January 5

7:36 pm: A woman called the police to report that a group of teenagers (four girls and a boy) pounded on her door, demanding that her daughter come outside to fight. When the girl did not come outside (she was not home), the boy allegedly began smashing the solar-powered garden lights. The group left in a Toyota Camry.

The daughter and her friends reportedly met up to fight the group at the Speedway on the corner of Refugee and Gender Roads.

The conflict moved to a home in the Longview Highlands neighborhood where someone allegedly threw rocks and shattered a window. Believing the glass had been pierced by bullets, one of the people inside the home allegedly returned fire, hitting a truck.

January 6

4:01 pm: A 36-year-old man allegedly concealed Nike and Adidas clothing valued at more than $500 under his coat, then left Kohl’s without paying.

4:36 pm: An officer pulled over a Hyundai Santa Fe on Tussing Road near Winderly Lane for an expired registration. The 52-year-old woman driving the vehicle did not have a license.

January 7

6:08 am: Someone removed all four tires from a Toyota Corolla parked at the Lakes Edge Apartments. The vehicle’s owner discovered the car resting on concrete blocks.

10:08 am: A Dodge Ram 1500 ran off the north side of Long Road west of Diley Road and pushed a large landscape stone several feet before coming to a stop. By the time officers arrived, the driver had allegedly abandoned the truck, which had sustained heavy damage to its front end and undercarriage. Debris from the crash was scattered about the ground.

Police had the vehicle towed from the lawn. Three days later, the owner of the vehicle spoke with an officer over the phone and reported that his brother had been driving the truck when it crashed. He allegedly did not provide police with his brother’s name.

January 8

3:45 pm: Circle K called to report that a 15-year-old boy who had allegedly shoplifted from the store on Jan. 1 had returned and was still in the store. When an officer arrived, the boy initially denied having shoplifted the previous week. However, he said that he may have mis-scanned a bottle of Mountain Dew.

Surveillance footage allegedly showed the boy failed to scan three bags of gummies, a 20-ounce can of Red Bull, two mega packs of gum, and two King-size Reese’s Cups, for a total value of $31.34. His companion (whom the boy said he did not know because they had just met that day at the store) allegedly failed to scan one Starbucks Frappuccino, a small can of Pringles, one package of cheese crackers with peanut butter, one barbecue sandwich, one small bag of Combos, and a 20-ounce Dr. Pepper, totaling $15.44.

January 9

1:17 am: Witnesses reported a man fired a semi-automatic rifle into the parking lot of Classic’s Sports Bar, then he and a passenger drove towards the interstate in a white Audi A7. Police pulled over the vehicle in front of Starbucks on Hill Road and allegedly discovered an open container of alcohol and an AR-15 rifle on the backseat floorboard. Four bullet casings were discovered at the scene, but nobody at the bar was injured and no patients came into local emergency rooms with gunshot wounds.

8:35 pm: During a home basketball game at Pickerington High School Central, the Pickerington Schools Safety & Security Director reportedly broke up an “illegal and unauthorized” dice game in the boys’ bathroom adjacent to the commons. When told to leave the school, one of the boys allegedly began cussing at the Security Director, so special duty police officers placed the boy under arrest.

January 10

5:11 pm: Kohl’s reported that a 42-year-old man was attempting to leave the store with a shopping cart full of men’s clothing which he had not purchased. When the suspect saw a police cruiser enter the parking lot, he allegedly started to run with the cart toward a silver sedan. As the officer drew closer, the man allegedly toppled the cart then dove into the passenger’s side of the vehicle. The total value of the merchandise was $719.50. The man was wanted on two felony warrants out of Columbus.

9:45 pm: Police removed a 48-year-old woman from Kohl’s who appeared to be in the process of shoplifting but had not yet passed the registers with concealed items. The store security officer recognized the woman from surveillance footage of a shoplifter on Jan. 8 who allegedly left the store without paying for a cartful of merchandise totaling $819.42 – two neck massagers, assorted athletic apparel, Ugg boots, Nike socks, a Columbia coat, and two pillows.

January 11

6:43 pm: An officer waiting at the traffic light at Tussing and Hill Roads allegedly witnessed a Kia Forte travel through the intersection after the light turned red. The 59-year-old male driver had a suspended license.

January 12

8:15 pm: An officer cited the 37-year-old driver of a Jeep Wrangler after the license plate came back as registered to a Kia.

January 13

1:13 am: An officer cited the 26-year-old driver of a Ford Edge after the license plate came back as registered to a GMC Terrain.

5:18 pm: A man reported that while he was inside Planet Fitness, an unknown person entered his unlocked Jeep and stole his wallet. As police were talking with the man in the parking lot, a woman who had parked nearby discovered that someone had unsuccessfully attempted to pry open the window on her locked Honda Civic.

January 14

4:51 pm: A resident in the Redbud Commons neighborhood told police that she befriended a neighbor a few months ago, but now that neighbor was asking for $3,000, so she wanted the woman issued a “no trespass” order. The neighbor told police that she had not asked the woman for money and had actually given the woman money on occasion.

January 16

3:01 am: An officer pulled over a Buick Lucerne near Columbus and Cross Streets after its license plate did not readily appear on the dispatcher’s system. Eventually, the plate was found to be registered to a Jeep Patriot, and the 39-year-old male driver did not have a valid driver’s license.

5:48 pm: An unknown white vehicle reportedly clipped the front of a gray GMC Terrain as they were both heading southbound on Hill Road approaching Tussing Road. The driver of the white vehicle left the scene without providing insurance or identification.

January 17

12:07 am: Police cited a 60-year-old man for driving under the influence after his Kia Spectra collided with vehicles parked along the street in Fox Glen West.

5:35 pm: A 46-year-old man reported that an unauthorized stranger accessed his Ohio Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) account and made purchases totaling $1,486.73 from an online grocery store. The delivery address was located in Massachusetts.

9:09 pm: A white Chevrolet Equinox allegedly T-boned a black Chevrolet Trax in the parking lot of the Hunter’s Run shopping center, then fled the scene. Witnesses helped police track down the Equinox and its 32-year-old driver. The driver reportedly told police that she was afraid because her license had been suspended, and she did not have insurance.

January 18

6:29 pm: An officer pulled over an Acura MDX near the corner of Columbus and Cross Streets for not having a license plate. The owner told the officer that he had just purchased the vehicle and believed that he did not need a license plate for 30 days.

The officer advised the man that he was required to display either a temporary registration or a valid license plate in his name from another vehicle.

9:22 pm: A 25-year-old woman reported that an unknown person had used her credit card to make purchases totaling $404.63 from a deli in New York’s Bronx.

11:10 pm: An officer pulled over a Nissan Altima near the corner of Long Road and Georges Creek Drive because the 23-year-old driver had a suspended license.

Police Reports Dec. 29, 2025 – Jan. 4, 2024