Cash registers, safe missing after restaurant break

Aug 12, 2023

Check out the police blotter for Richfield, Ohio, beginning July 24 and running through July 30, 2023.Getty Images

RICHFIELD, Ohio -- Here is the police blotter for Richfield, Ohio, for July 24 to July 30, 2023.

BREAKING AND ENTERING/FORCED ENTRY: Brecksville Road

On July 26, officers responded to an alarm at a restaurant on Brecksville Road. The owner called police to say he couldn’t access the cameras inside the restaurant, but that the alarm was coming from the back door.

Officers went around the back and found shattered window next to a door. Two officers entered the restaurant through the broken window while one set up a perimeter outside. Inside the restaurant, officers found a cash register drawer pried open and money missing. They also found a TV was knocked down, smashed electronic equipment on the floor, broken liquor bottles and glasses, and multiple other cash registers and lottery register missing. Officers also found a safe busted open, and another safe reported missing. The camera control was included in the broken electronics.

Officers cleared the scene and found a black latex glove, which was collected as evidence. They spoke to a security guard at an address across the street from the restaurant. The security guard told police he saw a grey or silver sedan pull into his lot, drive across the street into the restaurant lot, and went behind the building for about 10 minutes before leaving ahead of officers’ arrival.

A detective was contacted and the scene was turned over to him.

TRAFFIC STOP: Shell Wheatley Road

On July 24, an officer stopped a vehicle that was driving 10 mph above the speed limit while also making lane violations and using the wrong turn signal.

The officer noticed the driver had slurred speech, lethargic demeanor and glossy eyes, and was asked to perform a field sobriety test. The driver complied.

While speaking to the driver outside the car, the officer detected an odor of alcohol. When questioned about drinking, the man said he had one drink earlier that evening. The man performed three separate sobriety tests, which the officer found he failed, and therefore was arrested and transported to jail for processing.

When officers conducted an inventory of the man’s vehicle, they found a green plastic cup with beer inside located in the front cup holder. The man said the drink was from the previous day and he forgot it was there. Officers informed him it’s still illegal to drive with an open container, and confiscated it for evidence. The man’s license plate was confiscated due to him having multiple prior OVIs.

After he was transferred to jail, the man provided a breath sample, which found he had a .153 blood alcohol content level. His court date was set for July 31.

FOUND ITEM: Streetsboro Road

On July 24, a Richfield service department worker stopped at Richfield police department and turned in a motorcycle license plate found at the corner of Broadview and Grant Street. Officers called the man who the license plate was registered to to let him know they have his plate.

DISTURBANCE: Brecksville Road

On July 25, officers responded to Brecksville Road for a disturbance call. Upon arrival, the caller told police the suspect drove away and was headed south in a blue minivan. Officers located the van parked on Brecksville Road.

Officers spoke to the driver, who said he attempted to drop a neighbor off at a business on Brecksville Road, but the man was refused entry as he was discharged from the facility after not returning during a 24-hour grace period. When the man was told he had to reapply through insurance to be readmitted, the driver became argumentative and caused a scene at the business.

Officers told the driver he’s no longer permitted on that business’ property, otherwise he could be charged with trespassing. The driver said he would comply.

WELFACE CHECK: Brecksville Road

On July 25, Richfield police responded to a welfare check on Brecksville Road. After arriving, an administrator told officers that a family member of a resident was mistreated by a nurse, and that the family member witnessed it on a camera placed in her room. The family member said the resident was denied going to the bathroom by the nurse, who entered the room during the night and said vulgarities towards the camera.

The administrator said the nurse was suspended pending an internal and state investigation.

NON-CRIMINAL DAMAGE: I-77 overpass / Brecksville Road

On July 25, officers met with a man who reported damage to his vehicle. He told officers he was driving northbound on Brecksville Road approaching the I-77 underpass when his car was sprinkled with concrete solution. The man attempted to have his vehicle washed at several car washes, but the concrete spots would not come off.

Officers observed construction work being done with a large saw in the area where the man’s car was damaged. They noted the bridge area was damp with liquid, and spoke with the construction company about the issue. Photos of the damage were taken and attached to the police report.

TELECOMMUNICATIONS HARASSMENT: Wheatley Road

On July 26, officers responded to an employee at a business who said she received numerous threatening calls from another woman. The employee said the caller, who was previously told by officers she is not allowed on the business property, had continually called and texted her threatening to beat her up.

The employee said there were times when the woman called more than 30 times in one night, and that she often sees her drive by her house. Officers told the employee to call police the next time that happens, and advised her to stop all communication and contact with the caller. The employee did not want to fill out a witness statement.

DISTURBANCE: Broadview Road

On July 27, officers were dispatched to a business that reported an altercation between patrons and employees. Officers were advised the patrons – two females – had already left the scene.

After arriving on-scene, officers were met by the females’ father, as well as employees involved in the altercation. One employee told officers the altercation began when she tried stopping one of the women in the parking lot, believing she was too intoxicated to drive. The employee said the woman then pushed her to the ground and began to hit her, and a male employee intervened in the altercation. Multiple employees corroborated this story.

The women’s father told officers his daughters were headed back to the restaurant. After they arrived, they requested to speak with officers away from the employees. They told police the altercation began when the employee began making fun of the women for being intoxicated and called them derogatory names. Both women said they acted in self-defense and were intimidated by the number of employees in the area.

Neither the women or the employees wanted to press charged. The women were taken away from the premises by their father.

ASSIST OTHER AGENCY: Village Border I-77

On July 28, Richfield police were advised of a stolen truck pursuit on I-77 northbound. An officer observed the truck pass him at the 145-mile marker and continued to follow behind the car while additional units responded to the area.

A few miles later, the truck began maneuvering between lanes and increasing speed, forcing the officer to activate lights and sirens to initiate a stop. However, the truck kept driving. Police were ultimately able to lay a trap for the truck, and its front tires began to smoke before the front passenger side tire popped.

After the truck stopped, the driver complied and placed his hands outside of the vehicle before being handcuffed and escorted out. The driver was taken into custody by a Summit County Deputy due to pending charges. Officers contacted the truck’s owner, who arrived shortly after. The owner removed any items from the truck which didn’t belong to him. Two pairs of motorcycle keys belonging to the owner were later found in the driver’s belongings. The owner went to Richfield police department to retrieve his keys.

CRIMINAL MISCHIEF: Columbia Road

On July 29, officers responded to a business that reported a vehicle parked in the employee lot. Officers spoke with the driver, who was an employee and said her co-workers have been keying her car because they do not like her. She also told officers co-workers were cutting her gas cap cord. Officers alerted the company management of the issue.

Officers did observe small scratches on the side of the woman’s car, but weren’t sure what caused the scratches. No suspects were named, and the woman was advised to park closer to the security office and camera to deter future events.

ASSAULT: Brecksville Road

On July 29, an officer arrived at a hotel parking lot and noticed six or seven males in the lot drinking alcohol and blasting music from one of their cars. The hotel manager asked the officer to remove the men from the lot. The officer told the men they couldn’t drink alcohol outside in the lot and that they needed to turn the music down. The men complied and said they would go inside, where they all had rooms.

Later, three of the men were arguing in the hotel atrium. One male, who was visibly intoxicated, was yelling and spitting on the floor. The officer approached and broke up the scene, telling the intoxicated man to go to his room due to his public intoxication. All three individuals left the atrium.

Shortly after, the officer saw the same intoxicated man repeatedly punching one of the men from the atrium earlier. The officer requested road units and advised the man to stop, which he ignored. The officer then de-holstered his taser and ordered the man to the ground, to which he complied. The man was detained and placed into handcuffs.

Another man approached the officer and saw he was the foreman of the subjects, who were all workers staying at the hotel due to work they were doing at a nearby school. The man asked officers if he could take custody of the detained man, which officers said depended on if the victim wanted to press charges. The victim declined charges, and officers released the offender to his foreman, but advised both of them they must leave the property at the hotel manager’s request.

The man’s boss made arrangements for the man to be transported back to Toledo, where the workers reside.

DISTURBANCE – NOISE: Brecksville Road

On July 29, officers responded to a restaurant for a report of loud music. An officer spoke with the restaurant owner, who said the band would be finished playing at 9:30 p.m. The officer cleared the scene.

Officers responded to the caller, who was staying at a nearby hotel. The man said at the end of the band’s performance, one person got on the microphone and yelled an expletive, naming the motel specifically. The man said he believed this was a threat to him. Officers said this didn’t meet the criteria for a threat. The man said he still wanted the incident documented, and filled out a witness statement. The officer told the man he would talk to workers at the restaurant to see if the band was still around.

The officer spoke again spoke with the restaurant owner, who said it wasn’t a band member that yelled that, but instead it was a patron. The man said he can’t control his patrons. Officers said they understood but wanted to make the owner aware of the situation.

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