Police Beat: July 16, 2009

Tuesday, July 7

• Police responded to a call from Larimer County weed control district concerning property near west County Road 8 and Highway 287. There was complaint about weeds in the lot. Code Enforcement is in the process of determining the property’s owner.
• A female resident in the 200 block of east Nebraska Aveneue received over a dozen mid-morning phone calls with no one on the line.  She could not indentify the number and was referred to the phone company to block nuisance calls

Wednesday, July 8

• Police responded to a call about a vehicle trespass in the 600 block of Lake Avenue. A woman reported that her son’s vehicle, which she had been driving, had been broken into and items were taken.
• A woman in the 900 block of Fifth Street reported finding a live bat in her flowerbed. According to the report the bat was “escorted to better lodging”.
• A man in the 300 block of Mountain Avenue reported a broken window in the building of his business, which he had not visited for a week. The man felt the damage appeared to be caused by a BB gun or a similar device. Upon inspection, an officer determined that, whatever the object, it caused a one-inch hole with radiating cracks. There is insufficient information to verify a suspect. 
• An anonymous caller reported a person milling around on a lot near the dead end of west County Road 10E. Police reported the suspect claimed to be with a real estate company, but was asked to leave the location.
• A male resident in the 1200 block of Elm Drive reported a burglary in the evening.  The man came home to find his vehicle unlocked and garage door open and began to notice missing property. The missing items include a pack of fireworks, a gold phoenix car amplifier, a cordless drill and a three-foot long pirate sword with a ship carved into the handle. The case is pending identification of a suspect.
• Dispatch responded to a call concerning property stolen from a vehicle in the 700 block of Franklin Avenue. The victim reported a Sony digital camera missing and items left overnight in an unlocked vehicle were missing the next day.
• Berthoud Police assisted a female motorist whose vehicle was on the side of the road on west County Road 8 near Highway 287 and appeared to have broken down.
• Police responded to a call from a woman in the 400 block of Bimson Avenue reporting the front and back tires of her vehicle slashed.
• In the middle of the night, a man in the 300 block of Nebraska Avenue reported suspicious behavior of two unknown juveniles. One of the juveniles was idling in a vehicle in the alley and the other was trying to push a small GOA motorbike and put it in the trunk. The motorbike was left at the scene and a full report will follow.  

Thursday, July 9

• Berthoud Police were dispatched to the area of County Road 15 and 6C to assist the Larimer County Sherriff’s Office on a report of a man shot, possibly a suicide. A passerby found the man lying in the driveway of his residence and notified police. The Berthoud officer responding to the scene reported that the man had been shot with his own gun, a Remington Express 12-gauge shotgun. It became clear that the man was driving with the gun in his vehicle with a loaded chamber and the safety off. The trigger caught on his tool belt as he tried to remove it from his vehicle and he accidently shot himself in the abdomen. The man was transported by ambulance to the hospital to treat the gunshot wound.
• An officer responded to multiple calls made concerning barking dog in the 600 block of Eighth Street. The dogs are kept in a pen in the alleyway outside their residence. A verbal warning was given to the homeowner about the complaints.
• BPD received a report of a little brown dog with a cone around its neck “like it just had an operation” wandering around near the 300 block of Franklin Ave. The animal was gone when police arrived.
• Police responded to a possible motor vehicle accident in the evening near Second Street and Indiana Avenue. A bicyclist was injured, and was initially thought to be the victim of a hit and run. An eyewitness who observed the accident claimed that the cyclist hit the curb and flipped over the handlebars of his bike and no vehicle was involved. 
• Dispatch received a call from a woman near Third Street and Mountain Avenue reporting the tires of her vehicle slashed. She noticed this after visiting the Berthoud Farmers Market. The caller had her vehicle towed and did not want to file a criminal mischief report.
• A verbal disturbance incident between a male and a female that occurred in the 800 block of Longview Avenue was handled by an officer. The officer initiated the report and confirmed the incident was only verbal.

Friday, July 10

• An officer responded to a radio dispatch concerning an abandoned vehicle off of Highway 287 and County Road 10E. The owner of the vehicle was identified as a Loveland resident. The vehicle was determined abandoned and red-tagged.
• A woman in the 900 block of Second Street notified police about a stray dog walking onto the highway. The caller took the dog into her custody and asked police to pick it up at her place of business immediately. An officer handled the situation.  
• Berthoud Police assisted the fire department with a response to an emergency call concerning a 75 year-old woman who fell and hit her head in her residence near Cedar Drive and Evergreen Avenue. No further information is available at this time.
• An officer responded to a noise complaint of a dog barking in the 100 block of east Iowa Avenue. The caller refused any contact and the animal was quiet when the officer arrived.

Saturday, July 11

• A man in the 1000 block of Navajo Place reported an incident of criminal mischief when he found a broken mirror and the names Ken and Val scratched into his property.
• A caller reported a hit and run incident which may have occurred one or two days before in the 400 block of Mountain Avenue.  When the caller noticed the damage they reported it at the police station.
• Berthoud Police were in contact with the Loveland Police Department concerning a man detained by BPD and issued a summons for the possession of alcohol and the ignition of fireworks in the 500 block of First Street.
• BPD responded to a report of fireworks being set off in the vicinity of Mount Massive Street and Red Cloud Avenue but were unable to locate the source.
• An officer was flagged down in front of a business in the 500 block of Third Street concerning a sliding back door that was open six inches and would not move. 
• An officer noticed vandalism in the 300 block of Seventh Street where a vending machine was knocked over with the glass on the ground.  
• Police responded to a very late call concerning dogs in an outside pen barking loudly in the 900 block of Seventh Street. An automatic notification of a previous advisement made by a Berthoud Fire Fighter signaled the police that there was a history of criminal activity at this location. 

Sunday, July 12

• Police issued a summons for a parking violation to a Fort Collins woman in the 500 block of Welch Avenue.
• A female employee of a business in the 400 block of Mountain Avenue reported an incident with a male customer who was upset that the store was closing and he could not buy anything. The caller claimed that the man was loitering in his vehicle outside the store and would not leave. Both parties were gone when the police arrived shortly after the call.
• Police were notified by a caller in the 3000 block of Megan Way about a vehicle parked for several days. The caller was concerned that someone was living out of the vehicle. No suspects were present when the police arrived.
• Police responded to a call about an animal off its leash in the 300 block of Seventh Street. A summons was issued to a Berthoud man for the unleashed dog.

Monday, July 13

• Dispatch received a call about a soft drink machine that had been tipped over and possibly tampered with in 300 block of Seventh Street.
• Police responded to a report of a physical disturbance behind a business in the 100 block of Mountain Avenue. There were four people in the alley behind this location when the police arrived but no one was fighting. The police questioned witnesses and a report is to follow. 
• BPD noticed pedestrians trespassing on private property near a business in the 900 block of Mountain Avenue. The two suspected trespassers were both given verbal warnings.
• A passerby reported witnessing a group of juveniles running out in front of cars on County Road 8 and U.S. Highway 287 after dark. The group of young people was gone when police arrived.
• The police investigated suspicious circumstances in the 800 block of Spartan Avenue. They discovered a couple “making out” and gave them verbal warning.
• Police responded to a vandalism call from security at a business in the 2000 block of Clayton Place. The caller found eight orange LPD cones across the roadway. There were no suspects at the scene.