January 28
10:56 am A 36-year-old Columbus woman driving a black Volkswagen Jetta allegedly hit a blue Nissan Rogue when she turned right onto Hill Road from Steak ‘n Shake, then switched lanes without looking. The driver of the Nissan honked a warning, but she could not avoid the collision. The Volkswagen driver fled the scene.
When police contacted the Jetta driver, she allegedly insisted that she had not driven her vehicle recently because she missed a car insurance payment. After officers questioned her about the blue paint smear on her black car and presented her with a photograph depicting the same black car leaving the scene, the Columbus woman admitted that she had been driving.
However, she said that she thought that the Nissan honked at her because her turn signal was broken. Furthermore, she told the officer that she “honestly did not know she was in a crash” that she “did not feel” an impact.
January 29
9:00 am Ryan Homes reported that a water heater was stolen from a house under construction in the new Greystone neighborhood.
11:20 am A 32-year-old Pickerington man reported that someone had opened a fraudulent credit card in his name and charged $2,171.99 worth of purchases.
3:09 pm Damage was discovered to the window of a Hyundai Sonata parked at Giant Eagle.
4:09 pm A 14- year-old Pickerington boy circulated a list of kids from his school which he intended to either “kill or f..k”. The boy’s mother told police that her son was joking.
8:41 pm An 82-year-old Pickerington woman allegedly lost control of her vehicle as she attempted to park at the Pickfair Square apartments. Her Hyundai Tucson drove over the concrete block and hit the side of the building. The wall was bowed, and the bricks cracked. A handicap parking sign was lodged under the vehicle. Although her vehicle sustained front end damage, the woman appeared uninjured and declined medical attention.
January 30
3:04 am A 26-year-old Struthers man was pulled over near Tussing and Hill Roads for driving with an expired license plate. After speaking with the driver, the officer learned that the expired plate belonged to the vehicle’s previous owner. The new owner had yet to purchase plates. He was also driving with a suspended license.
2:27 pm A Dodge Ram was allegedly stolen from a home in the Simsbury neighborhood.
2:56 pm A 67-year-old Pickerington woman told police that she was receiving profanity-laced text messages from a man in Texas.
On January 22, she had received a call from Spectrum Customer Service regarding a technical issue. However, the representative was “unprofessional,” so she requested to speak with someone else. When the representative refused her request, she hung up on him.
Immediately afterward she received a text that read, “Hello Old Bitch.” Assuming that the message was from the Spectrum tech support employee, the woman called Spectrum customer service to complain. The company replied that the individual had been terminated.
She continued to receive profanity-laden texts from the same telephone number, although the messages became more ominous. The man threatened that he knew where she lived and that he would be visiting soon.
3:47 pm Employees reported that someone had smashed a vehicle parked at Violet Dental.
4:19 pm Columbus Police requested that Pickerington Police arrest a 29-year-old woman at her home in Pickerington Hills.
10:46 pm A 29-year-old Pickerington man was charged with failure to maintain a safe distance, operating a motor vehicle without a license and driving under the influence after he allegedly rear ended a Ford Escape with his Honda Civic.
11:16 pm A woman reported that she was a victim of a pickpocket while shopping at Cracker Barrel. 5/3 contacted her because someone attempted to receive a $1,800 cash advance from Walmart. Other credit cards had also been used.
January 31
1:18 am In the neighborhood behind Peace United Methodist Church, an officer discovered a Chevy Impala running with no lights and no driver. The vehicle matched a vehicle reported stolen from Columbus on January 30.
Police found trash and a brown backpack beside the car. The backpack contained wrist wraps used for weightlifting. A K-9 unit from Pataskala tracked the suspect to a creek then lost the scent.
2:32 am In the neighborhood across the street from where the recovered Chevy Impala was discovered (Urich Drive), a Dodge Charger was found with its doors open and a Genesis G90 was stolen. (Genesis is Hyundai’s luxury line.) Officers suspected that the perpetrator found the key for the Genesis inside the Dodge.
9:49 am A holstered Springfield Armory Hellcat pistol was discovered in the middle of Townsquare Drive near where it meets Hill Road. The pistol had a round in the chamber and a full 13 rounds in the magazine. A second 11-round magazine was also found in the holster.
2:22 pm A 20-year-old Columbus man was arrested after he allegedly presented a forged identification at the drive-up window of the CME Federal Credit Union. Bank staff recognized the paperwork as false and called the police who responded immediately.
Upon seeing the cruisers approach, the driver took off, speeding through the Kroger parking lot and pulling onto Windmiller Drive. He was pulled over and arrested. The command log reports that there was a positive hit on the LEADS database and that the incident was narcotics related, but no further details.
9:43 pm Police arrested a 32-year-old woman from her home in the Melrose neighborhood on misdemeanor warrants out of Lancaster.
February 1
9:40 am A 33-year-old Canal Winchester woman was pulled over at McDonald’s for an expired license plate. She had allegedly also been driving on a suspended license and had a warrant issued for her arrest by Whitehall Police.
3:21 pm A 57-year-old Columbus man allegedly stole $141.92 worth of items from Giant Eagle. He is also suspected of having stolen $63.21 worth of items on January 28.
4:23 am A woman allegedly wandered around Speedway for 20 minutes before grabbing approximately $30 worth of merchandise then running out the door.
February 2
3:05 pm A 39-year-old Columbus woman was arrested on a warrant out of Columbus after allegedly shoplifting merchandise totaling $449.47 from Kohl’s.
9:41 pm A 56-year-old Pickerington man was allegedly charged with driving with a suspended license and failing to register a vehicle after an officer pulled him over on Refugee Road near Windmiller Drive for driving without a license plate.
February 3
2:59 pm A 28-year-old Westerville man who is suspected in multiple thefts, allegedly attempted to steal $959.50 worth of merchandise from Kohl’s. Upon exiting the store, he ditched the merchandise and began to run. The police warned that they would release Pickerington’s K-9 officer and “you are going to be bitten”, which prompted the suspect to stop.
5:46 pm Someone allegedly stole cell phones and headphones from members of the Hilliard Weaver High School wrestling team during a meet at Pickerington High School Central.
8:39 pm An unknown person broke into a Hyundai Elantra parked on Urich Drive and peeled open the steering column.
Police/Sheriff Reports January 14-26, 2024
