Man Arrested in Royal Oak, Accused of Birmingham Car Theft

Following is a roundup of recent Birmingham Police reports:

Woman reports car stolen from driveway

A 19-year-old man from Birmingham was arrested in Royal Oak Tuesday evening in connection with a car theft that day on the 500 block of Stanley in Birmingham.

According to police reports, the car was taken from the driveway of a house around 3:45 p.m. The car’s owner had placed her purse and keys in the car then went back inside the house for a few minutes, reports state. When she returned, the car was gone.

About 8:45 p.m. Tuesday, Royal Oak Police arrested a man near 10 Mile and Main Street for allegedly stealing items from another car. Police said the man had keys in his possession for the same type of vehicle that had been stolen earlier in Birmingham. A check of the area revealed the stolen vehicle a short distance away from where the man was arrested, and the keys the man had belonged to that car, reports said.

A search of the car revealed several items that had been taken from vehicles in Birmingham earlier Tuesday. Reports from Birmingham and Royal Oak police were turned over to the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office.

Pontiac driver admits leaving hit-and-run

A 43-year-old woman from Pontiac was charged a second time with driving with a suspended license and failing to stop after she left the scene of an accident early Sunday morning, police said.

According to police reports, a man reported that his vehicle had been hit at the intersection of Old Woodward and Maple around 5 a.m. Sunday by a silver car that then fled the scene. Area police departments were advised of the incident and were given a description of the car.

A short time later, police said a woman entered the McDonald's on Southfield Road in Beverly Hills and asked employees to call for a tow truck. McDonald's employees called the Beverly Hills Police, who noticed that the woman’s car had substantial damage and matched the description of the missing vehicle from the hit-and-run, a police report said.

A Birmingham officer was called in. According to police reports, the woman then admitted to being in the accident and leaving to find a more “lighted area.” Further investigation revealed the woman had a suspended driver’s license.

Man charged with credit card fraud at Kroger

A 60-year-old man from Detroit was charged with credit card fraud after attempting to purchase gift cards and cereal from , police reported.

According to police reports, the man was seen picking up several gift cards and two boxes of cereal, then proceeding to a U-Scan checkout lane. The man scanned one gift card and one box of cereal and paid using a credit card, reports said. He then proceeded to scan another gift card and the other box of cereal, paying with a different credit card.

Store employees became suspicious and approached the man, asking for identification. When the man said he didn't have any identification, he was taken to the security office and police officers were called to the scene.

The ensuing investigation revealed the man had two credit cards for which the numbers on the front of the card didn’t match those embedded in the informational magnetic strip on the back.

If you have any questions about this report, email Laura.Houser@Patch.com.