Police/Sheriff’s Reports Feb. 1-10, 2023

Pickerington Police

February 1

7:13 a.m. Overnight, someone kicked open the back door of Spence Funeral Home. Nothing appeared to be missing but the door’s glass window shattered.

February 2

6:46 a.m. A 44-year-old Columbus man, who was discharged from Ohio Health, allegedly fought with security regarding having to wear a mask. Pickerington police arrived and arrested the man on an outstanding warrant.

9:54 a.m. A man killed himself with a gun inside the office of Ridgeview Junior High. See Ridgeview Shooting.

10:00 a.m. A 52-year-old Pickerington woman mailed a check from the outside box of the post office. It was stolen, washed and rewritten for $9,800.50.

February 3

9:35 p.m. Someone allegedly stole a wallet from a vehicle parked outside Pickerington Central.

February 4

1:32 p.m. A 24-year-old Columbus man was pulled over for driving 78 mph on Diley. Police confiscated more than a dozen baggies/ containers of marijuana and unknown fruit-flavored substances.

February 5

1:30 a.m. Drugs and open alcohol containers were seized from a car stopped for speeding at Refugee Road just west of Hill.

2:07 a.m. Two brothers allegedly caused a disturbance inside Twin’s Tavern which other patrons tried to stop. One man was pushed to the ground. A second man asked the brothers to follow him outside. The ensuing fight in the parking lot ended with both brothers unconscious and the third man driving away.

3:09 a.m. A Portsmouth woman, celebrating her 30^th birthday, was arrested on a warrant after being pulled over for a traffic violation at the Circle K.

3:13 p.m. A man reported that a group of women were jumping a 16-year-old girl in the Cracker Barrel parking lot. When officers arrived, the assailants were gone. The girl did not know the women who attacked her. Cracker Barrel, however, through their video recordings and credit card receipts provided the police with the identity of one of the suspects – a 23-year-old woman from Columbus.

February 6

8:01 p.m. A Pickerington woman reported that someone withdrew $503.75 from her bank account using an ATM located in the Columbus Hilltop.

February 7

1:31 p.m. A 44-year-old Pickerington man allegedly punched an employee of Volunteers of America in the face after she gave him his change as ten $1.00 bills instead of one $10.00 bill.

6:55 p.m. A 47-year-old Pickerington woman told police that on February 5 she tried twice to use the ATM at the Pickerington PNC Bank but kept receiving an error message. The next day, her account was accessed twice from a bank on high street and each time $503.75 was withdrawn.

February 8

12:11 p.m. Kohl’s reported that a 51-year-old Columbus woman, known to be a regular shoplifter of central Ohio Kohl’s, filled her cart with merchandise then pushed the cart to her vehicle. She walked right past the cash registers without paying.

12:22 p.m. A 72-year-old Pickerington man told police that a check he had mailed from the box in front of the post office on December 23 had been rewritten and cashed by an unknown person for $8.900.

3:14 p.m. Red Robin alleged that one of its managers, a 43-year-old Lancaster woman, had taken all the store’s cash ($8,000) at the end of her shift and would not return phone calls.

6:09 p.m. A Pickerington woman reported that after using the ATM at PNC Bank on February 6, $503.75 was stolen from her account.

2:01 p.m. Someone forged checks from Edward Warren Jewelers to seven different people for varying amounts totaling $4,920. As the business only sends electronic checks from that account, the suspect is expected to be someone who would have previously received an electronic check from Edward Warren.

February 9

12:16 a.m. Witnesses reported that a 32-year-old Canal Winchester woman began harassing a bartender at Classic’s Sports Bar. The woman allegedly yelled, “hey bartender, don’t you have a _____ job to do?”, then called the bartender a bitch. The bartender did not immediately respond.

When the woman continued to yell, the bartender told her that since her tab was paid, the woman could leave. The woman responded by slapping the bartender across the face, then exiting to grab what appeared to be a golf club from her vehicle.

When officers arrived, the woman was sitting in the backseat of a car with her mother. Two other women were in the front seat begging her to “just stop, you’re drunk”. The police found no golf club but did find a cane.

The mother said she was having chest pains; therefore, medics were called.

The woman allegedly exited the car and tried to run from officers whom she told, “don’t ______ touch me or I will punch you.” She also threatened to spit on them. The officers began to place her under arrest, which she resisted, “Get the _____ off me, before I start kicking you dumb mother_____s.”

At this point, her mother exited the car and started toward the daughter. When she refused to stop, an officer put a hand on her shoulder. The mother allegedly cussed out the officer then took a swing at the officer.

Medics arrived but the mother declined treatment. She returned to the car which left the scene after her daughter was arrested.

5:35 p.m. Two iPhones valued at $1,100 each were taken from the Amazon drop box at Drug Mart.

12:36 p.m. A construction truck loaded with lumber was stolen from a construction site in the Reserve at Pickerington Ponds.

February 10

5:48 p.m. A Pickerington man’s bank card was hacked at the ATM of PNC Bank for $503.75.

6:52 p.m. Police were dispatched to Popeyes where they met an emotionally upset man who could not speak English. A Popeye’s employee offered to translate. The man, who called himself “José”, said that he was an undocumented worker from Honduras who wanted Immigration and Customs Enforcement to take him home. He told the officer that he had no place to live and despite working for his employer for a long time, he had not been paid.

Due to his apparent intoxication and fragile emotional state, the officers arrested the man to prevent him from harming himself. The man consented to the arrest, believing that it would bring him one step closer to home. A Popeyes’ customer bought him a meal.

February 11

11:50 p.m. A 47-year-old Pickerington man offered to sell his friend a 2002 silver Lincoln Continental but would only hold the vehicle if he received a $100 non-refundable deposit. The friend, a 40-year-old Columbus man, agreed.

The Columbus man drove to Lakes Edge Apartment with his father and sister to check out the car, but he was not happy with the vehicle’s condition. He began yelling at the Pickerington man to return his $100.

The Columbus man and his father tried to start a fight, but the Pickerington man just returned to his apartment.

The man’s sister handed him a knife, which he used to slash the tires on the Continental. He then opened the driver’s door and began to “kick and bash” the steering wheel.

A neighbor, who had been filming the altercation, ceased recording when the Columbus man dropped his pants and began “pooping” on the vehicle.

When police arrived, they took note of the slashed tires and the “chunky tan substance” smeared on the left rear quarter panel of the car as well as under the left door handle. A blue face mask with which the man had wiped himself adhered to the door by the same substance.

3:13 p.m. A Dodge Charger exploded on Bridgewater Drive (east of Milnor Road) during an attempted theft of the vehicle. The driver left before emergency crews arrived to extinguish the fire.

Fairfield County Sheriff

The Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office created the following blotter and posted it on their Facebook page. You can also get news and updates by downloading the Sheriff’s Office app for your smartphone.