Crime Report: Women Say Dates Stole iPhones; Several Apartments Burglarized

Two women told that their dates stole their new iPhones on Monday, according to a police report. The women were on a double date with two men; one woman had known her date for a month, while the other woman met her date just that night, the report said.

According to the report, the women said they went shopping at , where they both bought iPhones and several other items. The foursome then went to in West Oaks at 8 p.m. to buy accessories for their phones, and the men said they would wait in the car, the report said.

The women left the store 20 minutes later to find their dates gone with their new iPhones and $100 of other merchandise, the report said. The women said they tried calling the men several times, but they kept hanging up, the report said. The women then called the Novi police, who took the women to Denny’s Restaurant to wait for a ride home.

Man witnesses burglarizing of his apartment

A man reported that the key to his car was stolen Tuesday when someone broke into his apartment on Beachwalk Drive. According to the police report, the man said he was lying in bed, watching a movie, when he heard a noise coming from elsewhere in his apartment. The report said the man paused the movie but restarted it when he did not hear anything. A few minutes later, he heard the noises again and left his bedroom, the report said. The man saw a dark figure standing at the end of his hallway, who then ran through the open front door, the report said. The resident tried to chase the intruder but lost him after he exited the building, the report said.

The resident returned to his apartment to find his sliding glass door was open and his car key was missing, the report said. The man said he had not noticed any weird activity but that he does leave the area for long periods for his job, according to the report. The police could not find any witnesses and told him to remove the battery from his car to prevent it from being stolen, the report said.

Personal identity files stolen

A man reported that his apartment on Walden Court was broken into while he was on vacation from Dec. 17-Monday, according to a police report. The man’s neighbor has a key to his apartment and was watching his cat for him while he was out of town, the report said. The neighbor called the resident on the morning of Dec. 22 to tell him that his apartment had been ransacked, the report said. The resident waited to report the crime until he returned home Monday.

The report said the man found closets and doors opened with contents on the floor, his mattress moved and a jewelry box opened. Several items were missing, including his digital camera and a safe containing his passport, birth certificate and Social Security card, the report said.

The man said he cleaned up the apartment before calling the police but wanted to make a report because he was afraid the thief would use his files for identity theft, the report said.

The man said the lock on his sliding glass door does not work but that he usually puts a wooden stick behind the door to secure it, according to the report. His neighbor found the wooden stick on the carpet directly behind the door, and the man said he believes his cat removed it, as it has done before, and that the suspect entered through the door, the report said.

Police questioned the man’s neighbors, and the man who lives in the apartment above said that at 9:30 p.m. Dec. 21, he saw a laser beam's reflection from his apartment's rear window, the report said. The man said he looked outside and saw a dark-colored car with two people driving away, and that he also saw the car again five minutes later, the report said.

Tires stolen from car in driveway

A man reported that all four tires from his 2010 Ford Taurus were stolen sometime Monday night, according to a police report. The man’s car was parked in his driveway on Stratford Lane, where someone had jacked up the vehicle and placed two landscaping bricks on each side, the report said. The thief or thieves took all four tires, leaving the car on blocks, the report said.

Woman arrested on retail fraud charge says it was an accident

A woman was arrested on charges of retail fraud of the second degree and larceny after she left without paying for a coat and bottle of perfume at 7 p.m. Sunday, according to a police report. A loss prevention officer at the store saw the woman put on a jacket and later purchase a bottle of perfume, but she did not pay for the coat, the report said. The woman then exited the store, where the officer stopped her and found that she also had a tester bottle of perfume in her pocket, the report said.

According to the police report, the woman said she tried on the coat while looking for a mirror and an open register and that she forgot she was wearing it. She also said she accidentally placed perfume inside her purse when she was placing her keys and wallet inside, the report said. She said the items were taken by accident and that she did not intend to take them, the report said.

Jewelry stolen from apartment

A woman reported that her apartment on Woodland Glen Drive was broken into and that several pieces of jewelry were stolen while she was staying at her boyfriend’s place from Dec. 31-Tuesday, according to a police report. The report said someone entered her apartment through the sliding glass patio door by prying it open. The woman’s apartment was ransacked, and her jewelry box had been emptied on her bed with several pieces taken, the report said.

The woman does not suspect anybody, and the police could not recover any fingerprints, the report said.

If you have questions about this blotter, contact Editor Rebecca Jaskot at rebecca.jaskot@patch.com.