March 17
12:35 am An officer patrolling Refugee Road discovered the Lake Forest sign reduced to rubble and pieces of a Hyundai scattered across Ebright Lane. He followed the oil trail to Balsam Drive where he found a Santa Fe with extensive damage to the left side, the front and the undercarriage.
Police traced the driver to a 22-year-old Pickerington woman who allegedly told officers that she had struck the sign when reaching for her phone. The air bag had damaged her Apple Watch.
1:44 am An officer allegedly saw a Chevy Camaro drive off the left side of the exit ramp from Interstate 70 onto southbound Hill Road. The car re-entered the roadway then turned left onto Blacklick Eastern Road.
The Camaro turned onto Freedom Way (which is a dead end) and was attempting a U-turn when the officer pulled it over. After the officer told the driver that he had been pulled over for lane violations, the 36-year-old Reynoldsburg man allegedly responded, “that’s cool.”
The officer told the driver to “hang tight a minute” while he ran the man’s license. However, once the officer turned his back, the man allegedly tried to drive away. The officer told him to stop, which he did. After calling for backup, the officer helped the man exit the car to sit in front of the cruiser.
The man allegedly told the police that he had been doing shots for his birthday, but he did not know how many. When the officers asked if he would submit to a field sobriety test, he asked if he could first have time “to get myself together”. The officers placed him under arrest.
He allegedly asked on what charge was he being convicted, to which an officer answered that he was not being convicted of anything but that he was being arrested for operating a vehicle while intoxicated. He refused to take the breathalyzer test. He told the officers that he did not intend to drink and drive but, “it is what it is.”
11:02 am The Kohl’s loss prevention officer notified police that a 36-year-old Columbus woman, known to be a shoplifter, allegedly stole $1,968.69 worth of merchandise from the store on March 13. Her unknown companion allegedly stole $652.44 worth of items (mostly sports attire).
3:00 pm A 41-year-old man from North Lewisburg allegedly walked out of Kohl’s with a $450 Kitchen Aid mixer for which he had not paid.
4:08 pm While at Kohl’s, officers were notified that a 49-year-old woman had allegedly stolen items valued at $246 from the store including, a toddler dress, Nike shoes, make up and several bottles of perfume. She allegedly told officers that she took the items “to help out a friend”.
March 18
5:40 pm A 51-year-old Walnut Township man was pulled over near Refugee and Hill Roads after the tags on his red Dodge allegedly came back as belonging to his blue Dodge. He was also given a verbal warning that his exhaust system was too loud.
March 19
7:40 am A woman reported that her son’s bicycle had been stolen two days earlier from Victory Park. Her son, a student at Lakeview Junior High, had ridden his bike to the park to play basketball. Her son told her that a Ridgeview student had repeatedly asked to ride the bike, but he kept telling him “No”.
Her son and his friends decided to walk to Circle K and when they returned to the park the Ridgeview boy and the bicycle were both gone.
The bicycle had been spray painted black but some of the original red paint was still visible. The seat had a small tear near the back. Other kids at the park told the boy the Ridgeview kid’s name.
As the officer took the report, she realized that she had seen the suspect the previous morning near the police station. Another officer had stopped the boy at 3:26 am, after he was found walking the bicycle eastbound down the middle of Refugee Road.
He allegedly told the officers that the bicycle belonged to a friend and that he was on his way to return it before school. They noticed that he had a folding knife in his pocket, and they warned him not to take it to the junior high. He told them, “I’m not that dumb”.
The boy’s mother arrived to take him and the bicycle home.
The next day, after the call from the Lakeview boy’s mother, the officer was enroute to an assignment when she saw the bike in the rack at Ridgeview Junior High. Video surveillance from the school allegedly showed the suspect riding the bicycle there on March 18. That day the suspect had ridden home from school with his mother after he was suspended for allegedly bringing a pocket knife to school.
Video from Victory Park further implicated the suspect.
Photo by Heath Scofield
9:02 am A candidate for a state-level position in the Republican Party alleged that a village council member from Lithopolis removed five of her campaign signs from Windmiller Drive. She reportedly had a video of the man tossing the signs toward the tree line near Rule 3.
9:54 am Goodwill reported that a Toyota Rav 4 had driven through the front of the store. The owner of the car, a 34-year-old Columbus woman, was initially cited for “careless operation on private property”. However, back at the station, after reviewing the store’s surveillance, the officers determined that she was not the driver.
The video allegedly showed the woman’s 23-year-old sister behind the wheel trying to pull into a parking spot but driving into the store instead. The two switched seats and the older sister tried to put the car in reverse, in the process ripping the front bumper from the Toyota and destroying what remained of the store’s window. The driver was unaware that the rear door on her side was open. As she backed up, the door bent around a pillar, pinning the car in place.
5:37 pm A 29-year-old Lancaster man was arrested in Pickerington Hills on a warrant.
March 20
7:48 am Dwayne Spence Funeral Home reported that someone had stolen tires from a vehicle parked overnight on the lot.
12:29 pm Midwest Medicare Health reported that someone had hacked into their system and taken $20,000.
March 21
1:36 am A 26-year-old Columbus man was pulled over on northbound Hill Road near Blacklick Eastern Road after an officer saw him allegedly make multiple lane violations in front of Steak n Shake.
When the officer asked the man if he knew why he had been pulled over, the driver allegedly said, “if we need to do a test, we can do that.” He told the officer that he had smoked marijuana before work and had recently drunk three or four lemon drop martinis.
2:32 am An officer allegedly saw a Kia Spectra drive southbound on Hill Road near Refugee Road with a missing headlight. The officer followed the vehicle onto Diley Road where it drove 36 mph in a 45-mph zone. The vehicle was pulled over in front of George’s Creek.
Upon approaching, the officer allegedly smelled alcohol. The passenger, a 54-year-old Pickerington woman, told the officer that she had drank too much at Heritage Lounge and asked her 53-year-old friend to drive.
The driver allegedly had a suspended license and a warrant for his arrest. Experiencing difficulty with the field sobriety test, the man asked the officer “can anyone even do this if they are sober?”
He refused a breathalyzer test. He allegedly told the officer that his companion was a light drinker and that he had drank “way more” than she had. When asked how much he had drank that night, the man said that he did not want to answer.
5:53 pm Motorists called police after a Toyota Rav 4 allegedly struck four vehicles on Hill Road that were stopped at the Tussing Road light. One of the drivers followed the Rav 4 and reported that it had run the Tussing light and the traffic light near Bob Evans. The heavily damaged vehicle came to a stop in the Lifetime Fitness parking lot.
The 20-year-old Pickerington driver allegedly told the police that he had gone to the Columbus Zoo, but it was closed so he came back home. He thought he might have hit one vehicle. The man denied having had anything to drink. He was unable to pass a field sobriety test, but a breathalyzer test came back negative for alcohol.
March 22
3:24 pm Management at Aldi requested that police remove a 52-year-old Pickerington man that they alleged to be a shoplifter.
5:41 pm A utility pole with possible live wires fell along Lockville Road just south of Opportunity Way. The pole appeared to have snapped from age.
10:51 pm A gray SUV turned right from Circle K onto southbound Hill Road, striking a Toyota Yaris. The Yaris lost control and went over the curb into the ditch. The SUV did not stop.
March 23
12:25 am An 18-year-old Reynoldsburg man was pulled over on Hill Road near Opportunity Way for allegedly driving 43 mph in a 25-mph zone. He told officers that he had been pulled over a few days prior and given a warning. He only had a temporary permit.
8:11 pm A 16-year-old Pickerington boy was charged with driving without a license after an officer pulled over his Nissan Altima for no taillights.
