Dropped call?

Police were notified of a maroon pickup truck driving erratically on Running Hill Road Feb. 21 after a female passenger in the truck called police on her cell phone. 

The truck’s driver was reportedly returning home from a bar in downtown Portland when the passenger became concerned about her “aggressive” driving. 

The passenger noticed a police cruiser parked on the side of the road, reached across the steering wheel and honked the horn in an effort to notify the officer.

Police reported the driver became agitated with the passenger’s behavior and struck her as she continued driving along Running Hill Road. The passenger then called police and provided their location on Johnson Road. 

The driver pulled over, threw the passenger’s cell phone out the window and attempted to drag the passenger from the vehicle, police reported. The passenger locked herself inside the truck and the driver fled on foot down Johnson Road. 

Police found the driver – and the cell phone -– behind a tree on Johnson Road at 6:30 p.m. and charged her with operating under the influence, assault, theft by unauthorized taking and obstructing the report of a crime.

Ready, set, go to jail

Police reported they arrested a man in the parking lot of U.S. Health Works on Gallery Boulevard Feb. 22 after he fled Wal-Mart with a pair of shoes he had stolen. Employees told police they saw the man take off his old shoes and replace them with a pair of new $30, size 12 shoes before he fled the store on foot.

He was arrested and charged with unauthorized taking and transfer.

Too good to be true? 

A Running Hill Road resident reported a possible case of identity theft Feb. 22 after he responded to a newspaper ad that requested his Social Security number. The man was uncertain if the ad, which offered a “free coffee vending route” in Boca Raton, Fla., was a scam. 

Exhausted

A caller reported a black pickup truck with a neon frame and loud exhaust stopped in front of homes along East Grand Avenue on Feb. 22. Police were unable to locate the vehicle.

Poor penmanship

Officers responded to a Gorham Road home Feb. 23 after a girl reported her uncle had hidden her jacket, which contained pens for school. The mother said her daughter was not obeying directions to put the jacket where it belonged and subsequently hid the jacket in her uncle’s room. Police restored peace and the girl got her jacket.

Yu-Gi-“Uh-Oh”

A 22-year-old man was arrested Feb. 26 for shoplifting Yu-Gi-Oh trading cards worth $32 at Wal-Mart. Police reported the man was seen bringing the trading cards into the restroom and then discarding the packaging in the luggage aisle.