best of the blotter: zebra-striped glitter, fake priests, and those damn kids

STRONGSVILLE

Sometime Strongsville police go beyond the call of duty to help a distraught resident.
Here's what happened at 3:20 a.m. May 4. Someone called 911 from Raccoon Trail, a report said. A dispatcher heard yelling before the call disconnected. Callbacks weren't answered. Police have to follow up on 911 hang-ups, so they went to the address, where they found an intoxicated woman who was upset that she couldn't find her purse.

She told officers a Royalton Road man had just dropped her off and she may have left it in his car.
So they went to the man's address and looked in the car to see if they could see it inside. Sure enough, there was a pink purse in there.
The woman confirmed it was hers and officers retrieved it. By 4 a.m., the woman and her pink purse were reunited, a report said.

SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY, PEARL ROAD: Someone thought that four people standing outside of Wendy’s were trying to set a fire near the front doors after the restaurant was closed May 3.
Turns out it was just some employees of the restaurant smoking cigarettes and burning twigs. They were told “not to do this.”


LAKEWOOD

There's the beef
Lakewood police responded to the Rally’s on W. 117^th Street in Cleveland for a report of a tow truck driver who was threatened by a man who said he would shoot the driver if he didn’t buy him a burger at around 1:40 a.m. May 3. Police caught up with the man on Detroit Avenue and turned him over to the Cleveland Police Department.

Scary noises
A resident in the 1600 block of Phelps Avenue told police that a neighbor was making scary noises at around 7 p.m. May 1. The woman called back and said the neighbors making noise left.

ANIMAL AT LARGE, DOWD AVENUE: Police received word that a wild groundhog was charging at a group of people.
Officers could not find the groundhog.

COMPLAINT, RIDGEWOOD AVENUE: A group of children were playing football and, in the process, forcing traffic to stop when the ball went into the street multiple times.
A neighbor called the police, but the children stopped playing before officers could get there.
COMPLAINT, OLIVEWOOD AVENUE: After one apple too many, a woman called the police to report children throwing apples at her house May 5.
The children told the officer they were having an apple fight and a few of them may have gone over the fence.
DISTURBANCE, COHASSETT AVENUE: A man chased away a group of children who had been fighting in his front yard. He wanted officers to follow up on the matter.
When police arrived, the group had separated and no one was fighting.
COMPLAINT, HARLON AVENUE: Two children were shooting pigeons with BB guns May 4. Officers never found them.
COMPLAINT, HOPKINS AVENUE: Children were reportedly spraying passing vehicles with a hose May 4. As it happened, however, they were just spraying each other and a few cars got hit. Their mother took the hose away.



THEFT, GREAT NORTHERN: Workers at an accessories store inside Great Northern Mall told police May 4 a woman tried to steal $73 in merchandise. Among the items stolen were a scarf, a purse, several hair flowers and a zebra-striped glitter flask.

MAYFIELD

DISTURBANCE, EASTWOOD AVENUE: A boy, 16, was cited for unnecessary noise May 5 when he was playing a guitar too loud. Officers were unable to get the boy to answer the door due to the volume and had to contact the boy’s stepfather, who had to come home to let them in. This was the 12th time since 2008 somebody had complained about the boy and the volume level of his guitar.


 CHAGRIN

DRUG SWEEP, EAST WASHINGTON STREET: Working with three K-9 units from the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Department, village police checked more than 150 cars in the parking lot at Chagrin Falls High School shortly after 8:30 a.m. May 2, using the drug-sniffing dogs to detect the scent of any contraband. The dogs gave alerts on eight cars in the lot, although no drugs, alcohol or other evidence were found in those vehicles, an improvement from last year. Officials followed up with students whose cars were flagged, as well as those students’ parents.
DAMAGE TO PROPERTY, EAST WASHINGTON STREET: Later in the day after the sweep of the high school parking lot, at least two parents contacted police with complaints that the drug-sniffing dogs had scratched the finish of their children’s cars after they alerted on a potential scent. “The parents were advised that the cars in question were ‘hit’ on, out of 150-200 cars, by what may be the best drug dog the sheriff’s department has,” police said.

GENERAL ASSISTANCE, NOB HILL: After a woman called police May 5 to report that her mother took her credit card and would not give it back to her to use as she wants, police learned from the mother that the credit card in question actually belongs to her, and that she had given her daughter some funds the day before.

SUSPICIOUS, JACKSON: Police responded to a Jackson Street location upon report of a suspicious vehicle in the roadway at about 3:35 p.m. on March 30. Officers made contact with the occupant of the vehicle. The occupant was parked in the middle of the street looking at a sofa on the curb. They were advised to move on.

ELYRIA — Three men who identified themselves as priests were arrested after police said they found marijuana and weapons in one of the men’s home.

Lemroyal

At 5:15 p.m. Monday, police arrested and charged Anthony Williams, Jr., 38, for weapons under disability and an outstanding bench warrant and James Lemroyal, 48, for an outstanding bench warrant. James Utsey Jr., 28, was issued a citation for drug paraphernalia.
According to a police report, police were dispatched to apartments at 234 Brunswick Drive for several complaints from tenants of a marijuana smell in the building. Police said they found Williams, Lemroyal and Utsey in an apartment filled with a strong odor of marijuana.
Police said they found two ashtrays filled with ashes and marijuana roaches and a silver marijuana grinder in the apartment.

The three suspects refused to reveal their real names, only identifying themselves as priests.
Williams said his name was Priest Ish’ra’el, Lemroyal said he was Priest Lammalak and Utsey referred to himself as a Priest Ilataza. The men said it was against their religion to provide their real names and said the apartment belonged to the church.

Police also said they found three .40 caliber handguns, one Glock 22 and a .40 caliber semiautomatic handgun in the apartment. The men told police the handguns belonged to the church.
According to police, Williams has prior felony convictions for trafficking in drugs, domestic violence, felonious assault and weapons under disability. Williams and Lemroyal were taken to Lorain County Jail.