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By Sara Longley

Aug 01, 2002 -- On a Sunday at 7:30 a.m., the manager of a supermarket on Jackson Street sits in his office, which has a window looking out over the cigarette counter. He hears the chime that indicates somebody has gone behind the counter, looks out his window and sees a strange man kneeling down behind the counter shoving items into a bag. He goes out into the store and sees a second man. He asks them what is in the bag and they tell him "nothing." When he asks to see the bag, the second man bends down as if to lunge at him. He retreats to his office and calls 911. While he is on the phone the suspects walk swiftly out the door. Officers arrive and search the area but are unable to locate the suspects...

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On a Sunday afternoon at 3:10 p.m. a man working security at a large thrift store observes a man loading up a shopping cart and a bag with numerous items of clothing. Then the man walks out of the store without stopping to pay for the merchandise. The security guard confronts him outside without incident. Officers arrive and find that the man has valid identification and no outstanding warrants. The man tells them it is all a misunderstanding, and shows them that he has enough money to pay for the items. When he is asked why he left the store without paying he has no answer...

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An elderly woman brings her grandson to a salon on Jackson Street to get his hair cut on a Saturday afternoon. She pays with a $50 bill. Later, another customer needs change for a $100 bill, so the salon manager gives her change including the $50 bill. The customer takes the $50 bill to another store and attempts to use it, but the clerk there checks it and discovers it is counterfeit, so she brings it back to the salon, where the manager calls police to file a report...

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A Central Area man hears an unusual sound in front of his house at 10:48 p.m. He looks outside and sees a strange man standing in the bed of his pickup truck parked on the street. The stranger is holding a circular saw, which he has removed from the unlocked truck bed storage box. The victim yells from his window and the suspect drops the saw, jumps out of the truck bed, gets into a dark blue mid-size pickup and speeds off southbound. The suspect did not steal anything...

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A Madison Valley woman leaves her house at 1 p.m. on a Sunday afternoon, and returns at 3:30 p.m. Later, when her husband returns at 5:30, he finds that the basement door is open and his laptop computer is missing. There are no signs of forced entry. Police are called, and they speak to a neighbor who says she saw a man standing on the sidewalk in front of the house during the time the wife was away, but she did not see where the man went...

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A man walks home at 3:15 a.m. on a Monday morning after visiting a friend in the Central Area. While he walks through a parking lot, a white Nissan Maxima drives up and three strangers jump out. Without saying anything, they start hitting the victim in the head with a baseball bat. Once he is on the ground, the suspects strip him of his clothing--jeans, a t-shirt and K-Swiss shoes--and leave him in his boxer shorts. Then they get back into the car and drive away Westbound on S Main Street. The victim stumbles into a neighboring backyard where the resident sees him bleeding from the head and calls 911 for assistance. He is treated by Fire Department medics...

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A man who works for a painting and remodeing company is on his way to work on a Monday morning when he stops at a stoplight on Broadway and E Denny Way. A man pulls up beside him on a bicycle and asks him if he wants to buy two ladders and a pressure washer. He tells the bicyclist to meet him at an address close by but the man never shows up. The worker continues on to his job site, where his company is working on a building project. When he arrives, he finds that two extension ladders and a pressure washer are missing from the locked fenced area where tools are stored onsite. The gate has a padlock on it, but the latch has been unscrewed so the gate could be opened. One ladder belongs to the property owner and the other ladder and the pressure washer belong to the remodeling company. Both are provided with victim follow-up forms...

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