August 31
2:21 p.m. An unknown man entered the Designer Shoe Warehouse and headed straight to the Nike section. A witness reported that the man removed a clear plastic garbage bag from his shorts and filled it with eight boxes of shoes. Tucking two more boxes under his right arm, he left the store without paying. He allegedly left the lot in a Chevrolet SUV without a license plate driven by a woman.
11:57 p.m. After receiving several complaints about noise coming from Room 209, staff at Comfort Inn called police to remove a guest who had locked herself inside. Officers told the woman to open the door. When she did not comply, they entered using a key card and then broke the security latch..
Inside, police found a 34-year-old Columbus woman who appeared to be disoriented. She was pacing the room completely naked and speaking rapidly. On a bed, curled into a fetal position in an attempt to sleep through the disruption, was the woman’s young daughter.
Medics from Violet Township Fire Department took the mother to the hospital for evaluation, and officers contacted an aunt to take custody of the girl.
September 1
2:51 p.m. Unknown suspects withdrew funds from a resident’s bank account.
3:15 p.m. The main branch of the Pickerington Public Library filed trespassing charges against a 25-year-old man who had been issued a “No Trespassing” order in March but, despite multiple warnings, continued to return.
9:33 p.m. Witnesses reported that a semitruck struck a sign near the corner of Cross Creeks Boulevard and Hill Road but did not stop.
September 2
12:17 a.m. An unknown person damaged the soft drink vending machine located in the lower level of Sycamore Creek Park on Covered Bridge Lane.
September 3
12:57 p.m. A tow truck struck a Violet Township Fire Department ambulance near StoryPoint Senior Living.
11:56 p.m. After stopping a truck near the intersection of Hill and Refugee roads for failing to stay in its lane, police charged the 47-year-old driver with operating a vehicle without a license. He was transferred to Gahanna on an outstanding warrant.
September 4
12:11 a.m. Police came upon a man riding a bicycle down the center of Hill Road near Dairy Queen. It was past midnight, and the 22-year-old cyclist was wearing dark clothing and had no lights on his bike. When officers asked him to stop, he reportedly took off across the shopping center parking lot and into a field. Eventually, he relented, climbed off the bike and placed his hands on his head. Officers searched him and found nothing illegal.
10:32 a.m. Buff City Soap reported that one of its employees had been stealing from the store. On nights when the 34-year-old woman worked alone, she allegedly unplugged the phones, erroneously believing that doing so would deactivate the security cameras, filled a bag with merchandise and left without paying.
10:42 a.m. BP asked police to issue a “No Trespassing” order to a 22-year-old man who had been panhandling from customers as they pumped gas. Officers found the man across the street, wandering inside McDonald’s.
7:41 p.m. A Pickerington man met a woman on a dating app who messaged him provocative photos. He responded by sending her a selfie. Upon receiving the compromising image, the woman “switched to a man,” who threatened to share the image with the Pickerington man’s contacts unless he received $3,000.
The Pickerington man attempted to comply, but his Cash App payment failed to go through, Western Union refused to complete a transfer without the recipient’s social security number, and the codes provided by the blackmailer did not work with the Coinstar machine.
At that point, the extortionist sent the selfie to the Pickerington man’s wife with the message, “Tell him, I’ll find him.”
September 5
11:53 p.m. An officer stopped a Buick Enclave on Diley Road after witnessing it swerve between lanes. When asked if he had been drinking, the 41-year-old driver reportedly replied, “I’m good”. At the police station, the man blew a 0.170 bac. The legal limit in Ohio is 0.08.
September 6
11 a.m. Police pulled over a GMC Acadia on North Center Street because the license plate belonged to a Honda Civic from Pennsylvania. The 52-year-old Pickerington woman said she had just purchased the vehicle from a mechanic and that the plate was the one that came with the car. When asked to see the registration and title for the vehicle, the woman said the mechanic had not given her any papers.
Pickerington Police August 24 – 30, 2026