Police Blotter - January 17, 2019

The following cases were filed with Charleston Police Department Team 5 on Daniel Island between the dates of December 11, 2018 and January 9, 2019.

INTIMIDATION

A student at a Team 5 high school received inappropriate direct messages from someone they did not know, according to police. The messages were sent between Dec. 1 and Dec. 7. The case is still under investigation.

THREATS

On Dec. 13, an offender made a bomb threat to a Charleston Regional Business Park business via email. Similar threats were received by other businesses, universities and media outlets across the country on the same day. The scene was explored by bomb-sniffing canines and no bomb was found. The case was referred to the FBI for further investigation.

IMPERSONATION

On Dec. 10, officers reported to a Barfield Park residence. The victim stated that an offender was attempting to use his personal information to purchase a vehicle in a different part of the state. The victim was told via phone, and the offender used information procured from the victim’s old business.

In the Peninsula subdivision off Clements Ferry Road, a woman informed CPD that she received a bill for a cell phone for which she did not open an account. The incident occurred on Dec. 10.

FORGERY

An officer responded to a gas station on Daniel Island on Dec. 15 after police received a report from the store’s owner that a cashier was given counterfeit bills by two separate offenders. The officer noticed that the bills had the same markings and serial numbers. The investigation is underway.

CREDIT CARD/ ATM FRAUD

On Dec. 15, an officer met with a victim who claimed that a fraudulent credit card account had been opened under her name with a retail store.

SIMPLE ASSAULT

On Dec. 12, police received a report that a woman was attacked the previous night outside of a downtown Daniel Island restaurant. The victim claimed that she walked out of the business and was approached by two men who verbally and physically assaulted her. The matter is still under investigation, but CPD believes that there is no immediate risk to other citizens in the area.

FLIM-FLAM

Between Dec. 1 and Dec. 11, an island woman was contacted by an unknown individual who informed her that she had won a sum of money and other goods. The offender told the victim that she was required to pay taxes on the prizes before they were received, leading her to send more than $6,000 to the offender. This was reported on Dec. 12.

LOST AND FOUND PROPERTY

On Dec. 26, an officer responded to a Daniel Island Park residence in response to a stolen cell phone.

On Dec. 12, a cashier at a Daniel Island gas station found a purse in the store and turned the bag over to CPD.

VANDALISM

Sometime around 5 p.m. on Dec. 12, an unknown offender used an object to scratch a vehicle’s side and rear doors. The vehicle was parked at a business in downtown Daniel Island at the time.

THEFT FROM A MOTOR VEHICLE

In the Cochran Park neighborhood, a set of golf clubs was stolen from an unlocked vehicle on the night between Dec. 18 and Dec. 19.

Between Jan. 5 and Jan. 6, an unknown subject entered two vehicles in the Peninsula subdivision. Both vehicles showed no signs of forced entry. Over the counter medication and a handgun were stolen from the cars.

GENERAL INFORMATION

A dredging company found a military munition in a river near Daniel Island on Dec. 19. The group moved it underneath I-526 to the side of the river bank. Harbor Patrol responded, alongside personnel from the Air Force base. Officials determined that it was a training munition and was not live. The munition was taken back by Air Force personnel.

On Christmas Day, a woman contacted a Team 5 officer in reference to an accident report the officer had written in 2016. The woman stated that the report showed her as the driver in a collision, but in reality it was her sister, using her identity.

THEFT DISCOVERED AT BCSD MAINTENANCE FACILITY

The Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office is seeking the public’s assistance in identifying a suspect (or suspects) responsible for thefts that occurred at the Berkeley County School District’s maintenance facility in Moncks Corner. According to a press release, more than $31,000 worth of equipment was stolen from the facility on Sunday, Jan. 6 and Sunday, Jan. 13. The missing items include Stihl lawn care equipment, a 2005 Chevrolet Express Van Unit, a John Deere Zero Turn lawn mower, and an open double-axel utility trailer. All of the items that were stolen can be identified by their serial numbers and “BCSD” etched into the housings.

Anyone with information that may assist investigators is asked to contact the BCSO at (843) 719-4465.