Brice and Gender Roads meet.
11:34 p.m. A 50-year-old Columbus man allegedly passed out behind the wheel of his Hyundai stopped in the grassy median of Hill Road near the I-70 onramp. When officers woke the man and asked him if he knew where he was, he answered, “Marysville”. His blood-alcohol measured .121. The legal limit in Ohio is .08.
July 1
9:46 a.m. Police were called to Circle K where a couple were sleeping inside their vehicle. The driver, a 34-year-old Columbus woman was arrested on a warrant, the man walked home, and the car was towed.
3:15 p.m. A Columbus man reported that someone had broken the window of his vehicle parked at Cracker Barrel and had stolen a bag full of winning scratch-off lottery tickets that he intended to redeem.
4:30 p.m. A Pickerington woman reported that someone was attempting to procure credit cards using her identity.
10:52 p.m. A witness reported that juveniles were looking through vehicles in the parking lot of Best Western Executive Suites.
11:47 p.m. A 36-year-old Etna woman allegedly stole food and alcohol from Speedway totaling $13.85. She told police that she had partially paid for the items. The clerk said that the woman had thrown a dollar at him. In her bag she also had a BB gun and three pipes for smoking methamphetamines.
July 3
1:56 p.m. A Pickerington woman reported that she bought two sealed $200 Apple gift cards from Walgreens then discovered that the numbers had already been used. Each card had $0.00 balances.
July 4
2:57 p.m. Police received a report that three teenage girls (two from Columbus and one from Pickerington) got into a fight in Park Alley after the fireworks ended the previous night.
6:25 p.m. Police were called to the Residence at Turnberry on reports that a 36-year-old man pulled a gun on his 61-year-old neighbor. The younger man denied the claim, saying that his wife was being harassed by the older man. He came to her defense, but the gun remained in his waistband. The older man claimed that the woman taunts him by dancing outside his window.
9:39 p.m. At a party on Banbridge Court, a 51-year-old Pickerington man was hit in the eye with shrapnel and received burns to his face after a firework shell detonated belatedly.
July 5
5:51 a.m. A man called police to report that a woman was vandalizing a home on Lorraine Drive. She kicked down a mailbox, damaged a fence, lights and several planters. She allegedly told the man that she was “returning her ex-boyfriend’s things”. However, she vandalized the wrong house. Her boyfriend lived across the street.
3:52 p.m. A 20-year-old Violet Township woman allegedly stole a 24-pack of Twisted Tea from Speedway.
July 6
4:00 p.m. A 55-year-old Pickerington man told police that when he gave his friend, a 45-year-old Kitts Hill woman, a ride home from the Marysville Reformatory, she grabbed his phone and used a cash app to transfer $1,300 from his account to hers.
July 7
8:30 p.m. An officer found marijuana and vape pens on a picnic table in the Willow Pond Park shelter.
July 8
4:07 p.m. Two vehicles parked at Cracker Barrel allegedly had their windows busted and items stolen. The total loss is estimated to be valued at more than $4,500 including electronics, purses and a handgun. Video surveillance revealed a black Nissan Rogue with no front plates parked beside both vehicles. The same vehicle is suspected in a similar theft that occurred at La Fogata Grill a few weeks ago. Officers pinned one of the stolen cell phones to a large apartment complex at 4656 Hilton Ave. on the west side of Columbus.
