Crime report
Week ending April 19
This week we experienced no home burglaries and two UBEVs (Unlawful Breaking and Entering Vehicles).
The first UBEV occurred on West Montcrest Road sometime during the night of April 16. A window was broken for the thief to retrieve the victim’s purse and its contents.
The second UBEV occurred on Peachtree Road at about 9 a.m. The victim left her purse on the front seat of her vehicle and went for a walk. When she returned, the purse and its contents were gone. There was no sign of forced entry on this vehicle.
I am getting numerous phone calls and emails concerning all the “robberies.”
There has been only one robbery in Mountain Brook this year. There have been numerous robberies in other cities, but only one here.
Current crime statistics:
2012 home burglaries from January 1 until now: 7
2012 UBEVs from January 1 until now: 9 2011 home burglaries for the same time period: 17
2011 UBEVs for the same time period: 36 2010 home burglaries for the same time period: 25
2010 UBEVs for the same time period: 44
2009 home burglaries for the same time period: 17
2009 UBEVs for the same time period: 50
Summary of miscellaneous incidents
This past Monday morning we had a vehicle stolen from a driveway on Euclid Avenue.
The thief was unaware that the vehicle was equipped with a tracking device. He traveled down Interstate 65 and stopped
at a rest area, where he was greeted by our state troopers and Chilton County deputies.
We had an identity theft case where the victim’s identity was used to purchase property from Sears.
On April 16 at approximately 10:40 p.m., we received a prowler call at a home on Canterbury Lane. According to the victim, she saw a male outside her window. She was unable to give us a good description of the suspect.
Our patrol officers answered a domestic incident call at a home on Montevallo Road. A young couple was involved in an argument. The mother of the girl involved ordered the boyfriend to leave her property. He was trespassing and will be arrested if he returns.
Two black females stole several packs of meat from Piggly Wiggly in River Run. These thieves took 10 packs of meat and put them in their purses and left the store. We are reviewing the video.
We had a report where our victim’s bank account had been debited by another bank without our victim’s knowledge. He changed his account, and the same bank attempted to debit his account again. Fortunately, his bank detected the fraudulent attempt, and his money was recovered. We are hopeful that we can determine the identity of the thief.
Week ending April 12
This past week we experienced no home burglaries and no UBEVs (Unlawful Breaking and Entering Vehicles).
We had an armed robbery, which occurred on Euclid Avenue April 11 at about 9:20 p.m. According to the victim, an unknown male wearing a ski mask robbed
her in her driveway. She had just arrived at her residence when the suspect approached her from behind. He presented a silver revolver and demanded her purse. She gave him her purse and he left the scene. There were no injuries.
Summary of miscellaneous incidents
An office located on Cahaba Road was broken into on April 5, and passports were taken.
We had a report of a theft on Briar Oak Circle. According to the victim, a fishing rod and a yard sprayer were taken from his basement during the time a plumbing company was doing work at the house.
Macy’s loss prevention agents apprehended a shoplifter. The thief took clothes into a fitting room and concealed them in a bag before exiting the room. The woman is a Birmingham resident. A warrant will be issued for her arrest.
A hit and run accident occurred on Montevallo Terrace while the victim was attending a garage sale. According to witnesses, the offender left the scene in a blue Honda SUV. No tag number was available.
Week ending April 5
This past week we experienced one home burglary and no UBEVs (Unlawful Breaking and Entering Vehicles).
The home burglary occurred between January 12 and March 30 on Stone Mill Road. The thief took a large amount of silver service pieces. According to the victim, the theft could have occurred when the house was unsecured.
Summary of miscellaneous incidents
We had a report of criminal mischief on West Montcrest. Someone damaged two clay lions located next to the victim’s driveway.
We took another report this week of a sitter who stole checks from an elderly individual and forged them. That thief will likely be arrested in the near future. (If you
or your parents have sitters, please check these people out before you hire them. Some of our victims don’t even know the names and addresses of the people working in their homes. Recently, a friend of mine who lives in Birmingham discovered that most of her very expensive heirloom jewelry is gone due to a sitter. Unfortunately for her, she didn’t hide her jewelry before giving a stranger access to her home.)
A man reported that he is missing a digital camera, but he has no idea who took the camera. According to him, many people have access to his home.
We have received many calls and emails concerning copperheads. Mountain Brook has more than its share of copperheads. They are poisonous, but are rarely fatal. I guess the message is that if you are bitten get to a hospital immediately, but realize that you are going to survive.
We also have rat snakes and black king snakes. People kill these snakes even though they are beneficial. The black king snakes eat copperheads and other poisonous snakes. The rat snakes eat rats, mice, chipmunks and other small creatures.
Week ending March 29
This week we had one home burglary and no UBEVs (Unlawful Breaking and Entering Vehicles).
The home burglary occurred at a house under construction on Montevallo Road. This burglary occurred between 5 p.m. on March 25 and 7:30 a.m. on March 26. A refrigerator, dishwasher, microwave, wine cooler and clothes washer were taken from this home. We believe the thief had some knowledge of this construction site. There was no alarm.
Summary of miscellaneous incidents
We had a report of a Peeping Tom on Shamley Drive. He is described as being a tall white male.
We received a call of a domestic dispute at the Starbucks in Mountain Brook Village. The police arrived and determined that it was just a shouting match between a man and his girlfriend. No police action was necessary except to inform these individuals to argue somewhere else.
We took another report this week of an individual stealing from the elderly individual she was sitting for. The thief was caught stealing her employer’s drugs. This is not uncommon, and anyone who has a sitter should be very particular about who they have in their home.
An intoxicated man was stumbling around Mountain Brook Shopping Center and trying to unlock different vehicles with the keys to his car. The officer checking him out learned that there were numerous warrants out for this man. He was arrested for those warrants, plus his drunkenness.
A hit and run accident occurred in the parking lot at a nail salon on River Run Drive. The witness was unable to provide us with a tag number.
A hit and run accident occurred on Mountain Brook Parkway. The suspect left the scene, but a witness got the tag number and the suspect has been identified.
We took a criminal mischief report on Corinth Drive. The perpetrator attempted to steal copper from the victim’s air conditioner. The unit was heavily damaged from this attempt.
We had an identity theft report where the victim’s visa number was used to purchase items in California.
A harassing communications report was taken where an individual has been receiving obscene text messages. The suspect is the girlfriend of a male friend of hers. (Yes, that is confusing.)
We have received many calls and emails concerning coyotes. I have talked to people in the Old Leeds Road, Cherokee Bend, Green Valley Road and Brookwood Road areas who are seeing coyotes regularly. These animals are usually shy and not a threat to people, but our coyotes are becoming less shy and are venturing close to homes in the area. Please be aware that if you have small dogs, cats or any other small pets they can become victims of these coyotes. We have confirmed reports that coyotes have taken cats and small dogs in Mountain Brook. Many citizens are concerned about their children, and although we haven’t received any reports of a coyote attacking children, we certainly don’t want to be the first city to take such a report. Just be cautious.