December 29
2:41 pm In the Sycamore Creek neighborhood, a dog got out through an open door and reportedly bit another dog that was walking with its owner.
4:16 pm A stranger claiming to be a 14-year-old girl befriended a 16-year-old Pickerington boy on Instagram and allegedly told him that she would send him topless photos of herself if he sent her nudes first. The boy denied sending the stranger nude photos, but he said that he did send a shirtless selfie.
After receiving the image, the stranger sent the boy an explicit image of a young man. The man’s head had been cropped out of the photo, yet the “girl” threatened that she would claim the image belonged to the Pickerington boy and share it with his contacts. The stranger also told the boy that she would falsely claim to his friends and family that he was wanted by the authorities for a horrific act.
To keep the image and false claims from spreading, the boy was instructed to send the stranger payments. He transferred $25 via his cash app then approached his mother to borrow $65 more. When his mother asked him why he needed the money, the truth was revealed, and she called the police.
Unfortunately, perpetrators of this type of blackmail, known as “sextortion,” commonly target young people. Three years ago, an Olentangy High School football player named Braden Markus fell victim to a similar scam and ended his life. On January 8, 2025, Gov. Mike DeWine signed “Braden’s Law,” making sextortion a third-degree felony.
December 30
3:18 pm An officer pulled over a Nissan Sentra near the intersection of Hill Road and Stonecreek Drive South because the LEADS database had no record of the license plate. The database did not have a record of the vehicle identification number either. The 37-year-old driver could not explain why neither the vehicle nor the plate was registered. He was allegedly driving with a suspended license.
December 31
11:47 am Three women allegedly entered the liquor department of the Kroger on Hill Road and stole alcohol, primarily Casamigos Tequila. Video surveillance reportedly recorded them concealing the bottles in large purses then leaving the store. The vehicle in which they drove away had been reported stolen.
4:47 pm A 36-year-old woman allegedly stole clothing from Kohl’s and officers reportedly found methamphetamines in her purse.
10:47 pm A bartender at Classic’s Sports Bar requested that police issue a 41-year-old man a “No Trespass” order after allegedly causing a disturbance for the second night in a row.
January 1
3:32 pm Two teenage boys were allegedly hanging out behind the Circle K when one of them decided to “paint his mark” on the electrical box. Police found the friend of the suspected vandal, but the 17-year-old boy refused to provide his companion’s name.
4:00 pm Officers arrested a man at a home in the Meadows neighborhood on an outstanding warrant.
January 2
9:15 am A man allegedly tried to cash a forged check at Huntington Bank.
12:05 pm A resident of Violet Springs Health Campus alleged that someone had come into her room during the night and stolen her ring. A woman in an adjacent room was reportedly missing $50 from her dresser.
9:12 pm Multiple witnesses reported that a red Ford truck with tinted windows was driving erratically on Hill and Diley Roads, forcing many vehicles off the pavement. Fairfield County Sheriff’s deputies and Pickerington Police officers caught up with the truck on Busey Road then followed it onto Sycamore Creek Street.
The truck reportedly drove onto various properties along the street before parking in a driveway. Officers approached the driver as he exited the vehicle, but the man allegedly told them, “No – I’m home.” Then, he entered the house and shut the door.
January 3
3:30 pm A 33-year-old man was cited for operating a motor vehicle without a driver’s license after he allegedly lost control of his Buick Encore on Hill Road just south of Old Bag of Nails. He allegedly told police that an oncoming vehicle drifted left of the center line and to avoid a collision he veered off the road to the right. The Buick struck a fire hydrant then continued traveling down the embankment until it fell over the ditch into the creek.
6:31 pm Police issued a “No Trespass” order to a 41-year-old man who had allegedly spent several nights sleeping in his truck parked at the Overland Park Apartments. He had completed the application process to rent a unit but had been denied.
January 4
3:38 pm A 39-year-old woman was allegedly caught by Kohl’s surveillance transferring shoes from their boxes into her purse.
5:44 pm Police pulled over a Honda Civic near the corner of Hill Road and Stonecreek Drive for an expired license plate.
6:52 pm In the Longview Highlands neighborhood, a 16-year-old boy reportedly shot two postal workers with Orbeez pellets (water-filled polymer beads).
Police Reports December 16-28, 2024
