Police Blotter: Armed Robbery at Walgreens

An armed robber emptied a safe at the on Grand River in Farmington Hills in less than two minutes Sunday night.

According to the police report, employees were preparing to close the store at around 11:30 p.m. when a man—described as 5 feet 9 inches and 200 pounds and wearing a black hooded jacket, blue cloth mask, blue gloves, black pants and black shoes—entered the store and brandished a gun. Employees told police the man ordered them into the back room, where the safe is kept, and then to place the money into a red backpack with yellow straps that was decorated with a children's cartoon character. After the man left the store, employees locked the door and called police. A store manager estimated $4,500 in cash was taken. A K-9 team from the Redford Police Department was brought in but did not locate the suspect.

Restaurant break-ins

Over the weekend, two local restaurants reported break-ins and the theft of cash. The owner of on Farmington Road closed the business on Friday afternoon and returned Monday to find $1,500 had been taken from inside and underneath the cash register, according to the report. The building owner on Monday morning found damage to a door that leads to the basement, and officers found footprints on a wall, where it appeared someone kicked through the drywall to get into the restaurant. The case remains under investigation.

The owner of on 12 Mile Road told police that over the weekend, his business had been robbed. According to the report, $300 in coins was taken, but the business was not ransacked. A chewed plastic straw found at the scene was taken to determine whether DNA evidence could be obtained from it. The owner told police this was the fourth time his business was burglarized; the most recent was in 2010.

Mental commitment

Officers responded to on Middlebelt on Sunday to check on a 67-year-old man in a wheelchair who appeared disoriented. According to the report, the man is a double-amputee, having lost both his legs below the knees. He was described as "disheveled and dirty." He told police he had moved out of an assisted living facility because he didn't like it there, and that he was going to Garden City to live with an uncle. However, he did not know the uncle's address or whether the uncle was still alive. Officers noted the man's inability to care for himself and his condition, and had Community EMS take him to Botsford Hospital for a mental commitment.

Theft from vehicles

Police were called to Diamond Forest Apartments on Halsted Road on Sunday afternoon by a resident who said items had been stolen from his car. According to the report, the 30-year-old Farmington Hills man told police he parked his car the night before and in the morning found his Apple iPod and charging wire were missing. He told police he thought the vehicle had been left unlocked and the iPod was in plain view.

On Saturday, police were called to the Castlereigh/Lynford area on a report of a teenager pulling on car doors. According to the report, officers were later called by a resident on Lynford who reported her purse and GPS had been stolen from her unlocked car.

Drug possession, warrant arrest

A 31-year-old Novi man and his passenger, a 37-year-old West Bloomfield man, were both arrested Saturday at 5:10 p.m. after an officer spotted their vehicle's expired license plate, at Grand River and Albion. According to the report, a check on the registered owner showed he had a suspended license. Officers said both men gave them permission to search, and they said they found several syringes, heroin and two loose orange pills, identified as Alprazolam. The driver was arrested for possession of prescription pills and narcotics paraphernalia, driving with a suspended license and an outstanding warrant; the passenger was arrested on possession of narcotics and paraphernalia. Both were jailed at the Farmington Hills Police Department.

Open house party

A complaint about a loud party at a residence on Bycroft Road early Friday morning resulted in a 19-year-old Farmington Hills man being cited for having an "open house" party and possessing alcohol. According to the report, police arrived at the home to find four young women on the garage roof and about 50 to 60 underage people inside the house. After determining that no one was intoxicated, officers directed everyone to leave and confiscated all alcohol.

Assault

A Farmington Hills woman told police Monday that her husband, who had been committed June 9 after threatening suicide, had pulled a knife on her. According to the report, the woman had been staying with relatives near Maple and Farmington Road, and as she left for work that morning, her husband appeared and got into the car with her. He convinced her to drive to their Hills home, where he tried to convince her to come inside and pulled the knife when she refused. She talked him into going to the house to unlock the door, then locked her car doors and left. Contacted later, the man told police he wanted to work things out with his wife; she told police she wanted to press charges.

Student injured

A 17-year-old student told police at 7:15 a.m. on June 14 that while he was riding his bicycle to school, a vehicle struck him and the driver left the scene. According to the report, the teen had stopped on the sidewalk before crossing the school's exit driveway, where a black van and silver Hyundai were stopped. The teen told police he rode his bicycle in the gap between the cars and the Hyundai pulled forward, pinning his left ankle against the bike. He suffered minor abrasions, which were treated by school personnel.

If you have questions about this blotter, contact Editor Joni Hubred-Golden at joni.hubred-golden@patch.com.