WESTLAKE, Ohio –
Voyeurism: Crocker Park
A 33-year-old Brunswick man has been charged with voyeurism stemming from an incident last year at a Westlake clothing store.
Recently, charges were filed, and the defendant is expected to appear for arraignment in Rocky River Municipal Court later.
The Westlake Police Department at 1:30 p.m. on Aug. 27 received a report of a man acting suspiciously at Nordstrom Rack at Crocker Park. A female victim believed that she witnessed a man with a beard taking photos or video of her while trying on clothes in the store’s dressing rooms.
The man used his cell phone to capture images under a dividing wall between changing rooms, according to a police department press release. Nordstrom Rack and Crocker Park security guards located the man as he left the clothing store. They obtained a vehicle description, which was relayed to responding police officers.
Officers stopped the suspect on Crocker Road by UH St. John Medical Center. The driver first denied being at Nordstrom Rack. He soon changed his story by saying that he had gone to the store to use the restroom.
Officers seized the man’s cell phone. Analysis of the cell phone and witness interviews led to the filing of two misdemeanor voyeurism charges for surreptitiously recording two identified adult victims who were in the changing room.
Gun found: Center Ridge Road
An employee of Enterprise Rent a Car called the Westlake Police Department at 3 p.m. on Jan. 13 reporting the discovery of a firearm in a rental vehicle that had been returned.
An officer responded and recovered the 9mm handgun. The woman who returned the car said that the gun belonged to her adult son. The son said that he bought the gun recently from another man. Officers tracked down the other man and confirmed the story. The gun will be returned to the rightful owner, according to the police department.
Cocaine possession: I-90
An officer at 1:30 p.m. on Jan. 14 stopped a vehicle on I-90 westbound near the Lorain County line for equipment and license plate violations.
The officer noted signs of drug use in the vehicle and discovered that the driver, a 30-year-old Cleveland man, was wanted on a felony warrant from the Adult Parole Authority for violating parole, according to a police department statement. The driver was arrested on the warrant.
Police then discovered the man was concealing suspected cocaine on his person. He was charged with felony drug possession and transported to the Cuyahoga County Jail.
Sweepstakes scam
A senior citizen at 2 p.m. on Jan. 14 reported to Westlake police that she was the victim of a scam.
At about the same time, an employee of a local bank called to tell officers that the 72-year-old had been withdrawing large sums of cash, and they suspected she was being scammed.
The female victim relayed that she received a call from a man saying that he represented Publishers Clearing House and the victim had won over $5 million in the sweepstakes. She was told she had to pay Ohio and federal taxes up front, which consisted of thousands of dollars.
The bogus sweepstakes rep walked the victim through withdrawing cash from various accounts and buying iPhones and Apple watches. Some of the cash was sent via a shipping service. However, on at least two occasions, the victim turned over cash to people who drove to the victim’s house.
The victim was out thousands of dollars before learning she was being victimized. Investigators are collecting evidence in an attempt to identify suspects.
OVI: Clemens Road
A Sonesta Suites employee at 2:45 p.m. on Jan. 15 called the Westlake Police Department about an unwanted guest.
The woman had been evicted earlier in the day due to causing a disturbance. At this point, the suspect was in a vehicle parked in the lot of the hotel. The staff reported that the woman was incoherent, and they believed she was “on something.”
Officers arrived to find the 31-year-old Fairview Park resident driving in the parking lot. She was so unsteady and erratic that officers were unable to administer field sobriety tests. She admitted to “making a mistake” by using methamphetamine.
The driver was arrested for operating a vehicle while intoxicated, a misdemeanor offense, and later released to a sober relative.
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