AN OFFICER on patrol saw several people standing in the middle of Montgomery Street just west of the Civic Center at about 2 a.m. The officer was traveling east on Liberty Street and had to turn around to go back.
One of the people in the group was on a bicycle. As the officer turned onto Montgomery Street, the man riding the bike looked at him, got off the bike in the parking lot next to the civic center and put the bike down. He then started to walk away with the others.
The officer conducted a field interview and asked about the bike. The man who dropped it said he found it on the north side of the civic center, by the fountain.
The suspect said the bike wasn’t his. When the officer asked him why he dropped the bike when he saw police, the suspect replied that he didn’t want to be blamed for doing something he didn’t do.
He said he knew it wasn’t his bike and that he shouldn’t have taken it from its location. He said he has had three of his own bicycles taken and didn’t think it was a big deal to ride the bike.
The man was arrested for theft of lost or mislaid property and taken to the Chatham County Detention Center. The bike was logged into the property room.
• Police arrested burglary suspect Samuel William Duncan III on Oct. 30 after receiving information from the public about his identity.
Duncan is accused of smashing out the front glass door of the Ross department store on Abercorn Street. Video of the incident clearly shows Duncan entering the store, quickly grabbing merchandise, then leaving through the smashed door.
Investigators released the video to local media, and after it was broadcast, people began calling in to identify Duncan. The suspect has an extensive criminal record and criminal history, and he is currently on parole. He was taken to the Chatham County Detention Center and charged with burglary.
• Police were called to an apartment on Garrard Avenue on a report of a domestic dispute.
The woman told police it was an ongoing argument that had started days earlier. She said she and the suspect live together and were in the process of splitting up.
She said the suspect became angry about the security deposit at the apartment and demanded his money back. She told him she doesn’t have it, and said he told her he would pawn her belongings to get his money.
An officer spoke with the suspect on the correct and legal way to retrieve his money. Both told the officer they would return to the apartment, against the officer’s recommendation that they separate for a while and work something out.
• A woman was arrested after she was observed shoplifting at a Thomas Square business.
When police arrived, the owner told them merchandise from her store had been taken by a woman wearing a blue dress. She told the officer the security camera showed where the woman had been loitering in the store just minutes before the officer’s arrival.
The owner said the woman was the only customer in the store before several items were discovered missing. The officer watched the video and saw that the suspect was carrying both a purse and a medium-sized black bag.
The woman’s description was given to another officer. The owner of the shop said she overheard the woman on her telephone, saying she worked in the area of East 34th and East Broad streets, and that is where she was picked up and arrested. cs
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