Chief’s Weekly UpdateCity of Lewisville—Police Department“the place to be"
Week ofOctober 5, 2009 – October 11, 2009
OPERATIONS – PATROL
Driver Arrested for DWI after Short PursuitOn the night of Wednesday, October 7th, Officer Persinger spotted a car with a flat tire and front-end damage traveling southbound in the 2700 block of East State Highway 121 Business. Persinger attempted to stop the car using emergency lights and siren. The driver refused to stop for him, continuing southbound at speeds varying from 5 to 30 miles per hour. Officers Bryson and Johnson joined in the pursuit. At one point, back-up units blocked northbound State Highway 121 Business as the car crossed the median, traveling southbound in the northbound lanes. Shortly after crossing the median, the car left the roadway and became stuck in the ditch. The driver, a 55 year-old Plano woman, was arrested for Driving While Intoxicated.Burglary of a BuildingOn Friday, October 10th, Officer Steinle investigated the burglary of a building in the 800 block of Treatment Plant Road. His investigation led to the recovery of a stolen dog. Officer Steinle developed leads on the location of the stolen dog on Friday and ultimately located the suspect at his home in the 100 block of Walters Street. The suspect fled from Officer Steinle, but was apprehended after a short foot pursuit. The dog was located and returned to its owner. The Criminal Investigations Division continues to follow-up on the case.
OPERATIONS – CID
National Night Out The Police Department participated in the National Night Out festivities on October 6th. The Neighborhood Resource Officers attended seven events throughout the evening. Officers passed out numerous pieces of crime prevention literature and answered questions from residents. The seven events were located at the following locations:

1500 block of Steam Boat Trail
The Vista Ridge Estates Area
Austin Kent Ellis Pa
700 block of Juniper Lane
Heritage Hill Area
Pebble Ridge Area
Timberbrook Area Many citizens attended the events and had excellent questions for officers. Citizens received many tips to help reduce their chances of becoming a victim of crime. Officers gave the attendees information on “Lock, Take, and Hide,” which is a campaign to educate citizens to “Lock” their vehicles, “Take” their keys, and “Hide” belongings when parking their vehicles. Officers also spoke about crime prevention surveys offered by our Neighborhood Resource Officers. The surveys have been very effective in providing citizens with pointers on security measures they can take to protect their home. Many citizens also shared tips with each other on techniques they have implemented to increase their security. One Crime Watch area had become somewhat stagnant over the years and, after attending their local event, vowed to rejuvenate their Crime Watch program again.

Anyone interested in information on crime prevention or on starting a Crime Watch in their area may contact Sergeant Gordon Blair by calling (972) 219-5009, or by e-mailing him at gblair@cityoflewisville.com.

Vehicle Burglars Pick Wrong Car On Thursday, October 8th, Officer Martin Popick of the Street Crimes Unit was conducting surveillance in an unmarked car in the 2000 block of Stover. Officer Popick observed two suspicious people and began to monitor their activities. Officer Popick leaned back in his vehicle to keep them seeing him. Not realizing Popick was inside, one of the subjects approached his vehicle and opened the passenger door. Officer Popick detained both suspects to investigate their actions. Officer Jesse Hunter arrived to assist. Both individuals were questioned separately and they had different explanations for what they were doing. Officers noted that these two suspects fit the descriptions of two individuals that had been seen acting suspicious on Misty Lane earlier that same day. During the interview with officers, the suspects finally admitted that they had been checking car doors to see if they were unlocked and, if so, stealing money from inside. Officers located one victim whose vehicle had been burglarized. Officers arrested and charged both subjects with Burglary of a Vehicle. Detectives Assist Coppell Police with Crime Scene SearchOn October 8th, based on information developed in the Kathleen Garza homicide investigation, the Denton County District Attorney's Office and the Coppell Police Department identified a search area in Lewisville. At approximately 3:30 p.m., officers from the Coppell Police Department and the Lewisville Police Department responded to search a wooded area along State Highway 121, near Fish Hatchery Road. The search revealed items of clothing, bones, and hair. These items were turned over to Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office to be processed and analyzed. Narcotics Search WarrantOn Friday, October 9th, Officers Tiberghien, Ortiz, Alexander, and Sergeant Kemp discovered a marihuana grow inside of a house in the 1400 block of Wild Valley. Officers had been dispatched to the residence on a burglary in progress call after a witness reported having seen at least two people jump the fence to the residence. Upon his arrival, Officer Ortiz observed an unknown person exit the front door and then flee back inside after seeing his patrol car. This unknown person escaped out the rear of the residence.Officers entered the residence to check for additional suspects and observed numerous marihuana plants and marihuana inside the residence. They contacted officers from the narcotics unit who obtained a search warrant for the residence. Detective Eddie Barrett and Lieutenant Chris Butterworth from Special Operations responded to the scene. Detectives ultimately discovered 15 marihuana plants and a large quantity of marihuana at the location. Arrests are pending as the Narcotics Unit follows up on the investigation.

SUPPORT SERVICES:
Dispatchers Assist with Fire Department Open HouseDispatchers Gayla Scheidler and Tifney Martinez operated the 911 information booth at our Fire Department’s Open House on Saturday. They had a good turnout despite the weather. Thanks go out to Gayla and Tifney for helping make this event a success!The Police Department sails through our DPS Security Audit On Monday, October 5th, Gwinna Pedigo and Chris Lee met with our DPS CJIS Security Representative for a security audit. This federally-mandated security audit occurs once every three years. Thanks to Gwinna and Chris' preparation, our audit results were exemplary! Thanks, Gwinna!SAFVIC for Telecommunicators TrainingWe are hosting SAFVIC training for dispatchers on the 14th, 21st, and 28th of October. This past summer, Kellie Hayney and Gwinna Pedigo attended SAFVIC Instructor Training in Austin. They will be instructing all of our Communications personnel on this important subject matter.

City of Lewisville—Police Department
“the place to be"

Week of
September 7, 2009 – September 13, 2009
OPERATIONS - PATROL
Theft of Vehicle Rims

At 2:15 a.m. on Wednesday, September 9, two Dallas men, 32 and 36 years-old, were arrested for theft in the 600 block of Idlewilde Drive. The men were in the process of stealing rims from a Chevrolet Tahoe when a neighbor saw them and notified police. Officer Martinez located the two men. Each man was charged with two counts of theft, which were enhanced to felony offenses due to prior convictions.

Theft of Lawn Mower

On Friday, September 11, at 1:15 a.m., two Home Depot employees saw two men in a pickup truck pulling a cargo trailer pull up to a $3,500 lawn mower. The men cut the chain securing the lawn mower and began loading it in to the trailer. The employees intervened and chased off the thieves. The employees then contacted the Lewisville Police Department. Officer Johnson located the truck and trailer headed southbound on the interstate. He was able to stop the suspects and arrest them for theft. Detective Harvey, during his follow-up investigation, determined that the trailer was stolen the same night from Tractor Supply in Denton. The two suspects, 32 and 41 year-old men of Arlington, were arrested for theft. They face additional charges stemming from the Denton theft.

Fatality Accident

At approximately 2:30 a.m. on Sunday, September 13, members of the Lewisville Police and Fire Departments responded to a motor vehicle crash in the 2300 block of North I-35E south bound. A wrecker stopped to assist on an accident was struck from behind by a green Mitsubishi SUV. The driver of the Mitsubishi, a 23 year-old man, was killed in the accident. His passenger a 20 year-old woman suffered serious injuries and was transported by Lewisville ambulance to Parkland Hospital in Dallas. The driver and passenger in the wrecker suffered minor injuries.
OPERATIONS – CID
Suspect Charged in Identity Theft

In July 2009, a Lewisville resident reported that an unknown person was using her identifying information fraudulently. The victim realized the crime while completing paperwork for the State. Detective Billy Wilson was assigned the case for investigation. Detective Wilson verified that a person employed in the restaurant industry was using the victim’s social security number. Detective Wilson contacted the corporate office of the restaurant and was able to retrieve the employment records for their employee. The records indicated the employee listed the victim’s social security number as their own. The employee was working in a Jacksonville, Texas restaurant. Detective Wilson and Detective Henley interviewed the suspect in Jacksonville. The suspect admitted to using the social security number. The suspect stated he had purchased a counterfeit social security card at a Dallas bazaar in 1994. The suspect has been charged with Fraudulent Use of Identifying Information.

Stolen Motorcycle Recovered

In October 2008, the victim met a person on craigslist who stated he would repair the victim’s motorcycle. The victim gave the suspect the motorcycle to repair. The victim stated that after a period the suspect did not return any of his phone calls or emails about the status of the repairs. The victim said he located a listing on craigslist and it appeared the suspect had attempted to sell his motorcycle. Detective Scott Kelly was able to make contact with the suspect who stated that he still had the motorcycle. Detective Kelly recovered the motorcycle and returned it to the victim. Detective Kelly continues to investigate this case.
SUPPORT SERVICES
Suicidal Subject - 625 E. Vista Ridge Mall Drive

We all know how serious a threat of suicide is, but a threat by a police officer has drastic ramifications for the officer, his family, and our law enforcement community. In the early morning hours of September 11, a lot of us did a good job of resolving the threat so that no one was hurt. Dispatcher Rindy Schutz answered the 911 call from the wife of the suicidal Dallas Officer and over a 10 minute period, handled the call in a professional, calm, and empathetic manner. The questions she asked, the information she obtained, and the speed in which she updated the patrol officers contributed to the positive outcome. Great Job Rindy!

Personnel Openings:

Patrol: 3 CSO: 1 Property & Evidence Tech: 0
Public Safety Dispatcher: 1 Dispatch Supervisor: 1 Call-Taker: 1


Thank you for your interest in Lewisville, TX
jkunke@cityoflewisville.com
151 W. Church Street
972-219-3400 - Phone
972-219-3410 - Fax

FYI

Chief’s Weekly Update

City of Lewisville—Police Department
“the place to be"

Week of
August 17, 2009 – August 23, 2009

OPERATIONS – PATROL
Man Disguised as Maintenance Worker Steals Purses

On Monday, August 17th, at 12:55 p.m., Officers were dispatched to an Aggravated Robbery at the Macy’s Department Store, located at 2401 South I-35E. Officer Roman was the first to arrive on scene and he observed a black male matching the suspect’s description being followed by a Macy’s store manager. Officer Roman followed, but was unable to locate the suspect as he had fled back into the mall. While other officers searched for the suspect, a clerk at Macy’s told Officer Roman that the suspect wearing a tool belt had posed as a maintenance man. He had taken keys to the stock room where he was observed loading several expensive purses into his tool cart which was fitted with an empty box designed to conceal items. Once the stolen property was loaded into his cart, the suspect fled into the parking lot with the tool cart. The store manager followed and confronted the suspect who displayed a knife and threatened to cut him. The manager was able to recover the tool cart and the stolen merchandise, but the suspect fled on foot into the mall where the store manager lost sight of him. Officer Shelton soon found the suspect lying in the bed of a parked pickup truck. Officer Shelton confronted the suspect who attempted to flee on foot; however, Shelton apprehended the suspect who was taken into custody for evading arrest and aggravated robbery.

Dallas Man Drowns in Lake Lewisville

A 19 year-old Dallas man drowned in the lake Sunday evening around 6:30 p.m. He was swimming about 35 to 40 feet from the east shore, off of Catfish Drive, when he went into distress and submerged. When Sergeant Wagnon arrived on-scene, there were numerous persons already in the water looking for the subject. Through his interviews with witnesses, Sergeant Wagnon was able to assist the Lewisville Fire Department by directing them to the last known location of the man. The fire department divers quickly located the subject, pulled him from the water, and transported him to the Lewisville Medical Center. Despite the efforts of all involved, he was pronounced deceased at approximately 9:30 p.m.

OPERATIONS – CID
Burglary Arrest

On August 23rd, officers arrested a 28 year-old male for burglary of a building. At approximately 2:00 a.m., Officer Bender was dispatched to a burglar alarm at the Convenience Plus store, located at 1010 South Edmonds. Officer Jesse Hunter, from the street crimes unit, heard the alarm call dispatched and responded to the area. Officer Hunter was working in an unmarked vehicle. Officer Hunter observed the suspect as he exited the store. The suspect began to walk away carrying items from the store. Officer Hunter ordered the suspect to the ground and took him into custody. The suspect has stolen lottery tickets and beer from the store. Officers Matthew Bender, Richard Eledge, Martin Popick, Anderson Rock, and Sergeant Michael Moore arrived and searched the business. No additional suspects were located. The 28 year-old was arrested for burglary of a building.

This same suspect also had an outstanding arrest warrant for a burglary of a habitation. On July 15th, a resident came home to discover that his apartment at 1002 South Edmonds had been burglarized. A witness reported having seen the suspect leaving the apartment during the time that the burglary had occurred. Officers Luke Slavens and Larry Lunsford had been able to recover the stolen property at an apartment where the suspect was staying. Officer Lunsford obtained a warrant for the suspect’s arrest at that time and he had remained at-large until his arrest at the convenience store.

Sexual Assault of a Child Arrest

A 31 year-old Lewisville man is in custody for the sexual assault of a child. A 15 year-old female reported that her mother’s ex-boyfriend assaulted her while her mother and he were dating. The abuse began when she was approximately eight and continued until she was ten. Detective Javier Carcano obtained an arrest warrant for the suspect. Detectives arrested the suspect at his place of employment in Irving. The suspect is being held in the Denton County Jail on a $50,000 bond and an ICE detainer.
SUPPORT SERVICES
SWAT Training at the Vista Ridge Mall

On August 20th, the Lewisville Police Department conducted SWAT training at the Vista Ridge Mall in the old Movies 12 location. Being able to conduct this sort of training at “real world” locations really helps to ensure that SWAT can effectively respond to actual events. Sgt. Blair is hoping to conduct additional training at the Mall in the future, most likely a mass casualty drill which would involve multiple agencies.