Missing Money Leads to a Confrontation and a Runaway Trailer Hits a City Car: Brecksville Police Blotter

The following incidents were reported by the  from Aug. 7 to 10. The information was compiled from police reports.

A lost check leads to identify theft worries
A Brecksville woman who was worried about identity theft called the police on Aug. 10. The resident had mailed a check to her daughter in June, but placed a stop on the check when her daughter didn’t receive it. On Aug. 10, the resident received a call from an officer in New York, who told her they had arrested a man with her check in his possession. As the officer read off the resident’s information, she became suspicious, ending the call and trying to verify the information online. The Brecksville police were able to verify the New York officer’s identity, and called the resident to explain the situation.

Alleged theft and assault
Police spotted a minivan driving in the shoulder of Royalton Road, following a shirtless man at 2:23 p.m. on Aug. 8. When the officer turned on the emergency lights, the man jumped the guardrail and ran. A woman in the van told police that the man had taken money from her and hit her on the arm. A Broadview Heights officer found the man, and they headed to the police station.

According to the woman’s report, the two had gone to a funeral earlier that day; the man stayed in the car while the woman went inside, and when she returned, there was money missing from her wallet. She confronted the man twice; both times he denied taking the money and walked away. The second time, in the Starbucks parking lot, the woman said he hit her arm before leaving. The woman called some friends, who picked her up in the minivan, and they went to find him. The man, a 20-year-old Strongsville resident, told police that he did not take the money and denied hitting the woman. He said he had walked to a store, an apartment complex and a hair salon while waiting for the woman to come back to the car. He also said that he did not run because the police arrived; he was afraid of a confrontation with one of the people in the van.

The woman signed an affidavit, saying the man assaulted her, and was told to file a theft report with Sagamore Hills, where she said the alleged theft occurred. The man was charged with assault.

Runaway trailer causes a scene
Police responded to Wiese Road at 9:07 a.m. on Aug. 7 to check on a damaged city vehicle. The vehicle had been hit by a trailer that rolled down the hill from a construction site above. The trailer's journey began when it was hit by an excavator that was backing up. Before the trailer hit the car, it also knocked over some bales of hay, an outhouse and some road-closed barriers.

Everybody makes mistakes—even us! If there's something in this article that you think should be corrected, or if something else is amiss, give Local Editor Rachel Abbey McCafferty a ring at 440-292-7245 or shoot her an email at rachel.abbey@patch.com.