Melon Mishap: An elderly woman had her purse stolen while shopping for fruit at a Charlotte grocery store. Apparently the opportunistic thief snatched the handbag from a produce table when the woman bent down to pick up a watermelon. Hey, it coulda been worse.
Knife-Wielding Chic: A woman walked into a Charlotte retail store and loaded a shopping cart with more than $100 in clothes. As she made her way towards the exit, a store manager confronted her. The woman pulled a knife and swung it at the manager, then fled the store, the buggy full of stolen items in tow.
Heavy Equipment Hassle: A woman reported that a contractor she hired to build a pool in her yard ripped her off and never finished the job she paid him to perform. Moreover, the crooked contractor left a bulldozer sitting in her yard for several days. Judge Judy should be hearing from these folks presently.
Bad Samaritan: After leaving a restaurant, a man realized he had forgotten his cell phone. When he returned to the joint to retrieve his phone, it was nowhere to be found. The man called his cell number, and the voice that answered stated that if he wanted his cell back, it would cost him $40. The man called the cops instead.
Girl Behaving (very) Badly: A woman attempted to set fire to an apartment complex by igniting a newspaper and tossing it inside a building. The fire was put out before it caused any major damage. Shortly thereafter the female firebug called a woman who lives at the apartment complex -- apparently the target of her arson -- and threatened to kill both the resident and her family.
Logged Off: A woman was awakened in the middle of the night when her ex-boyfriend busted a back window and entered her apartment. The woman told her ex to leave, but he refused. So the woman went back to sleep. When she woke up the next morning, she discovered her former boyfriend had left with more than $2,000 in computer equipment.
Police-Speak of the week: According to a police report, a man followed another gent for what the victim "perceived to be an effort to cause fear or emotional distress." At one point the aggressor threatened to beat up the other man, and then "showed his middle finger to the victim."
Blotter items are chosen from the files of the Charlotte Police Department,
