A weekly roundup of the newsworthy, notable and often head-scratching stories gleaned from police reports from the Chattanooga Police Department, the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office, the Bradley County Sheriff’s Department and the Dalton Police Department.

• What’s worse than getting caught with a BB gun at school? Getting caught with drugs and stolen credit cards during the school search.  A school lockdown was initiated last week at both Orchard Knob and Dalewood middle schools when authorities received information of a possible weapon on school property. The search not only turned up a BB gun and an airsoft gun in the possession of two students, but four other students were discovered with marijuana. Additionally, another student was caught with four stolen credit cards.  All of the students, ranging in age from 11 to 14, now face a variety of charges.

• How does a tenant facing eviction get even with an annoying, soon-to-be-former neighbor? By ratting out their apartment meth lab.  Which is exactly what happened to a tenant at the College Hill Court apartments when an angry tenant facing eviction led law enforcement officers to a “Red P” lab in one of the other apartments. A “Red P” lab is rare, because using red phosphorous isn’t normal in making methamphetamine.  Officers cordoned off the apartment, since meth labs are considered to be hazmat scenes, and are actively searching for the amateur chemists who resided in the apartment.  Chances are high they’ll be joining the eviction parade.

• A Hamilton County man is probably wishing he hadn’t panicked when he saw a deputy driving toward him.  When the man noticed the sheriff’s cruiser, he stepped off the road and started walking toward some woods. The deputy stopped the man and asked for ID, at which point the man bolted into the nearby woods, leaping into a creek and swimming to the far side. With the help of a K-9 unit, deputies found the 41-year-old man hiding in some bushes on the far side of the creek bank. He admitted to deputies that he has outstanding warrants both in the City of Red Bank and Hamilton County, which is why he tried to run when he saw the patrol car.

• If you are a burglar, selling your ill-gotten goods on eBay is not considered the brightest of ideas. An Ooltewah burglary victim noticed what appeared to be several pieces of property stolen from them listed for sale on the auction web site. They notified the Sheriff’s Office, who contacted the seller and set up a meeting at a local restaurant. After the meeting, an 18 year old was taken into custody and charged with aggravated burglary, theft over $1,000, and auto burglary. A search of the teenager’s home found stolen property, including a .38 caliber pistol, digital cameras, GPS devices and numerous other items that had all been reported stolen in the Ooltewah area in recent weeks.

A weekly roundup of the newsworthy, notable and often head-scratching stories gleaned from police reports from the Chattanooga Police Department, the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office, the Bradley County Sheriff’s Department and the Dalton Police Department.

• One of the truisms of law enforcement is that criminals are creatures of habit.  If a crook finds a way to “succeed” in breaking the law, chances are they’ll keep doing the same thing, never realizing the more they repeat their crime, the higher the probability they’ll get caught. Which is why officers began monitoring fitness center parking lots after a rash of “smash and grab” auto burglaries in which a pair of men targeted cars with purses inside, stole the credit cards, then used them at area gas stations to buy fuel, cigarettes and, for reasons known only to them, milk.  Working on witness descriptions, officers nabbed a pair of men in the act of casing an East Brainerd fitness center and were able to solve nearly 30 open cases.  On the positive, we hear there is plenty of milk in prison.

• Another week, another bad driver with a car full of drugs. A Bradley County deputy patrolling I-75 last week noticed a car weaving back and forth over the lane line and initiated a traffic stop.  During the ensuing consent search, they discovered almost a thousand Oxycodone pills, more than 100 Somas and a small amount of marijuana, with a combined street value of $32,000. The driver and two passengers, all from Columbus, Ohio, were arrested on various drug charges, with the driver also facing charges of driving on a suspended license and failure to maintain lane.

• It’s not only drug dealers that are bad at the basics of driving; it’s also wannabe car thieves. A young man attempted to purloin a car from the parking lot of a large retail store on Hixson Pike last week, only to be thwarted by the fact that he didn’t know how to unlock the steering wheel.  While he was able to get the car started and moving, he wasn’t able to figure out how to steer the car, which resulted in him running into the side of the business. Witnesses were so surprised by the impromptu creation of a drive-thru window that no one was able to stop the suspect from fleeing on foot.  One begins to think that the lack of driver education in schools these days is creating a new class of clueless criminals.

• And remember the childhood trick of tying a piece of fishing line to a dollar bill and using it get free change from a change machine?  Turns out that it actually works with some of the older machines.  The manager of a Shallowford Village Drive hotel called police when he noticed a pair of men using that exact scam to get free money from a third-floor change machine.  While the scam artists had fled before police arrived, surveillance video gave officers a good description of the pair, and they were later caught and arrested on charges of theft under $500.  No word on if they tried to post their bond using small change.

• Kudos go out this week to agents of the FBI and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation who, working closely with various law enforcement agencies on both sides of the border, made a large dent in the local meth trade. Sixteen people were arrested last week in the latest roundup of a four-year investigation into a major meth distribution ring that operated in the region.  The 16 have been indicted for conspiring to distribute more than 500 grams of methamphetamine, with each person facing a possible sentence of 10 years to life. These arrests are in addition to 12 other members of the ring who have already been convicted as a result of the investigation.  Considering how prevalent meth production and distribution is in the area, it’s always very welcome news to see law enforcement getting the upper hand, at least for the moment.

• Ever since red-light cameras started being used by cities, there has been a lot of controversy and protest over their use.  Proponents claim they make the roads safer, while opponents question the effectiveness and basic legality of the devices.  City officials in Cleveland, however, have been faced with an unexpected problem—their cameras were apparently too effective.  As a result of a dramatic decrease in citations, the company that supplies the devices informed the Cleveland City Council that they want them back.  Apparently, Traffipax wasn’t making enough money off their cut of the citations to cover the expense of maintaining the cameras.  As a result, the cameras are coming down by the end of March.

• It happens every winter, and every winter we try and remind people about how not to be a victim of a car thief.  Yet, there are people who still turn their vehicles on and leave them running in front of their homes on a cold winter morning…only to see them driven off with someone else behind the wheel.  Such was the case with a woman on Rogers Road who watched helplessly as a man wearing an orange jacket hopped into her Chevy Tahoe and drove away.  Yes, we know that getting into a cold car is no fun in the morning, but if the choice is between sitting in the car for a few minutes before driving to work as opposed to watching someone else get into your now nicely heated vehicle, we’ll take the cold.

• A unique Bradley County program that trains citizens to become special deputies for area churches has paid off in many ways, including during a recent Sunday morning at the Central Church of Christ. An off-duty deputy who was working in a security role during morning services noticed a man prowling in the parking lot.  When the man saw that he was being watched, he tossed something under a car.  The deputy detained the man and discovered that the object was a wallet that had been taken from a nearby vehicle.  The man was arrested and charged with burglary. Bradley County Sheriff Tim Gobble was pleased with the news, saying that it shows the program is working, and that “having a law enforcement presence on the scene protects the lives and property of those attending worship services.”

• The recent wave of school break-ins and thefts of computers has frustrated both law enforcement and school officials. Hamilton County School Superintendant Dr. Jim Scales even went so far as to tell the county commission that he believed it was an “inside job”.  Turns out he was partially right, as a recent arrest of a city Parks and Recreation employee led to the recovery of a number of laptop computers stolen from Howard High School. However, the city employee says he bought the laptops from an unknown man in front a downtown night club.  As a result, he’s only been charged with possession of the stolen property, and not the school burglary.  He has also been relieved of duty until “sufficient and complete information is available” to determine his employment status.

• Threatening to kill a politician and burn his house down is generally considered a very bad thing to do.  Luckily, the vast majority of disgruntled voters who express their displeasure with our elected officials in such a fashion are not exactly the best of brightest.  Such as the man who called Hamilton County Commissioner Curtis Adams at his house last week and threatened to kill him, his wife and burn their house down.  Adams immediately alerted East Ridge police officials, who were able to easily trace the call to a cell phone belonging to the upset caller.  He was arrested the next day, charged with civil rights intimidation, harassment and filing a false report, and given a bond of $225,000.

• Cops are often amazed at just how stupid some criminals can be.  Even the simplest of things, like how robbing a house in broad daylight is generally considered a bad idea, seem to never occur to those who live the criminal lifestyle.  It does make officers’ jobs a lot easier, though, especially in a recent case in which Bradley County deputies responded to a house on Twin Creek Drive after a 911 call on a burglary.  A home health nurse was at the front door of the house when she saw a man coming out of a window carrying a bag.  Since she knew that the man was not living in the house, she called it in.  The man was captured and the bag was found to contain prescription medications belonging to three people at the home. Not only that, but in the course of their investigation, they also discovered the man had a female accomplice who also ended up behind bars.

• And one of the least popular tools in the law enforcement arsenal—the automated traffic camera—is going away in Cleveland. However, it’s not because of citizen outrage, nor was it the city’s idea to do away with the red-light cameras.  The real issue was money.  Specifically, the lack of revenue coming to the company that supplies the devices.  They informed the Cleveland City Council that the cameras weren’t generating enough revenue, and wanted them back. Apparently, Cleveland drivers have become so law abiding at the various intersections monitored by the cameras that the number of citations issued (of which the company gets a cut) wasn’t enough to cover the operating expenses.  Which is an interesting lesson to those in opposition to the cameras: if everyone obeys the traffic laws, the cameras will likely end up going away.  And everyone ends up safer…at least until everyone realizes the cameras are gone and goes back to their old driving habits.

A weekly roundup of the newsworthy, notable and often head-scratching stories gleaned from police reports from the Chattanooga Police Department, the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office, the Bradley County Sheriff’s Department and the Dalton Police Department.

• While the Police Blotter generally covers what is considered “stupid crook news”, occasionally law enforcement asks for our help in capturing some bad guys. Chattanooga Police Property Crimes Investigators are looking for two suspects wanted in connection with a robbery that occurred on January 17 at the Subway at 4220 Highway 58. According to witnesses, three suspects entered the business with guns and demanded money from the employees. They were able to get away with more than $400. Coderius Trammell and Ronald Crumsey both have warrants for aggravated robbery and are considered armed and dangerous. If anyone has information on their whereabouts, we ask that they please call the Chattanooga Police Department at (423) 698-2525.

• How many times have we seen drug dealers captured because of their bad driving habits? Add yet another story to the ever-growing list of bad driving tales as a Marietta, Georgia woman has been charged with possessing approximately 100 pounds of marijuana that was in the trunk of her car when Bradley County detectives stopped her on I-75 last week.   Drug Interdiction detectives saw the woman’s car weaving across several lanes and noted her speed at 40 miles an hour.  When she rolled down a window to talk to the detective after being stopped, he smelled the unmistakable odor of marijuana wafting from the car. A consent search was conducted and large bundles of marijuana in four garbage bags were found in the car’s trunk.  She was charged with possession of marijuana for resale, impeding the flow of traffic, and failure to maintain lane.

• Some dealers avoid the whole driving issue by growing the stuff at their business.  Luckily for law enforcement, at least one of those dealers was a bit forgetful about locking the door to his business.  A Hamilton County Sheriff’s deputy responded to a reported business burglary at a computer repair company on Middle Valley Road, and while checking to secure the business, found approximately 115 suspected marijuana plants and equipment commonly associated with an indoor grow lab. The owner was tracked down to his home in Rossville, where Catoosa County Sheriff’s deputies found the man and his wife in possession of not only more drugs but a Mack 10 machine gun as well. The couple now faces charges in both Catoosa County and Hamilton County for manufacturing marijuana, conspiracy and felony possession of drug paraphernalia.

• And finally some good news. Some very good news.  Walker County Sheriff Steve Wilson reports that he’s beating cancer. Posting on his Facebook page last week, Wilson announced that his latest tests show he’s in remission and that the chemotherapy is working. He says he’ll continue taking chemo through next month and in March will undergo a stem cell transplant in an Atlanta hospital. Wilson decided to go public with his diagnosis of multiple myeloma last November in order to help raise awareness of the disease. We wish Sheriff Wilson a continued recovery and hope to see him 100 percent healthy and back on the job he loves as soon as possible.

A weekly roundup of the newsworthy, notable and often head-scratching stories gleaned from police reports from the Chattanooga Police Department, the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office, the Bradley County Sheriff’s Department and the Dalton Police Department.

• The “Geek Squad” folks are more than happy to help you fix your computer, provided it actually IS your computer.  They, however, do not help you fix a stolen computer.  Which is good, since the computer experts helped authorities to catch a pair of men who allegedly broke into Normal Park Lower School last week and stole a number of computers.  The geeks became suspicious when the two men brought a pair of computers into Best Buy and asked a staff person to change the passwords.  A school teacher recognized the screen savers on the computers, which led to the arrest of the two.  And in an unrelated, but somewhat amusing note, when officers went to the hotel where the men were staying to see if they could find other stolen equipment, they found a meth lab operating in a nearby room.

• If you are young, fairly stupid, and have a very fast car, you probably think street racing is a cool way to spend a Friday night. However, it is generally not a good idea to video your races and post them to the Internet, at least if you don’t want to get caught.  Chattanooga traffic investigators saw the video and posted unmarked vehicles and video cameras in the area of 153 and I-75 in anticipation of another Friday race.  The result was the arrest of four men driving heavily modified cars at speeds in excess of 100 mph from 153 up towards the Hamilton Place Mall exit on I-75. If you are the owner of a fast car, remember to leave the street racing to the movies—and off the Internet.

• Having a neighbor move away and leave their beaten-up old van in the driveway of their vacant home can be seen as an annoying neighborhood eyesore.  However, that does not make it OK to have the van towed, crushed and sold for scrap.  Which is unfortunate, as much to the annoyance of the former neighbor and owner of the van, that is just what one Chattanooga man did.  After an investigation, the man, a senior firefighter with the Chattanooga Fire Department, was arrested, charged with theft and fraudulently transferring a motor vehicle.  He is currently on personal leave from the fire department.

• And a lot of people hold grudges against former employers.  Many of them even want to do something to get even.  Some of them go as far as committing an illegal act in their quest for revenge against wrongs both real and perceived.  However, it is quite rare to hear about a former employee who talks her 11-year-old son into committing an armed robbery as part of that revenge.  Which is what an East Tennessee woman is accused of doing, after the son used a pellet gun to steal $80 from a finance company that had once employed the mother.  Officers say the boy claimed he was given $20 of the ill-gotten gains as payment, and that his mother drove the getaway car.  She’s facing a laundry list of charges, while juvenile authorities are considering what exactly to do with the pre-teen John Dillinger.

A weekly roundup of the newsworthy, notable and often head-scratching stories gleaned from police reports from the Chattanooga Police Department, the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office, the Bradley County Sheriff’s Department and the Dalton Police Department.

• I-75 is often referred to as one of the nation’s main “drug highways” because of the amount of illegal drugs that are transported to the North. At least one major shipment, however, was stopped before getting to its planned destination, as Dalton officers made a traffic stop and seized approximately 50 pounds of marijuana and two ounces of methamphetamine. The combined street value of the seized drugs is estimated at approximately $100,000. Arrested were four men ranging in age from 22 to 29, all interestingly enough from Albertville, Alabama and Crossville, Alabama.

• While not as spectacular a bust as their Dalton peers, Bradley County officials made their contribution to disrupting the I-75 connection.  A Bradley County deputy spotted a vehicle crossing back and forth over the center line on I-75 several times last week, always a good sign that something is amiss.  When he pulled the driver over, he ended with a bigger catch: 15 pounds of marijuana. During the traffic stop, the deputy became suspicious and called for a drug dog.  The dog gave a positive alert on the vehicle, which led to the discovery of the drugs.  The driver, from Tucker, Georgia, and his passenger, from Patriot, Ohio, were both arrested and charged with possession of marijuana for resale. The driver is also facing charges of failure to maintain lane and driving on a suspended license.

• One would think if you were on the run from the law in another state, staying low would be on the top of the list of personal priorities. Not so much for one 20-year-old woman who apparently did not understand the entire concept of “hiding”.  The woman was arrested in Bradley County on a forgery warrant from New Mexico, and then to make matters worse, she managed to open a window of the deputy’s car and escape. She ran into a nearby barn, while still handcuffed, but fell when she tried climbing into a loft to hide and was quickly re-apprehended. Once in custody, it was discovered that she is alleged to have pawned a stolen diamond ring and digital camera. In addition to the New Mexico charges, she now faces aggravated burglary, theft, escape and evading arrest charges.

• It’s a strange fact that criminals just can’t seem to resist bragging about their exploits, even to their own victims.  Whether this is a matter of arrogance or lack of intelligence is something for the sociologists to debate. The general result is that it just makes it easier to arrest the bad guys.  Case in point: A woman called police, telling them that her ex-boyfriend was bragging about knocking her windows out. With police listening in, she called her former beau back, where he once again bragged about shattering two windows on her house as well as the windshield and the rear window of her car. The man was quickly located by officers and taken into custody.  Interestingly enough, so was the woman, as she was found to have outstanding warrants.

A weekly roundup of the newsworthy, notable and often head-scratching stories gleaned from police reports from the Chattanooga Police Department, the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office, the Bradley County Sheriff’s Department and the Dalton Police Department.

• Once upon a time, people could leave their homes with the doors unlocked and not worry about a thing. Those days are, alas, a faint memory in the modern era where people not only lock their doors even when they are home, but also have alarm systems installed.  Yet even the best system only works when it is turned on.  A couple on North Crest Road apparently forgot to do both—turn on their alarm system and lock their doors—when they went out for a quiet dinner.  Sadly, when they returned to their home they discovered someone had taken advantage of their naiveté and gone through their home, stealing a number of items from a basement studio.

• One of the less enjoyable parts of being a police officer is dealing with intoxicated people. Especially when the intoxicated person in question is complaining of having run a “gauntlet of terror” through a downtown neighborhood.  What officers referred to as a “very intoxicated” man on South Broad Street told them he had been chased by a pack of dogs, had bricks thrown at him, and had a spotlight shined on him while someone told him to “get out of here”.  Yet when officers went to the neighborhood in question, they could find no evidence of dog packs, thrown bricks, spotlights or angry neighbors.  The man was advised to avoid the area in the future.  It probably wouldn’t hurt if maybe he laid off the sauce for a while, too.

• What do you do with half of a $100 bill?  That’s the question facing one rather inept thief after he tried to relieve a woman of the bill in question inside a convenience store on Hamill Road.  The woman told police that she was waiting in line when a tall man with dreadlocks walked up and tried to snatch the bill from her hand.  He missed in his first attempt, and when he tried again she hung on so tightly that all he was able to get away with was one half of the coveted C-note.  The man ran out of the store with half of his goal in hand, and is currently being sought by police based on surveillance footage from the store.

• One of the most popular ways people have of relieving the stress of everyday life is having a romantic liaison with another person.  It is advisable, though, to restrict said romantic activities to someplace a bit less public than the hood of a car in the middle of a parking lot.  Police were called out on a report of a pair of lovebirds who were apparently getting hot and heavy on the hood of a Mustang.  However, when an officer arrived, he found the pair was fully clothed.  The man did admit that he and his female partner had been making out, saying that he was trying to “relieve some pressure”.  The officer suggested that the amorous pair continue their “love connection” back at the man’s apartment.

A weekly roundup of the newsworthy, notable and often head-scratching stories gleaned from police reports from the Chattanooga Police Department, the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office, the Bradley County Sheriff’s Department and the Dalton Police Department.

• Tattoos are becoming more popular every year, but that doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to brand all of your children.  A Chattooga County couple has been arrested after tattooing their children.  The six kids, ages 10 through 17, were tattooed with a simple black cross on the web between their thumbs and forefingers. Police were alerted when the mother of one of the children saw the tattoo when she picked her child up from the blended home. Sheriff John Everett says the couple used a homemade tattoo gun made up of an electric motor, sharpened guitar string and a bottle of ink. The parents say they see nothing wrong with what they did, that the kids all consented to the tattoos. The couples face charges of cruelty to children.

• The trend of “sexting”—teens sending explicit photos of themselves via cell phones—is not only a bad idea, but can land the “sexter” in jail.  A 19-year-old woman sent nude photos of herself through her phone to her former boyfriend, who is 17 years old and a student at Whitwell High School.  Marion County police have arrested the woman on a misdemeanor charge of sending lewd photos to underage children. Investigators said that after the two had an argument, she not only sent the photos to her ex-boyfriend, but also to about a dozen other students at the school, some as young as 13 years old. We’re still not sure what she was trying to prove with her actions, but hopefully she’ll have plenty of time to sit and think about their consequences.

• Last winter, it seemed as though nearly every week we came across a burglary report involving the breaking of a glass front door. It got to the point where we even nicknamed the suspected perp the “Front Door Bandit”.  We advised business owners with glass doors to make sure to keep nothing valuable (such as cash or expensive merchandise) out in plain sight or where it could be easily accessible.  Apparently, we need to remind everyone again, after the manager of a Signal Mountain Road business discovered their front glass door smashed and a cash box containing several hundred dollars missing. Luckily, the business did have a video security system, so the glass-hating crook has left a very nice recording of his inability to open the business safe.

• If you plan on stealing a high-performance automobile, it’s a good idea to have at least a passing knowledge of how to actually drive such a vehicle.  Such was apparently not the case with a group of poor-driving car thieves who stole two Dodge Vipers, a Dodge Charger and a Jeep from a Ringgold car dealership.  One of the Vipers, worth $100,000, was found wrecked in front of a fast-food restaurant on Highway 27 in Fort Oglethorpe. The Jeep was found wrecked in a ditch just a short distance away from the lot. Making things easy for police was the fact that cell phones were found in each of the wrecked vehicles, which led them to the two other vehicles and the arrest of three in the thefts.  It’s a safe assumption that where they will be living for the next several years will not require any driving skills, which is probably a good thing for them.

A weekly roundup of the newsworthy, notable and often head-scratching stories gleaned from police reports from the Chattanooga Police Department, the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office, the Bradley County Sheriff’s Department and the Dalton Police Department.

• At least one Air Force officer has seen his chances of getting promoted reduced considerably this past week.  An Air Force captain based in Illinois is accused of traveling to Chattanooga to entice a 15-year-old girl into having sex with him.  The arranged meeting was reportedly the result of five years of online communication. According to a federal criminal complaint, the officer came to town to meet the girl, and instead, was met by an undercover officer and taken into custody. Authorities were alerted by the alleged victim’s mother when she found a “sex toy” reportedly sent to her by the captain.  While he used a false name to send the toy, he apparently wasn’t smart enough to use a different phone number instead of his own.

• Many criminals try to run from police. Very few succeed in getting away, though sometimes it’s through no direct action of law enforcement.  A suspected burglar was hit by a car while running from East Ridge last week.  Officers were investigating a break-in on Gleason Drive when they spotted the 18-year-old suspect hiding in the back seat of a car. They struggled, and the teen ran off into some nearby woods.  However, when he was flushed out of the woods, and tried to make another break for it, he was hit by a passing car on Gleason Drive.  Once he was released from the hospital, he was charged with attempted aggravated burglary, possession of burglary tools and evading arrest.

• Who wants to be a foster parent for a four year old with a taste for beer, breaking-and-entering, and cross-dressing? The now nationally famous four year old who went into a neighbor’s home in the middle of the night and opened their Christmas presents after drinking a beer has been removed from his home by authorities. The Department of Child Services, which is investigating the incident, removed the child and placed him in temporary foster care. The agency was concerned about the lack of adult supervision and the ease of access to alcohol. The case has been handed over to the criminal investigators.

• And can you fight City Hall with enough Facebook friends?  A group in East Ridge is using the popular social networking site to show their disapproval of a recent city decision to install speed-detecting cameras. After the group called “Stop the Traffic Cameras in East Ridge” started their page, it only took days to register 500 “fans.” The group is also continuing to collect signatures to a petition asking the City Council to cancel plans to install the cameras. While the cameras have been noticeably effective in certain parts of the region—the Hixson Pike “S” curves have seen a dramatic drop in both speeding and accidents since the installation of the cameras there—a lot of people feel they are more a tool for revenue generation than safety.