Crime Report: Man Arrested for Having Hatchet in Car; Gasoline Siphoned

A man was arrested on charges of possession of a dangerous weapon, driving with a suspended license and operating while in the presence of drugs just before midnight on Sept. 20, according to a police report. His two female passengers were also arrested, both on charges of minor in possession of alcohol by consumption and giving false information to a police officer, the report said.

A Novi police officer pulled the man’s vehicle over on Beck Road and Grand River Avenue after he noticed the vehicle had several air fresheners hanging from its rearview mirror, causing a vision obstruction, the report said.

The officer could smell the odor of burned marijuana and intoxicants coming from the driver and inside the vehicle, the report said. The driver said he was traveling to Detroit in his wife’s car with two of his wife's friends and got lost on the freeway, the report said.

A police officer discovered a metal hatchet sitting upright between the driver’s seat and the center console, the report said. The hatchet was “clearly visible to the driver of the vehicle and well within arm's reach,” according to the police report.

When asked, the man said he had last smoked marijuana six hours earlier, the report said. According to the report, the man was driving with a suspended license, so his license plate was confiscated. The man’s blood-alcohol content level was 0.048, below Michigan’s legal limit of 0.08. 

Novi’s K-9 dog was called in, and it found a small bud of marijuana in one of the female’s purses in the backseat of the car, the report said. According to the report, that female was also arrested on charges of possession of marijuana.

When the officer asked for the two females' IDs, they said they did not have them because they were minors, the report said. One of the females had a blood-alcohol content of 0.03 and the other had a blood-alcohol content of 0.04, the report said.

Gasoline Siphoned from Car

Approximately 15 gallons worth of gas was reported siphoned out of a 1994 Buick parked in the driveway of a residence on Arizona Avenue sometime between 6 p.m. on Sept. 11 and 10 a.m. on Sept. 13, according to a police report.

Car Door Kicked In

A car parked in the street on Ashbury Drive was damaged during the night of Sept. 18 when someone kicked the driver’s side door, leaving an impression and dent, according to a police report. The report said the damage was “believed to be completely random, juvenile mischief.”

If you have questions about this blotter, contact Editor Rebecca Jaskot at rebecca.jaskot@patch.com.