Keeping Lowell Safe: Police Beat for January 2020

The Lowell Police Department rung in the New Year by responding to calls involving drunk driving, minors in possession of marijuana and other suspicious situations.

In January 2020, officers responded to 203 calls for service. These included the following, among others:

  • 27 calls for assistance to other agencies
  • 17 calls for assistance to citizens
  • 12 arrests
  • 10 ordinance violations
  • 8 property damage accidents
  • 2 drunk driving cases

Plus, the department made 147 traffic stops and issued 38 citations as a result.

Here’s a closer look at some of the police activity for the month.

Suspicious Situation Leads to Drunk Driving Arrest

Officers were dispatched to investigate a suspicious situation. A vehicle was in the middle of the roadway at 3am with its lights on and music playing. When Lowell police arrived, they found a female driver passed out with her foot on the brake. According to a neighbor, the vehicle had been sitting in the roadway for at least 20 minutes.

Police placed a vehicle in front of the stopped car in case it should begin to roll forward and proceeded to knock on the glass to wake up the driver. She said she was dropping off a friend. Her blood alcohol content was 0.10 during the roadside test and 0.12 at the jail. Anything above 0.08 is considered operating while intoxicated in Michigan. The driver was charged with an OWI, second offense.

Possible Stolen Vehicle, Victim Declines to Press Charges

A man told Lowell police his car was stolen. He believed the person who took the vehicle was someone to whom he owed money. The man was very vague about the situation and refused to allow an officer to enter his home or speak to his girlfriend. Neighbors said they didn’t see anyone suspicious at the home, and the case was closed since the owner did not want charges brought against the alleged thief.

Hit and Run in Valley Vista

Police were called to a hit and run accident in the Valley Vista subdivision. A vehicle ran into several mailboxes but continued on. Officers didn’t have trouble finding the suspect though as they soon observed a male subject walking down the road and holding a bumper in his hand. “That is what we would call a clue,” Police Chief Steve Bukala says.

The subject admitted to drinking and falling asleep at the wheel. His roadside BAC was 0.09, and he was arrested for an OWI.

Party with Minors in Possession

Police, along with medical responders, were dispatched to a report of an attempted suicide. A 20-year old male subject was bleeding heavily with a self-inflicted knife wound on his arm. The incident apparently occurred during a party, and the subject become upset when his girlfriend went home early. He was transported to the hospital for medical care.

While most of the party-goers disbursed before the police arrived, one individual was charged as being a minor in possession. A warrant was also issued to the homeowner for furnishing a place for minors to consume alcohol.

Underage Marijuana and Graduated License Violations

An officer observed a vehicle leave the Meijer parking lot at a high rate of speed at 1am. The vehicle headed north on Alden Nash Ave. SE, and the officer pulled it over. All occupants were under the age of 18, and the driver said he was hurrying to get his friends home from a party in Saranac.

A green leafy substance and marijuana paraphernalia were confiscated from the vehicle. All occupants were cited for underage marijuana possession, and the driver was cited for a graduated license violation.

Fleeing and Eluding, Followed by Crashing

During a routine patrol, an officer observed a vehicle going 75 miles per hour on Alden Nash Ave SE. The officer activated his lights and attempted to pull over the vehicle. Rather than stopping, the driver turned off his headlights and turned onto Gee Drive. He continued at a high rate of speed but crashed at the curve in the road. Once apprehended, the driver made the statement: “I was stupid.”

The driver was arrested for fleeing and eluding, third degree. It was also discovered he had an outstanding warrant in Kent County for the non-payment of child support.

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The One That Got Away

In the midst of a winter weather advisory, police observed a vehicle traveling through town at 70 miles per hour. Officers began to pursue the vehicle near Main and Pleasant Streets but then broke off the chase at Alden Nash Ave on the west side of town. It was 9pm and road conditions were poor due to the falling snow.

A Kent County Sherriff’s officer observed what he believed was the vehicle traveling through Ada, and three hours later, another officer found a vehicle matching its description in a parking lot. Police tracked down the owner of the car who said her son was driving the vehicle. He admitted to being on M-21 but said he was never in Lowell. The Kent County Prosecuting Attorney’s office declined to press charges because of the gap in time between the speeding incident and when the suspected vehicle was found.

Homeless Camp Cleared Out

The former Blue Ribbon Feed building at the corner of Main and Hudson Streets will be demolished soon, and during the process of prepping the property for removal, a homeless camp was found inside. It appeared from the dates of the food found in the camp that it had been perhaps a week since it was last used. Police will clear the building again before it comes down later this month or early next month.

PSA: Lock Your Doors

Police Chief Bukala has a public service announcement for Lowell residents: lock your house and car doors.

A woman came to the department last month with a photo of a man in the neighborhood surrounding Washington Street. He was on a porch and appeared to be trying the door handle. Police quickly went to the area and apprehended the subject. The man said he was drunk. Police checked his identification but since there was no stolen property on him, there were no grounds for an arrest. Officers believe he was trying doors to find an unlocked house.

“More home invasions occur during the day because people are at work,” Bukala says. “Prevent crime by keeping [your] doors locked every day.”

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