NORTH OLMSTED, Ohio –
Traffic altercation: Great Northern Boulevard
Officers at 6 p.m. on Nov. 3 responded to a report of a traffic altercation that resulted in one of the drivers being accused of brandishing a weapon.
An officer spoke with three people who were in one of the cars. The other car had left the area.
The driver who remained behind and called the police said she was heading southbound in a Jeep on Great Northern Boulevard near I-480 when she attempted a U-turn to head northbound on the boulevard. An oncoming sedan driven by a man had been in a turn lane to enter I-480 but then switched lanes to continue northbound on the boulevard, according to statements to police. The two vehicles nearly collided. Words were exchanged, and the driver in the sedan brandished a large AR-15-style firearm, according to the driver of the Jeep and two witnesses who were in her vehicle. According to a police report, one of the witnesses took a photo of the sedan’s license plate.
The license plate belonged to a Grafton resident, and Lorain County sheriff’s deputies contacted the driver and gave his phone number to the North Olmsted Police Department. The sedan driver confirmed being in a traffic altercation and said the other driver attempted an illegal U-turn, according to a police report. An officer on Nov. 6 asked the man to come to the North Olmsted Police Department to give a statement, but the man failed to show up that day or the next. The police department had difficulty reaching the man by phone for a follow-up conversation and forwarded the information to a prosecutor.
Fraud: Dover Center Road
A complainant at 2:40 p.m. on Nov. 3 reported to North Olmsted police that he was the victim of fraud, having purchased a used iPhone that turned out to be stolen.
The victim said that on Oct. 28, he met a seller in the parking lot near City Hall and the police station to complete a purchase of the used iPhone that had been advertised on the OfferUp website for $250. When the buyer attempted to reset the phone, he began receiving messages that the phone was the property of University Hospitals. The victim called the hospital’s IT department and learned that the phone had been stolen.
The buyer turned in the phone to the police department. North Olmsted police will work with the OfferUp website to try to learn the identity of the seller, according to a police report.
Grand theft shoplifting: Brookpark Road
Officers at 10:26 a.m. on Nov. 9 responded to Ulta Beauty regarding a theft of $1,333 worth of fragrances from the store.
The suspect placed eight perfume bottles in a shopping bag and left the store without paying. The store recorded the thefts on video. North Olmsted officers learned that Mayfield Heights and Fairview Park police were investigating similar thefts. A Fairview officer provided North Olmsted police with the identity of a suspect.
North Olmsted police said the suspect would be charged with felony grand theft shoplifting.
Get police blotters by email every weekday for free with our new Police Blotter newsletter. Sign up at cleveland.com/newsletters
Read more from the Sun Post Herald.