Pickerington Police:
March 19
8:15 pm: At a traffic stop on Hill Road in front of the Marcus Pickerington Cinema, an 18-year-old Pataskala woman and a 17-year-old Columbus male were found to be in possession of narcotics and a scale.
10:30 pm: A 37-year-old Cincinnati man punched an 18-year-old Lancaster man in the face at the Marcus Pickerington Cinema. The assailant claimed the younger man threw popcorn at him.
March 20
6:45 pm: A worker at the Pickerington Village Subway called the police after a group of five Pickerington teenage boys threatened her with a gun. The police spotted two of the teens, who tried to run but were apprehended. One of the boys carried a “repeat air” BB gun without an orange tip on the barrel.
7:00 pm: A 30-year-old Baltimore woman and a 40-year-old man from southeast Columbus attempted to use $140.00 in counterfeit $20 dollar bills at the Walgreens on the corner of Hill Road North and Refugee.
7:30 pm: Behind Pizzeria New York on Hill Road, there are signs posted that parking is reserved for delivery drivers, but despite the signs people park there anyway. The employees of Pizzeria New York say that the people who park in these restricted parking spaces are patrons of Finnegan’s Wake next door.
Several times after parking behind the other cars, the delivery drivers have found notes on their windshields warning that their tires would be slashed if they continued to block the vehicles of those in the pub.
On March 20, an 18-year-old delivery driver found that two of his car’s tires had been slashed and someone had spit on his hood.
The vehicle the teen had parked behind belonged to a corporation, but the driver was confirmed to be a 49-year-old southeast Columbus man who visited the pub.
March 21
2:15 pm: Occupants of a maroon vehicle had shot at children in Fox Glen East with either a BB or an airsoft gun. The officer responding to the call pulled over a Honda Civic matching that description after it slowly exited Fox Glen West.
The driver, a 19-year-old Pickerington man, denied any involvement and refused to tell the officer his identity. He also refused to allow the officer to question any his five passengers. The officer told the driver that if he and his passengers did not comply, the police department would contact a judge for a warrant.
“Although these guns shoot a water encased pellet, which may be soft to the touch, they can cause pain and injury and can break skin and cause severe eye injuries. Although the attached picture is not from one of our cases, it does show the potential for injury.
Unfortunately, some of the teens using these guns have behaved in a reckless manner by shooting innocent bystanders and local businesses, trespassing on private property and driving in a reckless fashion. These are actions the police department will not tolerate.
Many teens believe since they are using a ‘toy’ there are no consequences for these actions. That is a false assumption. If used improperly or in a reckless fashion, criminal charges can and will be filed when appropriate. Those charges can include Disorderly Conduct, Throwing or Shooting Missiles, Reckless Operation and even Assault.
We encourage parents to discuss the dangers of this type of activity with their kids.”
Photo Credit: Peach Tree City Police Department, Georgia
Eventually the man complied along with his five juvenile male passengers (three age 14 and two age 15 – all from Pickerington). At least one of the juveniles was apprehended on March 20 for threatening a Subway employee.
Upon searching the car, the officers recovered five gel blaster guns, a sling shot, multiple containers of water beads (known by the brand name of “Orbeez”) and a bottle of metal BB pellets.
A TikTok Challenge encouraging kids to use gel blaster guns (known by the brand name SplatRBall) to shoot strangers has led to serious injuries across the country. See Parents Magazine article.
3:00 pm: A 13-year-old boy reported that he had been shot in the face by a BB gun near Ridgeview Junior High School. He provided the police with a description of the gray Honda Civic along with a partial license plate number and the direction that it was traveling.
The police located the vehicle and its occupants on Opportunity Way at the parking lot for Pickerington Central High School’s track. All four of the teenage boys lived near Hines Road in Columbus.
The young victim had “no injury or marks” and declined to file a police report. A total of five toy guns were seized – two gel blasters, two BB guns and one “air soft gun”.
The officer who filed the report described all four teens as “polite, honest and cooperative” with the investigation.
March 22
1:30 pm: A 24-year-old Columbus man submitted a prescription for codeine to the Pickerington Pharmacy on Hill Road. When the pharmacy called to verify the prescription, the doctor said that it was not valid. When the man returned to pick up the codeine, the police were already there.
He took off running along Hill Road to Commerce Drive then cut through the Cherry Hill subdivision to Diley Road. Residents reported that the suspect began knocking on doors asking to use a telephone and was heading toward the train tracks in Cherry Hill.
The Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office joined the search.
Believing the suspect might have jumped the fence onto the railroad tracks, the police contacted Violet Springs Senior Living to advise them to watch for the suspect.
The Pickerington Police requested the Columbus Police Department send their helicopter.
The officers apprehended the suspect near the Lake’s Edge Apartments and charged him with narcotics-related forgery.
The incident is pending investigation.
4:15 pm: A homeowner on Florence Drive came home to find someone had thrown a decorative rock from his flowerbed through a window of his house. The homeowner believed that nobody had entered and nothing appeared to be missing, but that he wanted to file a report for insurance purposes.
On March 28, the young culprit accompanied his mother to apologize, and the mother provided her home insurance information to cover the repairs.
March 23
11:30 pm: Pickerington police cited a 22-year-old east Columbus man for pulling a gun in the parking lot of the Emergency Room at the OhioHealth Pickerington Campus, causing the hospital to go under lock down.
The suspect allegedly became angry when hospital staff told him that he could not leave with a patient. Within fifteen minutes of the call, the police had apprehended the suspect, and the lock down was lifted.
The incident is pending investigation.
March 24
6:30 pm: A 19-year-old Canal Winchester man, accompanied by an 18-year-old Pickerington woman and an 18-year-old Pickerington man, trespassed on property along the railroad tracks east of Sycamore Park – “Kansas”.
March 25
6:00 am: Three men wearing dark clothing and riding in a dark-colored, four-door sedan, broke into 13 vehicles in neighborhoods along Long Road west of Diley.
The resident who first reported the incident to police said that both of his vehicles were unlocked in his driveway and that $60.00 had been taken.
1:45 pm: A 20-year-old Bowling Green man shoplifted a pair of pink Nikes from the Kohls on Hill Road North. When officers caught him at the traffic light waiting to turn onto Hill Road, the man also confessed that the blue Vans on his feet also belonged to Kohls.
Upon searching the suspect, the officers discovered two bullets which the man claimed to have found. No gun turned up in the vehicle search.
The passenger in the car, a 17-year-old Pickerington boy, was also searched. He did not have a gun either, but he did possess two small bottles of Fireball Whiskey which the officers seized.
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.
March 19
- 800 block of W Waterloo, disorderly conduct, 54 yr. old male, arrested for disorderly conduct and public intoxication, transported to the Fairfield County Jail
- Jeff Wyler Chevrolet, Canal Winchester, suspicious person, investigation report taken
March 20
- 7500 block of Stemen Rd, well-being check, male transported to OhioHealth Pickerington for medical evaluation
- Dollar General, Baltimore, counterfeit currency, report taken
March 21
- Milltech, Canal Winchester, stolen vehicle, 2007 White Ford F650, investigation on-going
- 4300 block of Kauffman Rd., Bloom Twp., stolen vehicle, 2013 Silver Ford Explorer XLT, investigation on-going.
- 4200 block of North Bank Rd., Walnut Twp., 37 yr. old male, arrested for OVI and transported to the Fairfield County Jail.
- 3200 block of Kauffman Rd., Bloom Twp., identity fraud, victim called in and filed a report with a deputy
- 7600 block of Stemen Rd., Violet Twp., male subject transported to Hospital for medical evaluation
- 2700 block of Columbus Lancaster Rd., Greenfield Twp., counterfeit currency, report taken
- 5300 block of Cincinnati-Zanesville Rd., Pleasant Twp., recovered stolen vehicle, white enclosed stolen trailer recovered, originally reported stolen out of Whitehall PD.
- 2600 block of Kull Rd., Greenfield Twp., male subject transported to Hospital for medical evaluation
March 22
- 100 block of Columbus St., Pleasantville, trespassing, 35 yr. old male arrested on falsification and obstructing official business as well as a warrant out of Franklin County
- 2500 block of Hamburg Rd., Hocking Twp., warrant call, 26 yr. old male arrested and taken to the Fairfield County Jail.
- 7800 block of Allen Rd., Violet Twp., litter complaint, illegal dumping in a roll-off container in a driveway, report taken
- 5700 block of Bish Rd., burglary, garage items missing, report taken
March 23
- Lancaster-Circleville Rd./US33, litter scattered along right of way, cleaned area
- 6300 block of Galson Ct., identity fraud, fraudulent claim made with bank, report taken
- Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office, theft-deception, scam alert generated due to a person acting as a sheriff’s office employee asking for money, report taken, and crime alert posted to Facebook
- Jeff Wyler Chevrolet, Canal Winchester, theft, catalytic converter cut from a vehicle, report taken
- Meijer, Lancaster, petty theft, 38 yr. old male, arrested and transported to the Fairfield County Jail
March 24
- US33/Thorn Ln., traffic stop, 42 yr. old male arrested for an outstanding warrant, transported to the Fairfield County Jail.
- 9200 block of Waterloo-Eastern Rd., Violet Twp., litter complaint, trash will be removed, report taken
- 300 block of S. Broad St., Lancaster, warrant, 31 yr. old female arrested and transported to the Fairfield County Jail.
- 10000 block of Oxford Dr., Violet Twp., identity fraud, fraudulent unemployment claims being made, report taken
- 8500 block of Oakshire Dr., Violet Twp., identity fraud, fraudulent unemployment claims being made, new account applied for as well using victim’s identity, report taken
- 5600 block of Basil-Western Rd., Liberty Twp., vehicle accident, property damage reported, report taken
- 400 block of Wiley Rd., Lancaster, vehicle accident, property damage reported, report taken
March 25
- 6200 Hopewell Church Rd., Madison Twp., identity fraud, unknown subject used victims’ personal information and filed taxes, report taken
- 5900 block of Swartz Mill Rd., Berne Twp., 44 yr. old female transported to hospital for medical evaluation
- 13000 block of Heatherstone Cir., Violet Twp., theft, computer/credit card theft, report taken
- 800 W. Waterloo St., Canal Winchester, petty theft, male subject reached over the counter, took multiple items, and fled the store, investigation on-going
- 200 block of Chesterville Ct., Canal Winchester, 44 yr. old male transported to hospital for medical evaluation
