Remember the guy from Tuesday’s Lights & Sirens who allegedly tried to rob the Presto convenience store at 1802 W. 23rd St. but gave up and ran away when the store clerk refused to obey his commands to open the cash register? He’d ridden away on a bicycle after the incident with a bag full of goodies from the store, and police couldn’t find him.

Well on Tuesday evening, a police officer spotted him near the Dillons at 1015 W. 23rd St., recognizing the man from surveillance video of the Presto incident. The officer tried to stop the suspect, but the man again fled on his bicycle, going south on Naismith Drive and then onto the Naismith Valley recreational trail.

Officers continued to search for about 90 minutes until finding the man in the 2000 block of West 31st Street. They took him into custody “without further incident” and detectives interviewed him, Lawrence Police spokesman Sgt. Trent McKinley said. He was later booked into the Douglas County Jail on suspicion of robbery and obstruction of law enforcement, as well as on two warrants out of Leavenworth County.

Sunday, 6:51 p.m.

Two women and a man rented a room at the Days Inn, 700 Iowa St., but failed to vacate the room on the day they were supposed to check out.

When the two women eventually did go to the front desk to check out, they learned the cash deposit they’d paid to rent the room was forfeited as they didn’t just stay past “checkout time,” but actually stayed an entire extra day.

This apparently upset the women, who allegedly “became irate,” batted a cup of pens on the counter, striking the concierge, McKinley said. One of the women then allegedly spit on the concierge’s face before finally storming off.

Police were called after the suspects had gone, but officers were able to find them nearby. Both women were given notice to appear in court on suspicion of battery.
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Wednesday, 7:36 a.m.

If you live on or near Ohio and 21st streets, you might check to see if anything’s missing from your car, as there were at least two vehicle burglaries in the 2100 block of Ohio Street Wednesday morning, McKinley said.

One of the victims reported that a duffle bag and clothing valued at about $500 were stolen from an unlocked vehicle. The burglaries allegedly happened between 9 p.m. Tuesday and 7 a.m. Wednesday.

I feel like I shouldn’t have to keep repeating this in Lights & Sirens, but always lock your car doors. It’s maybe the easiest crime prevention step you can take. Though anyone could bust through a window, a locked door is at least a deterrent to thieves.
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Tuesday, 11:16 p.m.

A Lawrence police officer on patrol spotted three people and a pit bull inside the shelter house at Hobbs Park around 11:15 pm., and approached to let them know the park was to close in 15 minutes, McKinley said.

But during the interaction with the group, the officer “felt they were acting suspiciously,” McKinley said, so he asked a couple of questions. He then noticed that the dog didn’t have a vaccination tag, and the people said they hadn’t vaccinated the pit bull.

(In case you didn’t know, it’s a city ordinance that all dogs must be vaccinated against rabies and have vaccination tags on their collars. Still, McKinley said it would be pretty rare to give a citation to a person who said his dog was vaccinated, but didn’t have the tag or collar. That is, unless the dog had bitten someone.)

After learning the dog wasn’t vaccinated, the officer asked the dog’s owners for their IDs. The female owner refused and left with the dog despite the officer’s demands to stop. The male owner did fork over his ID but “quickly became uncooperative,” McKinley said, when the officer “asked additional questions.”

The man then also ran away, but the officer chased him and took him to the ground. He then allegedly got up and came at the officer “in an aggressive fashion,” McKinley said, and allegedly said he was going to “beat” the officer.

Then, the officer turned on the laser light on his Taser, pointing it at the man and telling him to get on the ground, McKinley said. The man refused, but didn’t make any attempt to assault the officer, so the officer didn’t deploy the weapon. More officers later arrived and arrested the man on suspicion of assault of a law enforcement officer and obstruction of the legal process.

The man didn’t have any warrants for his arrest, but investigating officers did find a bag of stuff including used syringes and a glass pipe with residue. McKinley proposed that that was the reason the confrontation turned sour.

“It is likely the behavior of the three was based on knowledge of the presence of the drugs and contraband and was an attempt to thwart the officer’s ability to investigate the drug violation,” McKinley said.
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Tuesday, 8:50 p.m.

A Lawrence police officer found his- or herself in the right place at the right time while responding to a dumpster fire Tuesday night. Someone saw the police outside and ran to an officer to report a domestic disturbance was happening in a nearby home.

When the officer approached the home in question, he allegedly heard a woman yell, “Don’t hit me,” then a loud thud and the sound of a woman crying.

The officer demanded entry to the apartment and a man opened the door. The officer learned the man had been arguing with the woman and had refused to let her leave the residence. He allegedly had grabbed her and caused minor injuries that were visible to the officer.

The man was arrested on suspicion of domestic battery.

We’ve still got two more days left of Domestic Violence Awareness Month. You never know what’s going on behind closed doors — though domestic violence can happen anywhere. It’s all around us, unfortunately. One in three women and one in seven men will experience domestic violence in their lifetimes. If you or someone you know is in an abusive relationship, reach out for help. The Willow Domestic Violence Center in Lawrence has a 24/7 hotline at 1-800-770-3030 or (785) 843-3333.