Police Blotter: Western Sizzlin Employee Says Co-Worker Locks Her In Freezer After Fuss; Stores Dealing With Grab And Run Thieves

  • Thursday, December 20, 2018
Cathy Bryson
Cathy Bryson

A woman said while she was in a church on Ruby Street her car was broken into. The vehicle that was parked in the church parking lot had been broken into. While looking at the vehicle, an officer saw the driver's side rear door had a busted window. The woman said the thief stole her back pack worth $10 which had her Lenova Laptop inside of it worth $1,500. She said the backpack had a Betty Boo decoration and also had work paperwork in it.

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A resident of Standifer Gap Road who started her car to warm it up ended up without a vehicle. The woman said she started her vehicle at around 7:40 a.m. and came back out at 8 a.m. It was gone. The vehicle was running with the keys in it and the doors were unlocked. The suspect is unknown and there are no cameras in the area. The vehicle is a 2013 gray Toyota Sienna minivan. There is a Bess T. Shepherd Star Roll bumper sticker on the rear window. 

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 Police said two employees at the Western Sizzlin in Ooltewah got into it and one locked the other in the freezer. One employee told an officer that her co-worker walked by the freezer while she was inside. She said the co-worker closed the door and would not let her out. The co-worker said she "moved around the door very quickly to get through, but did not close the door." The shift manager said the two females had been arguing verbally throughout the past few days. She said there was video footage of the incident, but could not be viewed until the general manager arrived to work.

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A resident of 13th Avenue said Jason Duffy came to his residence needing a ride to Garfield Street. He said he gave Duffy the keys to his white 1997 Lexus ES300 to sit in until he was ready to leave. When the Lexus owner went outside to take Duffy to the destination he was gone along with his vehicle. Afterward, the Lexus showed up at the CSL Plasma on Rossville Boulevard. The vehicle had damage throughout the interior. 

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The owner of Fischer Evans at 801 Market said at 9:34 p.m. someone smashed the large stone flower pot outside their store. He produced video, which showed an unknown white male break the flower pot as he walked by. The video is of the suspect from behind, so no facial features are seen.

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Residents of Joyful Drive were not so joyful after being victims of a scam. The resident said his wife got a check for $2,420 from a business claiming to be a mystery shopper network. The "business" wanted the victim to spend $2,000 on E-bay gift cards and keep the rest of the money. The victim deposited the check and it cleared the bank. The check was returned as fraudulent and the victim had already spent the money.

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The general manager for Rock Creek Outfitters in the Chattanooga area said the store on Manufacturers Road had been targeted and several expensive coats were stolen just before closing time. He said he had "been seeing a pattern of behavior consistent between all of his stores." He said the suspects "are usually two or three large-built African American females driving a sedan that has a drive-out tag on the vehicle. The thefts are usually just minutes before closing time. On each occasion, two females with enter the store, without making eye contact, they will grab armfuls of expensive coats, then quickly run out the door. Once outside they get into the sedan that is parked close to the door which is occupied by a driver." He said there had been a large amount of thefts at all the stores. After speaking with the general manager, all Chattanooga Rock Creek locations were placed on a watch list.

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Police were summoned to the UPS Store on Highway 153 at the request of the manager. He said he was concerned about an elderly male "who is constantly sending packages with cash that he is being scammed out of." Police said they have answered numerous calls on the man. The manager asked police to return cash and checks to the man in the amount of $6,500. An officer returned the money to the man's wife. He then "answered several calls from phone scammers attempting to get more money" from the elderly victim. Police said they would continue to check in on the man.

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The manager at 2220 Hamilton Place Blvd. said two black females came into the store, grabbed a bag off the shopping rack, walked over to a shelf full of perfume, and dumped the shelf into the bag. The two black females then ran out of the store to a vehicle waiting in the fire lane. The complainant stated that this is not the first time these two females have hit her store and that they have been seen getting into a silver GMC SUV and a Silver Chrysler Town & Country mini van with no tag. She said they park the vehicle in an area where there are no cameras, then they come into the store. 

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At the Circle K at 902 Dallas Road, the manager said Cathy Bryson came into the store and stole a large amount of items. Police said Ms. Bryson "is known in the community as a thief and was recognized by the clerk at the time." The manager said his clerk "texted him at the time and said that Cathy just came in the store. He said that Ms. Bryson is trespassed from the store and should not have been allowed in the store in the first place. He showed officer McCall video surveillance which showed Ms. Bryson come into the store with a large bag. Ms. Bryson came to the store in a small white truck, driven by Terry Willingham. Ms. Bryson walked up and down the aisles placing large quantities of items in her bag and took it outside to the truck. Ms. Bryson is seen on video making three trips to and from the store to the truck, unloading her bag of stolen items. On the third trip, Mr. Willingham goes in the store with Ms. Bryson and is seen handing her items as she places them in her bag. The two parties then leave the store and do not pay for any of the stolen items. Police are also familiar with these two parties as being continuous thieves." Ms. Bryson and Willingham were afterward arrested for theft and other charges.

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A resident of Larchmont Avenue said an unknown Hispanic man approached him at the corner of N. Larchmont and Brainerd Road and accused him of stealing his daughter's jacket. He showed police his jacket and stated that he bought the jacket months ago, and the interaction with the unknown man terrified him. He said he does not know the man, and has never seen him before, but told police that his day had been ruined because of this event.

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The pastor of a church at 2201 Hickory Valley Road said a man was attending a basketball game with his team and, when he was attempting to leave, he attempted to drive under the carport and hit the top of it. This caused the top of the carport to fall on the ground causing approximately $8,000 worth of damage.

 

Terry Willingham
Terry Willingham
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