- December 4, 2025
COMPILED BY THE OBSERVER STAFF
Feb. 15
Impulse grand theft
4:18 p.m. — 200 Block of South Atlantic Avenue. Stolen Vehicle. The victim said he stopped his car in front of the emergency room entrance. He and his wife then helped his mother into the hospital. The driver didn’t realize, though, that he had left the car running.
About five minutes later, a nurse observed a male walk by the vehicle, and then she watched the vehicle drive away. The wife’s purse was still inside.
Feb. 17
Inner peace: Price: $450
2:14 a.m. — 100 Block of Live Oak Avenue. Theft. The victim said her Buddha statue was stolen from her front yard, sometime between twilight and 2 a.m.
She said it was a sitting Buddha, made of dark gray, cast concrete and was 3 feet 5 inches tall. She said it is worth $450.
Feb. 15
Acts of tree-son
11:33 a.m. — First Block of Castle Manor Drive. Vandalism. The victim said several branches on a tree in his front yard were cut off and broken. He believes a neighbor hired a service or had another neighbor remove the branches.
The victim said the reason for the vandalism is due to comments he made about the neighbor’s tree. He had told the neighbor he thought her tree had blight, so she had branches removed. It was later discovered that the tree never had any form of blight. Also, too many branches were removed.
While the officer was on the scene, several neighborhood children rode by on bikes and said they saw a large truck stop by the residence and remove branches from the tree. The victim said he believes the children were coached in what to say by their parents because there was a neighborhood conspiracy against him.
A neighbor across the street said that she saw a tree service remove branches from the tree. She said she had received a notice saying that branches would be removed because they posed a danger to power lines. The victim said he also received a notice but does not believe they coincide with the time frame of the vandalism.
The officer is waiting to hear from the company that is trimming trees in the area away from power lines before following up on the case.
Feb. 15
Take-out then take off
12:25 p.m. — 100 Block of Interchange Boulevard. Theft. The victims reported loss of a credit card and its use at a local doughnut shop and department store.
They said they had gone to a restaurant for breakfast and the female put her purse on the back of her chair. After a while, the male victim noticed a male sitting behind her who seemed to be very close to her seat.
After she got home, the female victim noticed her purse was unzipped halfway and her wallet was missing. The male victim remembered that the suspect hung his coat over his chair and seemed to be digging into the pocket. They also noticed the suspect did not eat, leaving full water glasses on the table.
While cancelling her cards at the bank, the bank employee noticed activity on the card at a nearby department store.
An employee at the restaurant told the officer that a male and female had walked in without waiting to be seated. She thought that was odd but she was busy working the register. They left a few minutes later and did not respond when she told them to have a nice day.
Video footage of the suspects was collected as evidence.
