West Of Free Press — December 2022 - Flipbook - Page 6
The following were taken from actual
incident reports filed last month by the
City of Charleston Police Department.
These are not convictions and the names
of businesses, complainants, and suspects
have been left out to protect the innocent.
All suspects are innocent until proven
guilty ... of course.
SEPTEMBER 26
IMPERSONATION
A local jailer contacted an officer at
the Charleston Police Department with
concerns that perhaps one of the men
they were releasing from jail after 11
days of incarceration, wasn’t who he
said he was. The jailer believed, after
reviewing records and photographs
that the soon-to-be-released man had
been using his brother’s identity. The
officer reached out to the brother who
confirmed that the jailed man had used
his identity in the past for past traffic
stops and criminal investigations. A
review of booking photos led police to
believe that this had happened again.
SEPTEMBER 25
THEFT FROM A MOTOR VEHICLE
Officers responded to a report of
petty theft that followed a display
of guns by family members at a
wedding the day before. A Jaywood
Circle woman told police that she had
attended her mother-in-law’s wedding
at a park located within West Ashley.
Before the ceremony, the woman’s
separated wife showed up and a fight
began between the two of them in
the parking lot. The woman’s current
boyfriend tried to intervene, but
allegedly the other woman pulled out
a black handgun from the small of her
back and brandished it in front of the
crowd of family. One of the cousins
on hand disarmed the other woman,
which led her to pull out yet another
firearm, a pink pistol out of her bra.
When the complainant tried to leave
later that night, she noticed that the
keys to her car were missing, as well
as the license plate, and items had
been stolen out of her vehicle.
SEPTEMBER 25
SHOPLIFTING
A manager at a Sam Rittenberg
Boulevard beauty store told police that
two women with empty bags entered
the store, grabbed a shopping basket,
and snatched 85 different bottles of
perfume – Gucci, Dior, Montblanc,
Ralph Lauren, and Versace - valued
at over $7,000. When the manager
attempted to stop them from leaving
without paying for the items, the
two women pushed past multiple
customers and fled on foot out of the
store.
SEPTEMBER 25
FOUND, LOST, CONFISCATED
PROPERTY
A worker at a Sam Rittenberg
Boulevard car wash told police that
he’d found a fully loaded 9-mm pistol
on the ground by the tire scrubbers.
Later, the suspected owner showed
up wearing a Fraternal Order of Police
shirt. The handgun had been kept in a
canvas holster along with a .45-caliber
magazine with 11 rounds. The gun was
taken in by police as evidence.
SEPTEMBER 24
DRUG, NARCOTICS VIOLATION
Police found an unconscious man
parked in the drive-thru of a Sam
Rittenberg Boulevard fast-food
restaurant in a still-running SUV. The
SUV’s engine engaged, and the man’s
foot was on the brake. When officers
were “eventually” able to wake the
man, he rolled down his window and
the smell of marijuana came out.
The man claimed he hadn’t smoked
marijuana in the vehicle in the past six
hours. During a subsequent search
of the vehicle, officers found a rolled
joint in the center console, a large
sum of cash, and a scale. The man
admitted to police that he does sell
marijuana. Police cited the man and
released him.
SEPTEMBER 24
STOLEN PROPERTY OFFENSES
An officer noticed a car he believed
to have been stolen was being parked
by a man with a “distinct jawbone and
clear complexion.” A records check
showed the car to have been reported
stolen, at which point the officer turned
on his emergency lights. At this point,
the man with the distinct jawbone fled
on foot. Later, when officers returned
to further investigate, a man meeting
the description of the driver appeared
and was arrested. The officer stated
that when he said to the suspect that
he was a fast runner, the man said
“yea.”
SEPTEMBER 24
EMBEZZLEMENT
A Charlestowne Road pool company
manager alleged that his secretary
in charge of payroll had overpaid a
family member for work done to the
tune of $15,000 over a 10-month span.
The manager claimed that payroll
records showed the family member
had been getting paid for 39 hours a
week instead of the actual 15-hour
workload. The manager claims they
had earlier asked the secretary to
email them the payroll, but only
received an inaccurate screenshot.
SEPTEMBER 24
SEX OFFENSE, FONDLING, INDECENT
LIBERTIES, CHILD MOLESTING
Officers responded to an Ashley
Crossing Drive store regarding a
report of criminal sexual conduct with
a juvenile.