Oakdale Police Blotter: Officers Exercise Diplomatic Skills

Oakdale police spent part of Monday exercising their diplomatic skills with residents, according to the latest Oakdale police reports.

An officer saw a 12-year-old boy climbing a small tree in Walton Park. Though there was no damage to the tree, the officer “pointed out to the [boy] the million-dollar jungle gym only feet away.” The officer left a voice mail for the boy’s mother.

Police responded to a report of a neighbor dispute in the 1300 block of Gentry Avenue. Those involved told authorities that it stemmed from an ongoing disagreement involving one another’s children; the officer “advised both parties to avoid each other.”

Another ongoing neighbor dispute in the 4100 block of Geneva Avenue North involved one apartment resident smoking on her deck. A neighbor expressed frustration to police that the resident blows smoke into his apartment, so he can’t “enjoy the fresh air.” The officer advised him that people are allowed to smoke on their own decks, and suggested that he buy a fan or air fresheners.

And when police made a welfare check in the 6000 block of 40th Street North, they found a man on crutches, asking the location of the nearest hospital. The man told police he was frustrated about his leg injury, which he said he suffered June 6 in Minneapolis after being shot “multiple times,” and that he was “sick of just sitting around.” The officer advised him “to follow the doctor’s orders and stay off his feet as prescribed.”

The following incidents were also reported to Oakdale police June 13-14:

June 13:

• Someone entered an open garage in the 7500 block of 18th Street North and took a cell phone and a purse containing charge cards and a driver’s license from an unlocked car. The owner canceled the cards and accounts.
• Someone used white spray paint to write “FL” on the rear of a black Chevy Avalanche in the 1700 block of Hallmark Avenue. Damage was estimated at more than $1,000.
• A driver reported that someone damaged his car with a sledgehammer while he was parked at First Nails in the Bergen Plaza shopping center. Surveillance video showed three men doing the damage, which included hammer marks on “numerous areas,” broken back taillights, scratches on all the doors and “Spot reserved” written on the vehicle’s hood.
• A caller in the 6800 block of 15th Street said she had found a female calico cat with no tags, and that she had seen the cat two weeks earlier and she thought it belonged to someone in the area. She told police she would keep the cat, and if someone reported it missing, police could give out her name and phone number.
• A resident reported that someone called her 14-year-old son an obscenity in Tanners Lake Park and told him to leave, or he’d be beaten up. An officer told the woman to have her son call 911 if he had any more problems.
• A resident in the 3500 block of Gershwin Lane North reported that someone made a fraudulent $84 purchase using his credit card at an Ugg store in Australia. The bank canceled the card.
• A gas drive-off was reported at Super America, where employees said a man pumped $53.54 worth of gas into his car and left without paying. Police checked the license and found that it didn’t match the vehicle description.
• An officer saw three boys, ages 15, 15 and 13, skateboarding in the Walton Park bandshell. When questioned, all three admitted that they knew they were violating a city ordinance, because they were skateboarding directly beneath a posted sign that said “No skateboarding allowed.”
• A caller in the 6200 block of 43rd Street North told police that he believes his family’s cell phones and land line are “bugged.” The man said his son’s computer was recently compromised, possibly by another family member’s cell phone; he told police that the computer goes online when he has no Internet access, and that he “heard people in his back yard.” An officer advised him to contact his phone company and stop using the phone.
• A caller in the 1300 block of Guthrie Avenue reported that a Diamondback Grind bicycle was stolen.
• A customer at Menards reported that someone stole a cordless power tool kit from the back of his truck while he was inside the store.
• A caller reported that someone spray-painted trees and a bench in Oakdale Park. One tree had “ZG + GC” spray-painted on it, and an adjacent tree had a marijuana leaf. A bench in the park had the word “whore” spray-painted on it. The information was forwarded to the city’s public works department for removal.
• Someone complained about loud motorcycles in the area of 4th Street and Hale Avenue. Police found a group of motorcyclists in the back parking lot of Promo Advantage Marketing doing tricks. An officer advised the group about a city ordinance prohibiting motorcycles being driven in private lots without consent, and the bikers were sent on their way.
• Police investigated a report of a “suspicious drunk male” in the 6100 block of 7th Street, trying to fight people. Police located the man, found that he had an outstanding misdemeanor warrant in Ramsey  County and took him to the Washington County Jail.
• More spray-paint damage was reported in Oakdale Park. Police found five trees, a picnic table and a dock painted with pictures of marijuana leaves, “Kush Kongress,” “Kill them all,” “Smoke weed” and “Homosexuals will be killed.”
• Police responded to a report of a 14-year-old girl in the 3500 block of Grovner Road North, who had intentionally cut her arms several times with a razor blade. The cuts were superficial, and the Oakdale Fire Department administered first aid. The girl told police that she cut herself to relieve her emotional pain, and that she was not suicidal. She was taken to United Hospital.

June 14:

• A homeowner in the 2700 block of Henslow Avenue reported that he was inside his home when he heard someone hit his trash can at the curb. A group of kids witnessed the incident and recorded the driver’s license plate number; police contacted the car’s owner, who said her 16-year-old son drives it. The boy admitted knocking over the trash can, and he and his mother went back to the home and cleaned up the mess.

The above items are taken from the . In all incidents where an arrest occurred, a charge is merely an accusation, and not evidence of guilt. The arrested person is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Incidents are listed in the order in which they were reported, not necessarily the order in which they occurred.