February Police Blotter

An unusual month for assaults

It's not typical for Madison Park to be the venue for multiple incidents of assault during any given month, but there were no fewer than four assaults in the neighborhood during February.  The first incident was a bar fight on the night of February 1 on the 4300 block of E. Madison St.  Property was damaged in the fight and the assailant was identified.  The police have referred the incident to the City Attorney's office for possible charges.

The second incident occurred in the parking lot of Bert's Red Apple Market in the afternoon of February 10.  The victim reported to police that he had just parked his car when a person he knew only by his first name approached him and indicated that he was upset with the way the victim had parked his car.  The victim told police that he had recently purchased the car from the girlfriend of the suspect.  He said that while he talked to the man, the suspect suddenly became incensed, yelling that the victim had ripped off his girlfriend by not paying enough for the car.  According to the victim, the suspect then followed him and his ten-year-old son into the store, where the suspect continued to yell obscenities, causing a store employee to order him off the premises.  Though he did leave, police were called---but they arrived well after the suspect had vanished.

The third incident occurred on the 600 block of 32nd Avenue E. in the early evening of February 15.  Police were called to the scene, where witnesses described a strange situation involving a car passing through the neighborhood at a speed that someone on the sidewalk thought was excessive.  The pedestrian apparently signaled the car to stop and the driver complied.  She rolled down her window to ask what was the problem and was told to slow down.  At about this point an unidentified man came out of a building, approached the vehicle and began berating the woman, taking the side of the pedestrian.  The argument became heated. During the course of it, "bad language" was used and someone allegedly spit on someone else before the driver revved up her car and raced away.  Again, no suspect was apprehended at the scene.

On February 24, a police officer responding to a call was assaulted in Broadmoor, at the intersection of E. St. Andrews Way and Shenandoah Drive.  The suspect had entered Broadmoor on foot through the Madison Street gate, although ordered to stop by the gate guard.  Police were called and an officer arrived and approached the suspect, who apparently tried to punch the officer.  The gate guard and officer were able to subdue the suspect, who was then hauled off to the precinct station.

There were also several burglaries in Madison Park during February. Items were stolen from a garage on the 1200 block of 41st Avenue E. sometime during the night of February 19.  The garage had been unlocked.  Another non-forced burglary took place on the night of February 2 on the 400 block of 39th Avenue E.  In that incident, the victim reported that someone had entered his house and removed a laptop computer.  Apparently the garage door had been left open overnight, providing an entry point into the house.  Though the victim was home while the burglary occurred, he did not see or hear anything. That same night, another burglary occurred on the 1000 block of 34th Avenue E.  A man reported to police that his mother-in-law's house had been broken into during the night, a fact he discovered when he went to check on the house the following morning.  He found that the glass portion of the back door had been broken and that the suspect had entered the house, opened drawers and cabinets, and at minimum stolen an Apple laptop computer.  Although the house has an alarm system, it was not activated at the time of the burglary.

Two cars were stolen from the neighborhood during the month, one on the 2000 block of 41st Avenue E. on February 20 and the other on the 1500 block of McGilvra Boulevard E. on February 14.  One car was broken into, the incident occurring on the night of February 15 on the 4000 block of E. Highland Drive.  Rounding out the crime activities for the month were three incidents of fraud (identity theft and credit card fraud) and two incidents of property damage.