Beachwood Police Report: Beachwood Place Security Dog Smells Gun on Boy

BEACHWOOD, Ohio —

Carrying a Concealed Weapon: Cedar Road

On August 25 at 5:15 p.m., Beachwood Place security notified police that its sniffer dog, trained to detect firearms, had identified a boy walking in a group of men who was carrying a gun. A mall customer had also seen the gun in the boy's waistband.

The police report noted that the men accompanying the boy behaved defiantly towards the security forces.

When security officers ordered the boy to keep his hands visible in a mall aisle, the boy disobeyed and reached for his waist. When the officers then drew their weapons, the boy obeyed.

The boy initially gave police a false date of birth before admitting he was 17 years old.

He was also found in possession of a Louis Vuitton backpack/handbag. In this handbag, police found six VISA credit cards, as well as other credit cards, gift cards, and various other cards, such as a health card.

The items in the bag belonged to at least two women. Police were unable to contact the two women from Wooster.

The boy was charged with concealed possession of a weapon and forgery. Additional charges are pending.

Theft: Cedar Road

On August 20 at 4:50 p.m., security at Nordstrom at the Beachwood Place shopping center, 26300 Cedar Road, notified police that a woman was gathering items and placing them near a store exit as if she was preparing to steal the merchandise.

Security saw on video that the woman had arrived in a red Cadillac that was parked in front of the exit of a shopping center and occupied by three people.

A police car pulled up behind the Cadillac. The woman left the store with $1,520 worth of stolen clothing and perfume and was arrested by anti-theft officers outside the mall.

The Cadillac then drove off and did not stop, even though police turned on the dome lights. Police followed it and the car eventually came to a stop.

The male driver said he knew the woman but did not know she was going to steal. The driver refused to show his ID. Police decided the driver did not need to show ID and let him drive on.

Police charged the 42-year-old Lorain woman with theft and criminal possession. A magnetic tool was found in her purse, as well as a list of items she wanted to steal.

At the police station, an Alprazolam pill was found in her possession. The woman said the pill belonged to her son. The police kept the pill and told the woman her son could pick it up if he wanted.

Unauthorized Use of Property: Chagrin Boulevard

On August 20 at 2:35 p.m., police were called to a doctor's office at 24400 Chagrin Blvd. on a report that someone had portrayed the doctor in unprofessional responses to Google reviews about his practice.

The practice manager told police that the fake answers began shortly after a male patient became upset because his prescriptions were not being renewed due to his use of other medications.

Staff were initially unable to remove the comments, and by the time police were called, they were no longer on the website.

Scam: Richmond Road

On August 21 at 2:05 p.m., a 74-year-old woman from Beachwood went to the police station to report that 38 transactions had been made between February 2023 and July 2024 in which money had been withdrawn from the bank account of her 94-year-old mother from Pepper Pike.

The withdrawals totaled $14,347.07. The woman did not notice the transactions until Citizens Bank informed her that her mother's account was overdrawn.

The woman reported the fraud to the bank, but has so far only received refunds for six transactions totaling just over $3,000.

The transactions involved payments to T-Mobile and VW Credit Tel. The police are investigating.

Flee and Escape: Cedar Road

On August 22nd at 4:20 p.m., police were alerted to a car with a stolen license plate in the Beachwood Place area. In the parking lot of the mall, an officer spotted the car with the stolen license plate.

Mall security told police that surveillance video showed four men getting out of the car and walking into Saks Fifth Avenue. The driver was a man wearing a black shirt.

The officer checked the car's vehicle identification number and determined that the owner was a 19-year-old man from Cleveland.

The officer waited next to the car and as four men entered the vehicle, he turned on the dome lights of his patrol car to stop traffic. However, the man in the black shirt sped up and raced around the police car before leaving the mall property. As the car escaped, pedestrians on the mall property had to run to get out of the way of the car.

Street cameras showed the car driving dangerously around and past other cars on roads.

Police called the man's phone number to tell him they were looking for him, but the person on the other end of the phone said nothing and hung up.

Police are seeking the man's arrest warrant for failure to comply (third-degree felony), receiving a stolen license plate (fifth-degree felony), reckless driving and illegally tinted windows.

Domestic Violence: Shaker Boulevard

On August 23 at 6:35 p.m., a woman went to the police station to report a case of domestic violence against her uncle. The woman said she lived with her 77-year-old uncle in Beachwood, but after her sister's death, he got into an argument with her about the parenting of their 13-year-old son.

The woman moved into an apartment in Richmond Heights, but her son continued to live with her uncle.

On August 23, the woman went to pick up her son, but her uncle said the boy was going to a funeral with her. The woman argued with her uncle about it and then began to strangle her. The woman showed police a video of her uncle grabbing her by the neck.

Police went to the house and arrested the uncle. He told officers that a disturbance had started when his niece came to his house unannounced and started breaking things.

Police charged the man with domestic violence and strangulation.

Read more in the Sun Press.