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AGGRAVATED BURGLARY - Shortly before midnight on Wednesday the 12th officers responded to a Rosehill apartment on 88th Ct regarding an Aggravated Burglary and Criminal Threat. The background on this case involves repeated police responses (two earlier that night) to handle noise disturbance calls. Upon the officer's arrival they found a suspect had knocked on the apartment door of the occupied apartment and announced "Police" in an effort to get an occupant to open the door. The occupants looked through the peep hole and did not see anyone (a good idea that they at least looked). They opened the door with the chain still attached (which is always a very good idea) and then saw a downstairs neighbor standing off to the side of the door. The neighbor thrust his arm through the open door and threatened to kill the people inside. The occupants were able to close the door and call 9-1-1 to get the real police on the way. Officers were not able to locate the suspect that night but did find and arrested the 24 year-old Lenexa man the next day.

Two unoccupied hotel room burglaries were reported at a 112th St hotel. In these cases the rooms were unlawfully entered (without force) and quantities of prescription medications were taken. A 39 year-old Lenexa man has been identified as a suspect and detectives are finishing up their work in these cases this week.

Vehicle burglaries were reported in the area of 80th & Reeder and again at St. James High School. In the Reeder case the suspect(s) started by siphoning gas from a vehicle gas tank. That apparently wasn't enough as they then broke out a window and stole a quantity of tools that had been inside the vehicle. In the St. James case a laptop computer was stolen from a vehicle that was likely left unlocked while it was in the parking lot. We can't suggest or say it enough... please lock your car doors and at least make it a little tougher for the thieves to make you a victim.

DISTURBANCES - Last week in the eWatch we highlighted the 30 year-old Mission, KS gal who has had 14 police responses this year on domestic related issues. With the passing of a week she's now up to sixteen events and now is currently in custody waiting for a judge who is quite likely not going to be very happy that she is back in his courtroom. We have the feeling that this will not be a good time for her.

Just before midnight of the 11th numerous officers responded on a report of a shooting and stabbing near 89th & Noland which when we started investigating found was completely false. In this case an out of state relative (Washington State), who is very angry over a family matter child custody issue, made a false report as a payback or get even maneuver. Our officers enlisted the assistance of officers in Washington State who were familiar with the suspected calling party. Unfortunately for the victim in this case the crime the relative committed is a misdemeanor and since it is unlikely they will ever come to Kansas they may never see the courtroom here.

THEFTS - The number of copper wire thefts has diminished lately and we believe that is largely due to the prices being lower and the increased vigilance by both police and property owners. We did however have a large case this week near 96th & Alden where thirty-seven bundles of copper wire were taken.

The shoplifters and related criminals are as usual always busy, and honestly with the lousy economy and the holidays approaching we expect an increase in these types of cases. Probably the most unusual shoplifter for the week was the 50 year-old Olathe woman who was caught stealing some cheap costume jewelry from a Maurer Rd department store. The woman had her young daughter with her (nice) as she committed the theft. Loss prevention personnel from the store allowed the woman to watch herself commit the theft on their video. The amazing part was that even after watching the video she still denied committing the theft. She was served a notice to appear and her little girl was released to a family member. Other loss prevention personnel, this from a Quivira Rd department store, were watching their surveillance cameras when they saw a 22 year-old Kansas City, KS man come into the store carrying one of their store shopping bags. The man went to the refund desk and then tried to get a refund for the item using a fake receipt that greatly inflated the price of the item in the bag. Instead of his "refund" the only thing this little escapade got him was arrested.



A business in the Brookhollow business park near 81st & Nieman reported that unknown suspects have been cashing company business checks throughout eastern Kansas outside of Johnson County. It appears in this case the suspect(s) obtained the routing numbers for the checks and then made their own checks using those routing numbers. We took an information report but the investigation and prosecution for these cases will rest on the jurisdiction where the checks were presented.

We all know it only takes a second for unattended property to disappear and two Old Town area bar patrons can likely attest to that. In the matter of less than a minute a purse and cell phone that had both been briefly left unwatched by their respective victims were taken. We only have a vague description of the suspect, a Hispanic male, and his car, a white late 1980's Buick, that was occupied by another Hispanic male.

CRIMINAL DAMAGE - Unfortunately random acts of criminal damage occur and we almost always find these are cases where idle and bored young people are responsible. The problem of gang style graffiti continues to be a problem at several 95th & Monrovia area apartment complexes and Trailridge Middle School. Gang Intelligence and School Resource Officers have identified several potential suspects and are investigating.

SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY - FOLLOWED HOME - We don't get a lot of these calls so when we do we like to highlight them as a reminder that if you feel you are being followed you should not go home and instead should drive to the nearest crowded well lit place, usually a convenience store. We had a case this week where a far west Lenexa resident was followed from the area of College and Woodland to her home by unknown person(s). This predictably unnerved her.



SOLICITORS - Numerous solicitor complaints were received this week throughout town with the most common types being the carpet cleaners and magazine salesmen, the latter who were working the Greystone neighborhood and telling residents they were selling the magazines "for the troops". (Yea, sure they were). The police department would like to remind everyone that there are regulations regarding solicitors and their activities. You can find out more by going to the department's webpage www.lenexapd.org and clicking on "I Want to Know About" and then clicking on the Solicitors link.

VALOR AWARDS - Each year in partnership with KMBC-TV the Metropolitan Police Chief's & Sheriff's Association recognizes metropolitan area officers who have gone above and beyond the call to duty. At Lenexa PD we're very proud of our officers who were recognized this year. They are:

Certificate of Commendation to MPO Ted Gardner. Last summer Lenexa Police officers responded to several fatality auto accidents where victims were trapped in burning vehicles. In two of the cases officers only equipped with dry chemical fire extinguishers arrived before firefighters. MPO Gardner took it upon himself to conduct research and developed a solution to the problem where all Lenexa PD police cars are now equipped with Cold Fire extinguishers which have already been used to extinguish other vehicle fires. Other metro law enforcement agencies have now also switched over or are in the process of switching over to the Cold Fire extinguishers.

The Life Saving Award to CPL Mike Bussell and MPO Dustin Frackowiak Last winter Lenexa officers responded to a suicidal call where a man was threatening to jump off the 87th St Bridge onto I-35 during rush hour traffic. MPO Frackowiak arrived first and established a rapport with the man while CPL Bussell directed other arriving officers to close traffic. MPO Frackowiak negotiated with the man for approximately twenty minutes before the man became more agitated and began to climb the ledge to jump. The officers rushed the man, grabbed him before he could jump, and pulled him back to safety before he could jump to his death.

The Life Saving Award to Officers Michael Schuett, Jason Hinkle, and Michael Grissell Last summer the officers responded to a suicidal call where it was reported a man was trying to hang himself. Officer Schuett negotiated with the distraught man while Officers Hinkle and Grissell attempted to position themselves alongside the man who had climbed on top of a chair and had an extension cord noose around his neck. As Officer Schuett moved into position to try and cut the cord from the man's neck negotiations failed and the man jumped off the chair. Officers Hinkle and Grissell caught the man and lifted him in the air so Officer Schuett could cut the cord thereby preventing the man from suffocating to death.

The Bronze Award to Officer Jason Hinkle Also last summer, Officer Hinkle responded to K-7 Highway where it was reported that a car was being driven on the highway at about 10 mph while straddling the lanes. Officer Hinkle located the car and attempted to make a traffic stop without success. Officer Hinkle could see the driver was not responsive and thought likely unconscious. Officer Hinkle made the quick decision to try and stop the car. He parked his patrol unit and ran up next to the subject's rolling car. He found the door was locked and he immediately used his baton to break a window whereupon he unlocked the door, applied the brakes and stopped the car whose elderly driver had passed out due to a heart condition.

We're proud of these officers and all our officers who day in and day out do the job with honor, courage, and commitment, and certainly without fanfare and accolades.

A LITTLE FUN - In ceremonies this last week the department recently promoted three Corporals to the rank of Sergeant. The new sergeants, one of whom came from an undercover assignment, are assigned to the Patrol Division. As you can imagine the undercover officer's appearance was not suitable for his new patrol assignment. Department employees contributed funds for a raffle for the honor of cutting off the officer's ponytail with the proceeds benefiting our "Red Bag' underprivileged family for Christmas.

There won't be a eWatch next week so we hope everyone watches out for their neighbor's property during this busy travel season. Happy Thanksgiving.

The Police Department asks that anytime you see suspicious activity to please call 9-1-1.

For more information: Lenexa Crime Prevention Office - 913-477-7245 www.Lenexapd.org



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