TWO HOMELESS men were arrested Nov. 13 after they were caught breaking into the St. John the Baptist Cathedral Parish Center on Harris Street.
A passerby saw the men entering the building and called police. Ronnie Wilson Sellers, 48, and Stephen Phillip Kenny, 39, were found hiding in a closet.
The two, who both have criminal histories, told officers they were just looking for a place to sleep, and said they had entered the church in the past. Both were charged with burglary and taken to the Chatham County Detention Center -- where they were given a place to sleep.
• A homeless man who needs to use a walker to get around told police he was walking along Abercorn Street in a Thomas Square neighborhood late at night when a man come out of a nearby club. He said the man followed him to a convenience store.
The suspect asked the clerk to see some lottery tickets. The victim said he was sitting outside with his walker, his bag of belongings beside his foot, when the suspect grabbed the bag and ran east on East 42nd Street towards Lincoln Street.
The clerk told police he saw the theft occur and corroborated the victim’s story. He said the store has video surveillance, but it can only be accessed by a manager.
In the meantime, the suspect was spotted by another officer on East 37th Street. He fled but the officer was able to catch him. The victim was taken to the area where the man was captured and confirmed that the suspect was the man who stole his belongings. The victim’s bag held a pack of menthol cigarettes, a red lighter, several items of clothing, lottery tickets, a Bible, a smaller bag, $5 in cash and the victim’s medication for schizophrenia.
• Police were called to East 55th Street on a report of shots fired. A woman at the scene said her car had been shot through the rear passenger’s side window, and the rear window of the car was shattered.
She said she was in her bedroom when she heard gunshots. Her daughter was in the living room, and she told her daughter to get on the floor.
The woman said she didn’t see anyone suspicious. Two neighbors said they heard eight to 10 gunshots outside their house.
One looked out through the blinds and saw a man with what appeared to be a 9mm handgun. The suspect climbed into a car and left the area.
An East 33rd Street resident told police that her boyfriend had cut her arm. An officer observed a small nick on the woman’s left forearm.
She also said that her boyfriend struck her in the face with a closed fist. She said she told him she didn’t want to be with him any more and he got mad.
The suspect told her she’d better not go to sleep because he was going to kill her. She said she told him to leave, at which point he picked up a steak knife and poked her with it.
• Police were called to a Stephenson Avenue medical office when a doctor learned that someone had used her date of birth and Social Security number to open a credit card account.
The doctor said she had received a phone call from a credit card company advising her that she was late on her bill. She told them she didn’t have an account with the company.
The person who set up the account also knew her home and work numbers, but used a different home address. Charges totalling nearly $5,000 were made with the card.
She said the only people who know her personal information are her office managers. She said she trusts one of the managers, but said the other had been arrested two years ago for helping to conceal her husband’s “fake death.” cs
Give anonymous crime tips to Crimestoppers at 234-2020