Police Blotter: Frauds at Local Stores and Home Invasions

Larceny and Attempted Shoplifting

Two men tried to steal a television from the Bloomfield Township Kmart on Monday, police reports said.

Bloomfield Township police officers responded to the store at about 10:30 a.m. after store security reported a man tried to wheel a television in a shopping cart from the store to a waiting vehicle without paying. Reports said the two men entered the store together and security officers saw one of them remove the anti-theft device from a television and put it in the cart. The other man walked out of the store and pulled up to the front door in a dark colored Chevy Cavalier.

The man inside the store pushed the cart outdoors but was confronted by store security before he could get the television into the vehicle. He jumped inside as the vehicle sped away, leaving the television behind, reports said. Both men were described as black and between 45 and 50 years old.

Officers were called to the Target store at about 5:15 p.m. on Tuesday for reports of a larceny involving an employee. Reports said the loss prevention officers in the store saw a cashier activating gift cards and using them herself in the store over the course of several days. The employee was responsible for roughly $300 in fraudulent purchases, reports said. Officers arrested the employee and released her pending formal charges.

Home Invasion Incidents

• An unknown number of suspects forced entry into a home in the 3600 block of Maxwell Court through the garage on Dec. 23, police reports said. A laptop computer and jewelry were taken. The crime occurred sometime between noon and 1:45 p.m.
• Officers responded to a burglar alarm at a home in the 6500 block of Valley Spring at about 10:30 a.m. on Dec. 21, reports said. They reported that someone attempted to kick-in the door leading from the garage into the kitchen. However, entry was not gained and nothing was taken. Police said the alarm likely scared off the intruder.

Anyone with information in any of these incidents is asked to call the investigations division at 248-433-7752.

For questions about this blotter, email Art.Aisner@Patch.com.