City Of Clayton: Weekly Police Incident Report: December 27th - January 2nd

Press release from the City of Clayton:

January 4, 2022

For the reporting period of Monday, December 27th – Sunday, January 2nd, your CPD officers responded to 326 calls for service, including 12 automobile accidents, 27 calls to assist the City of Clayton Fire Department & 4 fireworks complaints. Among those calls were the following incidents:

A woman was reviewing her bank statements Tuesday afternoon when she discovered someone had written a counterfeit check against her account. The check was created using information from a check she had written to pay a bill. It is unclear when or how the check fell into the wrong hands.

A few hours later, a different woman reported someone had used her credit card to make two fraudulent transactions. Her bank statement showed the unauthorized transactions were made at CVS on Christmas Eve. However, the woman had never been to the Clayton CVS & her card was still in her possession.

While investigating, CVS staff provided video footage of a man using the victim's credit card info to complete two transactions. The reporting party did not recognize the man. She is unsure when or how her card was compromised.

Officers were contacted Wednesday morning by a woman who believes her estranged husband illegally married another woman without first divorcing her. Additionally, she claims he purposefully misrepresented the state of their marriage to obtain a new marriage license. The investigation is ongoing.

Wednesday evening, a man reported he was defrauded of nearly $200 when a teen purchased his Xbox using counterfeit bills. Unfortunately, he didn't realize the money was fake until after the buyer left.

A local gym employee began receiving purchase alerts from his credit card company Thursday afternoon. After declining the charges, he checked his belongings & discovered his backpack was missing. The bag was later recovered; however, his wallet & car keys are still missing. The investigation continues.

Officers were contacted Thursday night after a vehicle left the scene of an accident in a neighboring jurisdiction. The crash victim followed the striking vehicle into Clayton, where CPD officers observed the driver commit a traffic violation. While investigating, officers determined the driver was intoxicated. She was arrested for DWI & later released to a sober driver.

Officers responded to a domestic assault in progress Friday afternoon. What began as a dispute over hosting a party turned violent when a woman's adult son physically assaulted her. The man was arrested for Domestic Assault 4th degree. The case will be forwarded to the Clayton municipal prosecutor for consideration.

Sunday afternoon, a CPD officer was on patrol when he observed a tow truck fully engulfed in flames on the shoulder of the highway. The driver stated he pulled to the shoulder when he noticed smoke coming from the engine compartment. When he lifted the hood, he was surprised to find flames & it wasn't long before the cab was consumed by the fire. Thankfully, the driver & an occupant escaped unharmed & the CFD was able to safely extinguish the fire.

Finally, late Sunday night, a resident in the 6400 block of Alamo heard a scraping noise coming from the alley behind his home. When he looked outside, he noticed three individuals surrounding his vehicle. The would-be thieves were scared off when he remotely activated the vehicle's panic alarm. They were last seen leaving in a dark-colored minivan. Upon inspecting his SUV, he discovered the vehicle's exhaust line was damaged when the suspects attempted to remove the catalytic converter.

Anyone with information regarding ongoing investigations is asked to contact the CPD.

Help us increase the safety of our community & reduce the opportunity for crime by continuing to practice your #9pmRoutine. Remove anything of value from your vehicles, including keys & remotes & never leave your vehicle unattended while the engine is running. If you observe someone checking car handles or walking into driveways or backyards, especially overnight or in the early morning hours, do not hesitate to call 911. Be prepared to describe the suspicious activity, the suspect(s) & their direction of travel. Please do not put yourself or others in harm's way by confronting the subject(s).

Until next week, stay safe!

This press release was produced by the City of Clayton. The views expressed here are the author’s own.