December 8
8:04 pm: An unknown white vehicle allegedly hit a Toyota Corolla parked along the street in the Manchester neighborhood.
December 9
12:27 pm: A Pickerington police officer caught a 48-year-old man suspected in a multi-state crime spree. The man and a female accomplice had allegedly been scamming Tractor Supply Company stores by using fake Apple Pay accounts to purchase gift cards.
The two were suspected of scamming Tractor Supply stores in Newark, Pataskala, and Heath earlier in the morning. The woman was allegedly running the scheme at a Columbus Tractor Supply location at the same time the man was in Pickerington.
The man was issued a “No Trespass” order for the Pickerington Tractor Supply location and then released. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials reportedly told the Pickerington Police that because the man had an upcoming court date for a 2023 arrest in San Diego, their agency could not take him into custody.
3:28 pm: A 20-year-old woman told police that she was stopped at the Winderly Road traffic light heading eastbound on Tussing Road when a Saturn Vue clipped the corner of the Chevrolet Suburban she was driving. As the Saturn continued past her towards Hill Road, the Chevrolet driver allegedly saw a 30-year-old woman clinging to the Vue’s hood.
A witness, who had been following the Saturn since the Highland Park intersection, told police that she saw the woman sprawled across the front of the car, punching the windshield. The vehicle stopped at Hill Road, and the 24-year-old male driver reportedly told the witness to call 9-1-1.
The woman reportedly climbed off the hood and locked herself inside the Saturn. When medics arrived, she agreed to be transported to Mount Carmel East, where she was treated for lacerations to her face and hands. She allegedly told police that she had been living with the Saturn driver in the Highland Park neighborhood.
She said that when she came home that morning, she discovered that he had destroyed all but one bagful of her belonging, She watched him place the bag into his car and attempt to drive away. She climbed onto the hood to stop him.
4:30 pm: A 56-year-old man was arrested for operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated after an officer allegedly discovered him slumped over the steering wheel of his Chevrolet Impala, which was blocking a lane in the Get Air parking lot.
December 10
10:00 pm: Police arrived at a home in the Simsbury neighborhood to arrest a 20-year-old man on a warrant out of Lancaster. However, the man and woman who answered the door allegedly told officers that they had not seen the man.
An officer positioned behind the house reported that a man matching the suspect’s description had just climbed out a rear window then re-entered the home through a basement door. When the officers at the door explained to the couple that they could be charged with harboring a criminal, the two stepped aside.
The police went straight to the basement, where they found a second couple allegedly “pretending to sleep on the couch.” The couple also denied seeing the suspect. The suspect was discovered in the basement hiding behind stereo equipment and curtains.
December 11
1:31 pm: Someone allegedly broke into a Ford Expedition parked outside Planet Fitness and stole a purse containing credit cards.
2:46 pm: Staff from Circle K reported that the previous night a group of kids wearing hoodies and ski masks stole all the lighters from the store, worth a total value of $1,000.
December 12
3:23 pm: Pickerington Police received a Flock alert that a stolen Kia K5 had turned onto southbound State Route 256 from Taylor Road in Reynoldsburg. An officer maneuvered his cruiser to block the car from taking the ramp to eastbound Interstate 70.
The 45-year-old driver reportedly seemed confused regarding why she had been pulled over. She told the officer that her 48-year-old fiancé had inherited the vehicle after his father passed. However, the vehicle was registered to a 65-year-old woman. The driver was wanted on a warrant out of Licking County. Three young children were passengers in the car.
(The Flock Safety company provides solar-powered, artificial-intelligence-operated camera systems which read license plates to find vehicles involved in crime or missing person cases.)
December 13
12:02 pm: The adult cashier of the Ridgeview Junior High School store told a 13-year-old student that she would not accept a $50 bill to pay for a $0.50 candy cane. However, she did allow him to buy an entire box of candy canes for $6.00. The cashier reported that the bill did not look or feel right, but when she questioned the boy, he assured her that it was real.
She gave him the candy, but he left without his $44 in change. Holding the bill up to the light, the clerk saw no watermarks, and marking the bill with a special pen confirmed that the cash was counterfeit. When questioned by his principal, the boy allegedly said that a student at Pickerington High School Central gave him the money
8:14 pm: Police issued “No Trespass” orders to three teenage boys who were allegedly caught by Kohl’s surveillance shoplifting athletic wear.
Police Reports December 1-7, 2024
