January 18
11:10 PM: A 23-year-old man was cited for driving without a license after an officer pulled over his Nissan Altima on Georges Creek Drive for only having one headlight.
January 19
10:13 AM: A few nights earlier, a 42-year-old regular texted the staff members of Finnegan’s Wake, stating his intent to kill them. Then, on the morning of the police report, he messaged an apology and said it would be best to stay away for a while. The bar’s owner asked the police to issue the man a “No Trespass” order.
1:22 AM: An officer stopped a Honda Ridgeline on Hill Road at Commerce Drive for allegedly traveling without headlights and weaving outside its lane. When the officer asked the driver how many alcoholic beverages he had consumed that evening, the 68-year-old man reportedly said, “two bottles of Michelob.” After a field sobriety test, he was arrested for driving under the influence and taken to the police station, where he blew a .219 BAC. The legal limit in Ohio is .08 BAC.
3:43 AM: An officer driving along Hill Road in Pickerington Village clocked a Lincoln MKZ traveling at 33 mph in a 25-mph zone. The vehicle then allegedly ran the flashing red light at Columbus Street. After conducting a traffic stop, the officer caught the smell of alcohol and asked the 23-year-old driver to exit the vehicle. As the officer led the driver through a field sobriety test, his 29-year-old passenger exited the vehicle and refused to return. When backup units arrived, the passenger allegedly became more aggressive and had to be handcuffed. He was placed under arrest for obstructing official business. The driver passed the field sobriety test and was free to drive home.
7:18 PM: Kohl’s loss prevention officer reported that three teenagers had just left the store and climbed into a purple sedan, and one of them had allegedly stolen merchandise valued at $545. When the police arrived on the scene, the sedan was doing doughnuts in the parking lot. The 15-year-old was charged with shoplifting, while the older two boys were instructed to drive home.
11:10 PM: Officers arrived in the Sycamore Creek neighborhood, responding to a complaint that an unknown person was banging on a door. The next morning, a dent and two shoe prints were discovered near the bottom of the garage door. Matching impressions in the snow indicated that the shoes were most likely Yeezy Slides.
January 20
10:23 AM: On January 4, an 87-year-old woman received a telephone call from a stranger who told her that her grandson had been taken to jail. The unknown caller said that her grandson had caused a car crash that injured a pregnant woman. He instructed the woman not to inform the boy’s parents of the situation, but instead gave her a bank account number to which she should send bail. Distraught, the woman sought advice from a neighbor, who warned her that the call was a scam. The neighbor then contacted the woman’s daughter and son-in-law to apprise them of the situation. Although she did not send money, the call troubled her greatly, and when the neighbor arrived to check on her, she discovered that the woman had suffered a stroke. Violet Township paramedics rushed her to Mount Carmel East Hospital, where she was placed in intensive care. At the time that her son-in-law conveyed her story to the police, the woman’s condition had declined, and she was moved to palliative care.
12:49 PM: Surveillance video recorded an 18-year-old woman allegedly shoplifting men’s athletic pants and a jacket from Kohl’s worth a total value of $170.
January 21
7:28 PM: Police cited a 38-year-old man for failure to keep a safe distance and driving without a license after the Chevrolet Aveo he was driving collided with a Subaru Ascent at the intersection of Hill Road and Interstate 70.
7:50 PM: Violet Township Fire Department contained a dumpster fire at the Residence of Turnberry.
8:18 PM: In Preston Trails, a woman reported that the garage door of her neighbor’s house had been left open, but the residents are “snowbirds” who do not live there during winter. When the police arrived, they discovered that water flowing from the walls and ceiling had encased the vehicle inside the garage in ice. They also noticed that one of the windows of a car parked in the driveway had been left open. After receiving no answer from the Ring Doorbell, Violet Township Fire Department forced entry to the home. They found nobody in the house but shut off the water. The garage door could not be closed due to the buildup of ice.
January 22
7:50 PM: After answering a phone call from a number labeled “No Caller ID,” a 24-year-old Columbus man spoke with a person who identified himself as “Lieutenant Adams of the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office.” The caller told the man that because he had failed to report to a court hearing, he had two warrants out for his arrest. A copy of one of the warrants was texted as proof. Initially, “Adams” told the man he needed to visit the station at 1945 Frebis Avenue in Columbus, but then the caller seemingly changed his mind and said that the matter could be handled at Pickerington’s Walgreens. “Adams” gave the man the barcode for a digital Walgreens gift card and instructed him to visit the store to add $500 to the account. After completing the transaction, “Adams” advised the man that the cost was per warrant, therefore he needed to pay another $500. At this point, the man left the store and drove to the Pickerington Police Station.
January 24
2:06 AM: After an officer pulled over a Kia Soul on Tussing Road near Windmiller for fictitious plates, the driver was also cited for not having a driver’s license.
January 25
3:17 PM: Police detained a 28-year-old woman for allegedly shoplifting merchandise valued at $408.94 from Kohl’s. She was also reportedly driving without a license.
January 26
11:07 PM: Two teenage boys, ages 16 and 17, ran away from their foster home in the Longview Acres neighborhood. An hour later, Columbus Police reported that the two allegedly had been breaking into vehicles at an apartment complex along Long Road. Residents of the complex reportedly held the younger boy at gunpoint until law enforcement arrived. The older boy escaped on foot but returned home at 2:48 AM. Columbus Police told Pickerington officers to look for some sort of laser pointer. A search of the 17-year-old’s pockets revealed no such device; however, he did possess an inordinate number of black rubber gloves. The boy refused to divulge the purpose of the gloves.
January 27
3:05 AM: Police arrested a 23-year-old woman after she allegedly drove her Ford Bronco the wrong way around the Refugee Road roundabout and hit the median. The license plate reportedly belonged to her Honda Civic, and police found a teenage girl’s birth certificate in the truck.
5:27 AM: Someone allegedly stole a Ford F-250 from a home in the Sycamore Creek neighborhood.
2:18 PM: A student at Ridgeview Junior High School allegedly spat on another student.
January 28
1:39 PM: A 41-year-old man came to the police station asking for ICE to return him to his home in Congo. When an officer explained that he could not be deported because he possessed both a certificate of naturalization and an Ohio driver’s license, the man reportedly became distraught. He left his identification at the station, saying he was “turning them in so I can go back home.”
January 29
8:43 AM: A man reported that the driver of a Ford Econoline pulled a gun on him on Hill Road near Stonebridge Road South and threatened, “I’ll shoot you in your little chinky eyes.” However, the Ford driver allegedly told police that it was not a gun, but a flashlight, and that the other man mimed shooting him first. The Ford driver said that his Smith & Wesson stayed in his hip holster.
5:25 PM: The assistant manager of Kroger confronted a 42-year-old known shoplifter as the man allegedly pushed a cart of groceries toward the door without paying. The suspect left the cart in the store and was seen leaving the parking lot in a Hyundai Sonata. Police located the Sonata in the Giant Eagle parking lot and asked the 27-year-old woman behind the wheel where her companion had gone. At this point, the suspect walked out of Giant Eagle and approached the car. When confronted, the man allegedly told police that he realized as he approached Kroger’s registers that he did not have enough cash or food stamps to pay for his groceries, so he left. An officer issued the man a “No Trespass” order for Kroger and advised that he should also refrain from shopping at Giant Eagle if he did not have adequate cash.
January 30
1:01 PM: Police cited a 38-year-old woman for driving without a license after an officer pulled over her Acura TLX on Refugee Road near the hospital for having an expired license plate.
1:39 PM: Someone renting a home in the Park Place neighborhood allegedly ordered four jackets totaling $1,708 using a credit card belonging to a woman living near Columbus Street.
January 31
2:38 AM: A man parked in a Jeep outside Planet Fitness allegedly told police that he had taken fentanyl from a dealer named “D” who lived in the Pickerington Ridge Apartments.
2:45 PM: A 35-year-old woman was issued a “No Trespass” order for 5/3rd Bank.
February 1
10:57 AM: Dispatch alerted an officer that a Ford Explorer parked in the police station lot belonged to a 37-year-old man wanted on a warrant out of Columbus. When the officer approached, the man was sitting behind the wheel with the engine running. Initially, the suspect ignored the command to exit his vehicle, but he complied after the officer opened the door.
11:01 am A teenager reported that someone broke into her Toyota Corolla parked in the lot of Turnberry Apartments and stole her Ugg boots and her school Chromebook.
11:05 am Police pulled over a Honda CR-V near the Refugee Road traffic circle for not having a license plate.
4:12 pm Someone broke into a Honda CRV parked in the Turnberry Apartments complex and stole a .22 caliber Henry U.S. Survival Rifle, an air compressor, three magazines from a .9 caliber Smith & Wesson and one magazine from a .45 caliber Springfield 1911.
6:56 pm A man broke into a Chevrolet Tahoe parked near Jay’s Crab Shack and stole a purse.
11:23 pm A Pickerington man reported unauthorized activity on his bank account totaling $8,948.
Police Reports January 5-17, 2025
