Police Beat

March 24 – A Miller Road resident contacted police to report that a cash box was stolen from an egg stand outside her home. The complainant said she left her residence around 1:30 p.m., at which time she spotted a carton of a dozen eggs and the metal cash box on top of her stand. When she arrived back at her home, approximately 30 minutes later, she noticed the cash box was no longer on the stand. She said the cash box was not locked and was not secured to the stand. The box contained approximately $50 at the time it went missing.

March 13 – Police were dispatched to Valleybrook Drive at 12:27 a.m. after receiving a report that a vehicle was stuck in the backyard of a residence. The caller told police the vehicle had been in the same spot in the yard for about 40 minutes. Upon arrival, officers saw that the vehicle was stuck in the mud and snow in the backyard, almost 100 feet off the driveway. The driver door was open and there was a male at the rear of the vehicle attempting to push it. When the man was asked how his vehicle got stuck, he told officers he was attempting to get home to Medina and his “GPS took him this way.” When asked if he knew where he was, the man told police he did not. He said he was on his way from a concert in Cleveland, where he admitted he had been drinking. The 26-year-old driver was subsequently arrested on charges of OVI and his car, which contained a half-empty bottle of alcohol in the center console, was towed from the scene.

Feb. 26 – A 32-year-old Connecticut man was pulled over on Interstate 77 just before 11 p.m. for traveling at 104 miles per hour in a 60-mph zone. The officer at the scene said the man had an open bottle of tequila in his truck’s center console and said he “had more than a few sips” when asked how much he had to drink that evening. The driver was arrested on charges of OVI, driving with a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.177, willful or wanton disregard for safety and speed and was placed under administrative license suspension.

Feb. 24 – Police pulled over a vehicle near the intersection of state Route 82 and state Route 21 at 9:30 a.m. after an officer observed the vehicle had a severely damaged windshield and loud exhaust. While speaking with the driver, the front-seat passenger told the officer the pair had stopped for breakfast and were on their way to Lorain County to pay his child support. He told the officer he had a firearm in the vehicle that was unloaded. The passenger said he did not have a concealed carry permit for the gun. Upon searching the vehicle, police found the handgun and two fully loaded magazines in the passenger compartment of the vehicle. Neither had been stored in a locked container. The man was arrested on charges of improper handling of firearms in a motor vehicle and the gun was seized as evidence. The driver was cited for driving an unsafe motor vehicle.

Feb. 23 – Police responded to the city’s community center around 1:50 p.m. after a semi-truck that had been making a delivery struck a handrail near the community center’s front entrance. Upon arrival, officers located the truck parked on the south side of the building. The driver told the officer he attempted to maneuver around the bend when the rear passenger tires of his trailer struck the hand railing on the driver’s north side. The trailer was not damaged in the incident. Photographs of the damage were taken but the driver was not charged. ∞