Loading...
01 02 15 JTF1 1 The latest from the Mendota Heights Police Department CHIEF Mike Aschenbrener SERGEANT Eric Petersen Tanner Spicer POLICE OFFICERS Jerry Murphy John Larrive Bobby Lambert Todd Rosse Jeff Vonfeldt Steven Meyer Denise Urmann Michael Shepard Peyton Fleming Nick Gorgos Robin Nelson INVESTIGATIONS Chad Willson SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICER Jennifer Fordham SUPPORT STAFF Kim Henning Trista Miller Lisa Brandt Becky Pentel RESERVES Randy Pentel Jim Knox Jeff Parker CHAPLAINS Frances Cuenca Joel Detlefsen Lynn Liberman Butch Millett Sue Plucker John Snider David Wick JANUARY 2, 2015 2231    Welcoming in the New Year always feels like such an exciƟng Ɵme as we look to the future with renewed hope and joyful intent. Looking back at the past and reviewing events, memories, and moments is also important. We wanted to reflect on our past year as we look to 2015 with renewed posiƟve energy and momentum for the future. January—Sergeant Neil Garlock was recognized by his peers for being Service‐Oriented as part of the city’s core values recogniƟon program. February— “Guns vs Hoses” Wing EaƟng Challenge/Special Olympics fundraiser...of course, the “Guns “won! On a sad note, Sergeant Convery was injured on the job in 2013 and ulƟmately had to leave the department and reƟre from law enforcement. March—We hired Lisa Brandt to join our records team. April—Our Reserves were recognized for their volunteer hours dedicated to our department and for our city. May—The reƟrements of Sergeant Neil Garlock & InvesƟgator Mario Reyes again leŌ holes in our hearts and our team. We also held a BBQ to raise money for MN Law Enforcement Memorial AssociaƟon. June—The river’s edge fell vicƟm to a landslide in both Mendota Heights & Mendota. MHPD sought new candidates to fill our staffing holes. July—Nick Gorgos and Robin Nelson accepted their job offers. Then, a criminal decided to shoot a police officer, leaving a family without a husband and a father, a department without a friend. R.I.P. #2231 August & September —We were held up and supported by our LE partners—WSPPD, SSPPD, IGHPD, EPD, AVPD, DCSO, LPD, FPD, BPD and countless other agencies. We were glad when neighborhoods enjoyed Night to Unite and ciƟzens supported the wonderful benefit for the Patrick family. MHPD appreciates your generosity and kindness. October—Vandalism picked up again and suspects were sought, the reward was boosted to $1000. November—We held our first coloring contest, with great results and three stand‐out winners! December– MHPD promoted Tanner Spicer, Peyton Fleming and Bobby Lambert to Sergeant. Congrats to all!   2 2 Fraud Friday 1059 hours Officer Nick Gorgos responded to a local restaurant on report of fraudulent charges on their account. He soon learned that checks had been stolen, were then cloned and new checks were being written against their account totaling just under $30K. Upon investigating, he learned the bank was working on it already and suspect information was followed-up on. The out-of-state crooks were identified and charges are pending. ACC/DWI Friday 1342 hours Officers were dispatched to an accident involving a single vehicle that hit a tree. While on the way, Officers Peyton Fleming and Nick Gorgos learned that the registered owner happened to have a felony warrant as well. Upon arrival, a witness pointed them in the direction of the vehicle where the driver was still inside. They knocked on the window and the driver opened the door; not only could they could smell alcohol from within the vehicle but when asked if she was injured, the driver stated she was simply drunk. She was able to get out of the vehicle and they moved her to their squad to be warm. However, along they way, she started yelling and cursing at the officers and began to complain of back pain and had trouble standing. Medics were on their way and in lieu of sobriety tests, she was given a PBT, which registered a .288. The victim/suspect was taken to the hospital, and the warrant, for a WSP assault case, was left with nurses. Later, at the hospital, she was read the Implied Consent and a blood sample was taken for testing. Charges pending results. Identity Theft Friday 1513 hours Officer Gorgos responded an address to take a report of identity theft. Upon arrival, he learned the reporting party had found a Discover IRA had been opened in her name using her name and SSN. No monetary loss was incurred; reporting party was already taking the proper steps to thwart further fraudulent activity. Package Theft Sunday 1541 hours A resident called in to report her UPS package had been tampered with and an item was stolen. The victim told Officer Gorgos that the one thing she ordered had been removed from the package and then resealed again. Evidently the vendor whom she ordered from was aware of other similar instances with their shipped goods and were investigating the situation. Luckily, her order was replaced. Extra patrols updated for the area and instances of suspicious activity around shipments. Accident/Hit & Run Sunday 2045 hours While at his gym, damage occurred to the complainant’s vehicle. He did not observe any suspicious activity while at the gym, when he came out to his car he found a new dent and significant scratches to his door. However, upon arrival at the gym and upon departing the gym, no vehicles were close to his. Officer Nelson found no suspect info available; inactive. Semi vs Auto Sunday 0718 hours Officer Lambert responded to a report of a hit and run that occurred outside a business. A semi was reported to have backed into a parked minivan but then kept going. Officer Lambert found the semi and stopped; the driver evidently did not know it had struck a vehicle. Information was exchanged and photos of the significant damage to the mini van and to the semi were taken. Theft Monday 0956 hours A resident at a the senior living complex returned home from the hospital and found jewelry missing. Sus- pect information obtained. Case forwarded to investigations. 3 3 Suspicious Person Tuesday 0941 hours School officials observed a strange thing on school property—a man walking around the grounds, hugging stat- ues, without shoes on. He reportedly wanted to send a message about Jesus and wanted to provide pizza, cake and donuts. He was taken for a trip to the hospital for observation. Harassment Wednesday 1141 hours Officer Robin Nelson responded to the lobby to take a report of harassing emails from a juvenile boy directed at her juvenile daughter. Emails were sent from an alias/impersonated account. It was also reported that the young man had an altercation with the daughter at school. Case is under investigation. Hit & Run Wednesday 1500 hours Complainant reported a hit and run; however, in this case, he was the striking party and the driver of the car he hit while passing it continued on! Officer Fleming took photos and details were documented but little information about the other vehicle was available. Did you know—the victim driver could still be charged with not stopping for a collision? Well, now you do! Always stop for accidents to exchange information. Vehicle Tampering Thursday 1310 hours A family came outside to find an interesting gift for them in their driveway. The vehicle door had been propped open—it had bodywork done recently and the lock was temporarily disabled. Found in the rear seat a sledgehammer and a cylinder. Officer Rosse suspected that a theft was attempted but the alarm scared them away—no other damage or stolen items were reported. Theft of Mail Thursday 1400 hours Complainant called to report that neighbor dropped off opened mail he had found. Officer Fleming then learned that the mail with checks had been put in the mailbox with the nice red “steal me flag” up at 2pm. At 7 pm when he left for church, the flag was still up and the mailbox was closed. When he returned at 2300 hours, the mailbox was empty. The complainant was going to follow-up with the bank and alert them to the potential theft. Inactive. Found Mail Friday 1352 hours A resident opened the mailbox and found mail belonging to five different people in her box for Shakopee residents. Officer Gorgos took the mail and made contact with the parties. One had already reported mail theft; the others also lived in the neighborhood. All were advised to contact their local police department. Closed DOC Sunday 1230 hours A resident called to report his neighbor threatened him with a weapon. The altercation did not turn violent, and was not confirmed. Evidently things have been escalating since dog feces had been left where they should not, and feces were thrown at a door. Both were advised to call code enforcement if violations continued on the feces subject, to simply avoid the other party and to handle situations peacefully. Shortly after, one of the parties followed the other man when he walked his dog and told him he was taping him. A citation for Disorderly Conduct was issued. Vehicle Theft Monday 2043 hours A young man, feeling sad and upset decided to take his mother’s vehicle without permission and drive around for awhile. He did return with the vehicle; charges are pending for auto theft. 4 4 5 5 6 6 12/19—12/31 2014 YTD Calls for Service 188 7882 Citations 7 1033 Warnings 27 927 Police Reports 27 963 Response Time Average 4.84 5.76 Check out the MH Crime Map! Click below to search your neighborhood: https://www.raidsonline.com 1101 Victoria Curve, Mendota Heights, MN 55118 SERGEANT PROMOTIONS Several capable and knowledgeable staff interviewed for our open Sergeant positions. Congrats to the following on their promotions to Sergeant: Tanner Spicer Peyton Fleming Robert Lambert We are proud of all of you and look forward to your leadership in 2015. If you are a Mendota Heights resident and you are going out of town or on vacation, you can notify MHPD of your outing and we will be more than happy to keep a watchful eye on your home while you are away. The House Check Request online form is available on our website; you can complete a form found in our lobby, or simply give us a call and we’ll help you out. MHPD offers monthly Car Seat Safety Checks. To schedule an appointment, call 651.452.1366 to contact Ofϐicer Jennifer Fordham. MHPD has a Medication Disposal Box in the lobby of the PD where Dakota County residents can safely and anonymously dispose of their prescription drugs and over‐the‐counter medication. Please send us your positive feedback on our staff to: pdrecords@ mendota-heights.com Your feedback is greatly appreciated and helps boost the morale of our staff. HAVE A SAFE WEEK!