Lafayette Police Blotter: Borrowed Cars, Credit Cards and Big Screens

Lafayette Police Blotter March 29 – April 12

Stolen Credit Card: "Honey, Do We Eat at Flippers?"

A distraught Lafayette woman called in to report a stolen credit card on April 12 a little before 1 p.m. When police arrived in the 3000 block of Rowe Place, the woman explained the credit card had been used for several months by someone else at various locations throughout Lafayette.

She told the police she did not lose her credit card and still had it in her possession but her husband seems to have not seen his in more than a year.

Fraudulent charges were made at Safeway, Union 76, 7-Eleven, Flippers, Valero and Target totaling over $10,000.

Petty Theft: Express Checkout Gets Expensive

A 56-year-old woman had her purse stolen out of the grocery cart while shopping at Safeway in the 3500 block of Mount Diablo Boulevard at 8:47 p.m. on April 5. A Safeway employee called in to report the missing purse and alerted the police about a surveillance video capturing the suspect in action.

According to the police report, the suspect was seen standing behind the victim in the check stand line and possibly used her own Safeway rewards card to purchase the groceries. Suspect captured on video is a light-skinned black female in her mid-40s, short, dark, straight hair wearing a two-tone jacket with black shoulders and arms, wearing light color pants and carrying a white cloth shoulder bag.

Police investigated and found that the owner of the Safeway Rewards card is a 51-year-old Pittsburg woman. Police were unable to locate her whereabouts.

Stolen Vehicle/Recovered

Lafayette Police responded to an anonymous call about a suspicious parked car on 3300 block of McGraw Lane at 8 p.m. on April 3. After checking the car registration, it had been reported by Walnut Creek Police as stolen overnight.

Numerous items were recovered inside the car including a compressor and a ladder, not belonging to the owner. When police tried to contact the owner of the car, they discovered he was out of the country and not returning until the 10 of April. A neighbor of the victim had also noticed the car was not parked in the driveway.

Police contacted the car’s owner asking him to contact the police department once he'd returned to the country. Upon his return, the victim told the police he had not given anyone permission to have or be driving the car while he was away.

Grand Theft: Straight Out of “The Office”

On March 29, police responded to a call from a business on 3700 block of Mount Diablo Boulevard about a stolen laptop.

At around 12 p.m., employees of Armack and Associates were in a staff meeting in another section of the office during office hours, leaving the area vacated but open for business. During that time, unknown suspects entered the unlocked offices and stole a laptop computer.

The victim remembers leaving the desk for the meeting and by the time he got back to his desk, the laptop was missing. There were no witnesses, leads or suspects.

Commercial Burglary: Love Those Flat-Screens

The owner of a recently closed restaurant probably suspected pests may take over once he put up the “closed for business” sign, but the only rats who entered this building were thieves.

Police responded to a call on April 1 from another business owner of suspicious activity in the 3700 block of Mount Diablo Boulevard. When police arrived around 12 p.m., two flat screen TVs from behind the bar area were missing.

The suspects may have entered the building through an unlocked rear door.